OT waaaay OT: Any Beer brewers out there?

[J.4knee]

OK a little background, in the dog club I belong to we have a friend/member who is a home brewer.....and believe me the man has skills!!!! Anyway he periodically brings samplings of his brewing for us to taste. Over the past year I’ve found I enjoy his beer much more than the stuff I buy. His Stouts, IPA, ESB and Belgian Reds are exceptional. He has been at it for about 10 years and told me he has not bought a commercially brewed beer in that time span unless he was somewhere he could not take his own. There is no disputing his alcohol content is higher than what is commercially brewed here in the US but what grabs me is the flavor of his beers and ales. So I’ve opted to take the plunge and try my hand at this. Anyway onto my questions. If there are any home brewers do you:Brew on your stovetop?Use a Wort Chiller?If so is it a standard immersion chiller kind of like these http://morebeer.com/search/102205 , or do you used a plate chiller something like this http://morebeer.com/view_product/6242/102206 or do you use a counter flow model something like this http://morebeer.com/search/102203Do you rack in bottle or do you rack in a Keg? R/Jim

[J.4knee]

[:@]Why is the formatting continually lost when I post this is insanely irritating?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[Oblio]

I've done the stovetop kits before and need to get back into it now that we have the room to do it and with beer prices rising it makes for quite a savings.

[mungkiman]

I've helped a friend make a handful of batches.

We used a propane fueled "crab-cooker" type of arrangement, immersion chiller, and bottles.

[billybob]

My friend used stovetop, although like the sound of a crabcooker! He did not use a chiller! When wort cooled off...he added it to his 6 gallon solid glass clear container which had water already in halfway. When he added more water than a standard 5 gallon plastic bottle, he was able to control or stretch(choice) his wort to create a lighter brew. When bottle cooked down, we added a small dose of sucrose to each sturdy bottle before capping. In the night, you could hear a bottle shatter due to the small amount of healthy yeast continuing the fermentation proccess, with the sugar delivering that extra special kick in alchohol.Waiting that 2 weeks for the treat sometimes was unbearable. After 1 week, wee would do a sample. Ahhhhhhh.......delightful!

Friend had been brewing then around 20 years. Neighbors, friends experimented with double hopping, licorice, etc. Was just one long endless sampling of "Homebrew Heaven"!

BTW, his last name is Brewer!

[thebes]

I've dabbled in it and used to like to make wheat beer. Always came out a little too strong and my teeth would go numb. Sure tasted good though.

I'm a wino now but if your starting out I would go easy and just get one of the boxed kits and, if possible, find a local store for the ingredients. Save your money on things like chillers and kegs until you've done a few batches and find a style of beer you like. Fil your kitchen sink with ice and some water and chill the wort down that way. Stir it occasionally with a large metal spoon you clean after each use. It will redistribute the heat and cool it faster.

In addition to what's provided in the kit you will need a fairly large pot, easily obtainable at a restaurant supply store. Try to get one with a fairly thick bottom because if not you can easily burn the bottom of your batch.

Drink up a case or two of bottled bear that uses openers not screw tops. If you go to a party or two, friends houses etc. you can build up a case or two of empties in no time flat. Cheaper than buying new bottles.

Sanitize, santize, sanitize. You need clean stuff for good beer. Start simple with a lager. When it's time to bottle put the container on the kitchen shelf over the dish washer. Spills are inevitable and the dish washer will catch them Store in cool dry place (basement, unused bathtub, dark corner of the house. Be prepared to smell some yeast for a couple of days when it starts brewing up.

For recipes, advice, etc. buy the "New Complete Joy of Home Brewing".

The "Brewers Best" line of kits is inexpensive and has everything you need but the ingedients. Use fresh yeast and fresh hops. Syrups can be canned. Unless you have a good filter on your tapwater buy those 2 /2 gallon jugs of water at the store. Do not add more sugar at the end then called for. You are making liquid bread and it's best to follow the recipes to the letter until you get better at it.

Go cheap at first because it may end up being too much of a hassle so don't spend money that you may need for your audio habit.

[billybob]

I've dabbled in it and used to like to make wheat beer. Always came out a little too strong and my teeth would go numb. Sure tasted good though.

I'm a wino now but if your starting out I would go easy and just get one of the boxed kits and, if possible, find a local store for the ingredients. Save your money on things like chillers and kegs until you've done a few batches and find a style of beer you like. Fil your kitchen sink with ice and some water and chill the wort down that way. Stir it occasionally with a large metal spoon you clean after each use. It will redistribute the heat and cool it faster.

In addition to what's provided in the kit you will need a fairly large pot, easily obtainable at a restaurant supply store. Try to get one with a fairly thick bottom because if not you can easily burn the bottom of your batch.

Drink up a case or two of bottled bear that uses openers not screw tops. If you go to a party or two, friends houses etc. you can build up a case or two of empties in no time flat. Cheaper than buying new bottles.

Sanitize, santize, sanitize. You need clean stuff for good beer. Start simple with a lager. When it's time to bottle put the container on the kitchen shelf over the dish washer. Spills are inevitable and the dish washer will catch them Store in cool dry place (basement, unused bathtub, dark corner of the house. Be prepared to smell some yeast for a couple of days when it starts brewing up.

For recipes, advice, etc. buy the "New Complete Joy of Home Brewing".

