Homebrewing beer

foomar · Sep 30, 2012

Its so cheap and tasty you risk ending up like Barnie off the simpsons , but even low call tastes good if brewed yourself.

None of the kit costs much , and you can probably use some stuff you have , a large saucepan or boiler , big plastic bucket or bin , and a way of keeping it warm by heatmat or aquatic heater , funnel and some odds and ends of tubeing , and bottles or keg to hold it in.

Thermometer and hygrometer help , and are inexpensive , unlike growing weed nobody is trying to sell you unescessary crap , and little has changed in the local homebrew shop in twenty years.

Mrs Foomar makes excellent wine , i make a decent Guinness , and you can meet fellow brewers in the real world in safety , unlike my main interest.

The Sensi Rebel · Oct 1, 2012

I have 3 days left in my curing process till I'm able to crack open one of my Blackberry Witbiers. I'm excited. I like my brews wheaty and malty with a little berry.

SeaMaiden · Oct 1, 2012

Sensi, that sounds DELICIOUS. I'm not a huge beer fan, don't care for the flavor of the hops. But I do like the flavors of the malt and bready flavors, really enjoy them in fact. And that blackberry sounds DELICIOUS!

The Sensi Rebel · Oct 1, 2012

SeaMaiden said:
Sensi, that sounds DELICIOUS. I'm not a huge beer fan, don't care for the flavor of the hops. But I do like the flavors of the malt and bready flavors, really enjoy them in fact. And that blackberry sounds DELICIOUS!

Thanks man! Aprreciate it! :tiphat:

the blackberries were also grown organically in my berry patch, had an extra 2 lbs. so i figured..why not?

I added 2 c. in the last 5 minutes of boiling the mash.

Here's my ingredients:

Coriander
Lemon & Orange Peel
Mt. Hood Hops
*Homegrown* Cascade Hops
My own mix of oats and malts/malt extract
and Blackberries.

They got a few days left to cure/carbonate, but I'm thinking of letting it sit. I figured "fuck it", might as well buy some New Glarus and stock up on my next batch of bottles.

I got different lagers and ales on lock, but I'm having trouble aquiring good genetics. If only I had some fresh new genetics in exchange for a case, then I'd be happy!

Cheers!
~TSR

MaynardG_Krebs · Oct 2, 2012

I'm a true problem child when it comes to homebrewing. I've been seriously brewing for about 25 years.. I brew all grain and in 15 gallon batches. All I can say is the closer you do stuff to the way great commercial brewers do, the better your beer will come out. I will say, the quality of malt extracts that one gets in the kits is way better than in the early days. Buy your kits from places that make great stuff.. I would recommend Williams Brewing.. Beer, More Beer.. Northern Brewer are some of the better mail order vendors. One thing most local homebrew shops sell for kits have yeast that is horrible. If you buy one of the kits that has little packs of aluminum foil for yeast.. throw it away.. buy a tube of White Labs liquid yeast or wYeats slap packs. Yeast is soooooooooooooooooo important to beer.. like genetics are to our other favorite home made buzz. 2nd most important thing.. clean, clean and clean and then sanitize.. you can not sanitize a dirty item, so avoid the 'cleans AND sanitizes' in one step products.. it just aint possible. After you knock out a couple kits, get a book called Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff. He's the only person to win a very prestigious award called the Ninkasi award.. not only once, but 3 times.. huge deal. His recipes are solid and the book is based on recipes for extract brewers with conversion for all grain as well. That and a few other books with a lot of practice, you can brew awesome beers.. way better than most commercial brewers. Not to sound like a bragger, but I often have commercial brewers want recipes from things I brew.. It all comes with a ton of experience. Sorry for getting so wordy, but needless to say, brewing is a huge passion for me. Good luck to all of you! Brew on!!

mgk :tiphat:

DeltaIX · Oct 2, 2012

Thanks, SeaMaiden. I've been a lurker, reading and learning for several years on here, since OG went 'off the air'. OG is where I first started learning about growing. I've even had a previous username here on IC, but I couldn't tell you what it was, and don't remember my OG handle either, but that's off-topic anyway.

