Buford Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Anybody else here tried homebrewing? There's a club around here (met a few of the members at a beer fest last weekend) and a local store that sells equipment so I could get stuff without having to pay shipping costs. I've ordered a couple books (How to Brew and Designing Great Beers) to look through and see what all I'd need to buy to just get started with extract brewing, and to see what exactly is necessary for formulating recipes and what is required for all-grain brewing. I'm looking at maybe just buying rudimentary equipment like fermenter buckets, fermentation lock, a thermometer and hygrometer, cheap steel brewpot, stirrer, capper, etc. to get started, and if I like it I might spring for a glass carboy and eventually a mash tun and grinder once I figure out the basics and feel comfortable with trying all-grain. I'd want to try making specific types of beer, luckily all ales and not lagers since I don't have any way to refrigerate during the fermentation process. In general, I like dry stouts, porters, and bitters (English pale ales). I like Russian imperial stouts, but those would take way too long to make since they really need aging. Things I would probably avoid would be lagers and IPAs since I've never liked either. Once you get past the basics it looks like there is a lot of math involved in designing beers. Designing Great Beers reads like a chemistry textbook. Apparently it's pretty hard to screw up beer excepting bacterial contamination, but you could end up with something completely different from what you were intending on producing if you get your numbers wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 sounds like you have done some very considerable homework. I only do partial mashes myself.... I never could get up the gumption to swing for all the extra stuff to go all grain. To this day I still prefer to brew in 6.5 gallon buckets.... I run two of them simultaneously.... when one has run for 5-7 days. I siphon off to the next to finish out... I never really liked the beer or wine to sit on the trub/lees for extended times. Im assuming from your post that you intend to bottle your beer. Thats one route I have skipped due to cost and time. I really want to go to a Cornelius (Soda) Keg setup so I can force carbonate safely.... but thats a considerable one time investment in itself. The route I did go and do continue to enjoy is the "Mini-Keg". I have a tap system for them and use the adjustable plugs that vent in the case of too much pressure in the keg. One drawback is that they hold 1 and 1/3 gallons..... and you have a 5 gallon batch of beer. SO you fill three of those things and then "prime" each of them seperatley... so sometimes one gets a bit fizzier than the other.... hard to keep your whole batch consistant that way. But if you arent too much of a critic.... then it wont matter. As for the math.... theres this little piece of software out there that does all the math for you. You can enter variables and it will spit out the bitterness levels and colorations depending on what lovibond grains you use and any added "adjuncts". [url="http://www.strangebrew.ca/"]http://www.strangebrew.ca/[/url] I came to rely on it. Wish I had a local shop... I get all my stuff thru [url="http://www.midwestsupplies.com/"]http://www.midwestsupplies.com/[/url] In truth. its not hard to make good beer.... its also very easy to make bad beer too. When you have the grain in the boil. dont let it get over 155.. it really does make for bad beer. Sounds like you are not really into beer with alot of hops... I would reccomend that you keep the alphja acid content on your hops selction under 6% in that case..... 5.x or so with your bittering and 3.x with your aroma... then you gotta get a tame malt so that the malt side isnt overpowering.... unless you just like really "malty" beers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanguineSolitude Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 english bitters are the best beers in the world imo. and my father used to homebrew and came up with some very nice results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buford Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 I'd be going the bottle route simply because I don't have the room (or money) to go for a Corny keg system, and bottles are more portable. Sounds like bottles are a realy PITA to deal with, but it's pretty much the only option I have available. Plus, I can get free bottles as apparently the local Legend brewpub just gives them away by the bucket if you want them. Lake, do you use a carboy for secondary or just plastic buckets? As for software, I think I'd rather take the time to try and understand the math first at least so I have some idea where the numbers are coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joetuo Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 I do partial mash brewing as well, like Lake said....It really is very easy to make good beer. I usually use a plastic bucket for my primary then move to a carboy for secondary. I also have a local HBS that I can get all my stuff at and the man there is really nice and knowledgable. There are a lot of people out there who brew so info is easy to find. Northeast smoker also frequents this board and brews as well. here are a couple forums i read about brewing. www.homebrewtalk.com www.brewboard.