beer Home brewing costs
- Thread starter The Hot Pepper
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Haha. Actually on The Drew Carey Show, he made coffee beer.Pam said:
thehotpepper.com said:
Note the Mill Street Coffee Porter in the front there. Major Yum.
This was at a gathering ax murders and skeevy perverts from another group I frequent. It's in Vermont every summer. Everyone was curious about the chocolate beers I kept talking about, so I gathered as many as I could, and other folks brought what interesting beers they could find. A friend I am eternally grateful to brought me some of the Coffee Porter from Toronto.
The large bottles in the back, btw, are Rogue's Chocolate Stout and Sam Adams Chocolate Bock.
Tap beer is the same beer that's in bottles, it's just in a keg.thehotpepper.com said:
Coffe stouts are amazing. Go out and get Bell's Java Stout.Pam said:
I know silly! Just wondering if you can make your own keg. How is it done? It has to be more than "Buy an empty key, fill, enjoy."imaguitargod said:Tap beer is the same beer that's in bottles, it's just in a keg.
thehotpepper.com said:
You buy them used or new and they com ein all sorts of sizes. Generally homebrewers use what's called a corny keg (or soda keg) b/c it holds 5 gallons and that generally what we brew.
Kegged beer in bars is typically pushed through the lines with "beer gas" or a mix of nitrogen and CO2.
It results in slightly finer bubbles and less carbonation which can make a brew seem smoother.
Off flavors can also result from beer gas, but they are uncommon.
I wash my bottles in the dishwasher.
It results in slightly finer bubbles and less carbonation which can make a brew seem smoother.
Off flavors can also result from beer gas, but they are uncommon.
I wash my bottles in the dishwasher.
And I believe Guinness is straight nitrous.cheezydemon said:
Yes, Guinness is usally served on a nitro tap. Nitrogen causes a softer beer. Although 95% of bar taps are just CO2 taps.
The canned Guinness ain't bad, it has a plastic piece in it that has nitrogen in it. That's why you get the creamy froth. The reason the bottled Guinness doesn't taste as good is, it's actually a different beer! It's Guinness Extra Stout. It has more barley and is conditioned (live yeast).
There are actually two seperate Guiness canned/bottled products, Regular Guiness (like on tap) and then Extra Stout. I've had both and am not a fan of either.
IGG is right. I didn't know either was bottle conditioned though!
And actually Guinness is different almost everywhere.
The stuff we get in the states is watered down for us bud swilling yanks.
And no, I don't care for it either. It has as much flavor as charcoal.
If you like the burnt flavor, Yeti oak aged stout is frigging awesome.
And actually Guinness is different almost everywhere.
The stuff we get in the states is watered down for us bud swilling yanks.
And no, I don't care for it either. It has as much flavor as charcoal.
If you like the burnt flavor, Yeti oak aged stout is frigging awesome.
Yeah I read that stuff on a Guinness site.
We used to get the bar maid mad at us. We would order a Guinness in a can...drink it, tear the can open, pull the lil ping pong ball out and start tossing it around the bar...
A bunch of drunks chasing a lil white ball all over the place!!!! We had fun
So ya goin to join the ranks of us home brewers? and see what ya come up with??
A bunch of drunks chasing a lil white ball all over the place!!!! We had fun
So ya goin to join the ranks of us home brewers? and see what ya come up with??
I did the obvious pepper beer 2 years ago.
Really good stuff! I was sad to see the last of it go.
Really good stuff! I was sad to see the last of it go.
thehotpepper.com said:
Short answer- $18 to $20.25 per case equivalent or .75 to $1.03 per 12 ounce beer equivalent, depending on what beer is being made. Down there you could cut that cost by about 15% since the above numbers are my cost with shipping included.
The cost varies quite a bit based on what sort of ingredients you use and how you finish it off. You can get that canned beer grease shit (called an extract kit) which is the cheapest and has the worst quality of taste, or you can get a mini mash kit, or go with an all-grain kit which requires the most work with the sparging and the mashing (and requires a bit of a sophisticated setup along the lines of the contraption pictured up this thread). I'm of the opinion that the mini mash kits are the best of all worlds, as all the grains and hops and malt sugars and stuffs are all pre-measured and cracked and usually prepackaged in socks. All you do is add water and heat!
A typical mini mash kit costs $30-$45 for 5 gallons.
thehotpepper.com said:
It's the only way to go!!! I don't care what your setup is, bottling is freakin' tedious, addes extra steps and cost, and there is absolutely nothing better than a beer that has finished off in the keg. If you're in a hurry you can force keg and drink it 4-5 days after kegging, but that's the CO2 crap bar taste.
As others have said, the common setup for a homebrewer is a soda keg- but they aren't all built the same. The ones used for Pepsi products (cornelius keg) are most common and have most aftermarket support in fittings and stuff. You can get kegs for next to nothing- sometimes for nothing- I went to my local distributor and scored 4 Pepsi kegs from him for nothing. Well, sort of nothing, he gave me 6 of 'em and I had to return 2 of 'em full of homebrew
You can pick up a complete 2 keg setup with manifold and regulator and CO2 bottle off evilbay for less than $200.Leaving the KIT behind makes it cheaper too.
Also, yeast can be "ranched" (as in: I HAS A YEAST RANCH
)
ALSO, also, hops can be grown.
Yeast is the biggest $ saver. It is completely re-useable, but the chance of infection goes up slightly each time. Also, also,also yeast multiply like crazy and you will end up with too much if you just pitch a new batch on the previous batches yeast cake. (but it is so damn easy I still do it sometimes)
Also, yeast can be "ranched" (as in: I HAS A YEAST RANCH
)ALSO, also, hops can be grown.
Yeast is the biggest $ saver. It is completely re-useable, but the chance of infection goes up slightly each time. Also, also,also yeast multiply like crazy and you will end up with too much if you just pitch a new batch on the previous batches yeast cake. (but it is so damn easy I still do it sometimes)