Members sleewell Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 A local store had a big sale yesterday so my buddy and I went in on a brewcraft deluxe starter kit and a nut brown pack. I have wanted to start brewing my own beer for a while now so this is really cool. We are going to do this nut brown first bc we heard its easier, will start a good ipa next. So where are all the home brewers? Any good tips or things you have learned? Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scratchie Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 Welcome to Homebrew! Word of warning tho... If tou dom't keep everything sanitized your beer will suck.Temperature is also important. If your first batch turns out bad, don't give up. My first batch (and a few others) were really awful, but I have also made some of the best beer I have ever drank. It's like anything, the more you do the more you learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members K-Bizzle Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 I was crazy into it for awhile. Fun hobby if you've got the time and passion. At work on phone, will post more later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cscbo1 Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 Agreed with the sanitation! I want a "big boy" brew kit, I bought one of those Mr Beer homebrew kits a long time ago, it works, but don't care for brewing in plastic bottles. Makes me want a Belgium beer right now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 Don't use tap water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scratchie Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 I've just recently started brewing all grain.It take the better part of a day to brew, but you can make some goddamn good beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scratchie Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 Don't use tap water That's a myth. I use tap water without a problem.If your water tastes ok then it is good to brew with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phrophus Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 A buddy of mine has been into it for awhile, but he just picked up a 10-gallon system a few weeks ago, and we made a batch Saturday, which is the first time I've ever had any hand in it. It did end up taking about 6 or 7 hours including set up and clean up. Word to the wise, cleaning up after drinking all day during summer in southern Louisiana sucks. But, it was fun, and I can't wait to try out the beer. We made a Belgian strong ale, somewhat modeled after Grimbergen Double. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted August 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 good stuff, keep the tips coming!! one question i had was how hard will it be to get the beer into kegs? i have a kegorator in my basement made from an old fridge and instead of bottling everything i wanted to just go straight to the keg. i have other projects around the house with a high first time failure rate so i am familiar with learning curves and not giving up. I am not really doing this to save money, i just enjoy making and producing things i consume instead of just buying them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cscbo1 Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 good stuff, keep the tips coming!!one question i had was how hard will it be to get the beer into kegs? i have a kegorator in my basement made from an old fridge and instead of bottling everything i wanted to just go straight to the keg. i have other projects around the house with a high first time failure rate so i am familiar with learning curves and not giving up. I am not really doing this to save money, i just enjoy making and producing things i consume instead of just buying them. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd think you'd need some commercial/expensive stuff to put your batch in a keg. Brown bottles are the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 That's a myth. I use tap water without a problem.If your water tastes ok then it is good to brew with. Not from my experience. I don't brew but I have a good friend that does. A bunch of us did a taste test with his brew from tap water and distilled. We all could tell a difference. He hasn't used tap water for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted August 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 yeah everyone at the beer store said to use distilled water too. its like .19 cents a gallon at the miejer right by my house, i think i can splurge. i need to get a reverse osmosis system, that would be awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 I've been making high gravity beers lately. IPAs, Imperial Stouts, Barley Wines. The idea is that I want to make a beer that is expensive to buy in stores and unique. The downside is that most of my friends don't "get" that the beer is supposed to taste strong and heavy. The only people who like what I'm doing are people from Europe or beer hobbyists. I'm thinking of going back to more common beers. Takes less time. Less expense in ingredients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike_E_McGee Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 The standard homebrew kegs are soda kegs (cornellius or corny kegs). You can get them in 5 gallon size and a tank of CO2 is easy enough from your local homebrew shops. The problem is the 5 gall corny doesn't really fit in a kegerator. You'd be best served with a spare full size fridge (and a couple of kegs!). It is a lot easier to siphon 5 gal into a single keg than to fill 50 12 oz bottles or 40 pint bottles. If you screw up your sanitization you lose the whole batch though (happened to me recently). Everyone I know who has brewed (myself included) screwed up the first batch. It starts fine and as it matures you get a nice battery acid finish (lactobacillus). Clean clean clean! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted August 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 i have 2 co2 tanks, one is 5lb and one is 20lb. the 20 gets used in other ventures and the 5 is for the kegorator. my kegorator is an old standard size fridge so it can fit either 2 1/6 barrels or one 1/4 barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mel Cooley Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 For your first batch go ahead and buy some spring water. You "can" use tap water, but chlorine removal is key. Be careful not to scratch your buckets as the scratches will harbor bacteria. Yes, brewing is about 90% custodial and it's VERY important. Follow the schedule. Finally, the toughest thing going: wait a full month after it's bottled to try it. Yes it will be conditioned after two weeks, but two more weeks will make it worth it (nobody who has brewed has ever fully followed the one month rule their first time, but most kicked themselves when they tasted the difference). Keep it away from sunlight at all times. For your next beer go ahead and forget canned malt and go with powdered malt sugar and some specialty grains. You may even want to step up to your first glass carboy bottle for aging too. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scratchie Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 i have 2 co2 tanks, one is 5lb and one is 20lb. the 20 gets used in other ventures and the 5 is for the kegorator.my kegorator is an old standard size fridge so it can fit either 2 1/6 barrels or one 1/4 barrel. Corny kegs are the easiest way to go. You should be able to fit 3 in your fridge + a CO2 bottle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.