Thinking of home brewing

Lucky Wilbury wrote:

I've done a few homebrews myself and I decided to get back into it and dug out all my old brewing gear from my parents place. All is well except all my old 22 oz bottles were tossed. Because of that and this thread, I'm contemplating the idea of ditching the bottles entirely for a keg system, but the only problem is I'm having a difficult time nailing down all the things i would need and how much all those parts would cost (my google-fu is weak; my searches found cost estimates that ranged from dirt cheap to prohibitively expensive).

Talk to Titgemeier's. I know they started a buddy up with some old Pepsi 'kegs' and hardware fairly inexpensively.

I'm assuming of course that your location is still accurate.

It looks like I got the go ahead to start this little brewing experiment. My buddy says I can use the gear he's got, though he prefers I use the 12 gallon conical fermenter instead of the 5 or 50. My wife has given me permission to purchase the ingredients. Life is good.

Time to make an IPA.

LilCodger wrote:
Lucky Wilbury wrote:

I've done a few homebrews myself and I decided to get back into it and dug out all my old brewing gear from my parents place. All is well except all my old 22 oz bottles were tossed. Because of that and this thread, I'm contemplating the idea of ditching the bottles entirely for a keg system, but the only problem is I'm having a difficult time nailing down all the things i would need and how much all those parts would cost (my google-fu is weak; my searches found cost estimates that ranged from dirt cheap to prohibitively expensive).

Talk to Titgemeier's. I know they started a buddy up with some old Pepsi 'kegs' and hardware fairly inexpensively.

I'm assuming of course that your location is still accurate.

Yup, already been there a few times, figured i get more knowledge of kegging and whatnot before i ventured out to that side of town again. Any idea how much that 'inexpensive' was by chance?

Lucky Wilbury wrote:
LilCodger wrote:
Lucky Wilbury wrote:

I've done a few homebrews myself and I decided to get back into it and dug out all my old brewing gear from my parents place. All is well except all my old 22 oz bottles were tossed. Because of that and this thread, I'm contemplating the idea of ditching the bottles entirely for a keg system, but the only problem is I'm having a difficult time nailing down all the things i would need and how much all those parts would cost (my google-fu is weak; my searches found cost estimates that ranged from dirt cheap to prohibitively expensive).

Talk to Titgemeier's. I know they started a buddy up with some old Pepsi 'kegs' and hardware fairly inexpensively.

I'm assuming of course that your location is still accurate.

Yup, already been there a few times, figured i get more knowledge of kegging and whatnot before i ventured out to that side of town again. Any idea how much that 'inexpensive' was by chance?

I am extraordinarily lucky in that I have a really good home brewing supply store just down the street from where I live. They are a wealth of knowledge. I overheard a conversation in which someone suggested that they talk to local bar owners about used kegs. The distributors occasionally retire old kegs that are perfectly good but don't travel well because of wear. As long as you aren't tossing them around like your average 22 year old barback, you'll be fine.

LilCodger wrote:
Lucky Wilbury wrote:

Talk to Titgemeier's. I know they started a buddy up with some old Pepsi 'kegs' and hardware fairly inexpensively.

I'm assuming of course that your location is still accurate.

Yup, already been there a few times, figured i get more knowledge of kegging and whatnot before i ventured out to that side of town again. Any idea how much that 'inexpensive' was by chance?

If I recall correctly, he was setup to make a 5 gallon batch or so and it was less than $100. This was about two years ago though ...

I'm planning on heading over there in the next few days (work downtown). I'll see what I can dig up, because I'd much rather keg myself.

EDIT: Random Google hit that's a decent primer.

I just want to chime in and echo the love of kegging systems. Going from bottles to kegging was like doing long division and then discovering a calculator. I think it's time to make a nice malty amber ale for the fall. Anyone have any good recipies?

baggachipz wrote:

I just want to chime in and echo the love of kegging systems. Going from bottles to kegging was like doing long division and then discovering a calculator. I think it's time to make a nice malty amber ale for the fall. Anyone have any good recipies?

The joy of giving people a bottle of beer that you've made is great. If I had a big party house people came over to I'm sure they'd be even more impressed by an in home keg, though

carrotpanic wrote:

The joy of giving people a bottle of beer that you've made is great.

You can always get a counterflow bottle filler if you want to do this. I was always appreciated when I showed up to parties with growlers though.

Man, after bottling my 7th batch last night.. I really want to keg. Just not in the cards financially right now, but I am keeping my eye out to start collecting corny kegs.

My next batch is the world famous Tasty McDole's Janet's Brown Ale.. this one is supposed to be awesome.

18 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 69.90 %
2 lbs 4.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 8.74 %
2 lbs 4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt – 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 8.74 %
2 lbs 4.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 8.74 %
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3.88 %
2.75 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 34.5 IBU
2.25 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) (Mash Hop) Hops 5.6 IBU
4.00 oz Centennial [8.70 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
2.00 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 12.4 IBU
3.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 8.8 IBU
3.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.55 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
2.21 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
2 Pkgs Safale US-05 (Fermentis #S-05) Yeast-Ale

Scaled down to 5.5 gallons of course.

LiquidMantis wrote:

You can always get a counterflow bottle filler if you want to do this. I was always appreciated when I showed up to parties with growlers though. :D

Growlers FTW. I have a picnic tap hooked to my keg, which I can use to fill any-size bottle to give to friends. Yes, that does mean they have to drink it within a few days, but really who's going to leave it sitting around?

