The official HOMEBREWER thread

Just wanted to start this up and see who else is brewing their own on here.

Also if there are any people thinking about it and want some advice feel free to ask here. I'll be also giving some links to the places that helped me start out and still are valuable resources.

If your not brewing yet and you love beer then you need to start. It's seriously one of the most rewarding hobbies you'll ever take up.

If you don't mind drinking bud light or coors then perhaps this isn't the hobby for you :fighting0030: /end beer snob

I've been brewing for about 2 years started out like most with extract kits and moved up to All-grain for the past year or so. I tried the Australian method of "Brew in a bag" for my first all-grain experience and for less then 20 bucks I pulled off a very succesful all-grain beer so if your worried about buying the equipment look up BIAB method it definitely works!

When I get access to the home computer I'll be posting up some recipes that I've saved and I look forward to some of yours (if I'm not the only one)

On tap right now (I keg mine) I have a pumpkin beer that was brewed for thanksgiving and a clone of the Dogfishhead 60min IPA.

I've been playing with the idea of trying to lightly smoke some malt to make a smoked double IPA but I gotta figure out my percentages of smoked malt to non-smoked.

Anyway here are the links I promised

Great forum for anyone from beginners to master brewers

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/

An internet radio broadcast dedicated to home brewing I LOVE THIS SITE. You can download previous shows in the archive if your into the nerdy stuff listen to Brewstrong and start at the beginning. A lot of great shows on there

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/

Just a couple places to start looking at buying starter kits, recipes, and raw ingredients to build your own. There are definitely others out there and if you can support your LHBS (Local homebrew store) then start there

www.midwestsupplies.com
www.morebeer.com

I was thinking about this not to long ago I would love to brew my own brew...but another hobby my gf would kill me. how costly is this hobby.

my buddy and i are actually starting this hobby soon. we are buying the kit together and are going to start after the holidays.

i've been reading up on it and watching dvd's just to kinda get a feel of what i am getting into. i am pretty stoked to start

you guys should send me some of your brew when done

kevvve - Once you get the initial investment of equipment needed over with then the actual beer kits are not expensive at all. Basically you can get a recipe kit online for about 20-30 bucks which is around 50 or so 12 oz bottles If I recall correctly. Expect to spend about 150-200 if you buy everything new. A couple things to look at when your buying kits

You will still need a turkey fryer and large pot (Don't even bother doing the partial boil inside and mixing cold water thing that some do) Your results won't be as good and a turkey fryer can be found new for pretty cheap.

As far as a large pot if you can get a used sanke keg (one that you would do kegstands on ) those are awesome boil pots because they hold a TON of liquid and you don't really have to worry about boil-overs. Just dissamble the ball fitting on top and use a dremel or disc grinder to cut the lid open. (search google/youtube for how-to's).


You need at least 1 6 or 6.5 gallon carboy or better bottle (Carboy refers to the glass version and better bottle is a food approved plastic version) Don't be fooled you can not use an empty culligan water jug even though they look the same the plastic material is not safe for fermentation.

For some reasone most homebrew starter kits come with a 5 gal better bottle.. ask them to swap out with 6 or 6.5 gallon version. The reason is when you put your 5 gallon batch of beer into a 5 gallon better bottle you have very little room for Krausening (which will happen) and are likely to blow off nasty yeast foam all over the place. Krausen is the thick layer of foam created during the peak of fermentation. It can get intense which is fun to watch so stay away from the white plastic buckets if possible so you can see it


You NEED to buy something to control your temperature while your fermenting. Unless you have a room that NEVER fluctuates more then 2-3 degrees and is sitting at 65-68 and never higher or colder then you should get a temperature controller and a old used fridge. If you can't afford that stick the fermentor in a large tub of water and swap out frozen bottles of water to regulate it. A wet towel and a fan also works to cool down. To heat up they make plug in heat cozies for your carboy. Never used one but I like the idea.

And as far as sending beer if I was in the States I definitely would but I'm not sure it would make it.
If you get the basic homebrew starter kit that is perfectly fine but just know that if you enjoy the hobby your going to want to grow your equipment and start moving onto more advanced expensive things. Just the way it is but it's all worth it.

- Mkvtg37 - Where did you pick your kit up from? I'll take a look at what it came with and let you know if there is anything extra that may help...

Also if you have been researching this then you probably already know but a MUST read is "How to brew" By John Palmer. John is extremely intelligent and breaks it all down perfectly for all of us. You can read an older version of the book online for free or pick up a copy for pretty cheap. He is also one of the brewcasters on the show "Brewstrong" with Jamil Zaihnashef @ www.thebrewingnetwork.com

thanks for the info..

what are your thoughts on this?
http://store.homebrewheaven.com/deluxe-brewing-equipment-kit-p328.aspx

subbed. I've always wanted to get into beer brewing. Currently I make wine, but that is very simple.

That kit seems a little pricey for a beginner kit...Check out this one http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-basics-equipment-kit.html...Just needs a wort chiller added to it. Like this one http://www.midwestsupplies.com/immersion-wort-chiller-w-garden-hose-fittings.html

I know I said you should use the better bottles or carboys and stay away from the buckets but for a beginner setup this is the cheapest way to find out if this hobby is for you or not. And you can always buy the extra better bottles later for around 30 bucks or so. The directions always say to move to a secondary after a few weeks. Do some research on that and you'll see that most tend to just leave it in the primary the entire time. It will be just as clear and tasty.

subbed.

I bought a mr.beer kit to make a batch to drink first day my 1 year personal prohibition was over (thanksgiving) but ran out of time getting ready to move.

Hopefully going to start it in a day or two to have for holidays.

I've read that those can actually turn out pretty well if you pay attention to the basics. Sanitation, temperature control, and time are the most important things when making beer. Make sure you don't ferment too hot and give the yeast enough time to clean up after themselves and it should come out decent.

I have a Mr. Beer & it has broken me in to the hobby pretty well & left me wanting to get a more advanced setup. I'll second the comment about making sure to pay attention to the basics...essentially the Mr. Beer is all about getting you in the habit of doing the basics, but already has some of the more advanced(read: coolest) things about brewing done for you. If you deviate from any of the time/temp/cleanliness type things, you'll absolutely regret the results...I've been really lucky & had pretty damn good beer from the kit, but a few of my buddies have made some awful raw bread-tasting concoctions.

Moving up to full extract kit beers would be the next step and if you already learned those basic things from the Mr Beer then should turn out great...Save up and get that equipment!

bump

just started homebrewing 3 months ago. Started out with a German Lager called Munich Dunkel. I've been told by veteran brewers around here I am crazy for starting with a lager.... but, it was so good, we killed the keg in 3 days. meh.

Currently, I have a Vienna Lager and an Irish Red Ale (my first custom recipe.... named it Ginger Ale :wink: ) in fermentation. Next up is a Honey Weizen.

a great resource, IMO, is www.northernbrewer.com their BrewTV is outstanding.

as mentioned above, homebrewtalk.com is a great forum.

EDIT: Here's my brew station in the garage. Should have a keggle and a keezer setup very soon