Home Brewing

Crispy · May 16, 2010, 10:06 AM

QuoteALright, I'm doing it, finally. I bought two books on homebrewing and I'm going down to the homebrew store sometime this week (maybe today) to get the equipment. I've just been balking on the up front investment but I spent 150 bucks on alcohol this weekend and thought, what am I waiting for? It's time to brew!

Way to go Dylan! The whole money-saving thing may not pan out, but the craft and enjoyment are totally worth it. Did you get Papazian's book? That's the best one to get started with.

Nice link to the homemade mashtun, flyguy, I hadn't seen that site before.

I took a couple bottles of my ridiculous doppelbock to a redneck birthday party yesterday, where most people turned their noses up to it and went back to their Bud Light...one guy even spit it out. However, a couple people liked it, and the most redneck looking dude there really enjoyed it and drank it up. It seems to have conditioned pretty well since I tried it last.

My reddish-brown Belgian ale is in the bottle, and I am itching to crack one, but it's only been a week!

aMillionDreams · May 16, 2010, 10:59 AM

No, I got these two:

http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=pd_sim_b_2
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500/ref=pd_sim_b_3

They came highly recommended on another site, but I wish I would've known your recommendation before I put my order in. Which one do you have? The Joy of Home Brewing?

Why won't I save any money? Are the ingredients expensive?

Crispy · May 16, 2010, 11:47 AM

QuoteNo, I got these two:

http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=pd_sim_b_2
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500/ref=pd_sim_b_3

They came highly recommended on another site, but I wish I would've known your recommendation before I put my order in. Which one do you have? The Joy of Home Brewing?

Why won't I save any money? Are the ingredients expensive?

You can save money, if you make plain ol' light all-extract beers, but when you start making the more complex styles (and you will), it will run a little more money. I think the doppelbock I brewed cost about $60, but that included $10 for shipping, so there's that. But you're not doing this to save money, are you? ;)

The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing is the Papazian book, and from the reviews, it sounds like you will be getting a more up-to-date guide. I have actually lost my copy, and use something called The Brewmaster's Bible http://www.amazon.com/Brewmasters-Bible-Gold-Standard-Brewers/dp/0060952164/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274024648&sr=1-1.

aMillionDreams · May 16, 2010, 12:01 PM

Well, luckily I have a local homebrew store so I won't have to pay shipping, but I definitely want to brew the more complex brews. Saving money isn't the main reason I've decided to brew, but it is how i justified spending the money to the wife. ;)

I can't wait to get started. I've had pretty good success as a cook and a gardener so I figure this is a natural progression for me.

jones · May 17, 2010, 09:37 AM

QuoteALright, I'm doing it, finally. I bought two books on homebrewing and I'm going down to the homebrew store sometime this week (maybe today) to get the equipment. I've just been balking on the up front investment but I spent 150 bucks on alcohol this weekend and thought, what am I waiting for? It's time to brew!

Beer swap!

YouAre_GivenToFly · May 17, 2010, 11:33 AM

QuoteNo, I got these two:

http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=pd_sim_b_2
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500/ref=pd_sim_b_3

They came highly recommended on another site, but I wish I would've known your recommendation before I put my order in. Which one do you have? The Joy of Home Brewing?

Why won't I save any money? Are the ingredients expensive?

Ingredients aren't always expensive, but it becomes a hobby, and I don't know of a hobby that really ever saves money. The more beer you brew the more complex styles and techniques you will want to try. Although it might not save you money, the quality of beer you drink will improve :)

aMillionDreams · May 17, 2010, 11:44 AM

FLyguy- definitely. Maybe we can even arrange a brewing party or two!

I guess I should chalk this up to a hobby, of which I have many but they aren't as expensive collectively as something like collecting antiques or rebuilding muscle cars. Most of my hobbies tend to be productive: gardening, cooking, music (which isn't materially productive most of the time but I definitely get something out of it). I'm sure I'll forget about the cost after I crack open that first homebrew!

aMillionDreams · May 18, 2010, 07:55 PM

I bought my equipment today and brewed my first batch. I went with an English Pale Ale. I think I'm really going to like this. The homebrew shop here in town is pretty awesome. They have or can order anything you need for beer or winemaking. They offer free homebrewing classes, I'm going tomorrow night. And the owner is really nice.

jones · May 19, 2010, 08:51 AM

QuoteI bought my equipment today and brewed my first batch. I went with an English Pale Ale. I think I'm really going to like this. The homebrew shop here in town is pretty awesome. They have or can order anything you need for beer or winemaking. They offer free homebrewing classes, I'm going tomorrow night. And the owner is really nice.

That's really cool that they offer classes. Let us know what you learn. Did you go to the shop that we passed on the way to Baxter Station?

aMillionDreams · May 19, 2010, 12:43 PM

Quote
QuoteI bought my equipment today and brewed my first batch. I went with an English Pale Ale. I think I'm really going to like this. The homebrew shop here in town is pretty awesome. They have or can order anything you need for beer or winemaking. They offer free homebrewing classes, I'm going tomorrow night. And the owner is really nice.

That's really cool that they offer classes. Let us know what you learn. Did you go to the shop that we passed on the way to Baxter Station?

