Thinking of home brewing

Related -- a buddy of mine from the other side of the state sent me this article relating home brewing to the larger sustainability movement. It's a fairly long read, but given that it's about a topic we're passionate about, extremely interesting. I admit that while home brewing is *all about* localization of production, I hadn't thought of that within the context of the sustainability movement.

Seth wrote:

Related -- a buddy of mine from the other side of the state sent me this article relating home brewing to the larger sustainability movement. It's a fairly long read, but given that it's about a topic we're passionate about, extremely interesting. I admit that while home brewing is *all about* localization of production, I hadn't thought of that within the context of the sustainability movement.

It's feel good, but I'm not sure how much of that I buy. There is a lot of stuff at the home brew store you need to get that needs to travel just as much as bottle beer would. And in most cases, you're using bottled water as well to make sure your mineral balance is neutral. You also lose the economies of scale that mass brewing have over home brewing. Krazy and my last batch, for instance, lost about 1/2 a gallon in the primary fermentation when it foamed over. That's about 10% of the total batch and the last half gallon will probably be lost between either secondary fermentation or straining the dregs. In sharp contrast, a mass brewer probably loses less than 2% of total mass.

The biggest reasons for home brewing are that it is fun and makes superior beer. I'd like for there to be some kind of "green" reason as well, but until I see the hard numbers, I'm pretty deeply skeptical.

AnimeJ wrote:
KrazyTacoFO wrote:
merphle wrote:
conejote wrote:

No problem. There's a single gas line coming in, connected to a three-way manifold (upper left corner):

Thanks! I don't currently homebrew, but this thread (and a good friend who does) is really tempting me, and those awesome DIY kegerator shots are piling the temptation up really high.

One of us! One of us! One of us!

Ya'll are dirty, filthy enablers. So question: Anyone done anything with root beer? I'm not much into the alcoholic stuff, but I'm a sucker for good root beer, and DIY makes it all the better.

I've never made a root beer but it is even simpler than brewing a beer. The concept is similar but with far fewer steps. Here is McCormick's root beer recipe.

Making low alcohol brews with an ABV around 3% isn't difficult and can turn out just as good as a huge 13% beer. It's all in the recipe, what yeast strain and amount of sugar used. Basically what I'm saying is that if you are interested in making low alcohol brews then there are oodles and oodles of recipes of all kind for you to try! One of us! One of us! One of us!

Pros make their own sasparilla concentrate.

Here's a thought Anime: You can homebrew and then keg your Rootbeer in your brand new DIY kegerator!

KrazyTacoFO wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:
KrazyTacoFO wrote:
merphle wrote:
conejote wrote:

No problem. There's a single gas line coming in, connected to a three-way manifold (upper left corner):

Thanks! I don't currently homebrew, but this thread (and a good friend who does) is really tempting me, and those awesome DIY kegerator shots are piling the temptation up really high.

One of us! One of us! One of us!

Ya'll are dirty, filthy enablers. So question: Anyone done anything with root beer? I'm not much into the alcoholic stuff, but I'm a sucker for good root beer, and DIY makes it all the better.

I've never made a root beer but it is even simpler than brewing a beer. The concept is similar but with far fewer steps. Here is McCormick's root beer recipe.

Making low alcohol brews with an ABV around 3% isn't difficult and can turn out just as good as a huge 13% beer. It's all in the recipe, what yeast strain and amount of sugar used. Basically what I'm saying is that if you are interested in making low alcohol brews then there are oodles and oodles of recipes of all kind for you to try! One of us! One of us! One of us!

This

My 3.2% American Stout recipe I forumulated is PLENTY chewy. People cannot get over that it has such a low alcohol content.

El-Producto wrote:
KrazyTacoFO wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:
KrazyTacoFO wrote:
merphle wrote:
conejote wrote:

No problem. There's a single gas line coming in, connected to a three-way manifold (upper left corner):

Thanks! I don't currently homebrew, but this thread (and a good friend who does) is really tempting me, and those awesome DIY kegerator shots are piling the temptation up really high.

One of us! One of us! One of us!

Ya'll are dirty, filthy enablers. So question: Anyone done anything with root beer? I'm not much into the alcoholic stuff, but I'm a sucker for good root beer, and DIY makes it all the better.

I've never made a root beer but it is even simpler than brewing a beer. The concept is similar but with far fewer steps. Here is McCormick's root beer recipe.

