Anyone Homebrew here?

[Mayo5]

Was wondering if anyone here is into brewing their own beer? I've been wanting to get into for awhile; just never had the time and now I do.

I'm about to order a kit from Homebrewheaven, any advice or tips for where to start? Is it possible to brew more than one beer at a time, or do I have to have two whole kits for that?

Any suggestions for good recipes? I have been looking around for a while, and am going to buy a few recipes from Austin Homebrew supply.


How strong did yalls end up being, and what was the time frame from start to bottling?

Thanks for any tips or advice!

:beer::beer:

 

[NoSlowGT]

When I go home for the summer I'm gonna get Sam Adams kit and see how it goes. This will be the first time doing it, thought it might be cool to try.

 

[Mayo5]

Yeah, I've been a beer fanatic and taster/collector for a while now. I have a few recipes I want to try and see if they work.

Belgium Trappist Abt 12 Ale
Samuel Smiths Nut Brown Ale
American Style Lager
Harpoon Octoberfest

 

[Mayo5]

No one else? :beer:

 

[Grizzly Adams]

From everything I have seen, it is pretty easy. One of my friends in high school got one shortly after we graduated. Yeah I know, a high school kid brewing beer... Well, anyway...every now and again he would bring his beer to parties and it was pretty decent given that he had a cheap setup.

Just follow the directions and put your own twist on things where possible. Don't be afraid to try new things

 

[astrocreep96]

I've tried it in the past, but I wasn't very careful with disinfecting everything, and not all of the beer turned out fully carbonated. Didn't have enough to tell how high the alcohol level was (and I don't have a hygrometer).

One of my friends did it quite a bit, and ended up making a few types that one awards at small contests in Chicago. He made a winter lager that was very dark and had a lot of spices - kicked ass.

I want to get into it again when I have more time. Rewarding little hobby.

 

[Mayo5]

I've tried it in the past, but I wasn't very careful with disinfecting everything, and not all of the beer turned out fully carbonated. Didn't have enough to tell how high the alcohol level was (and I don't have a hygrometer).

One of my friends did it quite a bit, and ended up making a few types that one awards at small contests in Chicago. He made a winter lager that was very dark and had a lot of spices - kicked ass.

I want to get into it again when I have more time. Rewarding little hobby.

Awesome, this is what I like to here; and I have heard the hardest thing is keeping everything disinfected. You have any tips for this?

:rockon::beer:

 

[astrocreep96]

Awesome, this is what I like to here; and I have heard the hardest thing is keeping everything disinfected. You have any tips for this?

:rockon::beer:

Unfortunately, no. The kit I bought had a disinfecting solution (probably a peroxide), but it was expensive to buy through them. Diluted bleach, or a generic solution of peroxide from a pharmacy, should probably do fine.

The next time I get around to it, I'm going to do it right and assemble my own kit. They're not overly complex, and a really good kit should only run $200 or so. If you're interested, I can email my friend and see if he can pass along any good book titles or websites. Check out www.homebrewing.org, I seem to remember that being one website he recommended, but I can't quite remember for sure.

Damn - just remembered it. www.realbeer.com. Duh! <--online bible of beer.

 

[Mayo5]

Unfortunately, no. The kit I bought had a disinfecting solution (probably a peroxide), but it was expensive to buy through them. Diluted bleach, or a generic solution of peroxide from a pharmacy, should probably do fine.

The next time I get around to it, I'm going to do it right and assemble my own kit. They're not overly complex, and a really good kit should only run $200 or so. If you're interested, I can email my friend and see if he can pass along any good book titles or websites. Check out www.homebrewing.org, I seem to remember that being one website he recommended, but I can't quite remember for sure.

Damn - just remembered it. www.realbeer.com. Duh! <--online bible of beer.

Yeah any tips from your friend, if he is willing, would be insanely helpful!

Yeah I have been sifting through realbeer.com all day; and I would like to piece together my own kit too, I don't really want to pay 160+ for a pre-made kit.

I would like to run atleast 2 different styles of beer at once, maybe 3; if I can manage it eventually.

 

[astrocreep96]

Yeah any tips from your friend, if he is willing, would be insanely helpful!

Yeah I have been sifting through realbeer.com all day; and I would like to piece together my own kit too, I don't really want to pay 160+ for a pre-made kit.

I would like to run atleast 2 different styles of beer at once, maybe 3; if I can manage it eventually.

Let me send him an email. I'll pm you if he doesn't respond very soon (he's finishing up his master's thesis and is difficult to work a response out of).

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Yeah any tips from your friend, if he is willing, would be insanely helpful!

Yeah I have been sifting through realbeer.com all day; and I would like to piece together my own kit too, I don't really want to pay 160+ for a pre-made kit.

I would like to run atleast 2 different styles of beer at once, maybe 3; if I can manage it eventually.