Yeah, My Kentucky Homebrew is the name. Very cool store! He said he had all the hardware available for turning a cooler into a mush ton for 40 bucks or he could build it for you for 160. They crush their own grains there. He has grains and spices lining the walls. He has two frigs, one for yeast, the other completely full of every kind of hop you can think of. It was quite impressive. I can tell I'm going to be spending a LOT of money in there. :-/

aMillionDreams · May 19, 2010, 08:24 PM

Wow. Okay I just got back from the free class and it was awesome! I'm hooked for sure now! The wife and I were the only ones there so he just explained the process and answered all of our questions for an hour, one on one. It was crazy. He has all the recipes for the greats, nows dofishhead 90 minute by heart, which is my favorite beer. He has citra hops in right now and the recipe for torpedo. He can put together just about any beer. He also told me how to convert my refrigerator into a kegerator. To do the whole conversion with CO2 components and two kegs with taps would be around 300. We have an extra frig sitting out in the garage we're doing nothing with but storing beer anyway! He said if you "bottle" to a keg it cuts your labor on bottling day from an hour and a half to 20 minutes. I'm going to bottle the first batch, but after that I think I'm going for the keg system!

jones · May 20, 2010, 08:44 AM

Man, that is great! So Candace is into this, too? A personal class? Kegerators? I have to admit, I'm a little bit jealous...

What days are the classes? Only on Wednesdays? It would be really nice to have a mentor of sorts when it comes to brewing. If you can hook me up with the 90 Minute and Torp recipes I would greatly appreciate it.

aMillionDreams · May 20, 2010, 12:23 PM

I'm trying to get Candace into it, she needs a hobby. I think she's interested after our class last night. Apparently there are a lot of women brewers in the area and they have monthly meetings, which excited the wife.

The classes at the brewstore are every Wednesday night at 7, but the owner Jeff is almost always there and always willing to let you pick his brain especially if they're not all that busy. He can also get you the recipe for just about anything you want to brew. Next time you come to da ville make sure carve out some time for the homebrew store! Next time I go I'm getting the recipe and and the stuff for 90 minute and Torpedo and I'll definitely pass the recipes along.

YouAre_GivenToFly · May 20, 2010, 01:31 PM

I'm dying for an Octoberfest/Marzen recipe that uses Ale yeast. They're my favorite style but I just dont have the equipment or room to lager.

aMillionDreams · Jun 01, 2010, 07:22 PM

I'm went ahead and bought the kegerator setup. My first homebrew will be ready to tap in about a week. I also got the recipe for dfh 90 min ipa. I'll post it in the next few days.

I also went to the local brewery and noticed they were doing some brewing and asked my server if I could get an impromptu brewery tour. They welcomed us back, told us all about their operation, and even offered us free brewers yeast as long as we call ahead in advance. Pretty cool. He seemed like a normal homebrewer doing it on a huge level. One interesting thing they told me is that it's too difficult to dry hop stuff there and if they did it on a regular basis it'd be too difficult to keep up with demand. In other words, it'd sell too well, so they just don't mess with dry hopping for their brewpub brews.

jones · Jun 02, 2010, 11:57 AM

QuoteI'm went ahead and bought the kegerator setup. My first homebrew will be ready to tap in about a week. I also got the recipe for dfh 90 min ipa. I'll post it in the next few days.

I also went to the local brewery and noticed they were doing some brewing and asked my server if I could get an impromptu brewery tour. They welcomed us back, told us all about their operation, and even offered us free brewers yeast as long as we call ahead in advance. Pretty cool. He seemed like a normal homebrewer doing it on a huge level. One interesting thing they told me is that it's too difficult to dry hop stuff there and if they did it on a regular basis it'd be too difficult to keep up with demand. In other words, it'd sell too well, so they just don't mess with dry hopping for their brewpub brews.

That's great about your kegging setup! What brewpub were you at? BBC?

Hawkeye · Jun 02, 2010, 12:53 PM

That's sweet that you got a kegerator setup aMD. I have the setup, minus the fridge! Just waiting to stumble across a cheap one. In my old place, we had 2 refrigerators, and in one of them we could fit a 5 gallon keg if we removed 2 shelves. For now, I've just got my keg sitting in my kitchen. This weekend I'll probably have a party and just throw 'er in a tub of ice. That's the other nice thing about the 5 gallon kegs. They're actually pretty portable. When I brew, I usually bottle 12 or so and keg the rest, just for variety. Kegging is nice, but I actually don't mind bottling either. I have a bottling tree that helps a lot with sanitizing. It's got a tub on top that holds sanitizing fluid, and a "jet" that sprays the bottles out with the fluid. Just pop the bottle on top, "jet" it, then hang it on the tree. It goes pretty quick. But I've never done more than 12 bottles, so...

happy brewing!

aMillionDreams · Jun 02, 2010, 01:26 PM

flyguy- yeah, I was at the BBC

Hawkeye- I was thinking I should bottle some and keg the rest, too. The guy at the homebrew shop said it's a good idea to put some of the bottles away and forget about them for a few years and they'll taste fantastic when you do drink them. How much sugar do you use for just bottlling a 12er?

jones · Jun 02, 2010, 03:11 PM

Also, bottling makes it easier to share. ::)

Hawkeye · Jun 02, 2010, 03:30 PM

I'd have to look to see how much sugar aMD. I've only brewed kits thus far, so I used however much came with the kit. I just dissolved the sugar in the water per the instructions, and added it all to the fermenter, let it dissolve, and started siphoning it out. I usually get the siphon started into the keg, then switch to the bottles, letting the beer flow into the keg between each bottle. There's probably a better way to do it, but...it works. And the guy said that the sugar won't hurt anything being in the keg beer. Although I've noticed that my keg beer does have QUITE the thick head on it, so maybe it would be best to try kegging it without the sugar?