Anyone here homebrew beer?

I actually don't, but was interested in getting started. How long does it take to brew a batch? Did you just buy a kit, or did you buy ingredients and untensils separately? How many different kinds have you made? I'm a wheat beer/hef fan myself, and was wondering how hard it would be to brew some up?

 
it's really easy actually. I had always wanted to do it and finally got a starter kit from my dad on Christmas and have been loving it ever since. It seems a little daunting at first but once you figure out what the equipment/terms/ingredients are it's a lot of fun.

It can become as simple or as complex as you want to make it.

Some guys I know have simple setups and just bottle in coke bottles. Other guys do all grain which requires them to brew in their garage with large amounts of equipment and then end up kegging their beer in a large four tap refridgerator. I have yet to get into kegging or all grain because that first step gets really expensive.

I make at least one or two batches a month which gets me about 50 bottles of beer worth. Depending on what you brew, it can equate to about $0.50 a bottle after you buy the ingredients (the equipment adds up though). Stores sell ingredient kits with everything included...or you can experiment on your own and buy them individually. So far I've made a lager (which was what came with the kit my dad gave me....it wasn't that good), a Bavarian wheat, an American wheat similar to Blue Moon (my gf likes Blue Moon), an Irish Red Ale that I love already, and a really really good stout. This weekend I plan on making a Chimay Blue clone along with a Mexican Cerveza style for when I go to the lake in July.

For me, each batch takes about 3-4 hours to brew, 2-3 weeks to ferment, and then 2 weeks to carbonate once you bottle. All depends on how many ingredients you put in it and how much time you want to let it sit and age.

 
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bennychico11 said:
it's really easy actually. I had always wanted to do it and finally got a starter kit from my dad on Christmas and have been loving it ever since. It seems a little daunting at first but once you figure out what the equipment/terms/ingredients are it's a lot of fun.

It can become as simple or as complex as you want to make it.

Some guys I know have simple setups and just bottle in coke bottles. Other guys do all grain which requires them to brew in their garage with large amounts of equipment and then end up kegging their beer in a large four tap refridgerator. I have yet to get into kegging or all grain because that first step gets really expensive.

I make at least one or two batches a month which gets me about 50 bottles of beer worth. Depending on what you brew, it can equate to about $0.50 a bottle after you buy the ingredients (the equipment adds up though). Stores sell ingredient kits with everything included...or you can experiment on your own and buy them individually. So far I've made a lager (which was what came with the kit my dad gave me....it wasn't that good), a Bavarian wheat, an American wheat similar to Blue Moon (my gf likes Blue Moon), an Irish Red Ale that I love already, and a really really good stout. This weekend I plan on making a Chimay Blue clone along with a Mexican Cerveza style for when I go to the lake in July.

For me, each batch takes about 3-4 hours to brew, 2-3 weeks to ferment, and then 2 weeks to carbonate once you bottle. All depends on how many ingredients you put in it and how much time you want to let it sit and age.
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I'm thinking about getting my girlfriend & I into it. We both love quality beers, so why not brew our own? It'd be a good thing to do together. If you don't mind me asking Benny, what kit did you get?

 
killer cacti said:
I'm thinking about getting my girlfriend & I into it. We both love quality beers, so why not brew our own? It'd be a good thing to do together. If you don't mind me asking Benny, what kit did you get?
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I got my gf into it too. She's my official bottle capper! lol

My kit came from a local shop here in KC. But you can order them online too. A couple companies I buy ingredients and other supplies from:

austinhomebrew.com (they have a flat 7.99 shipping which I like)

midwestsupplies.com

this is a good starter kit and has everything I pretty much bought myself:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/Pr...spx?ProdID=3315

 
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bennychico11 said:
killer cacti said:
I'm thinking about getting my girlfriend & I into it. We both love quality beers, so why not brew our own? It'd be a good thing to do together. If you don't mind me asking Benny, what kit did you get?
Click to expand...
I got my gf into it too. She's my official bottle capper! lol

My kit came from a local shop here in KC. But you can order them online too. A couple companies I buy ingredients and other supplies from:

austinhomebrew.com (they have a flat 7.99 shipping which I like)

midwestsupplies.com

this is a good starter kit and has everything I pretty much bought myself:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/Pr...spx?ProdID=3315
Click to expand...
Thanks man.

 
bennychico11 said:
it's really easy actually. I had always wanted to do it and finally got a starter kit from my dad on Christmas and have been loving it ever since. It seems a little daunting at first but once you figure out what the equipment/terms/ingredients are it's a lot of fun.

It can become as simple or as complex as you want to make it.

Some guys I know have simple setups and just bottle in coke bottles. Other guys do all grain which requires them to brew in their garage with large amounts of equipment and then end up kegging their beer in a large four tap refridgerator. I have yet to get into kegging or all grain because that first step gets really expensive.

