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brewign beer

Started by tacoma_kyle, August 08, 2008, 09:44:14 AM

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tacoma_kyle

So it is almost two a.m. and I am asking questions about beer lol.


Yeah, any of you ever brew it? I have been thinking about it for the last few months, just recently learned hops is growing in the back yard of the house I am moving in about 2 months. (parents bought it and my dad [plus me a little] is doing a complete overhaul on it, partially a investment).

So yeah there is like 80 feet of hops 'vines' growning in the back yard quite nicely. I read a bit and came to the conclusion they are not near pulling yet. But damn there is quite a bit! I found another site that effectively explains how you can brew a small amount via a Coffee Maker. I figure thats a decent way to see how the hops will work.


Share your experiences!!!!!!!!!!!!  :beer:
Me, my projects and random pictures, haha.

http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/tacoma_kyle/

"Tom you gotta come out of the closet, oh my gawd!" lol

Asmodean

I never brewed beer myself, although I know several people who did.

My brewing happens at the store in the "Beer"-section  :D
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

LARA

My Dad brewed his own beer for years when I was a teenager.  What I know from watching his experience is that it's not so easy and you DO NOT WANT TO DRINK THE LEFTOVER YEAST IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE.  He did, saying it was rich in B vitamins, and ended up stuck in the bathroom for a day or so.  Not a pleasant experience for him I'm sure.  It took him a few years to get the recipe right (translation: drinkable)  so I don't think it was easy, but I know they have microbrew kits now that simplify things.  As far as background info, my Dad is a chemical engineer with years of experience in distillation, so it wasn't like he was inexperienced in the processes.  Overall, it's messy, smelly and really a lot of fun, something everyone should definitely try at least once.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
                                                                                                                    -Winston Smith, protagonist of 1984 by George Orwell

Jolly Sapper

My wifey's brother is working on some hard liquor and a HUGE container of honey mead.  

From what he's said, its not the easiest thing in the world to get right.  Be prepared for lots of trial and error.

Faithless

My uncle was into making his own wine for years.  He even got oak casks and the whole shebang.  He had a great time doing it, but that wine was about the nastiest stuff I've ever put in my mouth.   :beer:
"In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." - Carl Sagan

"It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand." - Mark Twain

crocofish

About 15 years ago, I knew a bunch of people home brewing, mainly because they wanted to make their own specialty beer.  It became a big enough hobby that there were local stores which sold home brewing supplies.  But the home brewing died down when the brew pubs started popping up and when a wider variety of beers could be bought in the store.  The effort to make your own beer was more trouble than just buying beer of a similar quality.

Brewing is an art to fine tune the flavors, and brewmasters spend years perfecting their techniques.  It sounds kind of challenging to grow your own hops and to process them right.  But it sounds like it would be an interesting experience to brew your own with your own hops.  The result might be disappointing or it might be surprisingly good.  When my friends were brewing, some beers were really good, and some were, um, unusual.
"The cloud condenses, and looks back on itself, in wonder." -- unknown

myleviathan

I have never brewed beer - although I have brewed hard apple cider for about a year. There's a lot of good information on www.homebrewtalk.com. Register and tell them what you're trying to do I'm sure they'll help. Beer is somewhat more difficult to brew than cider - there are quite a few more steps. But brewing is fun. Try a recipe and just do small batches till you get the hang of it.
"On the moon our weekends are so far advanced they encompass the entire week. Jobs have been phased out. We get checks from the government, and we spend it on beer! Mexican beer! That's the cheapest of all beers." --- Ignignokt & Err

Whitney

I've tried home brewed beer before and,although it was drinkable, it wasn't necessarily worth all the work the guy put into it.  Of course, being worth the work is a matter of opinion.

SteveS

This is what happens when I skip the forum for a few weeks --- I miss a beer post!

I regularly brew my own beer.  I brew five gallon batches using extract and steeping grains.  I boil outside with a propane-cooker in a 10 gallon pot using a copper-coil chiller to cool the beer.  I ferment in a 6.5 gallon plastic bucket in my basement.  To package and serve I use used soda kegs with a 5 lb. CO2 tank served out of a chest freezer that I converted to a refrigerator with a temperature controller.

To me, the effort is very manageable, with my brew day taking about 4 hours, maybe an hour the next day to finish cleaning everything up.  I need another hour or two when I rack the beer into the kegs after fermentation, and maybe an hour to cleanup an old keg after it is empty.

I get my supplies from primarily two web sites:  http://www.morebeer.com and http://www.northernbrewer.com.

I'm happy with my results - the beer has that freshness about it that you typically find in brew-pub beer.  I brew all ales - lagers would require at least one more refrigerator.  The nice thing is that there are very many varieties of ales out there, so there's lots of stuff you can brew with a similar setup.  This summer I brewed a dunkelweizen that was a hit at my 4th of July party ---- damn party guests drank half my batch in one night!  Thirsty bastards.

Anyway, feel free to ask if you have any specific questions --- I'd be happy to help any way I can!

Bad Penny II

Quote from: Whitney on August 08, 2008, 09:37:03 PM
I've tried home brewed beer before and,although it was drinkable, it wasn't necessarily worth all the work the guy put into it.  Of course, being worth the work is a matter of opinion.

Three year on, I've got mine sorted now.
A proper stout for the winter.
A nice ale brewed at 19 C for the summer.
Take my advice, don't listen to me.

Dark Lightning

11 years old!



Beer is always topical, though.  :beer:

Bad Penny II

I couldn't find the Guardian beer thread and anyway,
I replied to a Whitney post.  :)
Take my advice, don't listen to me.

xSilverPhinx

I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey