beer My Homebrews
- Thread starter HigherThisHeat
- Start date
wheebz said:
I think, at this point, that I've already amassed a lot of the equipment, accidentally, for other things ...
I picked up a 20 quart SS stock pot for making cheese, and I have a multiple thermometers, I have a CO2 tank w/ a regulator (for carbonating my own soda when we run out of drinks, lol) ...
It's something that's always been interesting, but I just haven't done it yet ...
I guess I would need an outdoor propane burner, but I'd like to have one of those for wok'ing, anyways ...
And whatever that one thing is, a carboy or something like that? ...
Do you have to have a bunch of meters, like for hydro for stuff (pH, TDS etc)? ... or, are there manual versions (testing strips etc) that work for someone who's an occasional brewer? ...
One last Q ... how much stuff is required for storing it after? ... I know it gets loaded up into the same kind of thing restaurant soda is is, but does it have to be cold to store, or is it just a serving preference? ...
One of these days!
Grant an outdoor burner will allow you to get your wort heated up faster and achieve hot break but you can do it on your stove until you find one you want/save up for it/convince the wife that it's a necessity 
Carboy's are nice but not a requirement. I still use the 6.5 gallon Ale Pales I got with my original kit and they work just fine. for that matter you can just go to a restaurant like Pollo Loco and get some 5 gallon buckets with lids from them for like $5.00 or something. They're the same food grade plastic.
You can get a Hydrometer from a home brew store for under $10.00 and a Ph meter from Ebay for under $20.00.
Sounds like your more ready to brew than you think. If you want to do an extract for your first brew just to make sure you've got the system down order a Brewers Best kit, http://www.brewersbestkits.com/recipes.htmlthey include everything you need including some speciality grains and hops and is about the best kits you can get. Print out the brew schedule and fire it up.
BTW, about half way down that page is an Irish Stout.
Cheers Brother!
Carboy's are nice but not a requirement. I still use the 6.5 gallon Ale Pales I got with my original kit and they work just fine. for that matter you can just go to a restaurant like Pollo Loco and get some 5 gallon buckets with lids from them for like $5.00 or something. They're the same food grade plastic.
You can get a Hydrometer from a home brew store for under $10.00 and a Ph meter from Ebay for under $20.00.
Sounds like your more ready to brew than you think. If you want to do an extract for your first brew just to make sure you've got the system down order a Brewers Best kit, http://www.brewersbestkits.com/recipes.htmlthey include everything you need including some speciality grains and hops and is about the best kits you can get. Print out the brew schedule and fire it up.
BTW, about half way down that page is an Irish Stout.
Cheers Brother!
OMG, this could be a 1st in my entire life ...
For once, for the 1st time EVAR, the variety of something that I prefer looks to be the less complicated one!
It says most of the stouts are easy, and it appears the pilsner's and others are more complicated.
I'm thrilled because it never happens ...
Better yet, they have a milk stout ... which, Lefthand's is one of my favorite beers I've tried ...
I might have to do this.
For once, for the 1st time EVAR, the variety of something that I prefer looks to be the less complicated one!
It says most of the stouts are easy, and it appears the pilsner's and others are more complicated.
I'm thrilled because it never happens ...
Better yet, they have a milk stout ... which, Lefthand's is one of my favorite beers I've tried ...
I might have to do this.
I'm in.
I have some other stuff to try/do first, but I'll be trying a small batch from brooklyn brewshop, and then we'll see how/if to proceed ...
I have some other stuff to try/do first, but I'll be trying a small batch from brooklyn brewshop, and then we'll see how/if to proceed ...
Yeah GM, Sounds like you almost already have everything you would need. The reason an outdoor propane tank is needed is usually for doing full boil volumes. It's quite difficult to get 6-7 gallons of liquid to come to a boil on the stove.
Since you'll be starting out with extract you only need to be boiling about 2.5 gallons of liquid. A stove is fine for this.
Just do it!
Since you'll be starting out with extract you only need to be boiling about 2.5 gallons of liquid. A stove is fine for this.
Just do it!
Yeah man. Stull doing 5gal batches. I like it and I dont. After about 5 gallons worth I tend to be over that beer, so 2 kegs worth would take up precious space and I'd be over drinking the same beer.
However when I have an exceptional beer, 5 gallons just ain't enough and goes super quick.
It does make it so I have quite a variety at any given time though. I have 5 different beers on tap ATM and 2 in primary. Not bad for a lowly homebrewer!
However when I have an exceptional beer, 5 gallons just ain't enough and goes super quick.
It does make it so I have quite a variety at any given time though. I have 5 different beers on tap ATM and 2 in primary. Not bad for a lowly homebrewer!
wheebz said:
So ...
A long time ago, in the early days of Cigar City, they bottled up "brett" in their Bolita Brown, and offered people to return the bottles to the brewery. I had purchased a half-dozen bottles, and drank 4x of them, but had 2x more remaining. They warned of the bottles possibly becoming additionally pressurized or whatever ...
Some years ago, I emailed them to inquire as to what was likely to happen if I opened one ... and they replied w/ a bunch of technical industry jargon la la I might like it ...
Well, I *STILL* have the two bottles in the back of one of the lower cabinets in my house, and now it's been years AND YEARS.
My plan when wheebz was here was to get together and open them ... but I never got together w/ wheebz, and so I still have them ...
A minute ago, trying to search for what the infection was, I ran into this comment out there on the net:
"Last year Cigar City had an issue with a number of bottles of their Bolita Brown getting an infection due to brett still being in the bottling lines. CCB offered refunds to anyone with a bottle and promised to make something super sour out of it.
I decided to keep it and a few months later opened it and we really enjoyed it. It turned into a nice sour brown ale.
Fast forward to a couple months ago and CCB released Sea Bass. It was the product of the bad bottles brought back and the use of St. Somewhere’s yeast strain. And that beer is amazing.
So as you said sometimes mistakes can be enjoyable."
So, HTH, or wheebz if you are visiting, or RocketMan - we can open these bottles one day, still, lol. Outside.
Back to the topic at hand, though.
I couldn't even possibly go through 5 gal of a single beer in a reasonable time, so to start, I picked up one of the Brooklyn Brewery 1 gal kits for the Oatmeal Stout, and will give it a go ...
PS - I'm not even social enough to go through the 5 gal w/ friends, lol.
I hear that!
So you been homebrewing again er what?
So you been homebrewing again er what?
Lazy batch of St. Paddy's Stout in the Mr. Beer today.
Slightly cheaper than 2 gallons of Guiness off the rack.
Yes, I know it's not really "making beer" anymore than a bread machine and a box of mix is "making bread".
I prefer to spend my craftmanship skills on libations of a higher proof.
Slightly cheaper than 2 gallons of Guiness off the rack.
Yes, I know it's not really "making beer" anymore than a bread machine and a box of mix is "making bread".
I prefer to spend my craftmanship skills on libations of a higher proof.
I too have an Irish stout I brewed!
Tapping it tomorrow. And I gotta say it's damn good. I didn't mill the roasted barley, instead I used a coffee grinder and pulverized it into powder. It seems to add a slightly different roast character than jus roasted barley straight up.
Tapping it tomorrow. And I gotta say it's damn good. I didn't mill the roasted barley, instead I used a coffee grinder and pulverized it into powder. It seems to add a slightly different roast character than jus roasted barley straight up.
So here is some insider info
from Russian River, SHHHHHHHHHH, he gave me his recipe for an irish stout and let me tell you what, its fucking money, ill just give you the grains
marris otter
flaked oats
flaked barley
roasted barley ( i used debittered because I think it tastes better)
in 5 gallons its .5 pounds of oats, .5 pounds of barley, and 1 pound of roasted
its like a god damn milk stout in a glass
i would have never just used roated in a stout before without other additions, but jesus christ this beer is amazing
im not gonna tell you the yeast strain, or the temp, because thats what really makes it, but you can figure it out, you are smart
i make a shitload of stouts and porters, thats kind of what I bank on, that and belgians and brett beers, but jesus christ such a simple recipe for that irish stout and its glorious
from Russian River, SHHHHHHHHHH, he gave me his recipe for an irish stout and let me tell you what, its fucking money, ill just give you the grains
marris otter
flaked oats
flaked barley
roasted barley ( i used debittered because I think it tastes better)
in 5 gallons its .5 pounds of oats, .5 pounds of barley, and 1 pound of roasted
its like a god damn milk stout in a glass
i would have never just used roated in a stout before without other additions, but jesus christ this beer is amazing
im not gonna tell you the yeast strain, or the temp, because thats what really makes it, but you can figure it out, you are smart
i make a shitload of stouts and porters, thats kind of what I bank on, that and belgians and brett beers, but jesus christ such a simple recipe for that irish stout and its glorious
quite a number of people who brew beer have thought that i would love doing it ...
in a way that added some pressure to it ...
i'd looked at gear and got caught up pre-gaming it all, and then backed out when it felt like "too much" ...
the other day I got the whim again, but just quickly bought a small-scale kit so I wouldn't get caught up w/ equipment before I've even tried brewing ...
.gol .elttob
in a way that added some pressure to it ...
i'd looked at gear and got caught up pre-gaming it all, and then backed out when it felt like "too much" ...
the other day I got the whim again, but just quickly bought a small-scale kit so I wouldn't get caught up w/ equipment before I've even tried brewing ...
.gol .elttob