Homebrewing - Page 2 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Mr Scorcex · 11-09-2006, 10:39 AM

Good question, I'm heading to the homebrew store tomorrow. I was thinking dunkelweizen, but if something else strikes my fancy I'll go with that. I also have a buddy who's a huge coopers fan, so I promised him if this brewing stuff works out I'd try and make him some Cooper's Ale. Cheers, and thanks for the help tophat.

troit · 12-07-2006, 02:39 PM

I have never tried to brew my own but after reading this thread I feel a bit "inspired". I'll let everyone know how my first brew turns out.

snicka · 12-09-2006, 01:48 AM

I tried a recipe using 8 oz of black tea as an adjunct but something in the tea kept it from carbonating in the bottle, so I had a caffeinated, slightly too sweet, flat beer. I will probably go for a Heffe or Lambic next batch. I highly recommend a copper wort chiller if you don't already have one. Cuts the cool down time between sparging and pitching dramatically, and you don't have to use ice (which is not sterile).

BobAlmighty · 03-25-2007, 04:58 PM

I'm curious, I've done the homebrew thing before and had a lot of fun with it. But I've been getting really interested in doing home distilling. Does anyone have any experience with this? While I think it might be illegal in most states, I know that a few states have legalized it. I live in Nebraska and there is currently a law under discussion that would allow micro-distillery operations and home distilling. (Not that it being illegal would stop me from trying it anyway :P, just makes it a more comfortable affair.)

Psycho Dad · 08-15-2007, 03:05 PM

Brewed my first batch from an extract kit last night. I can't wait to get into all grain and kegging. I love beer.

Psycho Dad · 08-15-2007, 03:05 PM

Brewed my first batch from an extract kit last night. I can't wait to get into all grain and kegging. I love beer.

Tophat665 · 08-15-2007, 07:15 PM

Hey there folks. Been a while.

You go Psychodad! What's your brew?

I've been pre-occupied with Aquaria this year, and my brew buddy has a new baby boy, so we've been on the slow side. We did win our Club's brewer of the year competition, taking firsts over the course of the year with, I think,an American Brown Ale, A coffee imperial stout, and a kick ass Double IPA with 15.8 oz of hops (6 different kinds, from in the mash through dry hoping, in something obscene like 17 separate hopping gifts) in a 5.5 gallon batch. I would have stacked it up against any Double IPA I've ever tasted.

Last couple of beers have been for our annual combined birthday party: An American Pale Ale with Amarillo hops, The Up All Night Extra Stout (Which we've brewer every year since 2000 at least once), The Purple Peril - a blackberry raspberry honey hefeweizen (chicks dig it - another perennial brew since 99 or 2000), and a weird beer. We do one odd one every year. Sometimes it's as ordinary as a Doppelbock - only weird because homebrewed lagers are thin on the ground hereabouts, sometimes it's a lemongrass roggen or a Hot pepper porter. This year we went with a hybrid (and I think may have snuck up on a Porter from the long way around) - It's a Rye IPA crossed with a Belgian Stout, and we used all German hops. Jon Snow's Black Bastard IPA (Named after the Night Commander of the Black Watch, not the former Treasury Secretary).

Sorry to have stayed away so long.

Psycho Dad · 08-15-2007, 07:49 PM

I brewed a wheat beer from a kit that the homebrew store I bought my equipment from sells. It is supposed to be a clone of Boulevard's wheat beer which I like, so I thought it a good choice to gauge how well I did (assuming that the store's kit is accurate to the original). So far everything is going well. Lots of airlock action going on right now. I can't wait to get it out of the primary so I can get my robust porter kit going.

Tophat665 · 08-15-2007, 08:57 PM

Did they give you a liquid yeast with the kit? I know this is not the same yeast as for a German Wheat Beer, but that beer's going to want a yeast with low flocculation, and I don't know as they make any of those in a dry form. Still if you do have a dry yeast, you'll probably get a nice, clean taste from it. Maybe not quite what you expect. Should be good. Most wheat extracts make an excellent beer all by them selves with some minimal hopping.

Psycho Dad · 08-16-2007, 03:24 AM

The wheat beer kit came with a Wyeast liquid yeast pack and the Brewer's Best robust porter kit has a dry package. I smacked the hell out of that thing because I wasn't ever sure I broke the inner package for quite a while. By the time the wort was boiled and cooled, it had plumped quite nicely though.

At this point, I don't know enough about yeasts, malts and hops to really understand the difference each type makes on the finished product, but hope to eventuallly. And that will come in due time I suppose. There are a lot of resources for information on the 'net I'm finding for home brewing. I've got goals for all grain, my own recipes and kegging. I know this will be a hobby I will enjoy.