The "Brewers Best" line of kits is inexpensive and has everything you need but the ingedients. Use fresh yeast and fresh hops. Syrups can be canned. Unless you have a good filter on your tapwater buy those 2 /2 gallon jugs of water at the store. Do not add more sugar at the end then called for. You are making liquid bread and it's best to follow the recipes to the letter until you get better at it.

Go cheap at first because it may end up being too much of a hassle so don't spend money that you may need for your audio habit.

*What thebes said!

[oldtimer]

Top fermenting ales are even more simple than lagers.

[seti]

I made some great hard cider one year.

5 gallons of raw cider

5lbs of raw honey

dry champagne yeast

It fermented like mad for a couple of weeks.

Racked it 5 times.

Tasted more like champagne but good and strong. It also made the toes go abit numb

[powershotpro]

Try step mashing with a modified cooler. For boiling the wort whatever (stove, turkey fryer) you have is good enough until you learn more. Immersion chiller for the wort is the cheapest diy way to go. And kegs rule, hands down. One thing to clean, no bottling, no caps. They can be relatively portable with a smaller Co2 cylinder, but can easily get overcarbonated in the vehicle if your pressure is too high. There is a good kit out there for beginners too, but for the life of me I don't remember the name. It is an all wort product, 23 litres so no adding water, no sugar (yuck, what a way to wreck beer) just add hops and yeast. Wyeast liquid yeasts are very good.

The key for me when I was starting out was a brewing book and joining a homebrew club. Just like any hobby there are homebrewers abound that want to share with newbies and they willing provide many samples.

Should you happen to be in Canada these guys rule...http://www.paddockwood.com/index.php

[nu2toobs]

I use converted sanke kegs for the boiling kettle and the sparge water kettle, heating with a turkey fryer. An Ice Cube cooler is used for mashing with a stainless mesh.....Let me just link you to the guru of batch sparging http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/ Denny Conn is a great no fuss simple brewer. His Rye Ipa is to die for.

[oldtimer]

nice nu except ipa is way overrated, and even worse in some circles. think about it: india/nuff said(jk).

[rplace]

I have been brewing for 12 or 13 years now. Started out with a stock pot on the stove and a glass carboy. I now do 12 gallon batches on a dedicated system in my brewery, er, garage and have won several ribbons for my beers. With just a little effort and knowledge you can make beers better then you can buy...not to mention a lot cheaper. If you can boil water you can make beer.

No matter what your equipment, some things that will make your good beer great are:

-Make sure everything that touches the wort/beer once it is cooled is cleaned and sanitized.
-Pitching the correct amount of yeast - Read up on yeast starters
-Getting oxygen in your wort before you pitch the yeast
-Control the fermentation temp - as simple as putting your carboy/bucket in a large tub of water an swapping out 2L bottles of ice a couple of times a day. Ferment ales on the lower side around 64-67 degrees
-Get the book How to Brew by John Palmer http://howtobrew.com/

Check out the forums associated with the links you posted. http://forums.moreflavor.com/ Tons of great info

Kegs are a must once you get hooked. Cleaning bottles and bottling beer is the biggest PITA about brewing.

Start with Ales and get a few batches under your belt. If you have a spare fridge that you can dedicate to colder fermentation temps then you can try a lager.

[Rockets]

I use 2 liter bottles. Yeah, I know they're clear and promote a skunky beer, but my beer never sat arouund long enough for this to occur. On the plus side they're cheap, and easy to use. They also are safer than bottles. No hand grenades going off in the middle of the night from rougue beer that's been over conditioned, or has a yeast infection.

[Rockets]

Seti, your cider almost sounds more like a Mead. Great stuff until you drink too much, and the payback is pure hell. It's no wonder the Vikings had such a bad reputation...

[marems]

I've thought about buying the MR. BEER kit, is it worth the money???

[Rockets]

I think you'd be much happier in the long run buying the pieces parts a la'carte. For the money spent on your Mr. Beer, you'd be about 1/2 way there in the amount you'd spend for some higher quaility equipment. Before you buy anything, start with a decent book on home brewing and go from there. Just remember to SANITIZE, SANITIZE and SANITIZE. Trust me, you don't want all of your work and money to be wasted because you accidently introduced a wild organism into your beer. It won't kill you, but your beer will taste like crap. Anyone that has brewed has been there I can assure you.

I've used Hearts to mail order my supplies w/o complaint and fast shipping. http://www.heartshomebrew.com/home_brew_beer.cgi

You might be able to work with these guys and tell them you don't want or need the capper and save $13 off their kit price. Use 2 liter bottlles w/ the screw tops instead. It really speeds up the bottling process and they work great! Just sanitize them first like you would the glass bottles.

If you have a an Old Time Pottery store near you can pick up your glass carboys pretty cheap and save a bundle on shipping

One other thing, if you're never brewed before it might be a good idea to start outside if you can. If you have one of the newer Glass Top Stoves..that has trouble written all over it. During the inital boil of your wort, it tends to go through a volcanic eruption phase, which creates a BIG #$%^&*() MESS if you're not watching it. Which is why you NEVER leave the wort unattended during it's inital boil. Boil your wort outside if possible for your first attempt, put the lid on it and then bring it inside. . . . You need to constantly stir and be prepared to pull it off the heat in a moments notice. Once you get the hang of it, it's no big deal, but that first time...just make sure your wife is helping so you can blame it all on her!!! (just kidding)

Good Luck!