OT: Homebrewers

[J.4knee]

Just curious how many of us are on this forum. I am an admitted newbee but I got hooked real bad by this.

[mark1101]

I started brewing in 1986 and eventually owned Cicero Cellars homebrewing and winemaking supply store in upstate NY.. Sold out of the business in 2000 when I moved from NY to Georgia. Brewed down here for a few years but stopped about 3 years ago when we moved. Just got too busy and haven't set everything back up. I keep saying I'm going to get back into it and I just don't seem to get started. I still have all my equipment. I WILL brew again on a serious basis. I was involved in the BJCP and all that Zymurgy stuff. I miss it. It was fun. Used to go to the GABF.

Alternately, I am in a group (about 12 of us) that make wine every year. Family's been doing that since I was born and through the years I've kept that one up. Last year we presed and fermented over 4,000 lbs of grapes as a group. We have a reefer trailer come from California to this guy's house and we take a day off to unload and crush. It takes us 2 full days to press it all after it is fermented. We have a big electric crusher/destemmer, and a compressed air bladder press. I forget how many gallons we ended up with. There are a lot of people who end up with wine but only about a dozen of us doing the work. It is a ton of fun and that's mainly why I still do it. We have a wild time every year and monthly wine tastings that continue throughout the year at alternate wine maker's homes.

[philtubes]

Hi Mark, I use to brew for several years but never got into the mashing I think they call it, I always used the canned stuff then added a little barley grain and good hops. Problem is I never made anything that I thought was equal to a decent commercial beer, maybe you have to mash to get something good. Where upstate N.Y. did you live.

Phill

[damonrpayne]

I've brewed a total of two times, love it, but it's a bit of effort and I haven't had time in a while.

[kevinmi]

I started making my own wine (with kits) this winter and I'm hooked! I've made 3 batches and am ready to start another soon. There's just something about doing it yourself that is very rewarding! -kevin

[rplace]

I have been brewing since 1995, it is my other great love along with all things audio. I typically have 8 different homebrews on tap at any given time in my basement. Join a home brew club in your local area for lots of good info.

With just a little effort, quality ingrediants and paying attention to sanitation you can brew beer as good as ANY you can buy. Key things to watch when you start out is pitching your yeast at the proper temperature. Typically under 70 degrees for ales...I won't go into lager details. Also make a starter for your yeast if using liquid yeast no matter what the package says. Finally control your fermentation temps. During the first few days the center of your fermenter can be 8-10 degrees warmer then the ambient temperature. So pitch a lot of yeast, pitch it cool and ferment cool and you cannot go wrong.

If you have not already run into it check out the forums at more beer. http://forums.moreflavor.com Lots of good info and lots of friendly people...just like this place.

Good luck and brew on!

[bigdaddy]

Nice setup. So is the flashlight for middle of the night beer tastings?

[J.4knee]

I have just about everything I need to complete my Kegerator. I bought a used 9cu/ft freezer (cheep) and an external temp regulator. It will hold 4 Corny kegs, has room for the CO2 tank, manifold/gauges and tubing, and a small basket to chill mugs....not bad for a starter set up. Plans are to build a surround and top overlay of, some yet to be determined, harwood to make it a small bar. I plan on getting a two or three tap riser.

[rplace]

BigDaddy, Flashlight is for checking in side the cooler...no light. But late night beer run sounds good. I need a better picture to do it justice. I spent months rebuilding it from the ground up. Check this out if interested. http://forums.moreflavor.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18551

Here is my portable version.

J.4, smart man moving to kegging and a cooler soon after being bitten by the brewing bug. Bottles suck!

[InnerTuber]

We have a reefer trailer come from California to this guy's house and we take a day off ... have a wild time every year

Mark - shhhhhhh, don't admit that!

[mark1101]

Ha.......No one has caught us yet! []

Seriously, We all work for Carrier Transicold (our wine making group).......we manufacture reefers (transport refrigeration equipment for trucks and trailers). We have a large dealer network (like Forda and Chevy), and can arrange for transport of our precious and expensive California fruit fairly easily. Even though we live way over here in Georgia.

For someone who asked, I used to live in Cicero, NY.....about 10 miles north of Syracuse. From Solvay actually.

