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Home Brewed Beer - anyone done it?

S

Sid59

Lifer
Discuss.

starter kits? flavors? resoures? NOOB Guides?

i'm interested in giving it a shot if the price isn't too expensive and the beer wont make me sick.
 
imma make a run around the town and see if any literature or kits are available. ill check back.

HOMEBREWERDUDE!! THIS IS YOUR THREAD!
 
IMHO, your local homebrew store is infinitely more useful than the web stores.

I've brewed maybe 200 gallons of beer in the past 3 years or so. I've actually got 5 gallons of beer and 6 gallons of wine in secondary as we speak 🙂
 
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
IMHO, your local homebrew store is infinitely more useful than the web stores.

I've brewed maybe 200 gallons of beer in the past 3 years or so. I've actually got 5 gallons of beer and 6 gallons of wine in secondary as we speak 🙂
Click to expand...

the local store closed near me.
 
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
IMHO, your local homebrew store is infinitely more useful than the web stores.

I've brewed maybe 200 gallons of beer in the past 3 years or so. I've actually got 5 gallons of beer and 6 gallons of wine in secondary as we speak 🙂
Click to expand...

the local store closed near me.
Click to expand...

That's too bad. I have yet to see any prices online cheaper than my LHS and the guys there know there stuff.
 
:laugh:

not a chance
:laugh:

i've never once seen anyone on atot display the slightest knowledge on the aforementioned topic.
 
Not in ages, but I used to do quite a bit of brewing. Most came out as good as any commercial microbrew, although there were a few spectacular failures. 😱

It's not expensive and as long as you pay attention to sanitation you won't get sick. The best way to get started is to find a good local homebrew supply store. They'll share recipes and teach you how to use the equipment.
 
if I could possibly tap the knowledge of the brewers here...how bad is the stench of fermenting beer? I wouldn't mind it, but my wife would and we really don't have anywhere to put it besides keep it in the house.
 
Originally posted by: Sid59
Discuss.

starter kits? flavors? resoures? NOOB Guides?

i'm interested in giving it a shot if the price isn't too expensive and the beer wont make me sick.
Click to expand...

You should be able to brew good beer for about for approx $25-30 (makes about 2 cases). If you get into all grain brewing, you can get down to about $15 for 2 cases (the standard 5 gallon batch makes a little more than 2 cases). Also, read Palmers how to website.

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html


---------------------------
this is a pretty generic pm I send to people, the original recipient had a pretty big budget IMO ($200 IIRC), but you should still be able to get a sense of the basic EQ that is needed.

let me know if you have further questions...


--------------------------------
Look in your yellow pages under beer, for a local homebrewing store. Most large cities have at least 1. Buying local will let you customize your EQ a bit, but might cost you more. However, you will have a place to go to for advice and returns if necessary.


any brew kit that has:
a 7 gal primary fermentation bucket (plastic), lid, air lock.
a bottling bucket (has a little spigot...should not be used as a primary fermentation bucket because the spigot may slowly leak)
a 5 gal glass carboy, with air lock and stopper
a 6 or 7 glass carboy, with air lock and stopper
hoses
brushes for cleaning
a quality book (Papazani has a good one, as does Palmer). don't buy homebrewing for idiots.
sanitizer
long handled, strong spoon (not wood).

Throw in a couple of beer kits (Kolsch, IPA, Porter, Stout are all easily doable for a newb) too, so you can brew ASAP! these run about 20-30$ and brew 5 gallons each. They include extract, hops, yeast, and directions.

There are a few things that can really improve the experience of brewing. in the order of least to most expensive they are:

1. an autosiphon. only 10$ or so. great tool.
2. turkey fryer! (lowes has em for 30ish) they go on sale this time of year. (think they are about 30-50$)
--->lets you brew outside, avoiding nasty boil overs on the stove top
--->includes a 7 gal brew pot and nice thermometer (usually not included in brew kits (see below))
3. flip top bottles (avoid the hassle of capping) OR
4. mini draft system (little kegs that fit in the fridge and hold about 1.25 gallons) OR
5. a kegging system ($200), requires an extra fridge, but negates the cost and hassles of bottling.

there will be some things in the kit that you may NOT want such as regular bottles, caps, and a bottle capper. MAYBE you can trade up on these to flip tops.


http://www.midwestsupplies.com/
---> they have a decent kits


http://www.austinhomebrew.com/
----> decent kits, has one with a tapadraft minikeg system, and one with a kegging system


http://www.northernbrewer.com/starterkits.html
--->also has a kit with kegging eq included.
 
I used too and liked it. Not sure what it is about homebrew though, it tests at lower alcohol content but when I drank it like a commercial beer I always ended up face down in the grass somewhere.
 
Originally posted by: AmigaMan
if I could possibly tap the knowledge of the brewers here...how bad is the stench of fermenting beer? I wouldn't mind it, but my wife would and we really don't have anywhere to put it besides keep it in the house.
Click to expand...


The stench of fermenting beer is almost nonexistant. The fermenter is locked so that air does not get in and only a tiny bit escapes once in a while. You can easily leave it in the house without noticing any smell at all. It stinks while it's brewing though.
 
Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
Limoncello is better. 😀 Still working on my latest batch (drinking it)
Click to expand...

*gasp*

you can make that stuff?

blah blah blah, I would like to subscribe to your newsletter!

Seriously.
 
Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Originally posted by: AmigaMan
if I could possibly tap the knowledge of the brewers here...how bad is the stench of fermenting beer? I wouldn't mind it, but my wife would and we really don't have anywhere to put it besides keep it in the house.
Click to expand...


The stench of fermenting beer is almost nonexistant. The fermenter is locked so that air does not get in and only a tiny bit escapes once in a while. You can easily leave it in the house without noticing any smell at all. It stinks while it's brewing though.
Click to expand...


I concur. best thing I could recommend is that you buy a turkey fryer so you can brew outside... this avoids most of possible spousal objections.

Fermenting beer can create a decent amount of blow off and it might make sense to get some advice re: how to avoid messes prior to your first batch.
 
I considered it, then decided that it's too much effort. I like cheap American beer (Miller Lite), no reason to put the effort into brewing it myself. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDude
Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Originally posted by: AmigaMan
if I could possibly tap the knowledge of the brewers here...how bad is the stench of fermenting beer? I wouldn't mind it, but my wife would and we really don't have anywhere to put it besides keep it in the house.
Click to expand...


The stench of fermenting beer is almost nonexistant. The fermenter is locked so that air does not get in and only a tiny bit escapes once in a while. You can easily leave it in the house without noticing any smell at all. It stinks while it's brewing though.
Click to expand...


I concur. best thing I could recommend is that you buy a turkey fryer so you can brew outside... this avoids most of possible spousal objections.

Fermenting beer can create a decent amount of blow off and it might make sense to get some advice re: how to avoid messes prior to your first batch.
Click to expand...

ironically, my only major fermentation mess was my first batch. It made it out of the airlock and all over the place.

OP, you should be keeping the fermenting bucket and carboy out of the sun, so just find a nice dark closet, if you can. That closet may have the odor, but I usually enjoy the smell. Your wife will probably have a bigger issue with the actual cooking. Lola is not to keen on the mixture once the hops are thrown in.

 
tried homebrewed beer once... tasted like grapes... it sucked!
i like commercial beer and since i've been cutting down on my consumption to lose weight i think brewing would be a one-way ticket to doom!
 
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