Author Topic: Homebrewers Unite!! (Read 3338 times)

leaderbean · « **on:** April 12, 2009, 10:07:00 AM »

Hey everybody. I'm new to the forums and wanted to see if there are any other homebrewers out there. I searched to find an existent thread but didn't see anything. I've been brewing for about 2 years now and love it. I haven't tackled all-grain yet. Heck, my apt is way too small for even a comfortable day of extract brewing! Anyways, who else out there shares this hobby?? I know there must be a bunch. Bikes and beer, right?

rhos1355 · « **Reply #1 on:** April 12, 2009, 10:19:52 AM »

Beg to differ, mate.
You'll find that a vast majority of the classic bike fraternity don't drink and ride.

Anyway, getting back to the real reason you joined this forum; what bike you got, then?

Gordon · « **Reply #2 on:** April 12, 2009, 11:01:15 AM »

Don't mind him, Leaderbean. There's nothing wrong with talking about beer and home brewing here. This is the "Open" forum, after all.

I'm a home brewer, but only made a couple of batches in the last year (having a baby to take care of will do that

I've been brewing for about ten years, all-grain for the last eight years or so.

If you think you're going to continue home brewing I highly suggest getting into all-grain. It's really not difficult and gives you 100% control over the final product. Plus drinking a beer that you created from scratch is almost as fulfilling as riding an old bike that you tore down and rebuilt with your own hands.

Do you keg or bottle?

Inkscars · « **Reply #3 on:** April 12, 2009, 11:17:23 AM »

We homebrew.
Bottling some VERY STOUT irish today actually.
It smells.... well strong. hahaha. IT has overrun the kitchen and hall closet. I can tell you that much. Welcome to the forumn

martino1972 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 12, 2009, 05:11:28 PM »

gentleman...better get into the detail on how you do that...I'm all ears and thirsty.......

fuzzybutt · « **Reply #5 on:** April 12, 2009, 05:49:44 PM »

i've made mead in the past, and i've always wanted to try beer making. maybe this year

patpollin · « **Reply #6 on:** April 12, 2009, 07:13:19 PM »

I'm a partial mash brewer, mainly IPA's next beer will be a stout though

leaderbean · « **Reply #7 on:** April 12, 2009, 08:36:06 PM »

Great to see some homebrewers here! I bottle everything so far and enjoy it. Kegging would be really nice too, but I have a really small place right now and really don't have room for kegging equipment and all grain equipment (not to mention my current financial limitations). But I'm okay with all that for now because It gives me some time to practice. I have a great imperial IPA kit ready to brew but I need to get a yeast starter going first. Maybe this week.

tramp · « **Reply #8 on:** April 13, 2009, 03:02:58 AM »

done it a couple of times
turned out great

mmtsquid · « **Reply #9 on:** April 13, 2009, 09:59:35 AM »

I recently finished helping my bro in law build a "Brewtus" clone homebrew rig - pretty cool stuff!

EdB · « **Reply #10 on:** April 13, 2009, 11:10:07 AM »

you guys seen the Mr. Beer kits? saw one at walgreens and was wondering if it any good.

Gordon · « **Reply #11 on:** April 13, 2009, 11:24:31 AM »

Kegging equipment only consists of a 5gal cornelius keg and the CO2 bottle. Fits nicely into the back corner of an average to small size fridge. Once I started kegging I was done with bottling for good. Takes up a lot less storage space than all those bottles, too.

Bottling used to take me half a day to sanitize, fill, cap, and then clean up everything. And then you have to wait a few more weeks (again) before it's ready to drink. Filling a keg takes a couple of minutes, and then the beer is ready to drink within a day or two. I'm all for taking my time and letting the yeast do its work during the primary and secondary fermenting stages, but once it's done I'm ready to drink it!

All-grain equipment does take up a decent amount of more storage space. The equipment I have (on the cheaper end of the scale) is two 5gal, round, insulated beverage coolers. One has a false bottom for mashing and lautering. And then you also have to have a 7gal stock pot for boiling.

