|   Paging....the homebrewing crowd | Jive Tolkien
Feb 13, 2002 9:56 AM | | OK, I want to start brewing my own beer - what do I need to get started? How do I start? Any good websites/books I can refer to? I know there's a few people here who make their own stuff, figured I'd pick your brains..
MTB content - I'll be drinking the results post-rides. |
| Oh! Me, me, me too! | Spike
Feb 13, 2002 10:03 AM | | Sorry, I get a little animated when beer is involved...I have the same questions as Jive. Plus my main concern - can I brew in small batches, say as few as 12 pint bottles at a time? I really don't have room for a big set-up and I don't have room to store lots of beer, and I don't want to be stuck with a huge batch of beer that I end up not liking.
Thanks,
Spike |
| What kind of beer do you like? | KriZkit
Feb 13, 2002 10:20 AM | | Mr. Mudsproket and I recently made a brew called Sacred Cow IPA. I would share the recipe if you like strong hoppiness. It was our best ever batch. We also want to start doing smaller batches because it is awkward in our kitchen to have a big pot on the stove and two carboys in the closet and all those bottles. But at 12 bottles they would be gone in no time and brewing would be a constant activity. I love how it makes the house smell! |
| What kind of beer do you like? | Spike
Feb 13, 2002 11:44 AM | | Well, I guess I'm a middle of the road sort of beer drinker - not too light, not too dark. I like medium ales and I've enjoyed an IPA or two. I'm from WI so the cow name appeals to me, ha ha! Post the recipe, I think there are quite a few people on the board who might try it.
Thanks,
Spike |
| I'll post it from home this afternoon (nm) | KriZkit
Feb 13, 2002 11:55 AM | | n |
| I'm on my way... | KonaMan
Feb 13, 2002 12:05 PM | | yummm home brew...
Hmmm... might have to make a Galbraith run here soon... |
| I used to brew small batches..... | McCracken
Feb 13, 2002 11:32 AM | | ...in the Mr. Beer equipment. Their ingredients are horrible, but the equipment can be modified with a better spigot and they will make great 2-gallon batches. Since all the recipes are usually for 5 gallon batches, you have to do a little math, which doesn't sound difficult, but I always several beers in by the time I actually get around to brewing!
McCracken |
| Tips | Tom 411
Feb 13, 2002 10:07 AM | | Hi: This is what I've learned:
1. Get "The complete guide of Home Brewing" or something like that. It's old book, with lots of pictures from the 1970's and period drawings. If anything this book will help you relax.
2. You'll probably start brewing using extract (as opposed to doing the full grain mash) You can make fine beer with this method.
3. Don't screw around trying to make a light beer - in my experience the beers that come out the best are the blackest strongest recipies I can dream up.
4. Don't be afraid to experiement and deviate from a given recipie - making beer is like making chili - there's no set formula and sometimes the beer comes out the best when you allow yourself to take risks and be creative. (just like mtbing) Keep records though - in case you stumble across something good and want to recreate it.
5. Most importantly, go visit a brewing store for supplies/advice. |
| Read the bible... | kristian
Feb 13, 2002 10:11 AM | | AKA The Joy of Homebrew. It's a very easy to follow book that goes over the general theory and has recipes for everything from a simple corn sugar/canned malt beer to a very complicated beer with a whole dead rooster in it.
You will also need a 5 gallon carboy, a bottle capper, a CO2 release for the carboy, a large canning pot to cook it up in, and about 50 empty bottles. It's pretty easy to do a simple beer, but I didn't have very good results when I tried to make a complicated stout.
It's a lot of fun to do, but it's very time intensive. I would rather just go down to the local brewery and pick up a growler or two than go through all the pain to brew my own anymore... |
| Read the bible... | Tom 411
Feb 13, 2002 10:17 AM | | Yeah that's the book I was refering to. |
| Read the bible... | Dr.Faustus
Feb 13, 2002 3:46 PM | | A couple of suggestions...
Get a 7 gallon carboy instead of (or in addition to) the 5 gallon. If you are late hopping or adding other amemdments to the fermentation, or if you have a very vigourous fermentation you will really appreciate the bigger container. The 5 gallon carboy is useful for secondary fermentation.
Don't necessarily buy all of your equipment at the local brewing supply store (LBSS). They will have a healthy markup on things like stainless steel pots that can be purchased elsewhere.
