Homebrewing

[Omaha-Husker]

I got my first kit for Christmas and I am looking forward to getting into it tomorrow. Anyone have suggestions other than keep it all clean and follow the instructions? Just looking for a little general knowledge from a more experienced home brewer.

[tschu]

Don't let the wort boil over! I've done this and it's difficult as hell to clean off of your stove.

 

Run hot water over your containers of malt extract, it will make it much easier to pour.

 

Star-San is the absolute best for sanitizing. You can get a quart of it for like $20 and it'll last you many batches.

 

What are you using for bottles? I saved a bunch of Empyrean and Sam Adams bottles and just used those. A bench capper is better than a handheld though if you use commercial bottles. The necks of commercial bottles aren't designed for the stress and leverage that a handheld capper puts on it, and I've found that they break fairly easily.

 

Make sure your wort is cool (like 70* or cooler) before pouring into your fermenter bucket. You can buy ice (we used to put the kettle in the sink and fill the sink with ice-water several times, it took about 30 lbs of ice to do the job) , or this time of year just throw your brew kettle outside into a snowbank.

 

Make sure you have a good thermometer.

 

Have a big bowl or bucket filled with sanitizer solution. It's nice to have for sanitizing utensils, thermometer, etc when you're on the go.

 

If you're doing a kit, I assume they'll include a packet of dry yeast. You'll want to rehydrate the yeast for best results. As you start boiling the wort, boil about 1.5 cups of water in a small pan (to sanitize). Let it cool, covered, until it is about 85 degrees, and sprinkle your yeast packet into the water. Keep this covered for about a half hour and the yeast will be rehydrated and will add a bit of a jump-start to your fermentation.

 

What do you plan on using for water? I've never used tap water because ours is horrible. I usually go to Super Saver or other store and buy like 6-7 gallons of Spring Water or Drinking Water. It's like $0.70 a gallon or something so it's fairly cheap. Just don't use distilled water, you want some natural minerals in the water.

 

In general, just go over each step in your head to make sure you have all of the necessary equipment and utensils ready to go.

 

 

There is also another homebrew thread here: http://www.huskerboard.com/index.php?/topic/33899-anyone-here-homebrew-beer/

 

 

 

I've only made like 5 batches but I love it and I'm still getting on my feet for starting some all-grain brewing. Great hobby!

[carlfense]

mmmmmm.

 

beer.

[bennychico11]

good points by tschu. At least all of this is assuming you got a real kit and not one of the Mr. Beer cold brew kits. There's a big difference.

If you don't make it through the entire thread that he linked to...make sure you look over this:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/

 

Especially if you're brewing extract only (which is good when you're just starting out). But eventually you'll want to branch out and that link will help you try a bunch of new techniques without having to buy a crap load of equipment.

 

A couple other tips:

If you're using dry yeast (I recommend Wyeast)...make sure the wort is cooled first. Don't throw the yeast in hot wort, otherwise it will kill it. I learned that hard the first brew I made.

If you don't have one, get an auto-siphon. They're so much easier!

Once you go partial grain...don't mess with your grain too much. Just let it steep.

Don't use glass carboys. Heavy liquids and glass don't go well, and if you drop/break them...you could hurt yourself.

I prefer a bench capper. I had a handheld that broke on the first bottle I tried to cap with it. My bench capper has worked flawless.

To clean bottles, I like to soak everything in a solution of warm water and Oxyclean after I empty them. THEN sanitizer before filling them. Get a good bottle brush.

Unlike tschu, I do use tap water. Generally, if you don't mind the taste of your tap water, you'll be fine.

 

Oh yeah...and be ready to gain weight. Although I haven't brewed in awhile, I used to always have 40-50 bottles on a shelf at a time with another fermenting in the basement

[Omaha-Husker]

Thanks for the tips! I am just about to get started and will keep this page handy. My kit came with a fermenting bucket, bottling bucket, tubing, cleaner, auto siphon, thermometer, gravity device, and hand bottler among other things. I got a measured mix kit, but I don't think it is a Mr. Beer cold brew. I have to boil and ferment for at least a week with this one. Got it from Cornhusker Beverage and the guy that helped me out seemed to know what he was talking about with what I ended up with.

 

I already got the water so I will use the bottled kind. I hadn't heard about premixing yeast yet so I will for sure try that, it makes sense. I am planning on bottling about half of it in my empty Lucky Bucket growlers and the other half in bottles I have been saving up. They aren't uniform height, but they are all brown and pry off.

 

My first few batches will probably go premeasured just so I can get the hang of it, I will probably be back asking about more advanced practices in a few months. From everyone I have talked too it seems like an awesome hobby, looking forward to getting it going.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Read "How to Brew" by John Palmer, it's the bible to homebrewing IMO and you will learn a lot by reading that book. Temperature control is the best way to control what type of beer you make. Too warm or too cold and you might not like the product you get and miss your gravity readings by quite a bit. Go to the manufacturer websites for your yeast to determine what temperatures you should ferment at based on that yeast. A lot of times the extract kits or kits you get from home brewing places will just give you a general temperature to keep it at. Clean, clean, then clean some more.......................the sanitize, sanitize, and sanitize some more. Oh and RDWAHAHB............Relax Don't Worry And Have A Home Brew. Visit homebrewtalk.com if you want to have all the information to home brewing you could ever ask for.

[bennychico11]

Thanks for the tips! I am just about to get started and will keep this page handy. My kit came with a fermenting bucket, bottling bucket, tubing, cleaner, auto siphon, thermometer, gravity device, and hand bottler among other things. I got a measured mix kit, but I don't think it is a Mr. Beer cold brew. I have to boil and ferment for at least a week with this one.

Nah, you've got a true brewing kit. If you have to boil the water...that's not a Mr. Beer kit. It'll taste better

 

I already got the water so I will use the bottled kind. I hadn't heard about premixing yeast yet so I will for sure try that, it makes sense.

 

Rehydrating the yeast is recommended for dry yeast...like said above. However, I just recommend smack packs like these:

So much easier to deal with and I've never had any problems with fermentation.

 

I am planning on bottling about half of it in my empty Lucky Bucket growlers and the other half in bottles I have been saving up. They aren't uniform height, but they are all brown and pry off.

Don't need to be uniform height. Not sure what instructions you have for bottling...but be sure to mix the sugar/water ratio correctly. I take 3/4 cup regular cane sugar and mix it with 2 cups water in a pan on the stove. Boil for 15 minutes or until well dissolved. Let it cool then throw into your bottling bucket BEFORE siphoning your fermented beer onto it. This will help insure everything is properly mixed and that you minimize bottle bombs.

Eventually you'll want to get a bottling bucket like these: http://www.midwestsu...ith-spigot.html

What's nice about those is the spigot you can turn on and off. Then you can take a bottle filler, attach it to the bucket, and fill bottles easily!

 

Anyway, don't want to confuse you too much. But once I started brewing I realized there's so much more involved than I had ever knew. Good luck!

[OH HSKR FAN]

Homebrewing sounds cool but I have no patience for that. Too easy to head to the convenience store or a bar.

[tschu]

+1 on Palmer's "How to Brew"

 

It's pretty much the homebrewing Bible. Joy of Homebrewing is good too, but it's in a weird style. Palmer's is more sciencey, which is awesome.

 

That remindsme, I need to get an autosiphon...I can't stop buying homebrew stuff

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Once you start the hobby it can get out of control fast..................my wife said, "I thought this was supposed to save us money?"