OK...pgabriel's thread got me thinking, and since I didn't want to hijack his thread, I thought I'd start my own. Any of you ever tried to home brew your own beer? This is a subject that has intrigued me for a few years. I only know one person who has done it successfully. He had me over to his house for dinner a few years ago, and gave me some of his home brewed bock-style beer. It had a nice amber color and great taste. He kept it in Grolsch-style bottles with the ceramic caps and metal holder. Only thing was...he would only let me have two, because each one was about 15% alcohol ( ). After my two, I was feeling no pain whatsoever. There is a home-brew supply store very close to my house, and I could pick up everything I need for a batch of beer in that store for $50 or $60. Thinking strongly about doing it. So....share your experiences! How tough is it? How long does it take you? Is it worth it?
I had a friend who made several different kinds. This was some years ago, so I don't remember it with the utmost clarity, but I believe there was an odor associated with making it. The odor wasn't bad per se, but it could get tiresome. That is the only negative I can really think of. Some of the guys beers were good, and some really sucked.
My dad has been doing it for many years. (and I know other good brewers too) He started out bottling but now he uses 5 gallon kegs, like that coke comes in, and has a kegerator for it. It is honestly the best beer you will have. It is so fresh, it is like sparkling candy on tap. It's like the difference between store bought ice cream and homemeade. But I wasn't that impressed until the kegorator, I guess you don't get sediment when it's on tap. If you are going to get into it, do it. It my take some time to get good but it's worth it. I don't know why I haven't done it yet, I guess it's because my dad lives close by and I can just drink his beer.
I've been interested in homebrewing and having a tap at home for a while. What did your dad's current setup cost him?
A few friends of mine do it. It definitely is some work, and given the time it takes, you might wait a few weeks only to find out your masterpiece tastes terrible. But when it comes out really good, then you will be pleased.
Here is the place I got it. (it took me a while to find it) It was out of Bend, Oregon http://www.homesuds.com/ The Kegerator A Sanyo Stainless refrigerator anchors a complete draft system, with everything except the beer $419.00
Do not use the Mr. Beer Kit. There is no correct amount of sugar to use to keep the carbonation from being too much. I tried every possible combination and it never worked. If you're going to do it, spend the money and do it right.
EDIT Long, detailed and illegal instructions deleted by moderator. The threadstarter is asking about how to brew his own beer, not build a meth lab.
Funny you should mention it! I just ordered the ingredients to start my Christmas ale. I'll brew in about two weekends and have it ready around the week before Christmas. I'm pushing it kind of close this year. Most of the time I'll start a batch around the end of July to be ready for Christmas. I like to give the batch about three months to mature before I tap it. This will be my forth Christmas brew. A hearty ale with a hint of nutmeg, orange and ginger. Without bragging it's becoming a favorite Christmas gift among friends. I usually brew enough for five cases and pass out six packs at parties. I don't find it hard at all. The most important thing, and this is critical, is to keep all equipment and materials sterile and clean. I cannot stress that enough. Now that you mention it, I have a couple of six packs in the closet from last year’s batch. I think I’ll open one tonight to see if its still any good. Probably not. Anyone have any idea how long beer lasts before it goes bad?
I've been homebrewing for several years and now and enjoy the hell out of it. I started out doing extract brewing using a kit from Williams Brewing Company, it was about $100-$120 if I remember correctly. Over time I have started doing all-grain brewing and using whole hops instead of hop pellets. My specialty now is a dry-hopped american IPA that has received rave reviews from fellow beer snobs and brewers, but I want to try a Scottish Ale next. As mc mark said, sanitation is the single most important key. You don't to use sterile gloves in a bleached environment or anything but simply cleaning your work area and equipment prior to using is the best indicator of brewing success. My favorite way to look it is: beer is my hobby. I love trying new beers, going to new breweries/brewpubs, and brewing just became an extension of that. You're not going to save a lot of money by homebrewing but it's a fun craft that is avidly supported by it's followers. Without a single exception every homebrewer I've ever met has been friendly and very willing to help new brewers. Try it out, maybe it won't be great beer the first time, but it'll be YOUR beer, and that will make it good.
dylan have you figured out how to measure the alcohol content of your beers? I haven't been able to get that down yet.
Yup, you have homebrew on tap, at your fingers. A 5 gallon keg will stay good and cold for many weeks. You just have to fiddle with the CO2 and refill the CO2 tank when needed. That's what we did, a group gift for my dad for his 60th bday. He loves it. My brother is getting married in a few weeks and we are even going to have it at the reception. No more messing and cleaning bottles too...
Really? Do you not use a hydrometer to measure you're starting and finished specifc gravity? If not, just buy a hydrometer at any brewing supply store or online. They're cheap (maybe 10 bucks), look like a thermometer (some have a thermometer built in), and measure the specific gravity of the beer. By comparing the readings before and after you can see how much sugar was converted to alcohol. This is also useful to know when you're primary fermentation is done. When the specific gravity has finished changing you know that it's safe to bottle/secondary fement without breaking any containers from too much air pressure. Another really usefull tool is a piece of software called promash. It's not completely free but I think it's like $25 or something and really nice. If you're doing whole hops you can tell it the variety and amount you're using and it'll give you the IBU's of your beer, if you call the city and get the mineral content of your local water you can put that in there, it'll calculate the mashing efficiency if you're doing all-grain brewing, etc. Even if you're doing extract brewing (and there's nothing at all wrong with that, I've had many excellent extract brews) it is useful to track what you've changed from session to session and you can record notes about the final product. For example, as I said my specialty right now is an American IPA. I've brewed the same recipe about 5 times now, sometimes dry hopping, sometimes pH extracting the hops during the mash instead of boiling in the wort, etc, and it's been fun to see how the different processes change the final product. Damn, I wanna go home and drink a homebrew now.
damn, sounds like a lot of fun. i wish i had the time mcmark- have you been to bierkraft? cool place in my neighborhood, you should check it out: http://www.bierkraft.com/
thanks dylan! Yes! I knew about the hydrometer. My starter kit didn't come with one and I've just been lazy about it. I've never been really serious about brewing; it's just been a fun thing to do to see how the beer comes out!
