Homebrewers

[Edcculus]

As most of us are looking for the best in everything we do, from shaving, to roasting coffee, to home made soap, I thought I'd throw in a thread on homebrewing.

My friends and I got into it I guess a year or so ago. At first it was the novelty that we could brew our own beer. It has grown into much more than that as our pile of accessories continues to grow. I even made labels in one of my printing labs to go with our name of "Alefire and Brimstone. 2 weekends ago, I bottled the third batch of what we are calling our "Clemson Ale". It is a slightly orange, fairly hopped lighter summer ale. I'm looking forward to trying it this weekend before I leave for Vegas.

I know there are a fair amount of other homebrewers out there, so feel free to chime in and impart your knowledge.

Cheers ::

[sparky5693]

I always wanted to try making my own, but just never got around to giving it a go. I'd probably be too particular with it anyway, and spend 2 years making a bottle....

[msandoval858]

Brewing is one of those things I intentionally avoid. Until I up my income a bit I can't really take on another AD, lol

I know myself well enough to know that small scale projects will be out of the question with this one :D

[Mottern Man]

I am not much of a brewer but I would love to be a tester for all of you giving it a shot. :D :rofl

[Woknblues]

homebrewing is a real dangerous AD. The good equipment and ingredients are expensive, time consuming and take up a tremendous amount of space. I freaking love it!!

I was on the verge of fabricating my own sculpture off of some blueprints, but moved to to go to school again, so it will be my next project when I am done.

The homebrewing art is perhaps the finest and most satisfying hobby you could ever have, and I believe that it is the major reason why the "craft beer" boom occurred in America in the past 10 years.

If you "all grain", you are duplicating centuries old methods and once you get a handle on the classics, you can really have fun. I brew a very good daily drinker brown ale (supercharged w/ cascade and fuggle hops. the cascade hop.... lord do I love that hop, pitching it three times..) ..... Other notables, a sour Belgium beer with black cherries (very subtle cherry profile, no "sweetness"), an "Anchor Steam Knock off" (lager yeast pitched, but fermented at ale temps, complex amber malt character), and I even made a "I am a Bud guy" beer to convert some hold outs. They usually end up turning into worse hop/malt heads than I am!

Then, you can then go in any direction imaginable, producing just about anything under the sun that tickles your fancy. My last batch was a mead, I used champagne yeast. In about 4 weeks, it was ready to drink, at first, it was like a nice wine cooler, then it started to mature into a cider, and finally, it really started to drink like a champagne.... each time I had another one, it was getting better and better until the last bottle almost a year later (I nearly had a tear in my eye)....This stuff was amazing, and so simple to make, it was almost embarrassing.

[Mama Bear]

It WAS dangerous... I started making beer and wine and 6 months later I was broke and 30 lbs heavier.. man was I happy tho....

I have been thinking pretty seriously lately about doing some fruit IPAs for summer.. blueberry, lime.... ??????

Maybe a nice stout...... or some barley wine......

I get all itchy this time of year... :drool Oh, well, I lost the weight :D

[Edcculus]

Our latest brew turned out to be a big success. It keeps getting better every time I taste it.

Our next project is a very interesting one. My buddy and I were thinking we needed a nice light, easily drinkable beer for the summer. Something that is very refreshing and quenches the thirst. What could be better than a slight hint of mint on a hot summer day? Our plan is to basically make a blonde American ale with just the slightest hint of mint. We'll probably be using cascade hops to give it a slight citrus flavor too. We want the mint to be very subtle. It won't be anything like drinking scope :eek:.

So far, we have two ideas of getting mint in the beer. First we thought of mint leaves. Either 1) soaking leaves in the water to have an "essence of mint", or 2) adding mint leaves during the hopping process. Our other idea is to use mint extract. While the extract is much stronger, we might be able to get predictable results. I was thinking of filling up the 5 gallon jug with water, and seeing how much extract it took to taste it in the water. That would give us an idea of how much we need to add so just a hint will be tasted with the beer.

Does anyone else have a take on this? I tried looking it up to see if something similar has been done, but it seems like people only have interest in minting lagers and porters.