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthEastSmoker Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 I've been homebrewing for 3 or 4 years now, and completely enjoy it. Nothing quite like sitting back after a few homebrews with a decent buzz that you know YOU created. I'd definitely start out with partial mash brewing, as lake said he does. That's how I've always brewed, and it turns out great beer. Yes, with All-Grain you have more control of the entire brew process, and once you really know what you're doing, you can create more brew styles more accurately. That being said, I personally just don't have the time to devote the 6 hours needed for all-grain brewing on a saturday to brewing a 5 or 10 gallon batch of beer (50 12-oz beers to 5 gallons).. I started out brewing with the deluxe brew kit from True Brew, that I purchased online. This comes with a fermenting bucket, a glass secondary, a bottling bucket, a copper wort (pronounced wert) chiller, racking cane, bottling wand, capper, and some other random junk I can't think of... Now, I do my primary fermenting in 6.5 gallon glass carboys. On smaller beers (Gravities of 1.060 or smaller) I don't even bother with a secondary. Really not needed. I leave the beer in primary for 2-3 weeks, bottle it, and drink anytime from a week after that on. Now, the Imperial Stout I just made is a different story - OG of 1.100, final alcohol content of 10.5%. brewed it 2 weeks ago, hope to be drinking it for Christmas. As far as lots of math goes, not necessarily. You're only going to see comlicated math if you start trying to create your own All-Grain recipies, which I wouldn't recommend until you have many brews under your belt. Your best bet (and what I do) is to buy beer kits from online stores. These are kits that are already have the grain (for soaking in a partial mash, think tea bag in hot water), malt and hops measured out for you. I've ordered from both www.austinhomebrew.com and from www.homebrew.com/shopping/ both are great sites. Austin Home Brew offers a TON of clone recipes, and also a bunch of their own house recipies. I've brewed their Belgian White, Amber Bock, Light Ale, IPA, along with their Magic Hat #9 clone. All great beers. Here you're looking at anywhere from $20 to $30 for a full kit, with everything you need to make 50 beers (providing you have the brewing kit with all of your fermenters, pots, etc)... At the homebrew.com site, the kits are a bit more expensive, however this is due to the fact that they use dried malt extract (DME) instead of Liquid malt extract (LME).. Some think it is superior, however the LME from Austin Home brew is fresh and I've never had a problem with it. It's the canned LME that you buy from your local homebrew store that is often old and will make your beer taste like ass. You're probably looking at anywhere from $100 to $150 for the items needed to get your 'Brewery' up and running. I would HIGHLY recommend getting a wort chiller. When your boil is done, you want to get the wort from boiling temperature down to below 80 as fast as possible, to avoid any off flavors from being formed, and to avoid any nasty bacterias or other infections to get in your beer (remember, bacteria and the like enjoy warm things.. ) For your first brew, I'd start out with a simple Bitter or American Pale Ale.. And you're absolutely correct; it's very difficult to ruin a batch of beer as your making it. I've done everything from dipping my arm (un-sanitized) into the 5 gallon bucket of beer to pick up something I dropped in it, to adding too much or too little water, to forgetting ingredients.. Still comes out as beer. Remember, people were making beer thousands of years ago in open vats, letting wild yeast ferment it into alcohol. Didn't kill them. Biggets thing to keep in mind when you're brewing is SANITATION. Be anal about that, follow the directions, and you'll have good beer. The secret is to learn what makes GREAT beer. 2 of the biggest things to making great beer, IMO, are: Temperature control while fermenting. Full volume boils Anyways, let us know if you have any other questions.. it's a fun hobby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buford Posted October 11, 2006 Author Share Posted October 11, 2006 I haven't bought a brew pot yet, but there was a decent looking 22 qt. stainless steel one at Wal-Mart the other day for $50 (but they sold it before I visited again). Is 22 quarts a decent size, or a little too small for a full boil since you want to end up with about 5 gallons but start with more (assuming about a 15% evaporation rate per hour while at full boil)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthEastSmoker Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 The 22qt Stainles pot from wal-mart is perfect for when you're first starting out, brewing in your kitchen. Unfortunately, it will only hold about 4 or 4.5 gallons of water without too much of a risk from boilover... I've moved to brewing on a turkey cooker propane burner out in the garage. You'll have the desire to do that as well after getting yelled at by your significant other for the absolute mess made in kitchen after your first few boilovers.. trust me, that shit is DIFFICULT to get off a stove top. Also, most electric stoves have a very difficult time boiling 4 gallons of water, and holding it at a good rolling boil (which is what you want when brewing). If you're energy conscious and cheap like me, getting 4 gallons of water to a boil, and then holding it at a boil for an hour takes a metric shitton of electricity, as well. Anyways, I now brew on a propane turkey cooker, using the pot that came with it. I believe it's a 7.5 gallon pot. I usually figure on 1-1.5 gallons boiling off.. I start with a touch over 6.5 gallons of water in it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 I have fond memories of my father making wine when I was young. He used to find all manner of fruits to make his wine with. He would lead us all over looking for stuff for wine making. One time I got spanked when I was 4 or so for breaking his wine making equipment, but he later found out that his beet wine was turning champagne on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 I just use a bucket on secondary. Most of my beers are lower grav.... so.... my secondary time is short. never bothered to get a carboy... I still kinda want one tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakemonster Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 I also cheat like a bastard.... Nowadays I dont do total volume boils.... and top the wart up with bottled spring water. I also cheat like hell with the grav... I only use about half the required malt and then bring the grav level up with corn syrup or Turbinado sugar. (usually corn syrup) *covers for the impending hail of rotten eggs and tomatoes from the brewing right-wing* I make my beer so that the hops is the dominant flavor.... never cared for really malty beers... So this is how I have sluffed off good technique for taste. I do it at my own peril. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthEastSmoker Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 nothing wrong with topping up with spring water.. at least you know it's sanitary.. Actually, full volume boils allow you to get more hop utilization from the same hops.. I don't know the exact science behind it, but you extract more oils and get more bitterness/hop flavor/hop aroma when doing a full volume boil vs a partial boil.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buford Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 I ordered an 8 gallon stainless steel "induction" (three-ply bottom, aluminum sandwiched in the middle to supposedly prevent hot spots) pot from a restaurant supplier here in town the other day. Here's to hoping that my (reasonably new) electric stove is up to the task since I don't really have any place to use a propane burner. I figured I might as well start out with that big of a size (and some people in the James River Homebrewers seconded that) since boilover is much less of an issue and I'll already have a big pot if I ever get into all-grain brewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlax Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 I'm going to be starting my third batch. I so far I've done extract. It is a blast like everyone has said so far. If you can bake a cake from a box or follow a recipe it'll be no problem and smooth sailing. And always remember 4 things: 1. Sanation 2. Sanation 3. Sanation 4. Relax. Don't worry. And have a Homebrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanguineSolitude Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 i like how you spelled sanitation wrong three times in a row. thats big pimpin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumonshoe Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Ive been thinking of getting into this too. I woudl recommend you take a look at [url="http://www.beergoons.com/"]http://www.beergoons.com/[/url] They have some useful forums and a wiki. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlax Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Meh....oh well...dont bother me...I know my spelling is shitty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthEastSmoker Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Buford.. good luck boiling anymore than 4 gallons of water on an electric stove top.. Don't forget, you're going to need 6-6.5 gallons of water to account for what boils off, and I doubt you're going to get that much water boiling.. Also, the more vigorous and rolling your boil is, the better your beer will be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buford Posted October 19, 2006 Author Share Posted October 19, 2006 My 8 gallon stock pot came in yesterday, and I tried an experiment. I put 6 gallons of water in it and arranged it so it was bridging two burners since it has a pretty wide diameter. I put both of them on max and the water was at a rolling (but not violent) boil in a little over an hour. It's a pretty high output stove for an electric it seems even accounting for the ineffiency of coil-type burners. I'd get better and quicker boils with propane but this way at least I can do it inside. EDIT: I think the larger burners are 2600 watt, but I don't know what the BTU rating would be. I think coil units are about 28% efficient. In contrast, however, some electric turkey friers don't even hit a 2000 watt rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buford Posted October 24, 2006 Author Share Posted October 24, 2006 Got just about everything I need for extract/partial mash brewing now, excepting the wort chiller which the local store is custom making to fit my pot. First thing I'm going to try is a porter with crystal 60L, black patent, and chocolate malts as specialty grains alongside the light extract, and with Northdown for bittering and Willamette as flavor/aroma hops. I'll be using dry yeast for this batch. Cleaned the labels off of around 50 recovered bottles last night with Straight-A and a scrubby sponge. Man, that was a chore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthEastSmoker Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 [quote name='Buford']Cleaned the labels off of around 50 recovered bottles last night with Straight-A and a scrubby sponge. Man, that was a chore.[/quote] buford.. best way to get labels off.. fill up your bathtub with water.. add a couple cups of bleach.. toss the bottles in.. leave it overnight.. all of the labels will be off and floating the next morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buford Posted October 25, 2006 Author Share Posted October 25, 2006 A lot of the labels came off reasonably easily, but a few just didn't want to give up the ghost. The Straight-A and warm water did the job on most of them but for some of them the glue was so gummy I had to apply some WD-40 to break it up before washing them down good. They were mostly brought home from a bar so there was a good mix of brands in there (and a few interesting bottle shapes). I don't recall which ones were the most difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toothhookahharp Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 man if i homebrewed id be full blow alchy bruthas. to me its like jesus turning water into wine. too mystical and marvelous to fuck with. plus im sure id fuck it up and it'd taste like gasoline someone took a shit in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uselessdreamer1 Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 ive been very interrested in this for awhile now... is there a kit that can make like 20 beers or less instead of 50? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buford Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Got the first batch in the fermenter Saturday. The airlock is bubbling away. It's neat to watch it, knowing that there's something living in that bucket. For this batch I did a partial boil, and used extract and specialty grains. It'll (hopefully) be an American-style brown porter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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