Thinking of home brewing

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I paid a visit to the Maryland Home Brewing Center near my home in Columbia, MD the other day to investigate the idea of brewing my own beer. I've always sort of been curious about the process and know a few people that have done so themselves. All of them swear that any home brewer can make a product superior to even the expensive beers you find on the shelves of local liquor stores, but I have always been skeptical because I've tasted more than a few bad homebrews and only one or two that I thought were up to the quality of a good specialty beer.

I figure the reason why this is is because home brewers have to have pride in their product irrespective of whether or not it beats good beer. I do the same for the bread I bake and my wife's observation that the stuff we buy at Panera beats my stuff hits me pretty hard every time.

I am curious though, and really want to know that it is possible to make something like the Avery Maharajah or the Stone Arrogant Bastard in my basement for $10/gallon.

Any home brewers care to comment?

I've had some really good home brews that rank up there with store bought ones. I've also had some really sh*tty ones (and once a really psychedelic one..wow..)

As for the price you're talking about, no. It takes a while to get a recipe you like with a taste you love. A large part of the homebrewing experience is the fun of doing it yourself, not getting beer cheap.

And I wouldn't feel that bad about someone telling you what they bought is better than what you made. Unless they're doing it to be cruel..then f them. People have different tastes. Go with what you like.

Dr.Ghastly wrote:

I've had some really good home brews that rank up there with store bought ones. I've also had some really sh*tty ones (and once a really psychedelic one..wow..)

As for the price you're talking about, no. It takes a while to get a recipe you like with a taste you love. A large part of the homebrewing experience is the fun of doing it yourself, not getting beer cheap.

I know what beers I like and I was looking at a book at the homebrew store that had "clone beer" recipes. The proprietor told me the one for the Maharajah was incredibly good. Considering that stuff goes for about $20/tallboy, this might be the way to go.

I do understand that it is more about the hobby than it is about the cheap beer.

It's going to be about the experience of homebrewing for your first number of batches. If you're serious, the first book you should get is Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Home Brewing. Even if you're not, it's a great read.

Tanglebones wrote:

It's going to be about the experience of homebrewing for your first number of batches. If you're serious, the first book you should get is Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Home Brewing. Even if you're not, it's a great read.

I saw that book there and paged through it. It looks good.

I'm a little concerned that my dear wife wouldn't want it in the house. I'm told it only takes about 5 hours/month to make beer. 3 hours for the whole wort building and primary fermenting and 2 hours on bottling day. After that, the yeast does all the work.

I think I might have to ask my mom and dad if I can stash my gear in their basement.

Paleocon wrote:

Thinking of home brewing

I'm not sure you can brew guns and knives.... but it's worth a try!

Duoae wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

Thinking of home brewing

I'm not sure you can brew guns and knives.... but it's worth a try!

;)

Silly. It's for when I want to "licker' up" and become bulletproof.

A late friend of mine use to brew the best beer i've had. Imagine a slightly more stout Octoberfest. Absolutely amazing. He actually left me his gear and notebooks, but i've been too intimdated to try it myself. Still it is possible to make beer better than you can buy from the shelves.

Interesting topic. I've been toying with the idea myself. What sort of equipment is required in home brewing?

Too me a while to find it, but this thread seems to have a lot of info.

In graduate school, I got into home brewing big time.

I will give you the secret to making consistently great beer....

(1) buy a cheap freezer (lid on top)
(2) buy a temperature controller
(3) set the temperature controller to the correct temperature for the yeast that you are using.

Bingo! Controlling temperature during fermentation is the single most important thing that I found.

My beer was hit or miss until I got this under control. Before the freezer, I was using ice baths and running the AC on high...just a few hours out of temperature range and nasty flavors come out.

If your wort tastes and smells good before going into the fermentation chamber and it taste bad on the other side, either you got (1) bum yeast, (2) bad sanitary practices or mostly likely (3) improper fermentation temperatures.

I brewed with kits and advanced to mashing my own grain. I was making 5 gallons of extremely good German beer (Munich Dunkel style) for the cost of 2 six packs.

And to make it completely enjoyable, buy a keg system. There is nothing like emptying a carboy into a single keg and putting the keg under pressure to carbonate it. No muss, no fuss. No 48 bottles to fill and hope the yeast properly carbonates the beer. Perfectly carbonated beer in under 24 hours.

My freezer doubled as a fermentation chamber and a keg cooler. I made some of the best beers...Then gained 20 lbs, started a family and literally cried the day I got rid of the home brewing stuff.

Now that I actually have money, I dream of the kick ass system that I could build.

Everyone should make mead once in their life. It takes a year to finish it, but it truly nectar of the gods.

Nothing to say other than, make some dortmunder style. I'm a big fan.

Paleocon wrote:

It's for when I want to "licker' up"...

