Anyone homebrewing?

[sourceninja]

I'm really interested in getting into homebrewing and there is a store near me that sells supplies. I'm a big fan of just about any kind of beer (I tend to lean to scottish ale's and Russian Imperials).

Anyone have any first time suggestions for me? I've been reading the web like crazy and talking to local homebrewers. I feel prepared to start the journey, but any little bit of knowledge helps. I'm going to start with extract brewing, but my long term goal is to do all grain brewing.

 

[child of wonder]

I'm in the same boat. Have made 3 batches so far and only 2 of them really turned out well.

Also got myself a kegging system but have yet to get that process down. My last batch was overcarbonated.

Once I'm confident with extract brewing and kegging, I may move on to all grain brewing but I'm not too keen on dropping another ~$200 for the equipment and spending another 2 hours on each batch.

 

[xSauronx]

I'm really interested in getting into homebrewing and there is a store near me that sells supplies. I'm a big fan of just about any kind of beer (I tend to lean to scottish ale's and Russian Imperials).

Anyone have any first time suggestions for me? I've been reading the web like crazy and talking to local homebrewers. I feel prepared to start the journey, but any little bit of knowledge helps. I'm going to start with extract brewing, but my long term goal is to do all grain brewing.

be extremely careful about things being and staying sanitized. i must have made a goof on my first batch, because it was funky. the second 2 went quite well, and now ive got honey meade fermenting. it should be good.

get a bottle cleaning faucet attachment, theyre awesome, and a bottle tree. plan your workflow before you do anything, you really dont want to wing it. you'll risk contamination, or at the least a huge mess to clean up.

get papazians homebrewers bible, the brew store should have a copy. read it, make some notes.

its not that hard, just takes some time to do and you have to be careful about contamination. to me, its a good way to spend a couple of afternoons

 

[BurnItDwn]

I've brewed 2 batches of mead (a sack mead with 2:1 ratio of water to honey, and then a weaker fruit mead with 6:1:1 ratio of water to honey to pineapple juice . Both turned out quite good, though I didn't rack them enough times so they are cloudy... I'd like to try a stout next...

Auto siphon is REALLY handy, but you can do without if you're tryin to go cheap.

I had a decently large stock pot (2 gallons), Worked great for pasteurizing 24 pounds of honey .... but anything more than that and I need a bigger one (already had this for cooking)

Ales are probably a bit easier than lagers

VERY important to wash and sanitize the hell out of everything...

I broke my floating thermometer... so gonna need another one ... ugh ...

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Welcome to the brewing club.
Your local brewing supplier will have a one step sanitizer for you that doesn't require rinsing after use. I have been brewing for quite a while and have NEVER had a batch go bad due to sanitation.

A couple of accessories that are useful but, not absolutely necessary are a self priming siphon, reusable grain bags and a bottling 'tree.' Beer and Mead have little in common in terms of brewing. I love a good Mead and the only secret is allowing enough time. A decent Mead can easily take a year. You can certainly drink it before that but, the odd ester/ketone can make for a headache.

I recommend trying the mini mash system which is only slightly more complicated than using straight extract and eases the move to all grain.

Imperials and "big beers" in general take longer to brew. Some of my Imperials have taken a year to get really good. The secret to enjoying brewing as a hobby is to keep starting new batches. One a week or every two weeks is nice so, you can enjoy the fruits of your brewing while maintaining a stock. Almost all home brews benefit from longer brew times.

You can pick up recipe books at your brew supply dealer that have recipes for clone brews of your favorite commercial brews. Brewing is a lazy man's hobby because most of the time you're letting it sit and get happy.

Cornelius kegs are handy if you don't like recycling/washing beer bottles but, you need to adjust CO2 levels for each brew or it won't pour right.

I prefer liquid yeasts although, perfectly respectable brews can be made with dry yeasts.

If you have any questions, shoot me a pm.

 

[sourceninja]

I was talking with friends last night. We are going to attempt a IPA. I'm just hunting for a good recipe now.

 

[joutlaw]

Racer 5 IPA

5 gallons/19L
OG=1.071 FG=1.015
IBU=60 SRM=10 ABV=7.2

Ingredients:
11.25 # 2-row pale malt
1.66 # wheat malt
0.625 # crystal malt 15°L
0.42 # corn sugar
0.21 # carapils malt
6.1AAU Chinook hops 90 min
8.7AAU Cascade hops 60 min
0.3 oz Centennial hops Dry hopped
0.3 oz Amarillo hops Dry hopped
0.2 oz Cascade hops Dry hopped
0.2 oz Tomahawk hops Dry hopped
Wyeast 1272 American Ale II yeast
or
WLP051 California V yeast
0.75 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:
Mash in at 145°F then ramp to 152°F for conversion.
Mash out at 170°and boil 90 min. Ferment at 68°F

Extract Option:
Replace pale malt with 6# DME and 0.33 # 2-row pale malt.
Steep crushed grains in 1 gallon water at 152° for 45 minutes.