All this brewing talk is really making me want to dust off the equipment and get another batch or two going!

Chester345 · « **Reply #12 on:** April 13, 2009, 11:28:29 AM »

WORKING on bikes and beers are an awesome duo! But no to riding after drining, but anyway...

Just yesterday, I moved my latest into it's 2ndary fermenter. Vanilla porter will get bottled soon!!

Looking to be the stiffest batch of mine yet.

Gordon · « **Reply #13 on:** April 13, 2009, 11:28:51 AM »

Quote from: EdB on April 13, 2009, 11:10:07 AM

you guys seen the Mr. Beer kits? saw one at walgreens and was wondering if it any good.

Never tried one myself, but I've heard you can get a pretty decent beer out of it if you do it right. I think of those kits as similar to a Betty Crocker cake mix. You can make a good cake out of a box if you follow the directions.

Gordon · « **Reply #14 on:** April 13, 2009, 11:31:24 AM »

Any of you home brewers do Lagers? I've always wanted to get into that, but need more space for an extra fridge that's dedicated solely to the long lagering phase. Maybe at the next house when I have a two or three car garage. $:-\$

EdB · « **Reply #15 on:** April 13, 2009, 11:56:43 AM »

i figured it was like a cake mix kind of thing. i saw it had some decent reviews on amazon. better than i would have expected for it. i was suprised actually that people actually got drinkable beer out of it. was looking around at other starter kits and they ranged from $70 or so up.

Inkscars · « **Reply #16 on:** April 14, 2009, 12:51:21 PM »

I made 2 batches in a mr. beer back when i live in california. Turned out some pretty decent apple brews.
I took some pics last night during bottling so the battery died, I'll throw some up wed or thursday.
48 irish stout. And one big pretty bottle to save.

Gordon · « **Reply #17 on:** April 20, 2009, 03:18:21 PM »

Bump for Ink...

Inkscars · « **Reply #18 on:** April 20, 2009, 03:22:32 PM »

AH thanks! I'll move it!

Quote from: Inkscars on April 20, 2009, 02:12:33 PM

Hey! I can't find the thread we were posting on the other day about homebrewers.
So, I said I was gonna post some pics, so here I am. This is only my 3rd batch ever, so I'm a novice, but I like to think it's a decent set up, although, I didn't get any pics of my tools.
Anyway, bottled on the 13th. Irish Stout.
Lemme see yours!

This is the leftovers in water. EW

Please forgive my 50 year old stove. IThe burners pulls out from the stove, like a pianos keys and doesn't get any cleaner than this.
Sanitizing bottle caps.

Right after adding syrup mixture

Bottle one of 48.

goon 1492 · « **Reply #19 on:** April 21, 2009, 09:48:29 AM »

Holy Ink! That's, that's...I'm speechless. Its beautiful

I want to learn how to make some shine.

Blueberry. Yum
Never made beer but ya'll make me want to sell the RC nitro cars and start a new hobby! I am thirsty now and don't get out of work for another three hours

Inkscars · « **Reply #20 on:** April 21, 2009, 10:59:24 AM »

I'll give ya one if ya wanna try it.
I think it'll be at least another week though.

Best hobby ever. Well... next to bikes.

DavePhipps · « **Reply #21 on:** April 22, 2009, 12:05:38 PM »

Does making hard cider count. If so, add me to the list of homebrewers here. I started my first batch last Sunay and will be bottling it about a week and a half.

Gordon · « **Reply #22 on:** April 22, 2009, 12:08:29 PM »

Quote from: davephipps on April 22, 2009, 12:05:38 PM

Does making hard cider count. If so, add me to the list of homebrewers here. I started my first batch last Sunay and will be bottling it about a week and a half.