And so why would Mrs. Paleo be opposed...?

Greg wrote:

I will give you the secret to making consistently great beer....

(1) buy a cheap freezer (lid on top)
(2) buy a temperature controller
(3) set the temperature controller to the correct temperature for the yeast that you are using.

Bingo! Controlling temperature during fermentation is the single most important thing that I found.

This is the only way I could brew in Texas.

I've never used any temperature controlling and my beer always comes out well. Of course I stick mostly to ale yeasts which don't require very cold temperatures.

DanyBoy wrote:

Interesting topic. I've been toying with the idea myself. What sort of equipment is required in home brewing?

The very minimum you will need is a large pot (for boiling the wort), a glass carboy (basically a large glass jug) for fermenting, a fermentation lock, 50-60 bottles and bottle caps, a bottle capper, a funnel, a bucket (or some other means of container for holding the beer prior to bottling), a cleaner for sanitizing, and all the ingredients. Most homebrewing stores will sell kits with all the necessary parts. I'm also probably forgetting something but those are the basic parts.

The actual process of homebrewing is quite simple, it just requires a lot of time.

Koz wrote:

I've never used any temperature controlling and my beer always comes out well. Of course I stick mostly to ale yeasts which don't require very cold temperatures.

You're in Maine. In Texas we kept our house AC at 85 degrees and I couldn't store fermenters in the house regardless due to space and smell. My garage probably spiked well over 130 during the summer. Hell, my tap water came out at 75+ degrees meaning I had to have a prechiller for the water going into my counterflow chiller leading to fun pictures like the one below.

Paleo said he wants to brew something that can compare to commercial boutique beers. Careful fermentation regulation is the only way he's going to achieve that otherwise he'll end up with flavor-coloring esters and the like.

Papazian's book is pretty dated now. I'd highly recommend John Palmer's How to Brew. You can read the first edition for free even.

IMAGE(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a254/Liquidmantis/brewing/dryIce.jpg)

I've been in a small brewing group for 2 years now. I think that some of our beers rival boutique beer, but usually they're a half step below. We can't seem to get the carbonation (using bottle fermentation) exactly right, which seems to affect the flavor. Generally we clock in at $0.75-1 per bottle, so we're well below boutique prices. It's a simple process, you just need room to brew and store, and be rigorous in cleaning/sanitizing your gear. You can buy everything you need and brew your first batch for $200 or less, then around $40 per batch after that (5 gallons/50 bottles).

Go for it it's fun and will be cheaper in the long run. Start out extract brewing until you get the hang of it though. Austin homebrew has good prices but the recipes are pathetic. They say to steep in warm water and such when exact temps are required. So grab homebrewing for dummies and stick to their temps and such. Plus they have like 200 recipes in the book. A keg system does wonders. But you should decide if you like brewing before you make that investment. Starsan is the best sanitized I have found. It doesn't change the flavor of your beer and it is edible.

I have made good and bad beers. It's trial and error. Dint expect to make something amazing to start. Should cost you about 150 to get a starter kit. Then the extract kits are between 20 - 50 depending in what's used. That makes 5-7 gallons of your brew.

If you like it start getting mash runs and such to start from scratch. You will have more flavor control and btr quality.

Space wise it just takes up what a five gallon bucket would. So that shouldn't be annissue. Also I put my fermentor in my bedroom closet and never have issues with foul odors so if you basement it up you should be fine. Make sure your basement has a constant temp. You don't want fluctuating temps.

Protip: start with an ale they are more forgiving of mistakes.

Anybody ever made a homebrew and kegged it? I'm thinking of turning my mini-fridge into a kegerator / temp-controlled fermentation system

As a recent new homebrewer who is hopelessly addicted (I've brewed 30 gallons since staring in August), it is a great hobby. I make better beer than I can buy at a store at a fraction of the price. Now that I've gone all-grain with minimal investment, and buying bulk grains and hops, and reusing yeast.. I can do a 5 gallon batch of a hoppy IPA for about 10 bucks!

My real epiphany came when I tasted my first AG batch, a Dogfish Head 60 min clone, which I continously hopped for the whole 60 min. boil, and then dry hopped. It is one of the best beers I have ever tasted.. and I MADE IT!

If learned tons in the process, mostly from the fine folks over at www.homebrewtalk.com. I'm really enjoying the DIY aspect of it. Since starting I've made my own: Immersion Chiller, Mash/Lauter Tun, and Temperature Controller/Fermentation chamber.

Some little things I've found helpful in my short time:

StarSan is your friend. Don't fear the foam, it's the greatest, easiest to use sanitizer.

Soak empty bottles in oxyclean for a few days. takes the labels right off, and cleans them up
nice. Don't forget to rinse well after.