Another great thing about bottling is tasting the range of flavors that emerge as the beer bottle conditions. Tasting a beer 6 months after bottling can be wildly different than 1 month out (and usually in a better way!).

Hellz yeah.

Hey Paleo, I just got back to DC tonight. Wanna do a brew this weekend? We can break open some of the IPA I made while we brew your Maharajah clone!

Also, let me know when you borrow your buddy's equipment and I'll help out.

Seriously, brewing with a buddy is the only way to go.

LiquidMantis wrote:

Seriously, brewing with a buddy is the only way to go.

This is true. My wife helped out with my first batch out here on the east coast. The process isn't too exciting, so having some beers and hanging out is what homebrewing is all about.

Posting for tracking purposes.

Lucky Wilbury wrote:

Yup, already been there a few times, figured i get more knowledge of kegging and whatnot before i ventured out to that side of town again. Any idea how much that 'inexpensive' was by chance?

Was there Saturday picking up some stuff. Currently, the kegging kit (regulator, hoses, etc.) is $160. Add a soda keg for $20 and you're looking at ~$200 with tax.

Made this beer last night and my wife was making bread. Our house smelled delightful! I screwed up my recipe and over-hopped it, but it still smelled and tasted pretty good going into the primary.

The best part is that since I overbought on ingredients a bit I can make another batch for about $15.

Inspired by this thread, I hit Homebrew Headquarters yesterday and am about 10 minutes away from adding some coriander and orange peel. I'm frankensteining two recipes - my pot won't safely boil more than about 2 gallons, and I liked Papazian's way of doing the grains inna sock over the recipe for my ingredients.

Fun stuff. Whee!

Latest addition to my homebrewery. I'm home baby...

IMAGE(http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/3475/19289410150408893240012.jpg)

A 3.2% stout? Nice. I love to see actual real session beers instead of over-boozed stuff.

Beautiful! I miss having a kegerator.

I've posted my old one before but it's not in this thread. I painted it with blackboard paint but I also just made "poetry magnet" labels with a magnetic sheet and a label maker. I found the magnetic sheet at Bed Bath & Beyond. It's for putting on air vents to close them off. Cuts great with a decent pair of scissors. I just made labels for types and typical adjectives like Imperial, American, Chocolate, etc. that could be arranged into beer poetry.

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

So, our state passed a measure which allows anyone to get a license to produce spirits for 150 dollars, down from 10,000. I will be looking in to this and write back. My ambition is 180 proof whiskey.

Nice LM. My plan is to do a full fledged Keezer this summer. The current is just an old fridge in my basement that I was eventually going to get rid of.

KingGorilla wrote:

So, our state passed a measure which allows anyone to get a license to produce spirits for 150 dollars, down from 10,000. I will be looking in to this and write back. My ambition is 180 proof whiskey.

O-M-G. While I've enjoyed beer brewing, I've always wanted to learn distilling.

I'm curious how that works out for you. I have plenty of friends across the border I could try and talk into being the site.

I wonder just how much "whisky" will be left at 180 proof.

LiquidMantis wrote:

I've posted my old one before but it's not in this thread. I painted it with blackboard paint but I also just made "poetry magnet" labels with a magnetic sheet and a label maker. I found the magnetic sheet at Bed Bath & Beyond. It's for putting on air vents to close them off. Cuts great with a decent pair of scissors. I just made labels for types and typical adjectives like Imperial, American, Chocolate, etc. that could be arranged into beer poetry.[/IMG]

That setup fills me with envy.

LiquidMantis wrote:

I wonder just how much "whisky" will be left at 180 proof.

My thought exactly -- when something's 90% alcohol, how much difference does it make what it was originally made from?

KingGorilla wrote:

So, our state passed a measure which allows anyone to get a license to produce spirits for 150 dollars, down from 10,000. I will be looking in to this and write back. My ambition is 180 proof whiskey.

best thing Michigan's done lately. Valentine vodka (which I believe is made over by you) is actually worth the price.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

A 3.2% stout? Nice. I love to see actual real session beers instead of over-boozed stuff.

I'm getting more and more into sub 5% beers. When I first started homebrewing, I was brewing huge 8% Double IPA's all the time.. but you can only have one and you are ready for bed. Don't get me wrong, I'll always brew hopbombs, and huge belgians.. but a nice lawnmower beer is great!

This stout recipe I just came up with is really decieving. It's super full bodied, and full of flavor.. but you can drink 3 or 4.

El-Producto wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

A 3.2% stout? Nice. I love to see actual real session beers instead of over-boozed stuff.

I'm getting more and more into sub 5% beers. When I first started homebrewing, I was brewing huge 8% Double IPA's all the time.. but you can only have one and you are ready for bed. Don't get me wrong, I'll always brew hopbombs, and huge belgians.. but a nice lawnmower beer is great!

This stout recipe I just came up with is really decieving. It's super full bodied, and full of flavor.. but you can drink 3 or 4.

I'm getting really into IPAs and those are at least 8% mostly. But Paleocon and I did make a cherry wheat that was around 5.5% that turned out pretty nice. Of course the IPA we are have fermenting right now is around 13% or so.