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re: Brewing Beer as a Hobby - Beginners
Posted on 12/12/12 at 9:29 am to Boudreaux35
Posted on 12/12/12 at 9:29 am to Boudreaux35
Awesome stuff.
Should I just buy my own ingredients and use a recipe I've found or just stick to the brewing kits for now?
0
Posted on 12/12/12 at 9:35 am to Boudreaux35
quote:
About the plastic vs glass: They both have advantages and disadvantages, neither of which really kill either.
To be honest, if I was going to buy all new stuff or start from scratch I would go with Plastic. I will slowly start moving that way as I have seen the damage that glass can cause when dropped and i have no desire for that to happen to me.
Posted on 12/12/12 at 9:43 am to Fratastic423
good point. doesnt matter how good the beer tastes if you are drinking it in the ER with severed feet tendons
Posted on 12/12/12 at 9:47 am to Tiger Ryno
quote:
doesnt matter how good the beer tastes if you are drinkin
Especially if you being careful still produces great beer in plastic.
Posted on 12/12/12 at 9:48 am to Fratastic423
quote:
To be honest, if I was going to buy all new stuff or start from scratch I would go with Plastic.
Same here. I only have two glass carboys left and I use one for my sours and one for wine. I broke the other two I had. Plus weight is an issue with glass. I have a strap carboy carrier, but sometimes I don't trust it.
Posted on 12/12/12 at 9:53 am to BottomlandBrew
I really really want to get into homebrewing but I jsut can't with family obligations and two little ones...maybe in a few years.
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:05 am to TheOcean
quote:
Any good advice for a first time brewing kit? Ale?
Read How to Brew by palmer. The first chapter has a jump right in, brew. You basically read that chapter. It has all the ingredients you need and gives you step by step instructions. WHen i started, the first beer, Cincinnati Pale Ale, is what i brewed. It came out great and is the reason i'm still brewing.
I'm on my 11th or 12th brew now. I started out spending about $140 on basic brew equipment, plus some other stuff (half of which i didn't need). If you enjoy it, and are patient, you'll get sucked in. To date, i think i've spent well over $1000 on brewing equipment with upgrades, new equipment, chest freezers, etc...
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:08 am to BugAC
Going to read that one, too.
Do you guys do your own recipes or still use the kits?
Do you guys do your own recipes or still use the kits?
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:10 am to TheOcean
quote:
your own recipes
This is what I'm interested in too.
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:15 am to TheOcean
quote:
That's the entire goal of brewing...getting good enough to where you can make your own concoctions
That's my goal at least
Mine too. Like i said, i've brewed 11 or 12 batches so far in about a year and a half to 2 years time. I finally made my last "kit" batch. The kits are fantastic, by the way. I Order from Austin HOmebrew and Northern Brewer mostly. And i've been wanting to formulate my own brews for awhile, but there have been many styles i wanted to brew first. My final kit beer is an Oaked Imperial Bourbon Stout. It's sitting at 9% alcohol before adding the 375 mL of Bourbon and so far, tastes pretty good (samples after measuring alcohol).
The most important step in brewing, however, is cleaning and sanitizing. Invest in a large jug of PBW cleaner and a large container of StarSan sanitizer. Makes life easy. You can just soak your equipment in cleaner for a day, and then in sanitizer with little or no scrubbing whatsoever.
This post was edited on 12/12/12 at 10:17 am
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:16 am to BugAC
So it's better to start with a kit beer. How hard is an IPA to start out with?
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:18 am to TheOcean
quote:
Do you guys do your own recipes or still use the kits?
Both and then some. I brew recipes I have come up with myself. I use some based on commercial beers. I use others that I have tried from fellow homebrewers. My brewing library has several books on base recipes and coming up with your own.
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:19 am to TheOcean
quote:
So it's better to start with a kit beer. How hard is an IPA to start out with?
Well i started out with the recipe in How to Brew. (By far the most important brewing tool i have). It was a pale ale and thinking back, was pretty simple. Also, i started out extract brewing which is much easier and you still can brew a very delicious brew with extract. However, i've made the upgrade to all-grain recently and though it's more time and effort, the finished product is much closer to what you buy in stores or better.
An IPA might not be too hard. I like a Pale Ale to start with, because its a little simpler, and you still get hops, but depending on the recipe, an IPA could be pretty simple.
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:22 am to Tiger Ryno
quote:
doesnt matter how good the beer tastes if you are drinking it in the ER with severed feet tendons
Only because they generally frown on bringing alcohol in the ER.
If I was buying now I'd probably go plastic as well... I use the carboy handles and have never had one break so far. :knockonwood:
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:23 am to BugAC
Awesome, i'll order the cheapest pale ale, then. As far as options go, what do I need on this list:
Yeast - white labs california
Yeast Fuel - ?
