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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,384
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Anybody brewing their own beer?
I was just thinking about brewing my own beer but all of the "kits" are just a bunch of plastic components. I found a couple kits with stainless and glass components and that I like. Copper is even better. Nonetheless, who is home brewing and how does it taste and how do you ensure safety? I think bad brewing leads to some very dangerous and potentially blinding alcohol?
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Registered
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: bottom left corner of the world
Posts: 22,741
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I tried doing a brew once and it was most definetly the worst beer I have ever tried. If somone has a recipe for a homebrew you have tasted - and like, give it a go.
I don't think your alcohol levels will get dangerously high. It's only ethel alchol and at worst will gine you a hangover. Methol alcohol (sp) is the bad stuff. Last edited by Bill Douglas; 04-14-2010 at 09:00 PM.. |
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Stay away from my Member
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Agoura, CA
Posts: 5,773
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I've done it a number of times but not in years. I bought the equipment at a local homebrew/microbrew supply house. I used a giant stainless stock pot for the wort (IIRC) and a 5 gallon glass bottle for the fermentation stage. Glass bottles obviously for the finished product too.
One of the keys - if not THE key - is to SANITIZE diligently. I got excellent results with various ales and porters. Never tried lagers.
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Chris C. 1973 914 "R" (914-6) | track toy 2009 911 Turbo 6-speed (997.1TT) | street weapon 2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance | daily driver 2001 F150 Supercrew 4x4 | hauler |
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Parrothead member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Monmouth county, NJ USA
Posts: 13,838
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Been doing it for a few yrs. Ive had some great batches and some horible ones.
Ive been on an IPA kick the past yr. To echo Chris.. SANITIZATION!!
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abit off center
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Dog-faced pony soldier
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I brew semi-regularly. I used to a lot more but I find I just don't drink it as often as I used to - a standard batch is 5 gallons which is a LOT of beer. If there were some local Pelicans that wanted to come over on a regular basis maybe it'd give me an excuse to do it more often...
The key to good beer is good ingredients and good sanitary technique. You are essentially producing a high-nutrient, high sugar-content broth and then dumping yeast into it, which go crazy (perfect environment for them to do what they do - reproduce wildly and make lots of C2H5OH and CO2 as byproducts of metabolizing the sugars). ANY little bit of mold, bacteria, dust (stuff lives on it), etc on any of your gear or getting into your wort will at BEST produce off-flavors. At worst it'll utterly ruin the batch, overpowering the yeast and turning the wort into a fungal or bacterial petri dish. Keep your stuff clean and use a lot of idophor. Good brewing is less about process and more about technique/mechanics. It's actually quite a boring slog of a task (lots of mindless stuff and waiting for water to boil) but it is rewarding at the end - just like prepping a 911 for paint, to use an analogy. If you cut corners early on, you'll pay for it later.
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Evil Genius
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5 gallon batches are 2.5 cases.
don't buy a 1 gallon "mr brew" kit off the web, find a local beer brewing store in local area or buy from one. Buy quality hardware in the first place, I've brewed up to 20-25 gallons at a time from all-grain, you'll start with malt-extract batches openning up a sugar mixture, boiling it, then watering it down and adding yeast, poof, you have beer. easy squeezey my local store: many other ones out there: StoreFront -- Homebrew Heaven Online Store
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Registered
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Start out simple and see if you like it. Malt extracts are easy and allow a concentrated wort boil - which allows a smaller (2-3 gal) pot and after the boil adding cold water brings the wort down to yeast pitching temperature. Liquid yeasts are a better choice if you value your time and want better taste. Control of fermentation temperature is important - too warm (>73) and things get ugly. Basements are great for helping with this. 2 inch building foam will make a nice box. Sanitation is indeed very important. But cleaning gunk needs to preceed any efforts - and rinse off the sanistetizer because it kills yeast and taste too!