Sort of... $:-\$

I mean, the bulk of the work is already done for you, but hey, you're turning non-alcoholic beverage into alcoholic, so GOOD ON YA!

goon 1492 · « **Reply #23 on:** April 22, 2009, 03:25:03 PM »

What kinda yeast do you use for the hard cider? I love many kinds of hard cider, but it uses champain yeast in the process and has a bit of a champane taste to it. Doesn't bother me cause it makes for some 5.5-7%, good stuff.
Is it a similar process? I think I know what I want for christmas this year.

goon 1492 · « **Reply #24 on:** April 22, 2009, 03:33:59 PM »

I'll take you up on that beer one of these days INk. Forgot to mention that earlier.

DavePhipps · « **Reply #25 on:** April 22, 2009, 05:56:43 PM »

I'm just using baking yeast for the first batch. I started this on a whim and used what was laying around the house.
I just found out today where to get some wine, champagne, and beer yeast around here.
I'll be experimenting with differeent yeast as I go. I might even try the wild yeast fermentation method, using and apple starter.
BTW in a pinch, a baloon with pin holes in it works as an airlock.

Been reading up on distilling, and I wish it was legal to home distill. Easier than beer and love the taste of whiskey.

gar · « **Reply #26 on:** April 22, 2009, 06:30:11 PM »

I homebrew too... been making beer from extract kits (milled grains in bag, hops, cans of malt) on and off for a decade. Your kit with the 5gal bucket looks very familiar. I also use a 6 gal glass carboy as a secondary fermenter. I bottle because I am cheap, but would entertain kegging instead if I could make one inexpensively.

Let's discuss what kits are the best, and where to get them.

One of my favs was a "dortmunder" ale. I bought the kit from Grapeandgranary http://www.thegrape.net/browse.cfm/2,1352.html

Gordon · « **Reply #27 on:** April 23, 2009, 02:15:22 AM »

Quote from: gar on April 22, 2009, 06:30:11 PM

I homebrew too... been making beer from extract kits (milled grains in bag, hops, cans of malt) on and off for a decade. Your kit with the 5gal bucket looks very familiar. I also use a 6 gal glass carboy as a secondary fermenter. I bottle because I am cheap, but would entertain kegging instead if I could make one inexpensively.

Let's discuss what kits are the best, and where to get them.

One of my favs was a "dortmunder" ale. I bought the kit from Grapeandgranary http://www.thegrape.net/browse.cfm/2,1352.html

I don't generally do kits. Prefer to make/use my own recipes most of the time, but I get most of my supplies from http://www.austinhomebrew.com/. I haven't lived in Austin since '03, but it's where I started brewing and these are the guys I got my start with, so I like to keep buying from them.

Kegging equipment really doesn't cost that much. The most expensive piece is the regulator for the CO2 tank. All you need to get going with kegging is the tank, regulator, and a 5gal Cornelius keg. Other than that it's just some tubing and a 4 dollar plastic faucet, if you don't want to get into the chrome, fridge-mounted faucets yet.

Inkscars · « **Reply #28 on:** April 23, 2009, 06:18:54 AM »

Went for the kit for cheaper replacement of all the little things and the double fermenters.
Drank damn near all those "empty" bottle though.

I figured out, you actually save money to buy bottles you can reuse, because it has beer already in it. I'm pretty sure my beer drinking habit is keeping me from achieving my goals on my diet, but. A woman can onl sacrifice so many things!

cb350twin · « **Reply #29 on:** April 23, 2009, 10:01:10 PM »

Quote

you guys seen the Mr. Beer kits? saw one at walgreens and was wondering if it any good.

I have "The Beer Machine" I have tried making beer with the mix once and it turned out way to sour. I think bacteria somehow got into it Even i followed all the instructions and properly sanitized it. What I REALLY would like to do is make beer from scratch where you boil the wort on the stove like Ink did. But most repices are made for a much bigger kit (Like Ink's) then my little 2.6 Gal "Beer Machine" Maybe I'll just have to stick to a mix again.