Cold Pack - ?
Yeast - white labs california
Yeast Fuel - ?
Cold Pack - ?
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:29 am to BugAC
Ocean, here is my list of brews i've done.
1 - Cincinnati Pale Ale (from How to Brew) came out excellent.
2 - Palmer's Port O' Palmer (Porter, again from how to brew. I overcarbonated this batch, had to dump).
3 - Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale Clone (from Austin Homebrew. Again, overcarbonated, had to dump.)
4 - Cincinnati Pale Ale, Version 1.1 - used different hops this time. Came out great.
5 - AHS (Austin Homebrew Supply) Pumpkin Ale - First extract brew with fruit additions. Came out good, but was gun shy because of my previous over carbonations. Came out with little carbonation. NOt terrible.
6 - Caribou Slobber Brown Ale - again, under carbonated. Wasn't terrible, but wasn't great.
7 - German Altbier - Came out pretty good. Still have some left.
8 - Blackberry Wheat Ale - One of my best brews to date. Ran out quicker than i've run out before. I really turned a corner with brewing this one. Used 5-6 lbs of fresh blackberries.
9 - Summer Crisp IPA - First All-Grain Batch. Made some mistakes in the mash process but came out ok. A decent, but light flavored IPA.
10 - NB (Northern Brewer) Denny's Rye Smile IPA - Honed my all-grain technique with this one. Probably my best brew i've done so far (excluding the stout currently fermenting). I let 2 of my buddies try it without telling them, and they asked me what kind of Stone beer did i just give them. Still got some left.
11 - AHS Oaked Imperial Whiskey Stout - Brewing now. Just finished primary fermentation and is around 9% ABV. My all-grain process is pretty well fine tuned now. Just have to make room for more beer until i brew again. This could be my best one.
1 - Cincinnati Pale Ale (from How to Brew) came out excellent.
2 - Palmer's Port O' Palmer (Porter, again from how to brew. I overcarbonated this batch, had to dump).
3 - Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale Clone (from Austin Homebrew. Again, overcarbonated, had to dump.)
4 - Cincinnati Pale Ale, Version 1.1 - used different hops this time. Came out great.
5 - AHS (Austin Homebrew Supply) Pumpkin Ale - First extract brew with fruit additions. Came out good, but was gun shy because of my previous over carbonations. Came out with little carbonation. NOt terrible.
6 - Caribou Slobber Brown Ale - again, under carbonated. Wasn't terrible, but wasn't great.
7 - German Altbier - Came out pretty good. Still have some left.
8 - Blackberry Wheat Ale - One of my best brews to date. Ran out quicker than i've run out before. I really turned a corner with brewing this one. Used 5-6 lbs of fresh blackberries.
9 - Summer Crisp IPA - First All-Grain Batch. Made some mistakes in the mash process but came out ok. A decent, but light flavored IPA.
10 - NB (Northern Brewer) Denny's Rye Smile IPA - Honed my all-grain technique with this one. Probably my best brew i've done so far (excluding the stout currently fermenting). I let 2 of my buddies try it without telling them, and they asked me what kind of Stone beer did i just give them. Still got some left.
11 - AHS Oaked Imperial Whiskey Stout - Brewing now. Just finished primary fermentation and is around 9% ABV. My all-grain process is pretty well fine tuned now. Just have to make room for more beer until i brew again. This could be my best one.
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:30 am to TheOcean
quote:
Yeast
Should come with the kit. But for beginners, i'd go with dry ale yeast.
And i always do cold packs.
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:32 am to BugAC
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:47 am to TheOcean
quote:
Which options would you get. And yes, I'm retarded.
If i'm starting out, i'd go with either US-05 or Wyeast. US-05 is an extremely versatile yeast and is a pretty sure bet. I'd go with this one, actually.
I use wyeast almost exclusively now, just because i like the smack packs. However, i always make a yeast starter. A lot of homebrew guys around here don't use one, but i always use one because i want to know, 100% without a doubt, that my yeast will start up, and since using starters, have not had any issues with my yeast.
With dry yeast, you do not need a starter. You only need to hydrate the yeast (in that book are the steps) and even some on here just pour it in without hydrating.
So, in short, go with US-05 for your first brew.
This post was edited on 12/12/12 at 10:48 am
Posted on 12/12/12 at 10:49 am to BugAC
Yeah, US-05 is pretty foolproof. Pour it in, stir it up, let it do its thing. I usually do hydrate, but it'll work fine without it.
I've used Wyeast smack-packs for my last few brews with good results as well.
I still haven't gotten into yeast starters and cultures... probably the next big step.
I've used Wyeast smack-packs for my last few brews with good results as well.
I still haven't gotten into yeast starters and cultures... probably the next big step.
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