I'd love to start kegging, but don't have the $$. So bottling, it is. I do like that it's easier to carb to style when conditioning in the bottle. It's a whole lot more work though. I have to admit, I'm a bit envious of some of my homebrewing friends who have nice kegging setups, but in time, I'll have one too.

DeltaIX · Oct 2, 2012

who dat is: Like toughmudderdave says, you can get started pretty cheaply. I started with buckets, bottles & a few canned kits. Then I scored a propane turkey frier on the cheap and started brewing from scratch or all-grain as homebrewers call it. I can brew a 5.5 gallon batch (about 54 bottles) for $12 - $20, a bit more for IPA's, some Porters, Stouts and high-gravity (high alcohol) beers. You can get a used propane burner & tank if the opportunity arises, but make sure you get a new pot or at least one that's only been used to brew beer.

Join your local homebrewer's club/group. You'll get invaluable insight and help with learning. Often, some of the more experienced brewers will be willing to help you. You may score some of their old gear as they get new, upgraded hardware. I scored several items this way: a couple of propane tanks, a pot, a copper chiller coil, some Grolsch-style resealable flip-top bottles, a heavier-duty burner, a grain mill, etc. All were given to me except the mill which I paid $40 for. Any of the brewers on here will tell you that's a steal. Point is, join your local homebrew club, they'll help you out and may well donate some equipment to you.

Give homebrewing a try, you'll love it.

The Sensi Rebel · Oct 3, 2012

DeltaIX said:
who dat is: Like toughmudderdave says, you can get started pretty cheaply. I started with buckets, bottles & a few canned kits. Then I scored a propane turkey frier on the cheap and started brewing from scratch or all-grain as homebrewers call it. I can brew a 5.5 gallon batch (about 54 bottles) for $12 - $20, a bit more for IPA's, some Porters, Stouts and high-gravity (high alcohol) beers. You can get a used propane burner & tank if the opportunity arises, but make sure you get a new pot or at least one that's only been used to brew beer.

Join your local homebrewer's club/group. You'll get invaluable insight and help with learning. Often, some of the more experienced brewers will be willing to help you. You may score some of their old gear as they get new, upgraded hardware. I scored several items this way: a couple of propane tanks, a pot, a copper chiller coil, some Grolsch-style resealable flip-top bottles, a heavier-duty burner, a grain mill, etc. All were given to me except the mill which I paid $40 for. Any of the brewers on here will tell you that's a steal. Point is, join your local homebrew club, they'll help you out and may well donate some equipment to you.

Give homebrewing a try, you'll love it.

Jesus man. you must really be on your 'brew. You must be drinking 100% Homebrewed?

If so, jealous, and way to go!

DeltaIX · Oct 3, 2012

Thanks, Sensi. I pretty much only buy beer when I run out of homebrew. Like this summer when it was too damn hot to brew, so my supply ran out before I could get more bottled. It's not that hard once you get a feel for it, and doesn't have to be expensive. The bonus is that I enjoy it more because it's my brew.

I brewed a Jalapeno Cream Ale, a Vanilla Cream Ale and a Citrusy Cascade Pale Ale recently. Wish I'd have thought ahead to brew myself an Octoberfest too.

FamilyBerzerker · Oct 5, 2012

Wow, I didn't expect this sort of response!! How great it is to see a bunch of stoned brewers like myself.
For all you guys and gals thinking about getting into it, DO IT!!! It's easy to get started. I got into it after receiving a basic equipment kit for xmas one year. The first batch we made was an IPA extract kit (Diamond Knot IPA from Homebrew Heaven) and it was great. A very rewarding way to start, and if I made a great beer my first time, anyone can, I made SO many mistakes.
Now, the beers I make regularly rival commercial examples. Not saying they're always better, but the quality of a good homebrew is at least as good as that of a good commercial beer.