Spend 30 bucks and make yourself an immersion chiller from coopper tubing. I'm no handyman, and I whipped one together in an hour.. no soldering needed. Takes my 5 gallons of 170 degree wort, down to pitching temp 70degrees in about 10 min!

Don't mess around with carboys, just get a food grade bucket with a lid that you can put an
airlock into. I went and bought 3 glass carboys, and barely use them. I just use the bucket as a primary now.. cheap and easy to use.

Don't buy into the liquid yeast propoganda when just getting started. Unless you are brewing some rare sour belgian beer.. stick with Dry yeast. Safale US-05 is my workhorse. I've used it in 5 out of 6 of my brews, and I'm reusing the original 3 dollar package by washing yeast. As long as I do a starter, this stuff ferments like mad!

John Palmer's Cincinnati Pale Ale was my first recipe, and you can get complete instructions on his site for free. It is a delicious beer!

If you have any specific questions, let me know.. I've probably asked them at one point or another.

PS, I looked at the grain bill for the Arrogant Bastard clone, and with my bulk grains, buying the specialty grains and hops that I don't have, and reusing my S-04 dry english ale yeast, I could do 5 gallons for about $14! Extract would be much more expensive however.

I moved into kegging rather quickly actually. It's a lot easier than bottling. The problem with your idea though is that a kegerator is set to around 44 degrees while a fermentation chiller is set to about 65 for ales.

Koz wrote:

I've never used any temperature controlling and my beer always comes out well. Of course I stick mostly to ale yeasts which don't require very cold temperatures.

DanyBoy wrote:

Interesting topic. I've been toying with the idea myself. What sort of equipment is required in home brewing?

The very minimum you will need is a large pot (for boiling the wort), a glass carboy (basically a large glass jug) for fermenting, a fermentation lock, 50-60 bottles and bottle caps, a bottle capper, a funnel, a bucket (or some other means of container for holding the beer prior to bottling), a cleaner for sanitizing, and all the ingredients. Most homebrewing stores will sell kits with all the necessary parts. I'm also probably forgetting something but those are the basic parts.

The actual process of homebrewing is quite simple, it just requires a lot of time.

That was about what I had for my first kit except I didn't start with the glass carboy instead I had another bucket. I only used it once or twice and spent the $30 or so for the carboy.

LiquidMantis wrote:

I moved into kegging rather quickly actually. It's a lot easier than bottling. The problem with your idea though is that a kegerator is set to around 44 degrees while a fermentation chiller is set to about 65 for ales.

Hackaday.com had a guy who used an audrino to turn power on and off to the compressor, allowing for a better fermentation chiller that can be adjusted.

On a side note, bought an old fridge for 10 bucks. Beer fridge once I pick it up, then...kegerator?

boogle wrote:

Hackaday.com had a guy who used an audrino to turn power on and off to the compressor, allowing for a better fermentation chiller that can be adjusted.

You can't set a chest freezer or fridge that high anyway, you have to use a temperature controller that does the same thing as that hack.

Expect to suck at the get-go. Ideally, find a friend who home-brews and help him out with a couple batches to get the hang of it.

Also, sterilize everything. And then sterilize it again. Possibly a third time.

I say this while openly admitting I've been meaning to start homebrewing for about a decade but am just too damn lazy.

I'm a few months from taking the next step to brewing. I just tasted my first batch of hard cider over the weekend, and despite being not alcoholic enough, too hazy, and not bubbly enough, it was tasty and I know how to fix the problems (more sugar, some peptin, and more sugar for bottle fermentation). I would consider brewing hard cider to be a baby step prior to actually making beer.

Sorry, talking about myself too much.

You should do it. Brewing beer is an inexpensive hobby where you're actually creating something. If you screw it up, you dump it out and start over. It's a process that people have been doing since before we had religion in some cases, it's a community that is friendly and exuberant and healthy and growing, and it's in a market that is just dominating the alcohol industry right now. Several of the places I've written about are tiny little startups that came from talented home brewers who secured enough capital to sell their work to the public.

Would you actually really save much money over just buying a keg to begin with?

LiquidMantis wrote:
boogle wrote:

Hackaday.com had a guy who used an audrino to turn power on and off to the compressor, allowing for a better fermentation chiller that can be adjusted.

You can't set a chest freezer or fridge that high anyway, you have to use a temperature controller that does the same thing as that hack.

Yeah exactly, there's tons of external temperature regulators that work on freezers and mini-fridges. I was planning on getting one of those. I figure an insulated chest I can completely control the temperature of will be useful in other cooking applications as well.

El-Producto wrote:

As a recent new homebrewer who is hopelessly addicted (I've brewed 30 gallons since staring in August), it is a great hobby. I make better beer than I can buy at a store at a fraction of the price. Now that I've gone all-grain with minimal investment, and buying bulk grains and hops, and reusing yeast.. I can do a 5 gallon batch of a hoppy IPA for about 10 bucks!