Psycho Dad · 08-21-2007, 05:33 PM

Racked into the carboy tonight. From what I gather with the wheat beer, I didn't really need to do that, but I hadn't seen any airlock activity for a couple of days and I wanted to see how things were. It smelled like beer and it looked like beer except it is quite a bit darker than the Boulevard it is supposed to be a clone of.

From my hydrometer reading, I gather why I see no more airlock activity as I have reached what the ingredient kit indicated FG would be. I can't get to the brew store to buy bottles until Saturday or Sunday so I figure it won't hurt to let it mellow those few days.

Of course I couldn't resist tasting a little bit from my racking cane after filling the carboy. I know that I shouldn't expect it to taste that swuft, but truth is, it wasn't that bad. Once I bottle and age it for a few weeks before chilling and serving I expect good things from this beer.

All in all, I was so pleased that after cleaning my primary, racking cane and other odds and ends, I went over and pulled a big one from the kegerator to reward myself. I can't wait for the day that I can take that commercial keg back for my deposit and enjoy my own home brew from the tap.

Tophat665 · 08-21-2007, 06:13 PM

Good deal. Extract beer clones are almost always darker than the original. When I brewed a berliner weisse a few years ago, I stirred the kettle the entire 30 minute boil to keep it from caramelizing so I could keep that nice straw yellow color. And that was all grain.

Psycho Dad · 09-02-2007, 06:36 PM

Bottled today. And knock on wood... like most everything else thus far I think all is still well. I'd hoped to bottle sooner, but couldn't get to it and from what I gather, the beer does a better job of waiting on me than it would were I to hurry.

I almost enjoyed bottling it as much as the brewing.

After filling 48 bottles, there was just enough to fill a 12 oz glass a little more than 1/2 full. So of course I had to taste it. And from the taste of it, I'm going to have a long 3 or 4 weeks waiting and keeping myself out of it.

The color was beautiful too. I know I'm biased, but it has to be the prettiest beer I've ever seen.

My wife has some idea about me starting an exercise program tomorrow. If I can get out of it by Wednesday, I'm going to brew a porter extract kit.

Psycho Dad · 09-28-2007, 03:15 PM

I hate to blow my own horn so loudly... But I did damn good on this first batch. I was patient and stayed out of it other than a taste from the racking cane after bottling. From that taste I had high hopes. And those hopes were surpassed in more ways than I can describe. In fact the wife who to my knowledge has never had a beer other than Bud Light, loves it.

Sunday night I shall make my toast to The Beer Hunter with my very own first home brew.

Psycho Dad · 10-16-2007, 03:57 AM

I had thoughts of converting a recipe I found online to AG, but equipment and wanting to get a few more batches under my belt gave way to modifying it to something else.

Original recipe: http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/...threadid=15900

What I wound up doing:

Quote:

5 lbs extra light LME
4 oz whole Cascade hops
1 pkg Muntons gold dry yeast
1 lb crystal malt 60L crushed
3 lbs clover honey
1 tsp Irish moss
1 tsp W-Yeast yeast nutrient
1 pkg priming sugar

Steeped grains for 30 minutes in two gallons 160 degree water.
Added LME and brought to boil
At boil added 2 oz cascade
Added 1 tsp Irish moss, 1 tsp yeast nutrient and 1 oz cascade at 50 minutes
Turned off heat, added 1 oz cascade and honey

While wort cooled re hydrated yeast
Added water to make up 5 gallons
OG was 1.050

This is my third batch and first since reading Palmer’s” How to Brew” and hopefully I’ve corrected some mistakes that while so far have not been a problem, will make a better brew. Previously I’ve apparently been at risk for HAS. This time I made certain to get my wort below 80 before trying any aggressive stirring.

I also hydrated the yeast and added a nutrient to the wort to try to get a reduced lag time. Next time I think maybe I’ll attempt a starter. I thought about getting a smack pack but I was hoping this flocculates as well as Muntons says and helps clear things a bit.

Speaking of clearing things, this is my first time with whole hops and didn’t use a hop bag. But I think I can get rid of a lot of mess when I rack to the secondary.

Overall I have great hopes for this beer. When I placed it in the fermenter, the wort had a nice smell of hops and honey. I hope the flavor does the same.

I think instead of the normal priming sugar, I'll use 4.7 oz of honey.

gar1976 · 10-23-2007, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psycho Dad

I had thoughts of converting a recipe I found online to AG, but equipment and wanting to get a few more batches under my belt gave way to modifying it to something else.