If it turns out good, maybe I can make a special TSD mentholated version :D :: ::

[PalmettoB]

I dunno, but I volunteer to be a taste tester. I work cheap (for beer) and I'm local. ;) ::

[_JP_]

So far, we have two ideas of getting mint in the beer. First we thought of mint leaves. Either 1) soaking leaves in the water to have an "essence of mint", or 2) adding mint leaves during the hopping process. Our other idea is to use mint extract. While the extract is much stronger, we might be able to get predictable results. I was thinking of filling up the 5 gallon jug with water, and seeing how much extract it took to taste it in the water. That would give us an idea of how much we need to add so just a hint will be tasted with the beer.

Does anyone else have a take on this? I tried looking it up to see if something similar has been done, but it seems like people only have interest in minting lagers and porters.


If you have a recipe for minting a lager or porter, then try that procedure.

I've never tried this, so I'm shooting from the hip. I don't think that adding the mint during the hopping process (steeping fresh hops?) would work because the ensuing fermentation will change the flavor and aroma. You might try adding some crushed mint leaves after the first racking into the secondary fermenter or after about four weeks fermentation time. Let it age in the fermenter a while to get the mint essence.

Personally, I think that mint extract is the way to go. Start off with a couple drops in the batch, taste, adjust, taste, adjust, taste... ::

[Edcculus]

If you have a recipe for minting a lager or porter, then try that procedure.

I've never tried this, so I'm shooting from the hip. I don't think that adding the mint during the hopping process (steeping fresh hops?) would work because the ensuing fermentation will change the flavor and aroma. You might try adding some crushed mint leaves after the first racking into the secondary fermenter or after about four weeks fermentation time. Let it age in the fermenter a while to get the mint essence.

Personally, I think that mint extract is the way to go. Start off with a couple drops in the batch, taste, adjust, taste, adjust, taste... ::

Hey, thanks for the advice. I like the idea about adding it into the secondary fermenter. There would definitely be less room for development of an off flavor, or changing aroma. This gave me an interesting idea though. If added during the hopping process, if added at the appropriate time, we might be able to get some mint aroma too. Hmm. This is going to be very interesting!

[Woknblues]

great advice on the secondary "pitch" as opposed to in the wort. Those high temps probably kill a lot of the "top notes"....

I had a Sam Adams beer a couple of years ago with mint in it (a seasonal I believe). It was great. I can't imagine anything wrong with your idea. You may want to sparge your mint with boiling water, but as I write this, I know that you are already considering the potential upside of fresh mint. The extract idea is good for a general "character" analysis, and a great idea. If it comes out well, the fresh mint can be the next batch. I tend to worry about contamination when I make my beers, but everything seems to end up well enough. I look forward to hearing about how it turned out.

[Edcculus]

Well it turns out that we added fresh mint in at the same time as the aroma hops. While cooling the wort, you could smell a nice mint note. It has been in the first stage for 4 days now and seems to be doing well.

[Edcculus]

Bottled the Summer Blonde on Sunday. I gave it a little taste, and oh boy!!

It has a nice minty aroma and taste which quickly fades into a refreshing light summer ale. And thats just out of the secondary. Can't wait until this is ready to drink. I ran the recipe through Beersmith, and we hit the estimated OG and FG on the head with a 5.6% ABV.

Next up: Harpoon IPA Clone!

[Edcculus]

Brew day is upon us!!

brewing the Harpoon IPA clone tomorrow!

[Edcculus]

I love brew day. Now my whole apartment smells like sweet wort and hops. What a great smell.

[qhsdoitall]

Getting hopped up on hops are we? :D

[Edcculus]

Bottled the Harpoon IPA clone today! I couldnt resist sneaking a little taste (always do at bottling time:drool). It needs to age a bit...but man it tastes good!.

[TraderJoe]

Bottled the Harpoon IPA clone today! I couldnt resist sneaking a little taste (always do at bottling time:drool). It needs to age a bit...but man it tastes good!.

I believe you'll be needing my address :D

[OldSaw]

Back in my drinking days I had a 1/2 barrel sized brewery in my basement with a 22 gallon brew pot fired with natural gas. I wrote an article about it that was published in BYO magazine. That was at least ten years ago.

Anyway, my favorite recipe was "Wisconsin Spring Porter" which used over 20 gallons of maple sap as the brewing water. It also had a touch of spruce essence and wintergreen.

[TraderJoe]

Anyway, my favorite recipe was "Wisconsin Spring Porter" which used over 20 gallons of maple sap as the brewing water. It also had a touch of spruce essence and wintergreen.