My real epiphany came when I tasted my first AG batch, a Dogfish Head 60 min clone, which I continously hopped for the whole 60 min. boil, and then dry hopped. It is one of the best beers I have ever tasted.. and I MADE IT!

If learned tons in the process, mostly from the fine folks over at www.homebrewtalk.com. I'm really enjoying the DIY aspect of it. Since starting I've made my own: Immersion Chiller, Mash/Lauter Tun, and Temperature Controller/Fermentation chamber.

Some little things I've found helpful in my short time:

StarSan is your friend. Don't fear the foam, it's the greatest, easiest to use sanitizer.

Soak empty bottles in oxyclean for a few days. takes the labels right off, and cleans them up
nice. Don't forget to rinse well after.

Spend 30 bucks and make yourself an immersion chiller from coopper tubing. I'm no handyman, and I whipped one together in an hour.. no soldering needed. Takes my 5 gallons of 170 degree wort, down to pitching temp 70degrees in about 10 min!

Don't mess around with carboys, just get a food grade bucket with a lid that you can put an
airlock into. I went and bought 3 glass carboys, and barely use them. I just use the bucket as a primary now.. cheap and easy to use.

Don't buy into the liquid yeast propoganda when just getting started. Unless you are brewing some rare sour belgian beer.. stick with Dry yeast. Safale US-05 is my workhorse. I've used it in 5 out of 6 of my brews, and I'm reusing the original 3 dollar package by washing yeast. As long as I do a starter, this stuff ferments like mad!

John Palmer's Cincinnati Pale Ale was my first recipe, and you can get complete instructions on his site for free. It is a delicious beer!

If you have any specific questions, let me know.. I've probably asked them at one point or another.

PS, I looked at the grain bill for the Arrogant Bastard clone, and with my bulk grains, buying the specialty grains and hops that I don't have, and reusing my S-04 dry english ale yeast, I could do 5 gallons for about $14! Extract would be much more expensive however.

Holy Moley! That sounds great.

I looked at the carboys and couldn't figure out why folks felt they were better than simply using a plastic bucket. Also, I'm told the buckets with bottom taps are even more convenient.

While I was at the store, the proprietor told me that the Avery Maharajah was not exactly a "beginner" beer. He showed me the recipe in his Clone Beer book and it looked pretty involved. He said he just made a batch and it clocked in at 10+% and had every bit of the 105 IBU's it advertises. It made my mouth water just thinking about it.

He recommended that I get the base model kit (~$70 + ingredients) because, as he put it, "homebrewing isn't for everybody". He said he has people come in all the time that drop $300 on a high end set up, make a bad batch, and never touch it again. I wanted to know where I could pick up their used equipment for cheap.

I looked at some of the videos online and it looks like the primary part of the wort (the part you boil) is only about one gallon. The rest is water you add from the tap, which you can do in your fermenting bucket. If that is the case, why bother purchasing a 5 gallon brew pot? It would seem to me that using a high quality 8 quart stock pot like the one I have on my stove right now would be both more effective and cheaper. Am I missing something?

Paleocon wrote:

I looked at some of the videos online and it looks like the primary part of the wort (the part you boil) is only about one gallon. The rest is water you add from the tap, which you can do in your fermenting bucket. If that is the case, why bother purchasing a 5 gallon brew pot? It would seem to me that using a high quality 8 quart stock pot like the one I have on my stove right now would be both more effective and cheaper. Am I missing something?

When we brew, we brew about 2-3 gallons in the pot. When you're dealing with large amounts of malt that you're steeping or dissolving (in the case of malt extract), it helps to have more water so the ingredients don't separate out from the water being too saturated. That was always our reason, anyway.

carrotpanic wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

I looked at some of the videos online and it looks like the primary part of the wort (the part you boil) is only about one gallon. The rest is water you add from the tap, which you can do in your fermenting bucket. If that is the case, why bother purchasing a 5 gallon brew pot? It would seem to me that using a high quality 8 quart stock pot like the one I have on my stove right now would be both more effective and cheaper. Am I missing something?

When we brew, we brew about 2-3 gallons in the pot. When you're dealing with large amounts of malt that you're steeping or dissolving (in the case of malt extract), it helps to have more water so the ingredients don't separate out from the water being too saturated. That was always our reason, anyway.

That's cool. the biggest stockpot I have is a 4 gallon stockpot I use for making oxtail soup. As long as I keep things clean, I think that should work fine, right? In any event, it's a lot better pot than the ones I see advertised on brewing sites. It should heat more evenly for sure.

I'm still thinking that there has to be a pretty big secondary market in used brewing equipment.

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