For someone who asked......I see another commented as well......YES you can make beer every bit as good as what you get poured at the pub, or buy in the store. If you couldn't I would not have wasted my time for almost 20 years. I miss that good REAL beer and very FRESH taste. I never made ales very often. You can get great ales everywhere. I usually always made lagers because it is hard to get a good real German or Czech Pilsner, or Bock, or Dopplebock.

Yes, it is better to mash, but you can make EXCELLENT beer with extract, pelletized hops, and LIQUID yeast cultures. The key is getting fresh syrup. DO NOT buy cans of syrup unless it says ALEXANDER's on it. Believe me......I owned the store and sold 20 types of the stuff. I tried it all over and over. It sits in warehouses forever. It's hardly ever fresh. Alexander's and Muntons were the best. But you had to get them fresh or forget it. If it is labeled LIGHT extract, then it should be light blonde.....not chestnut in color. Darkening indicates old product and your beer taste will immediately show it.

LIguid yeast rules. Please don't waste your time with dry yeast. You can get the exact yeast the breweries are using from WYeast.

I highly recommend William's extracts from Califormia. They were the absolute best I ever used bar none. Very Fresh. I still used them right up until I quit brewing a couple of years back. They come in plastic pouches. Try those and you'll see the difference. I never ordered from WIlliams past say around May because it takes a week in shipping and sits on too hot a truck. So get it NOW, and get it in the fridge.

Just really good fresh ingredients (#1), and sanitization, and a decent recipe. It'll tase like real beer.

[picky]

Jim: My good friend Keith brews numerous carboys of home brew a year and also makes wines. He brews about 5 different brews in his basement in the fall, then throws a huge St. Patricks Day party where he offers most of the 5 brews to attendees. Needless to say, he has an overwhelming turnout. My wife and I attend every year and his brew is delicious.They brew 5 more carboys in the spring and enjoy them throughout the hot summer months. Keith and his dad, Bennie learned to brew together about 10 years ago. Each fall they hold a how-to class in the basement on "Teach Someone to Home Brew Day". I've attended two of them and I even videotaped the entire process from sterilization to placing the wart on the shelf to ferment. I'm sure with some guidance, I could do it now. I don't know how good it would turn out though. But, I have not ventured into the hobby for a couple of reasons: In our tiny house, I really do not have the room to set up what I need to do all of the operations and then store the product during the fermentation process. More importantly; I am currently in the midst of a major weigh-lost program. I've lost 90 pounds since last July and the last thing I need to consume is brew! I sure do miss it though and I have a little taste of someone else's efforts every now and then. Best of luck to you! -Glenn

[J.4knee]

Jim: My good friend Keith brews numerous carboys of home brew a year and also makes wines. He brews about 5 different brews in his basement in the fall, then throws a huge St. Patricks Day party where he offers most of the 5 brews to attendees. Needless to say, he has an overwhelming turnout. My wife and I attend every year and his brew is delicious.They brew 5 more carboys in the spring and enjoy them throughout the hot summer months. Keith and his dad, Bennie learned to brew together about 10 years ago. Each fall they hold a how-to class in the basement on "Teach Someone to Home Brew Day". I've attended two of them and I even videotaped the entire process from sterilization to placing the wart on the shelf to ferment. I'm sure with some guidance, I could do it now. I don't know how good it would turn out though. But, I have not ventured into the hobby for a couple of reasons: In our tiny house, I really do not have the room to set up what I need to do all of the operations and then store the product during the fermentation process. More importantly; I am currently in the midst of a major weigh-lost program. I've lost 90 pounds since last July and the last thing I need to consume is brew! I sure do miss it though and I have a little taste of someone else's efforts every now and then. Best of luck to you! -Glenn

Good for you Glenn. I made it to fermentation today so in a short while I'll let ya know how I did. I got hooked on this by a freind in our dog club, lemme tell ya this guy has skills. He has loaned me some stuff to get started. I started with a simple DME kit from our local brew mart. (Ballast Point Brewery). I reduced the amount of wort in the boil by about a gallon, so no POP's this time around.[][Y]. I need to find a plumming supply store the place I was gonna use did not have any 3/8" copper tubing.[]

[customsteve01]

Brewed 2 - 5 gallon batches on Sunday (St. Almost and an Imperial IPA) then cooked 52 lbs. of mudbugs. And tapped a keg (Texas Bock) that was brewed 7 weeks ago. Let me just say this. It was a good day.

Steve

[mark1101]

Now that's the way to spend Sunday.