I make at least one or two batches a month which gets me about 50 bottles of beer worth. Depending on what you brew, it can equate to about $0.50 a bottle after you buy the ingredients (the equipment adds up though). Stores sell ingredient kits with everything included...or you can experiment on your own and buy them individually. So far I've made a lager (which was what came with the kit my dad gave me....it wasn't that good), a Bavarian wheat, an American wheat similar to Blue Moon (my gf likes Blue Moon), an Irish Red Ale that I love already, and a really really good stout. This weekend I plan on making a Chimay Blue clone along with a Mexican Cerveza style for when I go to the lake in July.

For me, each batch takes about 3-4 hours to brew, 2-3 weeks to ferment, and then 2 weeks to carbonate once you bottle. All depends on how many ingredients you put in it and how much time you want to let it sit and age.
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Awesome!! I'm gonna have to get started and I'll be sure to post the results.

 
I did this for awhile as well. I started with a Mr. Beer kit and wasn't really satisfied with the results. I had better luck with supplies from my local homebrew store.

 
bennychico11 said:
You can only re-use the pry off ones.
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Why's that?

I can usually push my twist off caps back down over the threads and make a pretty good seal..although, I'll probably just re-use the 2L plastic soda bottles like a buddy that used to belong to my old Dog park group did once with a wonderful nut-brown Ale.

I've been wanting to brew my own ever since I attended a Gas Chromatography class/seminar in Boulder back in the early '90's and got my first taste of all the Brew-Pubs around CU.

A couple other chemists I used to work with made a really nasty raspberry beer once so I'll probably never try another "fruit-beer"...They used mainly Grolsch bottles

I just bought a 4-Gal garden sprayer/backpack last month that I'm going to experiment with..There's a brew-pub in nearby Awatukee that sells their micro-brew in one or 5gallon lots and I'm thinking, I can keep it under pressure in the new weed sprayer without having to buy expensive keg/tap/pump combos...Maybe even throw in a chunk of dry ice to add to the carbonation if it goes flat.

I'm also curious about how you sanitize the old bottles..Do you cook everything in boiling water like when Grandma used to can fruits/vegetables? or can you just wash and do a final rinse with ETOH? or Everclear (190 proof Ethyl Alcohol)?

 
HUSKER 37 said:
Why's that?

I can usually push my twist off caps back down over the threads and make a pretty good seal..
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I think the reason is (from my understanding) is that you aren't guaranteed a tight enough seal (not letting air in and still avoiding bottle bombs). Some people say if you want to use twist off bottles you must use a bench capper versus a wing capper to force a tighter seal...but I've read other posts of people still having bottles destroyed and beer wasted after doing this.

although, I'll probably just re-use the 2L plastic soda bottles like a buddy that used to belong to my old Dog park group did once with a wonderful nut-brown Ale.
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I hear or lots of people using plastic soda bottle just like this. Only problem I can see is wasting carbonation by opening it and reopening it every time you want only a single glass full.

A couple other chemists I used to work with made a really nasty raspberry beer once so I'll probably never try another "fruit-beer"...They used mainly Grolsch bottles
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Grolsch bottles are great and recommended by lots of home brewers. Funny thing is, I've heard of everyone I've talked to hating raspberry flavored beers. Sam Adams makes one I think that, although I've never tried, I hear is terrible.

Still, people do like to add fruit to their beer. I think it's all in how much and what you add.

I just bought a 4-Gal garden sprayer/backpack last month that I'm going to experiment with..There's a brew-pub in nearby Awatukee that sells their micro-brew in one or 5gallon lots and I'm thinking, I can keep it under pressure in the new weed sprayer without having to buy expensive keg/tap/pump combos
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that you'll have to ask someone on a homebrew forum about. I'm not sure how that would work....since I don't keg or understand the whole keg process.

...Maybe even throw in a chunk of dry ice to add to the carbonation if it goes flat.
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be careful with dry ice. The idea behind carb'ing in bottles is that sugar is added and carbonation is slowly absorbed by the beer over several weeks. I think dry ice would be more of "shocking" the beer...not to mention you need to be very careful putting dry ice in a closed container. Google "dry ice bombs"

Too much and you could have an explosion that could get you hurt.

I'm also curious about how you sanitize the old bottles..Do you cook everything in boiling water like when Grandma used to can fruits/vegetables? or can you just wash and do a final rinse with ETOH? or Everclear (190 proof Ethyl Alcohol)?
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Everyone has their own process. I let my bottles soak in a solution of oxyclean and warm water to clean the beer out. Then scrub them with a bottle brush to get everything out. You can then put them in a dishwasher and run the dishwasher on the dry cycle to heat the bottles up and kill most bacteria. I've done that once when I first started out, but don't anymore. My step after the oxyclean step (and after checking the bottles are clean) is to dump each bottle and fill them up with a solution of sanitizer. Home brew stores sell different kinds of sanitizers...many of them no-rinse sanitizers. You'll learn quickly that sanitizing is the most important process of brewing your beer. I'd rather spend the extra time sanitizing than have an entire 5 gallon batch destroyed because of mold.

:wasted

 
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