 

[joutlaw]

I was talking with friends last night. We are going to attempt a IPA. I'm just hunting for a good recipe now.

This is one my favorite rye beers...

Hop Rod Rye clone(Bear Republic Brewing Co.)
5 gallons/19L, all-grain
OG=1.072 FG=1.017
IBU=84 SRM=17 ABV=7.2%

Ingredients
8.75 lbs. 2-row pale malt
2.5 lbs. rye malt
1.25 lbs. flaked rye
1.15 lbs. Munich malt
0.625 lbs. wheat malt
0.625 lbs. CaraPils malt
1.75 oz. black malt
10.4 AAU Tomahawk hops (60 mins)
(0.74 oz/21 g of 14% Alpha acids)
4.73 AAU Centennial hops (30 mins)
(0.43 oz/12 g of 11% alpha acids)
24.3 AAU Tomahawk hops (0 mins)
(1.7 oz/49 g of 14% alpha acids)
0.75 oz Amarillo hops (dry hop)
1.0 oz Centennial hops (dry hop)
1 tsp Irish moss (15 mins)
Wyeast 1272 (American Ale II) or White Labs WLP051 (California V)
0.75 cups corn sugar for priming)
Step by Step
Mash in at 145 F then ramp temperature to 152 F for conversion. Mash out to 170 F. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the ingredients list. Whirlpool the wort and let it sit for 15 minutes prior to cooling. Ferment @ 68 F.
Extract Option:
Replace the 2-row pale malt w/ 4.25 lbs. dried malt extract and 1 lb. 2-row pale malt. Steep crushed grains in 2.25 gallons of water at 152 F for 45 minutes.

 

[joutlaw]

Green Flash West Coast IPA

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.068 SG
Estimated FG: 1.016 SG
Estimated IBUs: 89.3 IBU
Estimated Color: 8.5 SRM
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68%
Boil Time: 90 minutes

Grains:
13.50# Pale Malt (2-Row) US (87.10%)
1.00# Carapils/Dextrine (6.45%)
1.00# Caramel/Crystal 40L (6.45%)

Hops:
0.75 oz Simcoe (12.20%) @90 min
0.25 oz Simcoe (12.20%) @60 min
0.25 oz Columbus (14.20%) @60 min
0.25 oz Simcoe (12.20%) @30 min
0.25 oz Columbus (14.20%) @30 min
0.75 oz Simcoe (12.20%) @15 min
0.75 oz Columbus (14.20%) @15 min
1.00 oz Cascade (6.10%) @10 min
0.50 oz Simcoe (12.20%) @0 min
0.50 oz Columbus (14.20%) @0 min
0.50 oz Amarillo (7.50%) (dry hop)
0.50 oz Cascade (6.10%) (dry hop)
0.50 oz Centennial (9.70%) (dry hop)
0.50 oz Columbus (14.20%) (dry hop)
0.50 oz Simcoe (12.20%) (dry hop)

Yeast:
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale)

 

[TwiceOver]

Another one of those hobbies I wish I would take up. My family has always made wine through the generations, but I always wanted to take up beer.

 

[xSauronx]

i definitely forgot the auto siphon...very convenient

 

[lokiju]

I literally cannot over emphasize this, sanitation is the most important factor when home brewing.

Every single "bad batch" friends have had was due to their not serious enough medical levels of sanitation of all equipment and anything that comes in contact with it in the fermentation process. This includes your water source. In addition, the #1 ingredient is water so pick a water you'd like to drink plain as well. If your tap water taste like a swimming pool, it'll make your beer taste bad as well.

I've yet to have a bad batch so far in the 4 or 5 I've done over the past few years but I am meticulous about sanitation.

This book was very helpful for me http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Homeb...9763733&sr=1-1

Take advice from other brewers but thrust your own research and taste over anyone else's.

My last batch came out fine but it was not what I was going for. I had a list of everything I wanted to make what I was going for and asked the guy at my local home brew supply store what he thought and he had me change a few ingredients swearing it'd better accomplish what I wanted and it ruined it for me.

