Home Brew

My suggestion is to find a buddy that knows what he's doing and brew a few times with him. You can share the costs and effort and learn how to do it. That worked really well for me. Plus you can ease your way into the equipment that way too. No sense getting all the equipment etc. before you know if it's something you will continue doing.

I've fabricated my own equipment; 24 gallon boil pot with wort chiller, 13 gallon conical fermenter, modified large cooler with perforated false bottom for a mash tun, and some bottle drying racks that really help with bottle sterilization. It's a fun hobby and you'll make some really good beers but don't think you'll be saving bunches of money because you won't.

 
JJHusker1 said:
My suggestion is to find a buddy that knows what he's doing and brew a few times with him. You can share the costs and effort and learn how to do it. That worked really well for me. Plus you can ease your way into the equipment that way too. No sense getting all the equipment etc. before you know if it's something you will continue doing.

I've fabricated my own equipment; 24 gallon boil pot with wort chiller, 13 gallon conical fermenter, modified large cooler with perforated false bottom for a mash tun, and some bottle drying racks that really help with bottle sterilization. It's a fun hobby and you'll make some really good beers but don't think you'll be saving bunches of money because you won't.
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Good job mentioning the cost, people think they'll save money brewing it themselves and you might if you look at the per cost per bottle to make, but most don't take the equipment cost into account in their figures. It's purely for fun, that's it, my wife was irritated with the costs at first.
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Ok...2 questions.

When it is fermenting, does it make the area smell like beer? I'm thinking I want it to ferment in my basement but it is right next to my daughters bedroom. She would flip out if she had to smell it for two weeks.

Do people just use left over bottles from commercial beer or do you need special bottles? If so, I better start drinking.

 
It won't be bad at all. I always did mine in a side closet that was kept a little cooler than room temp. No smell at all. But just being adjacent to a bedroom won't be a big deal, the smell is really not an issue.

I used both the bottles you can buy and commercial bottles. Here's my ranking on bottles:

1. Swingtop bottles or old Grolsch bottles - you need rubber gaskets but these are super easy and 100% the best way to go. Expensive though if you have to buy them all new. I got an old box for free so that was cool. But you just add the beer, swing the lid on to seal it and that's it. No capper needed.

2. Homebrew bottles you can buy. These bottles are built very sturdy and usually have a neck area that's a little thicker because when you put the cap on, you are applying a lot of stress to that area of the bottle, so bottles made for homebrew will hardly ever break.

3. Commercial bottles - I've used them and used them a lot, but the downside is that they're not made for being capped with a hand-capper, so the neck breaks easily. I bet I broke 3-4 bottles per batch just capping when I used commercial bottles. Then you have a broken glass mess and have to decide whether trying to save that bottle of beer is worth it and it just sucks. They'll work, but don't use screw-off-cap bottles obviously, and if you use them try to use a stouter, sturdier bottle. I found that I liked the bottles that Boulevard/Sierra Nevada/Empyrean use.

 
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What the other guys said, no smell. Unless you have a blow off like I did the first time. So dont do that!

We bought 72 bottles for home brewing. We just rinse them out after were done drinking the beer and use them again for a new batch because you have to sanitize them anyways. Might as well keep using the same ones and save money.

 
Anyone else up and brewing now?

I have a five gallon batch of black IPA that is bubbling away in the basement and I think that I'm going to brew a batch of a Moose Drool knockoff this weekend.

Haven't tasted a bit of it yet but I think that it's safe to say that I'm hooked. Mrs. carlfense is THRILLED that I have another hobby.

 
No...been too busy with other stuff. It might be this summer before I'm able to do anything. Let us know how it turns out.

Is this from a kit?

 
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