Original recipe: http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/...threadid=15900

What I wound up doing:

This is my third batch and first since reading Palmer’s” How to Brew” and hopefully I’ve corrected some mistakes that while so far have not been a problem, will make a better brew. Previously I’ve apparently been at risk for HAS. This time I made certain to get my wort below 80 before trying any aggressive stirring.

I also hydrated the yeast and added a nutrient to the wort to try to get a reduced lag time. Next time I think maybe I’ll attempt a starter. I thought about getting a smack pack but I was hoping this flocculates as well as Muntons says and helps clear things a bit.

Speaking of clearing things, this is my first time with whole hops and didn’t use a hop bag. But I think I can get rid of a lot of mess when I rack to the secondary.

Overall I have great hopes for this beer. When I placed it in the fermenter, the wort had a nice smell of hops and honey. I hope the flavor does the same.

I think instead of the normal priming sugar, I'll use 4.7 oz of honey.

Damn, this thread is still going!

Note on the honey: it will result in a sweeter taste, but will take another week or two to carbonate. It tends to go slower than sugar.

Psycho Dad · 10-23-2007, 03:27 PM

I racked it into the secondary Sunday and it cleared up very nicely. It also smelled very good. I resisted the temptation to taste it, but when I bottle it I know damn well I will sample a bit of it.

I also tried a bottle of the porter I brewed the other night. It has had a couple of weeks in the bottles and carbonated very well. Three more weeks and chilling it to about 54 or so should make it a good beer to drink while resting when raking leaves.

jvwgtr · 10-24-2007, 11:40 AM

It's great to see so many homebrewers here!
I'm just getting started - I've done about 6 batches of extract brewing, but I'm gradually adding equipment to move into partial mash, and hopefully all-grain one day. You guys are inspiring, and full of good tips. Thanks!

Psycho Dad · 10-24-2007, 07:10 PM

I have the stuff to make a mash tun and once I build or buy a wort chiller and get a turkey fryer, I'm heading to AG too.

Psycho Dad · 11-16-2007, 05:04 AM

A lot of recipes here: http://www.skotrat.com/skotrat/recipes/

Of course I haven't tried any of them yet, just ran across the site this morning, but there are AG mini-mash and extract recipes of several varieties.

Psycho Dad · 11-20-2007, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psycho Dad

Overall I have great hopes for this beer.

Now my hopes are for it to mellow out. Bottled 4 bottles and kegged the rest. Pulled two glasses last night and was not impressed. The alcohol was very distinct and it had still not carbed well despite trying to gently force carb. I have a feeling in about four weeks or so I'll return to this and maybe be pleased.

serlindsipity · 04-27-2008, 02:53 PM

alright, bumping this thread.

My friend and i are working on our first 5 gallon batch of wine. Granted, we used cheap ingredients, but we expect to ruin it somewhere along the way.

Any other vintners out there? This weeks batch will be dandelion wine since its that time of year! We're doing on 5 gal batch, and probably three little gallon combos. Not sure what should be mixed with dandelions, but who knows, we'll see what sounds good! (will post recipes)

Thanks!

lotsofmagnets · 04-28-2008, 05:20 AM

i really have little idea myself which is a bit embarrasing as my dad is an award winning winemaker and 1/2 of our huge house back in au has been converted into a cellar. i think he´s raking at the moment with about 6 friends (there is a group of about 10 of them all up who make wine together.) i can certainly ask for any tips as i call my folks at least once a week just for the latest and i think my dad has wanted me to learn about wine making. i think the best experience was when he wanted to learn how to make bourbon a family firend´s 85 year old father came and spent a week at our house over a holiday and spent most of the time in the cellar teaching my dad the old-fashioned way of making it and the rest of the time telling us all the old war stories (i love the old war stories.) perhaps you just need to find someone who has been there done that and willing to let you in on one cycle to learn how it all works hands-on. from my perspective it seems to be a social event anyway.

serlindsipity · 04-30-2008, 07:03 PM

thats what my frine and i are doing. we found a guy who ran his own business a while back and he's unloading all his equipment and knowledge on to us. Its been fun so far, but there is a lot to learn! that and i need to grow a big batch of patience, or make intermittent batches of quick wine....

Mr Scorcex · 05-24-2008, 11:04 AM

A quick homebrewing question to those who might have done the same as me.
Alright, first I'll preface this by saying my mind was not in the right place to be bottling, with graduation and my last college test ever looming. Regardless, while I was bottling I forgot to add the damned priming sugar. So right now I have 48 bottles of flat pale ale that is unlikely to carbonate and I'm not too keen to dump it all out.
So does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Would it work if I sterilized some water and put the priming sugar in that, and then measured it out into the bottled beer as evenly as possibly? I'd sooner waste a bunch of caps than a whole batch of beer.