I enjoy a good porter every now and again. Had one of these yesterday :drool

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u239/TraderJoe_album/stpeter.jpg

[Edcculus]

Back in my drinking days I had a 1/2 barrel sized brewery in my basement with a 22 gallon brew pot fired with natural gas. I wrote an article about it that was published in BYO magazine. That was at least ten years ago.

Anyway, my favorite recipe was "Wisconsin Spring Porter" which used over 20 gallons of maple sap as the brewing water. It also had a touch of spruce essence and wintergreen.

I wish I had room for a setup like that! My kitchen stove can BARELY boil the amount of wort I collect for my 5 gallon batches.

[OldSaw]

I wish I had room for a setup like that! My kitchen stove can BARELY boil the amount of wort I collect for my 5 gallon batches.

I looked for the article, which used to be online, but it isn't available anymore. It was around 1996. It definitely made the "all grain", (all day), brewing days worth it. I also did my bottle & keg cleaning on those days in the deep sink right next to the kettle. Of course there was racking and fermentation vessels to clean as well.

I was really into it. But shortly after I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of my life I decided I didn't want alcohol to be a part of my life anymore. Not that there is anything wrong with the responsible consumption of alcohol, I just felt I needed to take a 100 % break from it so that it would not be a stumbling block for me.

[Edcculus]

Well, if all of that stuff is taking up space in your basement...;)

[OldSaw]

Well, if all of that stuff is taking up space in your basement...;)

I've already liquidated nearly everything except my Schmidling malt mill.

[qhsdoitall]

I've already liquidated nearly everything except my Schmidling malt mill.

Nice pun. :D

[_JP_]

I wish I had room for a setup like that! My kitchen stove can BARELY boil the amount of wort I collect for my 5 gallon batches.

Get a free standing gasoline or propane powered burner for outdoor use from a sporting goods store.

[Edcculus]

Get a free standing gasoline or propane powered burner for outdoor use from a sporting goods store.

Yea, I'd like a speed burner, but again, no room or money. (I live in an apartament with 3 roomates)

[Edcculus]

Just put a batch of Apfelwein in the fermenter. Very simple recipe. 5 gallons of apple juice, 2 pounds of dextrose and 1 packet of wine yeast. While it looks like a recipe for hooch, but it is a traditional German hard cider.

[Yellowwolf]

Just don't brew it where it is to hot or you will think that someone is shooting a shot gun at you.
that is what happen to my mom and stepdad.
Yellowwolf

[Capt America]

How much does a homebrewing set up cost?

Been thinking of getting into it myself.

[TraderJoe]

How much does a homebrewing set up cost?

Been thinking of getting into it myself.

Good question, I'd like to know as well :drool

[Edcculus]

How much does a homebrewing set up cost?

Been thinking of getting into it myself.

Really depending on how hard you want to get into it, probably $50-100, leaning more toward the $100 range I'd say.

I couldn't find a really good site that has the kit, but here (http://www.thehomebrewstore.com/HTMLCatalog/true-brew-maestro-kit.htm) is one that will give you an idea. I started out with the same "True Brew" kit. You can order beer ingredient kits which are considered extract recipes. These kits come with malt extract (dry or liquid). These kits are really easy to follow, and pretty much impossible to screw up. Add the malt extract to the boil and youre good to go.

Of course, like any "hobby", it can quickly get expensive. I switched over to All Grain after my first extract batch. All grain requires mashing enough grain to be able to extract fermentable sugars in what is called the wort. In extract recipes, this step has already been done for you. Mashing however requires more equipment, such as the ability to boil larger volumes of water (speed burner), a mash tun (converted cooler), a sparge system (how you extract the wort from the spent grain), and a wort chiller.

I probably missed a few key points, so ask if I left anything out.

[Yellowwolf]

I do have a book on how to make white lighting. I have to dig it out of a box, if I can find the box it is in.
Still going through the job of unpacking, and getting stuff together for a basement sell.
Yellowwolf:D

[qhsdoitall]

I do have a book on how to make white lighting. I have to dig it out of a box, if I can find the box it is in.
Still going through the job of unpacking, and getting stuff together for a basement sell.
Yellowwolf:D

Unpacking...:(

Not one of my favorite things in life.

[Capt America]

Ed- how hard is it to make high alcohol content beer?