Making low alcohol brews with an ABV around 3% isn't difficult and can turn out just as good as a huge 13% beer. It's all in the recipe, what yeast strain and amount of sugar used. Basically what I'm saying is that if you are interested in making low alcohol brews then there are oodles and oodles of recipes of all kind for you to try! One of us! One of us! One of us!

This

My 3.2% American Stout recipe I forumulated is PLENTY chewy. People cannot get over that it has such a low alcohol content.

Beer in Ireland is taxed based on alcohol content. As a result, Guinness in Ireland is generally served right around 3%. You don't get the higher alcohol stuff unless you're out of the country where you can get the "export" version. From what I understand, the Irish stuff is plenty drinkable.

Paleocon wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:

I know there are folks out there with "houses" and "basements" or "garages" with "second refrigerators" and "more than two rooms in their home," but that extra .7 cubic feet is meaningful to the rest of us.

On the other hand, I don't know what my building's rules are about things like home brewing.

If your living arrangements are really that tight, you need to move out of the shelter.

The shelter's a much bigger building, but in a less convenient location. I wouldn't be able to walk to work anymore.

wordsmythe wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:

I know there are folks out there with "houses" and "basements" or "garages" with "second refrigerators" and "more than two rooms in their home," but that extra .7 cubic feet is meaningful to the rest of us.

On the other hand, I don't know what my building's rules are about things like home brewing.

If your living arrangements are really that tight, you need to move out of the shelter.

The shelter's a much bigger building, but in a less convenient location. I wouldn't be able to walk to work anymore. :(

For residents of discarded appliance boxes, Krazytaco has the solution for you!

Paleocon wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:

I know there are folks out there with "houses" and "basements" or "garages" with "second refrigerators" and "more than two rooms in their home," but that extra .7 cubic feet is meaningful to the rest of us.

On the other hand, I don't know what my building's rules are about things like home brewing.

If your living arrangements are really that tight, you need to move out of the shelter.

The shelter's a much bigger building, but in a less convenient location. I wouldn't be able to walk to work anymore. :(

For residents of discarded appliance boxes, Krazytaco has the solution for you!

This is what I used. Super cheap, not the greatest but better than mad dog. After 2 weeks I got "wine" that was around of the 12-14% ABV variety and tasted similar to very cheap flat champagne.

**note- I've only done this twice, because I can afford wine that costs more than $2. But it was a fun little experiment.

KrazyTacoFO wrote:

Here's a thought Anime: You can homebrew and then keg your Rootbeer in your brand new DIY kegerator!

It's pretty much the route I'd be going, except shooting for a much, much lower alcohol content.

AnimeJ wrote:

Ya'll are dirty, filthy enablers. So question: Anyone done anything with root beer? I'm not much into the alcoholic stuff, but I'm a sucker for good root beer, and DIY makes it all the better.

http://www.brewery.org/cm3/recs/13_18.html

I want you to make this. Then I want you to send me a bottle.

Bookmarked, because I'm nowhere near as cool as Hawkeye.

So, I'm jumping in with both feet. On Pyro's recommendations, I bought the "brewing starter kit" from Midwest:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homeb...

And a few ancillary items (thermometer, bottles, etc, more sanitizer, etc)

A few dumb questions:

1: Can you actually get 5 gallons in a bucket down a flight of stairs? Pretty much the only thing I can't do in my basement is the actual boil. I got slop sinks and storage and all sorts of stuff down there, but I can't see how I'm not doing the boil and cooling in my kitchen.

2: Any good podcasts?

3: I know the actual boil is notoriously stinky, but will my entire house smell like beer if I'm fermenting in the basement? Like forever?

1: You seem to be of solid constitution, so I would say yes. You're looking at about 40-50 lbs. As you're going to aerate it anyway, you don't need to worry about shaking it at that point.

2: No idea

3: The boil will make your entire house smell like beer. The first few days of primary fermentation will make the room smell like beer with enough to spread to nearby rooms. After that it dissipates.

rabbit wrote:

So, I'm jumping in with both feet. On Pyro's recommendations, I bought the "brewing starter kit" from Midwest:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homeb...

And a few ancillary items (thermometer, bottles, etc, more sanitizer, etc)

A few dumb questions:

1: Can you actually get 5 gallons in a bucket down a flight of stairs? Pretty much the only thing I can't do in my basement is the actual boil. I got slop sinks and storage and all sorts of stuff down there, but I can't see how I'm not doing the boil and cooling in my kitchen.

2: Any good podcasts?

3: I know the actual boil is notoriously stinky, but will my entire house smell like beer if I'm fermenting in the basement? Like forever?