Mister Coaster · 05-24-2008, 12:11 PM

I have seen these little sugar pellets at my local homebrewing store that can be used to bottle carbonate beer. They are a tad spendy compared to priming sugar, but I'm sure you'd be able to open the caps, drop them in and recap without losing the batch.

Psycho Dad · 05-24-2008, 04:06 PM

+1 on the priming tabs.

Trying anything else is likely to either risk contamination or oxidation.

Mr Scorcex · 05-26-2008, 09:18 PM

Good looking out guys, I'll check those out. Thanks everyone.

Taja · 09-02-2008, 06:24 PM

Do any of you have experience with kegging, rather than bottling? I've been having trouble getting the right pressure. Either too much foam, or not enough carbination. Any thoughts?

evilbeefchan · 09-05-2008, 11:53 PM

Just caught the Good Eats episode the other day, seriously itching to start brewing. I had a question about the kits available online, like the Apprentice Kit from Wind River Brewing Co. (I like the kit from WRBC cuz it comes with an included recipe kit). I'm cheap, but still want to be able to make as many styles I can from one kit (from oatmeal or coffee stouts to high gravity Belgians). Can I get away with this, or do I have to stop being such a penny-pincher? Thanks!

Psycho Dad · 09-06-2008, 05:40 AM

Take the Good Eats episode with a grain of salt. While I think one could make perfectly fine beer the way Alton Brown did, I don't think one could make great beer that way. Especially if you want to make Belgians.

One thing though is beer making isn't as hard as it looks. Here are a couple of links (THE POSTS ARE FINE BUT THE SITE IS NSFW DUE TO THE BANNER ADS AND AVATARS). However it is a pretty good nutshell opinion of brewing IMHO.

• View topic - Beerntits Home Brewing Guide Pt 1
• View topic - Beerntits Home Brewing Guide Pt. 2

The second link deals mostly with equipment. Good basic equipment kits like you linked to are fine. As you explore other techniques, you can add or upgrade equipment as you go along. Check to see if you have a local home brew store. You can often get better deals as well as personalized help from the shop owners. I have a LHBS an hour away from me and rarely buy on-line as I like shopping for my beer toys in a brick and mortar place. They do have a website. High Gravity Homebrew & Winemaking Supplies

This is the kit I started with: Beer Equipment Kit - Two Stage - Equipment Kits - High Gravity I now brew all grain, but still adhere to the home brewer's mantra RDWHAHB. Relax, don't worry, have a home brew.

12-07-2006, 02:39 PM	#42 (permalink)
troit Transfer Agent Location: NYC	I have never tried to brew my own but after reading this thread I feel a bit "inspired". I'll let everyone know how my first brew turns out. __________________ I've yet to dephile myself...

08-15-2007, 03:05 PM	#45 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	Brewed my first batch from an extract kit last night. I can't wait to get into all grain and kegging. I love beer. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

08-15-2007, 03:05 PM	#46 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	Brewed my first batch from an extract kit last night. I can't wait to get into all grain and kegging. I love beer. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

08-15-2007, 07:15 PM	#47 (permalink)
Tophat665 Minion of the scaléd ones Location: Northeast Jesusland	Hey there folks. Been a while. You go Psychodad! What's your brew? I've been pre-occupied with Aquaria this year, and my brew buddy has a new baby boy, so we've been on the slow side. We did win our Club's brewer of the year competition, taking firsts over the course of the year with, I think,an American Brown Ale, A coffee imperial stout, and a kick ass Double IPA with 15.8 oz of hops (6 different kinds, from in the mash through dry hoping, in something obscene like 17 separate hopping gifts) in a 5.5 gallon batch. I would have stacked it up against any Double IPA I've ever tasted. Last couple of beers have been for our annual combined birthday party: An American Pale Ale with Amarillo hops, The Up All Night Extra Stout (Which we've brewer every year since 2000 at least once), The Purple Peril - a blackberry raspberry honey hefeweizen (chicks dig it - another perennial brew since 99 or 2000), and a weird beer. We do one odd one every year. Sometimes it's as ordinary as a Doppelbock - only weird because homebrewed lagers are thin on the ground hereabouts, sometimes it's a lemongrass roggen or a Hot pepper porter. This year we went with a hybrid (and I think may have snuck up on a Porter from the long way around) - It's a Rye IPA crossed with a Belgian Stout, and we used all German hops. Jon Snow's Black Bastard IPA (Named after the Night Commander of the Black Watch, not the former Treasury Secretary). Sorry to have stayed away so long. __________________ Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns. Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

