11 replies to this topic

[Norava]

So I've been homebrewing for a year or so now off and on. 

 

I started with the Brooklyn Brewshop Everyday IPA starter kit. This one turned out pretty good, but I think I let the mash stay too hot for too long. 

 

This year my girlfriend bought me the Chocolate Maple Porter and the Evil Twin Bikini Beer. 

 

We just finished up everything for the Chocolate Maple Porter this week, and now are waiting the required fermentation length before bottling (two weeks).

 

Here's a picture of our CMP before going someplace dark so it could ferment. 

 

Spoiler

 

Anyone else have any homebrewing experience? Any family members who homebrew? Or just a love for beer in general?

 

Also, the hops for this one were called "Fuggle Hops"

 

Spoiler

Edited by Grant, 24 October 2014 - 10:03 AM.

[NapisaurusRex]

@Hawk does this stuff.

 

I've thought about it, but I have other, more important projects to do first.

[talbs]

I've always wanted to give it a shot, but I've yet to do so.

[Norava]

Have you or Hawk tried brewing from raw ingredients (ie, not using the bladder)?

 

I've got a kit for brewing, but since my first batch spoiled I've been pre discouraged to try it again.

 

It's one of those things that you have to be VERY particular in everything you do. Temperatures have to be correct, but most importantly, and probably why yours spoiled is sanitation. Did you forget to sanitize the lid before you put it on? Did you not sanitize the spoon you used to stir? Did you sanitize the jar / bottles / etc. One slip up and there will be too much bacteria and it can kill your yeast.

 

Also, please elaborate further into "using a bladder". 

 

 

I've always wanted to give it a shot, but I've yet to do so.

 

You should! It takes about 2 or 3 hours in the starting process, and then a lot of the time is just spent sitting and waiting. @talbs

Edited by Grant, 24 October 2014 - 09:53 AM.

[talbs]

Well Simon got banned so that didn't take long. Including equipment and materials (kit, bottles, etc.) how much does it cost for one batch/cycle and how many bottles do you typically get from that?

[Norava]

Well Simon got banned so that didn't take long. Including equipment and materials (kit, bottles, etc.) how much does it cost for one batch/cycle and how many bottles do you typically get from that?

 

The kit has pretty much everything you need to make the beer, and it's $40. The only thing extra I had to buy were two stock pots that would hold all of the mash / wert (beer step #1). 

 

Then when you want to bottle it, you can buy the bottle capper and caps for $20. 

 

I would say, for my entire one gallon setup, I spent about $100.

 

Now I can buy the mixes for $15, but those are the premade ones, I could probably buy the raw ingredients and make more for less. 

 

Each gallon makes 8-12 beers. If you brewed 5 gallons you would get more bang for your buck. 

[Hawk]

Each gallon makes 8-12 beers. If you brewed 5 gallons you would get more bang for your buck. 

If you brew by the 1/2 barrel you get a better bang for your buck.   Wish I had 15 gallon+ capabilities.

 

Anyways, I homebrew.  I'm to the point where I just buy grains, hops, yeast, and in some cases extra sugar sources (Honey, candi sugar, corn sugar, etc) or other flavoring bits (Oak chips/whiskey, vanilla beans, cinnamon, ginger, etc.)

 

I do 5 gallon batches.  They've ranged from $15 (Cream ale) to  $50+ (Belgian Gold Strong Ale, Black IPA) to produce.  The cost isn't bad when I consider I normally spend $7-9 for a sixer, minimum.  Sometimes it's $10 for a four pack... or $10 for a 22oz.  I'm going to be brewing a Great Lakes Christmas Ale clone tomorrow to hopefully distribute to friends and family around Christmas.  I did a double brew weekend last weekend and did NB's Black IPA as well as a dark lager of my own.  First attempt at doing a lager so I'll see how that turns out.

 

Kegerator is currently tapped out, but I'll have 3 of 4 taps with beer on it within 3 weeks.  I've got a blonde I'm going to get in a keg tonight so I can free up the fermenter for my Christmas brew.

 

This hobby grows on you way too fast.  Avoid if you can.  Just kidding, it rocks.