Wow, if you are planning on doing this on a regular basis, remember that you do have limits on how much you can produce per year for your household. While there are no beer police that are gonna come knocking on you door for making a gallon or two too much, you don't want to go making so much beer that you aren't gonna drink it in a reasonable amount of time.

You are gonna be better off trying to make one style really well at first instead of jumping in and making your own mini brewery on your first try and screwing them all up.

 

[WutApex]

If he's asking about starting, he'll be no where near the 200gal limit.

I have 2 carboys so I just time it right to have one batch in hte primary, the other in the secondary. I also have a food grade bucket if I wanted to do a 3rd batch - at that point I'd need to buy more bottles.

I find the hardest part (not so much hard, but tedious) is sanitizing all the bottling equipment - I use diluted bleach - as in a small "gulg" in an entire sink full of water. The brewing steps are the fun part just watch it very carefully when you add the malt (if your doing malt extract which is probably the way to go when starting out) - it'll boil over REALLY fast.

I'm currently using a turkey fryer for the boil since my stove takes forever to heat and the wife doesn't like the smell (personnaly, I'd wear hops as a cologne)

Are you looking to bottle? IMO, alot of beers such as Belgians tend to come out better if bottle-conditioned, but I'm so tired of the bottling process I may look at kegging.

Lastly, I'd highly recommend an autosiphon and thief:beer:

 

[Sniperdog]

I had some friends in H.S. (16years ago) that did it.,., but I have always hated the taste.,., so I don't even drink the crap.,., but they loved it :shrug:

 

[Mayo5]

If he's asking about starting, he'll be no where near the 200gal limit.

I have 2 carboys so I just time it right to have one batch in hte primary, the other in the secondary. I also have a food grade bucket if I wanted to do a 3rd batch - at that point I'd need to buy more bottles.

I find the hardest part (not so much hard, but tedious) is sanitizing all the bottling equipment - I use diluted bleach - as in a small "gulg" in an entire sink full of water. The brewing steps are the fun part just watch it very carefully when you add the malt (if your doing malt extract which is probably the way to go when starting out) - it'll boil over REALLY fast.

I'm currently using a turkey fryer for the boil since my stove takes forever to heat and the wife doesn't like the smell (personnaly, I'd wear hops as a cologne)

Are you looking to bottle? IMO, alot of beers such as Belgians tend to come out better if bottle-conditioned, but I'm so tired of the bottling process I may look at kegging.

Lastly, I'd highly recommend an autosiphon and thief:beer:

Thanks for the response Scout.

I am looking at only doing one beer on my first try, and will most likely be doing a 5 gallon set up. Keep it small and simple; till I can get confident enough to expand. I would like to eventually branch out to 2 or three beers at a time.

I would like to eventually get into kegging my own stuff, but for now and with my budget; I will stick to bottling.

I was reading on some stuff called iodophile(sp?) or something similar, that is supposedly easier to clean with than the bleach; as far as the tedious rinsing.
Any information on that, or would I be better off sticking to the semi-bleach?

I just picked up two books, I will be reading this week too. Looking to expand the knowledge of everything to a more thorough level before I start up.

Did you buy a kit, or did you piece together yours?

 

[Mayo5]

Picked up a book called Dave Miller's Guide to Homebrewing. Awesome read, and extremely informative. I have knocked out about 100 pages today alone, taking notes and making bookmarks.

Here is the list of equipment I am going to purchase, let me know if there is anything I should pick up in addition or sub out.

1 5 gallon boiling pot
1 stirring spoon
1 type of mesh bag
1-3 5 gallon+ buckets
1 racking tube
1 5ft long racking hose
2 5 gallon glass carboy
1-3 plastic airlock and rubber stopper
1 carboy brush
1 bottle brush
1 bottle capper
1 thief
1 autosiphoner
Sanitzing supplies
Ingrediants

I am thinking about getting a chiller and bottle tree, and possbily a larger boiling pot; since I think a 5 gallon pot can only actually boil around 3 gallon sufficiently.Also possibly a Wort Aerorator.

Any others?


:beer:

 

[upside]

i used to work for miller brewing co. ....... the last thing i want in my house is a brewery.

 

[Mayo5]

Well that's because its Miller. LOL

 

[NoSlowGT]

Millers like having sex in a canoe. Its fuc*ing too close to water.

 

[Mayo5]

Millers like having sex in a canoe. Its fuc*ing too close to water.

Thank you. lol

 

[dougwg]

Adventures in Home Brewing store is right on my way home from work, great bunch of guys. :beer:

I bought their kit ($130) I think, and it came with everything you need.
I wanted a bottle washer and needed a heating band so I purchased those also.

My first was an extract kit from Brewers Best and is a "Robust Porter". The 2 week Bottle conditioning is over TODAY!!! and I can start tasting. Although they say that if I wait another 3 weeks it will be better. I'll prolly drink some now and save some for later too.