With all of your pots and utensils - Go Stainless. Everything else requires too much work to clean and keep sterile.
Make your first few batches simple. Don't try an all-grain Imperial stout for your first batch.
Make friends with the brewmaster at the local brewpub. These tend to be very educated and experienced guys (or gals) who often like to give a hobbiest some useful advice and maybe some live yeast for your next batch.
FWIW,
Dr.F |
| morebeer.com | professor frink
Feb 13, 2002 10:23 AM | | I've had really good luck with service and quality of product, and it's not too spendy. Go with the simplest brews first. Their best bitters and red ales are really tasty. I just did a partial mash, which is the most complex I've attempted, and I think I pooched it. ON the plus side, I did a partial grain bitter that rocks! |
| here ya go... | menachite
Feb 13, 2002 10:25 AM | | Feel free to email me with any questions...
http://brewery.org/
http://www.morebeer.com
The brewery page is great for reference. Get the following book though...
The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing
by Charlie Papazian
I was taught very little about brewing from friends but was able to take off like a rocket making my own beers/bottling etc.
One of the most helpful tips that I have learned was to use liquid yeast...and double the yeast volume before pitching. Also get yourself some 5 gallon corney kegs and CO2...trust me.
oO menachite Oo |
| re: Paging....the homebrewing crowd | hkygoon
Feb 13, 2002 10:25 AM | | I purchased a "beginner kit" for home brew that cost around $100. I looked around the internet and found a great place here in Berkley. It included everything you needed to brew your first batch except the bottles. But, you can use any 12/16/22oz beer bottle. From there you can start to expand the kit piece-by-piece with a larger fermentation tank, CO2, etc. But it is a great way to get into the hobby. The first batch is always a little rough, but they get better quickly. |
| Drink Grolsch... | free-agent
Feb 13, 2002 11:11 AM | | so you can reuse the bottles for yourself. That way you don't have to fuss with bottle caps.
STERILIZE...STERILIZE...STERILIZE |
| Now that's my kind of advice! | Jive Tolkien
Feb 13, 2002 11:15 AM | | If it wasn't so damned expensive here... |
| I prefer... | fonseca
Feb 13, 2002 1:18 PM | | ...To buy the cheap 1.5 liter bottles of brut champagne from costco, like $6 a bottle. It majorly cuts down on washing and bottling effort. Washing the used bottles is by far the most tedious part of homebrewing for me.
And who drinks just one anyway? ^_^ |
| good idea...nm | free-agent
Feb 13, 2002 3:16 PM | | nm |
| www.howtobrew.com | McCracken
Feb 13, 2002 11:17 AM | | It's a nice FREE online book that shows you what is involved and then if you decide you want to do it then get the Joy of Homebrewing book and a kit from a local brewshop.
It is a great hobby. I brewed quite a bit before the holidays, and will probably get things fired up again this weekend or next. Jason and Nathan are requesting an IPA I made last year, so I'll probably make that soon.
Good luck!
McCracken |
| How to do you brew batches that small? | Jive Tolkien
Feb 13, 2002 11:26 AM | | I've seen them two boys (attempt to) drink and you're not going to need more than about 12 oz. |
| re: Paging....the homebrewing crowd | DCDre
Feb 13, 2002 11:35 AM | | The Papazian books are definitely a must read for starting out. Other piece of advice - patience. I've seen a lot of recipes for beer that say 'ready to drink in 5 weeks'. Yet every one of these was just barely carbonated by 5 weeks, I usually give my brews 2 months (1 month in bottle) before even thinking about drinking them. Since homebrewed beer has some yeast in the bottle, they will continue to get better (for a while) as it sits.
As far as equipment goes, a buddy got me an equipment kit from www.northernbrewer.com (their deluxe kit). All the equipment, tubing, and cool gadgets you need to get started. It's not their cheapest, but if you're serious about brewing beer, glass equipment (as opposed to plastic buckets) is the way to go. Their beer ingredient kits are good to, I've brewed a couple of their beers with great luck.
Dre |
| re: Paging....the homebrewing crowd | mcd
Feb 13, 2002 1:57 PM | | Your best bet is to go to a local homebrew store and talk to the people there. They will want you as a customer, so will treat you right. Buy the basic set up and start brewing, just ask the people at the store for directions, as you get more experienced you can try harder recipes. Where I live the price difference between my local homebrew supply store and the internet sites isn't enough to make a difference, especially when you factor in the free advice. |
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