OT: Any home brewers?

[stevestrat2]

My son bought me a Northern Brewer home brewing kit. Going to start brewing some beer out of the kitchen in a few weeks. This will be my first go-round. Thankfully my son, the beer and wine expert, is coming in to enjoy the inaugural event with the old man. Anyone else out there done any home brewing?

 

[TheReelEss]

I thought I wanted to get into that when the craft beer craze was new. But I realized I couldn't homebrew beer anywhere near as good as I can buy. I do love the craft brews and going to microbreweries.

 

[USC92EEPE]

I used to home brew but started brewing at the brewpub here in Aiken. I stopped brewing there when owners changed 15 plus years ago but never started back home brewing. Expect to clean more than you brew. I used Northerns products back in the day before they sold kits. DME is a major step up over concentratees liquids. You need a 6 plus gallon pot to make 5 gallon batches. Don’t cook it on the stove. Trust me. Turkey fryer type propane thing in the driveway. You will either get bit and the rabbit hole awaits or not. I suggest brown ales as they are the most forgiving. You can’t make Bud light but why?

 

[AUSCFAN77]

My son bought me a Northern Brewer home brewing kit. Going to start brewing some beer out of the kitchen in a few weeks. This will be my first go-round. Thankfully my son, the beer and wine expert, is coming in to enjoy the inaugural event with the old man. Anyone else out there done any home brewing?

Northern Brewer is a good place to start. I got one of those Mr. Beer kits from my kids once and it never really worked out. But I've since done several one or two gallon batches of blonde ales and IPA's - makes about 10-11 twelve ounce bottles. Use glass fermenters and make sure everything is sanitized. Makes some really good home brews. Be patient. My one issue is the chilling of the wort before you pitch the yeast. After my boil for about an hour it takes forever to cool it down and keep it sanitary until you go from 170 degrees F to no more than 71 degrees F. I use an ice bath in the kitchen sink but took longer than you could imagine - and I went through 2.5 bags of grocery store ice to cool it.

Bottling takes two hands / two people. But the results are fun. I get my adult kids to help make the beer, drink a few local crafts while we wait, and then they clean up. And 3-4 weeks later they come back and enjoy a pint with me.

I consider it "adult chemistry" but it's all about the experience. I went to one or two gallon batches because if it goes bad, you haven't lost much, other than time. I'm in the Seattle area so we have lots of local brewer supply locations for all my goods. Make a few friends and do the brewing together. I've done the "brew it yourself" twice but both times the beers were not as good as home brews, either because of cleanliness or someone had "brewed" root beer the day before and my first bottles were "A&W IPA's!"

Good luck. And if you want good advice, I'll be happy to answer, or go to beercraftr.com and morebeer.com for good advice and reading on home brewing. Don't be scared to try something - use small batches. And you don't need a whole lot of expensive gear to get really serious - just patience and cleanliness!

Good luck! Go Gamecocks!

 

[HI Cock]

Two words to remember. Sanitation and Time. Make sure all your gear is clean, especially when bottling, And resist the temptation to taste your beer early, You'll be much happier if you wait 2 extra weeks than if you open the beer one day early.

Glass carboys are the best investment you can make.

Always rinse your used bottles IMMEDITELY. They are near impossible to clean later.

Drink your first batch while you create your second. Beer goes BEST with making new beer.

After you've been hooked by the first two batches. Invest in a whole mash set up and some kegging equipment. We're past the zenith of craft breweries, but you'll get years of enjoyment out of brewing your own beer.

 

[Doctor Obvious]

My son bought me a Northern Brewer home brewing kit. Going to start brewing some beer out of the kitchen in a few weeks. This will be my first go-round. Thankfully my son, the beer and wine expert, is coming in to enjoy the inaugural event with the old man. Anyone else out there done any home brewing?

With a kit, big thing is to check the date on the yeast. Get an additional packet to use as backup if it doesn't start bubbling in a day. Don't overthink the sanitation - clean well and use some product (Star-San is pricey and what they push in the stores now, but campden is good enough. I even use oxiclean if I'm out of that). You are trying to suppress bacteria/natural yeast growth until the beer yeast gets going.

 

[Doctor Obvious]

Northern Brewer is a good place to start. I got one of those Mr. Beer kits from my kids once and it never really worked out. But I've since done several one or two gallon batches of blonde ales and IPA's - makes about 10-11 twelve ounce bottles. Use glass fermenters and make sure everything is sanitized. Makes some really good home brews. Be patient. My one issue is the chilling of the wort before you pitch the yeast. After my boil for about an hour it takes forever to cool it down and keep it sanitary until you go from 170 degrees F to no more than 71 degrees F. I use an ice bath in the kitchen sink but took longer than you could imagine - and I went through 2.5 bags of grocery store ice to cool it.

Bottling takes two hands / two people. But the results are fun. I get my adult kids to help make the beer, drink a few local crafts while we wait, and then they clean up. And 3-4 weeks later they come back and enjoy a pint with me.

I consider it "adult chemistry" but it's all about the experience. I went to one or two gallon batches because if it goes bad, you haven't lost much, other than time. I'm in the Seattle area so we have lots of local brewer supply locations for all my goods. Make a few friends and do the brewing together. I've done the "brew it yourself" twice but both times the beers were not as good as home brews, either because of cleanliness or someone had "brewed" root beer the day before and my first bottles were "A&W IPA's!"

Good luck. And if you want good advice, I'll be happy to answer, or go to beercraftr.com and morebeer.com for good advice and reading on home brewing. Don't be scared to try something - use small batches. And you don't need a whole lot of expensive gear to get really serious - just patience and cleanliness!

Good luck! Go Gamecocks!

Use a wort chiller. Instead of buying a pricey stainless or copper one from the brew supply store, I made it from stuff that Lowes sells parts. 10 or 20 feet of copper tubing, cheap compression fitting and an adapter for the kitchen spigot. If you use thin wall copper like I did, a trick to use when you bend it into a coil is to fill it with sand to keep the tubing from collapsing.

 

[stevestrat2]

Thanks guys, lot's of good info there. This particular kit has the ingredients for a pale ale. I like a pale ale. I would like to make kolsch sometime too, mainly because it's not the easiest style for me to find on the shelf.

 

[HI Cock]

Thanks guys, lot's of good info there. This particular kit has the ingredients for a pale ale. I like a pale ale. I would like to make kolsch sometime too, mainly because it's not the easiest style for me to find on the shelf.

Kolsch is Homebrew 2.0 or 2.5. Cold fermenting requires much more consistent temps (around 50F) than ales which will ferment from 75-90F (but better on the cold side)