It was a drinkable beer and everyone I let try it really loved it and couldn't get enough but I was so disappointed by the outcome not being what I was after that I pretty much gave every bit of the 5 gallons away. Lesson learned, trust yourself and your research over some random person you'd think would be better qualified than yourself.

 

[lokiju]

Another one of those hobbies I wish I would take up. My family has always made wine through the generations, but I always wanted to take up beer.

Funny, I've made beer for a few years slowly now as just a side hobby but I've been tempted to give wine making a shot.

I've really gotten more into drinking wine than beer lately when I do drink, which really isn't often.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I literally cannot over emphasize this, sanitation is the most important factor when home brewing.

Every single "bad batch" friends have had was due to their not serious enough medical levels of sanitation of all equipment and anything that comes in contact with it in the fermentation process.

I've yet to have a bad batch so far in the 4 or 5 I've done over the past few years but I am meticulous about sanitation.

This book was very helpful for me http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Homeb...9763733&sr=1-1

Take advice from other brewers but thrust your own research and taste over anyone else's.

My last batch came out fine but it was not what I was going for. I had a list of everything I wanted to make what I was going for and asked the guy at my local home brew supply store what he thought and he had me change a few ingredients swearing it'd better accomplish what I wanted and it ruined it for me.

It was a drinkable beer and everyone I let try it really loved it and couldn't get enough but I was so disappointed by the outcome not being what I was after that I pretty much gave every bit of the 5 gallons away. Lesson learned, trust yourself and your research over some random person you'd think would be better qualified than yourself.

Methinks your descriptive powers were lacking. I've always got good advice from my local brew supply owner (brewyourownbrew.com). Temperature is a major factor in brewing as well. Big brews like cooler temps for longer times while ales can tolerate higher temps for shorter periods. Experience is always the best teacher. I want to emphasize starting a new batch regularly so as not to feel like you've got all your hopes tied up in one batch. 5 or 6 gallons at a time is too small to pin all your efforts on.

 

[broon]

I have gear to brew 10 gallon all grain batches and a few kegs that I don't use anymore. I've been thinking about getting rid of them.

 

[nonameo]

XD I thought you were talking about gaming. I have thought about both kinds of homebrew though

 

[joutlaw]

Interesting points brought up here.

1. Water is very important. I had a few bad batches with a metallic taste. I traced it back to the water supply and I now only use bottled water.

2. Fermentation temps are very important to the style of beer and the yeast you use. I have a kegerator that is on a digital temperature controller. I keep my IPAs at 65-68F.

3. After all is said and done... relax and have a homebrew

 

[sourceninja]

Doing a partial mash Ipa as we speak.

 

[sourceninja]

So far so good. I followed a recipe from the guy in the brewing supply store. It used a mixture of two grains (Crystal and victory I think). 6 pounds of LME and 1pound golden malt extract. It had 1.5 oz of columbus hops, followed by 2 oz of cascade, followed by another oz of cascade at 20 minutes. Finally at the last 5 we do 1 more 1oz of cascade.

Now the waiting game is in full swing.

 

[child of wonder]

Now the waiting game is in full swing.

The truly hard part of homebrewing.

 

[sourceninja]

I was a little worried because I didn't see any bubbling going on in the airlock after about 12 hours, but I just went down and checked it and that thing is going crazy. I'm very excited.

 

[Wyndru]

I'd love to get back into this, but my wife HATES the smell of the boiling, and complains that she can smell it even weeks later. It sucks because I have over $500 worth of equipment that I bought collecting dust for the past 5 years, I only did about 15-20 5 gallon batches. I even have a wort chiller I've never used. I might try doing some outdoor brewing with a propane burner.

 

[Hacp]

I started with some yeast, cider, oxy-clean, HCL, and NaOH. Tank was a poland spring 5 gallon bottle, the airlock cost less than a dollar. Its not beer, but boiling really sucks.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I'd love to get back into this, but my wife HATES the smell of the boiling, and complains that she can smell it even weeks later. It sucks because I have over $500 worth of equipment that I bought collecting dust for the past 5 years, I only did about 15-20 5 gallon batches. I even have a wort chiller I've never used. I might try doing some outdoor brewing with a propane burner.

Put a clothespin on her nose?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I'd love to get back into this, but my wife HATES the smell of the boiling, and complains that she can smell it even weeks later. It sucks because I have over $500 worth of equipment that I bought collecting dust for the past 5 years, I only did about 15-20 5 gallon batches. I even have a wort chiller I've never used. I might try doing some outdoor brewing with a propane burner.

Brew outside but, I'd opt for the get a new wife plan. I brew using a "turkey fryer" burner and it works just fine, 90,000 BTUs Yay!