Inkscars · « **Reply #30 on:** April 24, 2009, 05:50:23 AM »

Drank one last night out of the batch.
Whoa. Well It's stout alright. It drinks easier than guiness, but the ending is very.... pot roasty.

tsp37 · « **Reply #31 on:** April 28, 2009, 07:47:14 PM »

I've been a home brewer for a maybe ten years but recently started making fermented grape juice. If I could let it age long enough to clear I might call it wine. I haven't been able to keep any longer than maybe five weeks after mixing up a batch. It looks muddy, still tastes yeasty, but packs a kick. After experimenting with 1 gallon batches I started my first 5 gallon batch a couple of weeks ago. If I can produce it fast enough, it might get a chance to age and earn the title "wine".

My sole source of supplies: http://homebrewery.com/

mmtsquid · « **Reply #32 on:** April 30, 2009, 08:47:53 AM »

tsp - go buy some clearing agent - works like a charm.
super kleer K.C. is about the best I ahve found, and it's dirt cheap.
Will clear 5 gallons pretty well in a few hours, perfectly overnight.

goon 1492 · « **Reply #33 on:** April 30, 2009, 01:11:13 PM »

Ok so I am a comlplete nube, can we get a walk through of one of ya'll next batch so I can learn and coerse my wife into letting me do this, I bet I can eventually give boulvard unfiltered wheat a run for its money....
Not really that's good stuff, I can try though with the will of you and you and you and you.

ummmmmm beeeeeer.

Inkscars · « **Reply #34 on:** April 30, 2009, 04:08:39 PM »

Wheat is next. If we had made wheat that #$%* woulda been gone 2 weeks ago. Goon, expect a present deposited in your truck bed soon.

and im not talking air filter thingy.

Dusthawk · « **Reply #35 on:** May 01, 2009, 12:30:17 AM »

Fuzzy, glad to see another Mead Maker out there, lol.

I have been making Mead with a friend for about 6 years now and we currently have 20 gallons ready for bottling. 10 gallons of which have only aged about a year or so but the other 2 Carboys have been aging for much longer, one for almost 2 years and the last one for over three. Two Carboys are plain, the oldest and one of the youngsters, the 2 year is spice and the other youngster is a berry, I think strawberry or raspberry.

As soon as they got done fermenting out we decanted into cleaned carboys after filtering so they could age unmolested. We bottle usually but we haven't found a good supplier for the Flip top bottles we use and buying Grolsch bottles from Ebay is even more expensive than buying from a brewery store.

I can't wait to start bottling the 3 year old Mead, for the way we make it 3 years is about the minimum aging we like to do. When you make Mead, you find that it will never go vinegar and in our experience it always gets better with age, no exceptions. I just finished off my last bottle of our very first batch from February 2003 and it was like drinking honey flavored silk, it aged out beautifully and probably the best Mead I have had so far.

We also have a new website we just started called www.themeadmakers.com but we have a lot of work to do on it before we get it up and going. Eventually we hope to have tons of links to everything from honey and yeast suppliers we prefer to bottling and fermenters. There will also be a whole section for our recipes, including our Signature Rose Mead. Another aspect of Mead Making we will venture into is producing Webinars for as many episodes as we can make covering all aspects of making mead including different recipes as well as different styles including a wonderful sparkling Mead that dances joyfully in the mouth. I will let you all know when we get it really rolling.

UnCrash · « **Reply #36 on:** May 01, 2009, 06:00:40 AM »

I brew. wild fermented Cider, Ales and did an amazing Lager last winter. My basement stays a steady 60 degrees so I didn't think I could do it, but had an idea one day...

I filled my glass carboy with water and let it sit on the cement floor all night, and measured the temperature the next night. 55 Degrees! My foundation is poured on top of ledge, so the floor was colder than the air temp, chilling liquid in the carboy more than the ambient air.

The Lager was from a kit with a smackpack of a higher temp nice Lager yeast.

The beer was so good I would buy it to drink.

goon 1492 · « **Reply #37 on:** May 01, 2009, 06:39:55 AM »

Yum! I got a new nicer filter plate waiting also.

Kept forgetting to tell you.

Inkscars · « **Reply #38 on:** May 01, 2009, 06:57:58 AM »

Woot!

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Author Topic: Homebrewers Unite!! (Read 3338 times)

rhos1355

fuzzybutt