Dave, love the kegerator!!! I bottle and keg, depending on the beer. Here's my baby:

MaynardG_Krebs · Oct 5, 2012

:

Nice beer fridge!!

mgk :tiphat:

MaynardG_Krebs · Oct 5, 2012

oops.. double post!!

unspoken · Oct 5, 2012

I brew mostly IPAs for myself and orange/corriander wheat for the lady. No fruit in my beer please. Dry hop the IPA, I even want my beer to taste like weed :joint:

FamilyBerzerker · Oct 6, 2012

unspoken said:
I brew mostly IPAs for myself and orange/corriander wheat for the lady. No fruit in my beer please. Dry hop the IPA, I even want my beer to taste like weed

I do alotta IPAs too. I've been playing around with a really dank IPA recipe using chinook and columbus hops. I'm thinking maybe some of this year's Simcoe too, while they're still piney and fresh will make the next batch reek or resinous hops! :woohoo:

420somewhere · Oct 6, 2012

I brewed Home Brew for 30 years ....

I brewed Home Brew for 30 years ....

I also ran from grain and did 30 gallon batches ( 2 kegs) at a time.

It's very easy...

I had to stop as I put on too much weight.

Down the street from me is were the Maltose Falcons started (my club) which in fact spawned Anchor Brewing.

My favorite beer was the California Standard Beer.

I would culture yeast form Sierra Nevada (only beer with active yeast) and use that. Then use fresh grain and hops.

Good Luck in Your brewing :woohoo:

kin_dawg · Oct 6, 2012

Love my pales mmm num num and a wheat beer with honey you can get round here.
I'm on my 4th brew, 1st followed the kit, 2nd added ALOT of sugar lol, fast forward 6 years 3rd brew Lager kit, 4th brew made another lager and added 500gm LDM and cultured up dry yeast from 1L to 2L, next im trying a coopers pale ale clone and I'll culture the yeast from the coopers bottles.

Also got a roman wormwood (absinthum pontica) growing, and I harvested a shit tonne of passionfruits which I'm planning to utilize for wine and liquer. Hoping for a first harvest from a new plum tree too. (prune de agen)
Thanks for posting up everyone, going back for a re-read

DeltaIX · Oct 8, 2012

FamilyBerzerker said:
How great it is to see a bunch of stoned brewers like myself.

For all you guys and gals thinking about getting into it, DO IT!!! It's easy to get started.

Now, the beers I make regularly rival commercial examples. Not saying they're always better, but the quality of a good homebrew is at least as good as that of a good commercial beer.

It is awesome to know there are other tokers who are also brewers. It seems to me like a natural partnership. After all, what's better with a toke than a good beer?

It is easy. You'll be a bit unsure of yourself during your first few brews, but chances are that your brew will be fine. I find the biggest factor in the quality of your brew is sanitation. Nothing else even comes close. You can screw up the timing of your brew process or miss your temperatures and the beer will still be fine. You might wind up with beer that's a little higher or lower on body or alcohol content than you intended, but it'll still taste good.

After a few batches, it's easy to make beer that can rival or best great commercial craft/specialty beer. It's child's play to make better beer than Bud/Coors/Miller/etc.

Stondestmanaliv · Oct 16, 2012

Ugg.. I seem to make the best vinegar ever! amazing, boiled bleached and BBQ`ed, I still get vinegar.

kin_dawg · Oct 17, 2012

Stondestmanaliv said:
Ugg.. I seem to make the best vinegar ever! amazing, boiled bleached and BBQ`ed, I still get vinegar.

Does that mean infection?

MaynardG_Krebs · Oct 17, 2012

Stondestmanaliv said:
Ugg.. I seem to make the best vinegar ever! amazing, boiled bleached and BBQ`ed, I still get vinegar.

Lot of variables here. Are you fermenting in plastic or glass. Do not use bleach for sanitizer as it needs to be rinsed.. when you rinse, you can 'unsanitize' your item. If you're using plastic that's all scratched up, those scratches can harbor bacteria etc and spoil your beer. Vinegar tainted beers are always caused by infections from improperly sanitized items.

mgk :tiphat:

Edit: What you should be using for sanitizer is either StarSan from 5 star or Iodophor. Neither of them require rinsing.

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