1. Just walk it really slowly down the steps.

2. I think this website has a podcast.

3. Your basement will probably smell like yeast/beer for the first week or so during the really active primary fermentation stage, but will more or less start going away after that.

That looks like a pretty good starting kit, but the only thing that I would highly recommend is to get a wort chiller. I couldn't imagine brewing without one. You could even make one yourself if you don't want to buy a premade one since all it is is copper pipe and some tubing.

KrazyTacoFO wrote:

That looks like a pretty good starting kit, but the only thing that I would highly recommend is to get a wort chiller. I couldn't imagine brewing without one. You could even make one yourself if you don't want to buy a premade one since all it is is copper pipe and some tubing.

This may only be necessary depending on process. I don't see a brew kettle listed in the package above, so it's hard to know.
For a partial boil process (cool, sterile water is added after the boil to bring total volume to 5 gal), cooling the kettle in a sink full of ice may be good enough.
For a full boil, where you boil the full five gallons at once, a wort chiller is the way to go.
Either way, it's to your advantage to get your wort cooled as quickly as possible to avoid contamination.

rabbit wrote:

So, I'm jumping in with both feet. On Pyro's recommendations, I bought the "brewing starter kit" from Midwest:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homeb...

And a few ancillary items (thermometer, bottles, etc, more sanitizer, etc)

A few dumb questions:

1: Can you actually get 5 gallons in a bucket down a flight of stairs? Pretty much the only thing I can't do in my basement is the actual boil. I got slop sinks and storage and all sorts of stuff down there, but I can't see how I'm not doing the boil and cooling in my kitchen.

2: Any good podcasts?

3: I know the actual boil is notoriously stinky, but will my entire house smell like beer if I'm fermenting in the basement? Like forever?

That looks like a pretty decent kit. I would just recommend revising brewing instructions from a couple different places not just the ones in your kit just to get a better idea of the process. I feel I got a better handle on it by reading from several sources.

1. I usually store my beers in the basement during the summer months and I haven't had too much trouble. In the winter I'll keep it in a closet upstairs. I used to have to take it down two flights of stairs at my last place and it wasn't too big a deal. I know they make carriers for glass carboys if you're paranoid about moving it

2. Dunno.

3. I have not had any problems with the fermentation smelling up the place. Even the brewing isn't too bad. You can smell it when you walk in our house when I'm making it but a few hours later you can't even tell.

The boil is not stinky at all--it smells more like bread baking than anything. My wife loves the smell of it. Some fermentations, on the other hand, can be quite sulfury.

conejote wrote:

The boil is not stinky at all--it smells more like bread baking than anything. My wife loves the smell of it.

Ditto. If you told a guest that you were baking bread when they walked in the door they would believe you.

Podcasts:

Basic Brewing Lot's of good info, in short episodes. If you can get over the "Dad" humor, it's fine.

The Brewing Network My personal favorite, I suggest starting with the early episodes of The Sunday Session. Lots of great info in those.. as the show has evolved over the years it's more about the brewing industry, and LOTS of inside jokes/sophmoric humor.

John Palmer, homebrewing guru also has his first edition free on the web. A MUST read for anyone getting into homebrewing.

Last but certainly not least, is Homebrew Talk. An amazing message board for information.

Any questions let me know. I brewed 100 gallons of beer last year, and have 4 beers on tap at home. I like to think I have learned a few things the hard way!

Wow, impressive El-Producto

Is it safe to assume you've moved beyond brewing in 5 gallon batches?

Actually.. I still brew mostly 5 gallon batches.. although I will often do 10 gallons if it's a quick drinker.

I didn't drink all of that.. trust me. I give lots away, and brew for parties, etc.

Thanks for all the great advice.

My big problem with a wort chiller is that theres no way I could attach it to my Kitchen sink, which has a fancy spray thingy on it. I could do it to the basement sink, but that means carrying boiling hot wort down the stairs, and that seems like a poor choice. I know my first few batches will just be extracts, and was planning on doing the partial boil thing, and having my sterile water at about 40 degrees when I mix it in (my garage temperature in winter). Come summer, I could move the whole boil operation outside where I have hose bibs.

I did get a 7.5 gallon brew kettle as well.

You could just run a hose from the basement.

What I did (until I broke the faucet the other week) was move the boil to the bathroom (don't worry, it's clean) which had a faucet I could hook an adapter and my wort chiller up to. I'm still looking for an excuse to replace my kitchen faucet so I don't have to keep doing this.

rabbit wrote:

Thanks for all the great advice.