Next step is to do full wort boils. Boiling brings down the volume, concentrating the wort, sanitizing and bringing out hop bitterness. The bigger (10 gal) pot means a move outside with propane burner. This move requires a sanitary way of chilling - immersion coil usually. Next step is either all grain (mashing) or a kegging system. Both require stainless equipment and expense. Moving away from extracts gives you more control and flexibility with recipes - but requires much more time as you are allowing the crushed grains to convert starch to sugar at about 150 F for at least an hour. Then separate the wort from the mash. Larger volumes require more time to get to temperature. Kegging is a time saver but also allows carbonation control and cool fridges and faucets/handles. Recirculation mash systems pump the wort around and usually apply heat control - this can set up your filter bed so you can straight to separation and rinsing out sugars (lautering). My brewing equipment has shared the garage with my Targa restoration and engine rebuild - I'm lucky to have my own 2 car garage - as opposed the one the family van gets parked in. I started brewing in 1993 and quickly moved off the kitchen stove. In 1996 I bought a turn key 10 gal brewing system made with 15.5 converted beer kegs. It uses natural gas and does automatic temperature control with recirculation. I have two old fridges outfitted for serving from 5 gal kegs - one usually serves as the fermentation temperature control box. I have old brewing equipment that I have sold, given and loaned that would be envied by others. That said, if you like brewing, find a club and see what equipment is available from the members.
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Yeah, all-grain mashes for a newby. Shame on you.
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Navin Johnson
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Wantagh, NY
Posts: 8,786
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Here are some really old pics of my RIMS brew system
I have since downsized and brew partial mashes on the stovetop.. Have been homebrewing for about 20 years riptide brewery
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Banned
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Dana Point, Ca
Posts: 55,591
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I did three five gallon bottles about fifteen years ago for a party, at the time I rounded up a ton of quart bottles and had to wash/sterilize them, that and capping them seemed like a lot of work. I made three different varieties and people drank it all so it must have been ok. However, it was too much trouble to clean all the bottles again, is there an easy system now, what to you do for bottles? I gave everything away after that so would have to start from scratch.
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Stay away from my Member
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Agoura, CA
Posts: 5,773
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Bottle brush and a couple dishwasher cycles does the trick. Or just buy new ones. They used to be cheap but maybe not anymore.
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Chris C. 1973 914 "R" (914-6) | track toy 2009 911 Turbo 6-speed (997.1TT) | street weapon 2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance | daily driver 2001 F150 Supercrew 4x4 | hauler |
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canna change law physics
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I found my old recipe for getting you into brewing. Here is how to brew one gallon of great beer.
Quote:
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,384
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Lots of wonderful information and Red Beard that is a nice recipe to try out.
Now what is keeping me from planting my own hops? That seems like a really nice addition and I know it grows like a weed. Anybody plant their own? Truth be told I am trying to plant my own tobacco just to see what that is like. You can get tobacco seeds on ebay for pretty cheap and they grow pretty well. |
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Unoffended by naked girls
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I have Hallertaurer and Wilamette growing on the south side of my house. they grow like weeds...
You need to get them as root cuttings, it's almost too late in the year, I think.
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Dan 1969 911T (sold) 2008 FXDL www.labreaprecision.com www.concealedcarrymidwest.com |
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Champagne on Beer Budget
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I've got some stainless Cornelius kegs and CO2 tanks i'd let go REAL CHEAP to make more room in the garage for anybody wanting to keg some homebrew.
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-Tom '73 911T MFI - in process of being restored '73 911T MFI - bare bones '87 924S - Keep's the Porsche DNA in my system while the 911 is down. aka "Wolf boy" |
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Champagne on Beer Budget
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Tom,
Come by and get them....their YOURS now. Brewing beer is a great excuse to hang out for a couple of hours with friends and drink the crap you made the month before ![]()
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Einar www.einarsgarage.com Instagram @einars_garage https://www.facebook.com/pages/Einars-Garage/375533809160797 |
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Registered
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You are to kind Einar. One mans trash is another mans treasure eh?
Plus I need to stop by and check out the engine.
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-Tom '73 911T MFI - in process of being restored '73 911T MFI - bare bones '87 924S - Keep's the Porsche DNA in my system while the 911 is down. aka "Wolf boy" |
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Champagne on Beer Budget
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Anytime Tom..
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Einar www.einarsgarage.com Instagram @einars_garage https://www.facebook.com/pages/Einars-Garage/375533809160797 |
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