[Edcculus]

A good bit harder, depending on how high gravity you want it to be. The thing with higher alcohol beers is that there has to be more fermentable sugars in the initial wort. This either means buying a kit that gives you more extract, or mashing more grains. Malt extract is pretty expensive, so going over 7% ABV might get pricey. I just made an all grain IPA that turned out to be around 5.9% (it was supposed to be more toward 6.5).

[Capt America]

so let's just say I've bought all the initial equipment I need to brew and what not... how much is it going to cost to brew a nice, high 9-12%abv beer?

[Edcculus]

Check out this page on Northernbrewer.com (http://www.northernbrewer.com/highgravity.html). This page is all of the high gravity kits. Make sure you order the extract version. They dont say what the actual ABV will be, but they all say the OG (original gravity before fermantation) will be at least 1.060 which will make roughly around a 7% ish beer. The highest gravity one on the list is the Double IPA with a OG around 1.090. Im guessing that might give you around 11% ABV. That extract kit costs $42.

[Edcculus]

Oh, and it would be a great idea to check out howtobrew.com (http://howtobrew.com/intro.html). Its a little in depth and wordy, but it really tells you everything you need to know before you start your first batch.

[Woknblues]

Captain America,

You will find a lot of great info here.. http://forums.moreflavor.com/ and at their home site http://morebeer.com/ for supplies, etc. Take a look at this piece of hardware, talk about ADs! http://morebeer.com/view_product/15198/102323
this guy has a wild set up too http://www.nhbrewers.com/mdf/index.html
http://forums.moreflavor.com/viewtopic.php?t=22330&sid=4f64083e35022737ad1fdeb32fee4368
http://s59.photobucket.com/albums/g309/BelgianBrewer/?action=view&current=DSCN3021.jpg
These guys have pumps, chillers, electronic timers.. It's scary. and not entirely necessary... They typically brew 10 gal batches at a time once or twice a week. thats a lot of beer. ::

A batch of beer (if 5 gal) will depend on your use of ingredients, and if you are all grain or malt, etc. May I suggest you go with a regular-ish brew of 4-6% for your first one? Higher alcohol brews are finicky, IMHO, and are a little less forgiving. Plus, higher gravity beers (ones that finish to higher alcohol levels) take much longer to finish. You could be waiting for six months for that bad boy to "cure". Just my opinion here. Enjoy yourself. You will find more friends than you ever knew you had! Dang it, I love home brewing. And sure wished I could right now. perfect weather for it..

[Edcculus]

Yea, thats some really good advice. Really, for your first brew, I'd suggest you order one of the beer kits off of one of those websites. They are either extract or partial mash and are very easy to follow.

[Capt America]

Captain America,

You will find a lot of great info here.. http://forums.moreflavor.com/ and at their home site http://morebeer.com/ for supplies, etc. Take a look at this piece of hardware, talk about ADs! http://morebeer.com/view_product/15198/102323
this guy has a wild set up too http://www.nhbrewers.com/mdf/index.html
http://forums.moreflavor.com/viewtopic.php?t=22330&sid=4f64083e35022737ad1fdeb32fee4368
http://s59.photobucket.com/albums/g309/BelgianBrewer/?action=view&current=DSCN3021.jpg
These guys have pumps, chillers, electronic timers.. It's scary. and not entirely necessary... They typically brew 10 gal batches at a time once or twice a week. thats a lot of beer. ::

A batch of beer (if 5 gal) will depend on your use of ingredients, and if you are all grain or malt, etc. May I suggest you go with a regular-ish brew of 4-6% for your first one? Higher alcohol brews are finicky, IMHO, and are a little less forgiving. Plus, higher gravity beers (ones that finish to higher alcohol levels) take much longer to finish. You could be waiting for six months for that bad boy to "cure". Just my opinion here. Enjoy yourself. You will find more friends than you ever knew you had! Dang it, I love home brewing. And sure wished I could right now. perfect weather for it..

That was mind-bottling(not boggling, bottling. when your thoughts get trapped in your head, like a bottle) and yet very helpful and informative. Thanks.

[TraderJoe]

That was mind-bottling(not boggling, bottling. when your thoughts get trapped in your head, like a bottle)

Blades of Glory.

Hilarious :rofl

[Capt America]

Blades of Glory.

Hilarious :rofl

Haha.... glad someone got it. :D

[IsaacRN]

I got it...but a little to late

[Capt America]

I got it...but a little to late

lol... well, the more the merrier.