My big problem with a wort chiller is that theres no way I could attach it to my Kitchen sink, which has a fancy spray thingy on it. I could do it to the basement sink, but that means carrying boiling hot wort down the stairs, and that seems like a poor choice. I know my first few batches will just be extracts, and was planning on doing the partial boil thing, and having my sterile water at about 40 degrees when I mix it in (my garage temperature in winter). Come summer, I could move the whole boil operation outside where I have hose bibs.

I did get a 7.5 gallon brew kettle as well.

If you have a double sink you can just chill water in one side and pump it through the chiller inserted into the kettle in the other side (that's what we do).

rabbit wrote:

My big problem with a wort chiller is that theres no way I could attach it to my Kitchen sink, which has a fancy spray thingy on it. I could do it to the basement sink, but that means carrying boiling hot wort down the stairs, and that seems like a poor choice.

Yeah, before the brew setup moved to the garage, and the boil to a propane-driven burner, we did everything on the kitchen stove and then had a hose running from the laundry sink, through house, up the stairs and attached to the chiller. The major benefit of a chiller is reducing the window of contamination. Fighting off the various things that can spoil your beer is your major focus at first. We kept a large rubbermaid tub filled with 5-6 gallons of this stuff http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-equipment/cleaning-and-sanitizing/sanitizers/one-step.html in the kitchen/brew area, with a lid, so that anything touching the beer-to-be was squeaky clean.

Another tool that will be a big help if you decide to keep at this is one of these:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-equipment/measuring-testing/refractometer-atc-with-brix-and-sg-scale.html

Place a drop of your wort/beer on the glass, close the lid, auto-magic specific gravity reading. This is going to be key to knowing when things need to happen, and also to repeating your success.

Once you get tired of bottling, consider a 5 gallon kegging setup. Kegging is about a thousand times easier, and nearly fool-proof, when compared with bottling.

Rules to brew by:
Clean it
Start the timer
Write it down
Is it still clean? Probably not. Sanitize!

IMAGE(http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6192/6066678335_6b4e609cba_b.jpg)

Good call on the extract kits, you can make a lot of tasty beer and memorize the general steps to the process before wandering off into the world of all-grain!

carrotpanic wrote:
rabbit wrote:

Thanks for all the great advice.

My big problem with a wort chiller is that theres no way I could attach it to my Kitchen sink, which has a fancy spray thingy on it. I could do it to the basement sink, but that means carrying boiling hot wort down the stairs, and that seems like a poor choice. I know my first few batches will just be extracts, and was planning on doing the partial boil thing, and having my sterile water at about 40 degrees when I mix it in (my garage temperature in winter). Come summer, I could move the whole boil operation outside where I have hose bibs.

I did get a 7.5 gallon brew kettle as well.

If you have a double sink you can just chill water in one side and pump it through the chiller inserted into the kettle in the other side (that's what we do).

I've never had a wort chiller and just used the "ice bath" method, in which the kettle goes in the sink in a bunch of ice water. The ice melts quickly at first (good thing I have a freezer that poops out a lot of ice) but I just keep dropping more in and cycling in cold water with the tap. Worked for me so far.

Michael wrote:
carrotpanic wrote:
rabbit wrote:

Thanks for all the great advice.

My big problem with a wort chiller is that theres no way I could attach it to my Kitchen sink, which has a fancy spray thingy on it. I could do it to the basement sink, but that means carrying boiling hot wort down the stairs, and that seems like a poor choice. I know my first few batches will just be extracts, and was planning on doing the partial boil thing, and having my sterile water at about 40 degrees when I mix it in (my garage temperature in winter). Come summer, I could move the whole boil operation outside where I have hose bibs.

I did get a 7.5 gallon brew kettle as well.

If you have a double sink you can just chill water in one side and pump it through the chiller inserted into the kettle in the other side (that's what we do).

I've never had a wort chiller and just used the "ice bath" method, in which the kettle goes in the sink in a bunch of ice water. The ice melts quickly at first (good thing I have a freezer that poops out a lot of ice) but I just keep dropping more in and cycling in cold water with the tap. Worked for me so far.

It definitely works, and we did that at first too, but the time savings alone of having a chiller is worth it imo.

What saxtus said. There's no reason to rush into grain brewing, as you can make some great stuff with extract--especially once you get the hang of it enough to start making your own recipes. My first homebrewing competition awards were from extract batches, and I still make them when the weather's not friendly for outdoor brewing.