[Norava]

@Hawk I've looked into brewing 5 gallons, but I live in an apartment. What's your setup look like? The hardest part for me so far is actually pouring the wort over the grains multiple times if I'm making an IPA. Is this done differently with a 5 gallon brew? Do you just siphon it out and over? 

 

Did you order your stuff online? 

[Hawk]

@Hawk I've looked into brewing 5 gallons, but I live in an apartment. What's your setup look like? The hardest part for me so far is actually pouring the wort over the grains multiple times if I'm making an IPA. Is this done differently with a 5 gallon brew? Do you just siphon it out and over? 

 

Did you order your stuff online? 

I have a Dark Star propane burner from Northern Brewer or Midwest Supplies, and a 10 gallon kettle.  I live in an 'apartment', but I only have to lug my equipment down one flight of stairs to be outside, so I can brew out there.  It's not a small apartment either since I live in the midwest and have room.  I'm not quite sure what you mean about pouring wort over the grains multiple times.  I do a brew in the bag process (BIAB), and usually I heat my mash water on my stove top.  It's only got to get up to ~158°, then I pull the kettle off the stove and put it on a towel on the floor, put the nylon bag on the kettle, and mash in all my grains.  Mix a few times during the mash, afterwards I sparge with less than a half gallon of water straight from the tap and I squeeze the grain bag a bit to get as many fermentables as possible out.

 

After that mess, I carry my kettle full of wort outside and put it on the burner and get it up to a boil.  Add hops per the hop schedule.  With ~5 minutes left, put my immersion chiller in.  After flameout, carry the formerly boiling liquid up a flight of stairs to my kitchen, put the kettle on a hot pad on top of a towel, hook the immersion chiller up to the sink, and let it cool everything.  Pitch yeast at temperature.

[Norava]

I've never done the brew in a bag. I'm looking at it right now.

 

What I do is pour the water and grains (1 gallon of water) and bring it up to temp. I kept it between 142-152 for about an hour, and then what I did was I put ANOTHER strainer on top of the other pot we have, and poured the first pot into the strainer + second pot. This captured the grains and the wort (working on the terminology) and then I heated up another gallon in the initial pot and used that to pour over the grains. 

 

Does the sparge water HAVE to be roughly the same temp? This is the water that you pour over the grains to get sugars, etc? 

 

Once you get enough water you toss in the hops and let that boil for an hour, and then you cool and move to your fermentation carboy.

 

Do you use a 5 gallon plastic bucket or a 5 gallon glass carboy?

 

@Hawk

[Hawk]

I've never done the brew in a bag. I'm looking at it right now.

 

What I do is pour the water and grains (1 gallon of water) and bring it up to temp. I kept it between 142-152 for about an hour, and then what I did was I put ANOTHER strainer on top of the other pot we have, and poured the first pot into the strainer + second pot. This captured the grains and the wort (working on the terminology) and then I heated up another gallon in the initial pot and used that to pour over the grains. 

 

Does the sparge water HAVE to be roughly the same temp? This is the water that you pour over the grains to get sugars, etc? 

 

Once you get enough water you toss in the hops and let that boil for an hour, and then you cool and move to your fermentation carboy.

 

Do you use a 5 gallon plastic bucket or a 5 gallon glass carboy?

 

@Hawk

Sparge water can be as hot as 170° without any problems if I remember correctly.  Above that and you may extract tannins from the grain which will lead to off flavors.  Yes that is the water your pour over the grain to get additional sugars that were missed originally.

 

Correct on the boiling > Cooling > Carboy.

 

I used to have 2 glass 6.5 gallon carboys.  One of them cracked while it was drying (Likely caused by repeated stress from heating and cooling cycles, my bad) so I'm shying away from glass.  I've got one 6.5 glass carboy, two 6 gallon plastic PET carboys, and a 5 gallon secondary carboy.  My girlfriend does wine, she's got a 7-8 gallon fermentation bucket sitting here as well.

[Norava]

Does this process look like what you do?

 

 

Simply strain the bag and that leaves you with the wort? In the video he didn't pour any water over the bag, is this step necessary or is this just to make sure that you have sufficient water? 

 

Also when buying your supplies to brew, do you order your grains / yeast / hops online or do you have a local store you go to? 

 

@Hawk