08-15-2007, 07:49 PM	#48 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	I brewed a wheat beer from a kit that the homebrew store I bought my equipment from sells. It is supposed to be a clone of Boulevard's wheat beer which I like, so I thought it a good choice to gauge how well I did (assuming that the store's kit is accurate to the original). So far everything is going well. Lots of airlock action going on right now. I can't wait to get it out of the primary so I can get my robust porter kit going. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

11-09-2006, 10:39 AM	#41 (permalink)
Mr Scorcex Insane Location: Colorado	Good question, I'm heading to the homebrew store tomorrow. I was thinking dunkelweizen, but if something else strikes my fancy I'll go with that. I also have a buddy who's a huge coopers fan, so I promised him if this brewing stuff works out I'd try and make him some Cooper's Ale. Cheers, and thanks for the help tophat.

12-09-2006, 01:48 AM	#43 (permalink)
snicka Crazy	I tried a recipe using 8 oz of black tea as an adjunct but something in the tea kept it from carbonating in the bottle, so I had a caffeinated, slightly too sweet, flat beer. I will probably go for a Heffe or Lambic next batch. I highly recommend a copper wort chiller if you don't already have one. Cuts the cool down time between sparging and pitching dramatically, and you don't have to use ice (which is not sterile).

03-25-2007, 04:58 PM	#44 (permalink)
BobAlmighty Upright	I'm curious, I've done the homebrew thing before and had a lot of fun with it. But I've been getting really interested in doing home distilling. Does anyone have any experience with this? While I think it might be illegal in most states, I know that a few states have legalized it. I live in Nebraska and there is currently a law under discussion that would allow micro-distillery operations and home distilling. (Not that it being illegal would stop me from trying it anyway :P, just makes it a more comfortable affair.)

08-15-2007, 08:57 PM	#49 (permalink)
Tophat665 Minion of the scaléd ones Location: Northeast Jesusland	Did they give you a liquid yeast with the kit? I know this is not the same yeast as for a German Wheat Beer, but that beer's going to want a yeast with low flocculation, and I don't know as they make any of those in a dry form. Still if you do have a dry yeast, you'll probably get a nice, clean taste from it. Maybe not quite what you expect. Should be good. Most wheat extracts make an excellent beer all by them selves with some minimal hopping. __________________ Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns. Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

08-16-2007, 03:24 AM	#50 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	The wheat beer kit came with a Wyeast liquid yeast pack and the Brewer's Best robust porter kit has a dry package. I smacked the hell out of that thing because I wasn't ever sure I broke the inner package for quite a while. By the time the wort was boiled and cooled, it had plumped quite nicely though. At this point, I don't know enough about yeasts, malts and hops to really understand the difference each type makes on the finished product, but hope to eventuallly. And that will come in due time I suppose. There are a lot of resources for information on the 'net I'm finding for home brewing. I've got goals for all grain, my own recipes and kegging. I know this will be a hobby I will enjoy. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

08-21-2007, 05:33 PM	#51 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	Racked into the carboy tonight. From what I gather with the wheat beer, I didn't really need to do that, but I hadn't seen any airlock activity for a couple of days and I wanted to see how things were. It smelled like beer and it looked like beer except it is quite a bit darker than the Boulevard it is supposed to be a clone of. From my hydrometer reading, I gather why I see no more airlock activity as I have reached what the ingredient kit indicated FG would be. I can't get to the brew store to buy bottles until Saturday or Sunday so I figure it won't hurt to let it mellow those few days. Of course I couldn't resist tasting a little bit from my racking cane after filling the carboy. I know that I shouldn't expect it to taste that swuft, but truth is, it wasn't that bad. Once I bottle and age it for a few weeks before chilling and serving I expect good things from this beer. All in all, I was so pleased that after cleaning my primary, racking cane and other odds and ends, I went over and pulled a big one from the kegerator to reward myself. I can't wait for the day that I can take that commercial keg back for my deposit and enjoy my own home brew from the tap. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

08-21-2007, 06:13 PM	#52 (permalink)
Tophat665 Minion of the scaléd ones Location: Northeast Jesusland	Good deal. Extract beer clones are almost always darker than the original. When I brewed a berliner weisse a few years ago, I stirred the kettle the entire 30 minute boil to keep it from caramelizing so I could keep that nice straw yellow color. And that was all grain. __________________ Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns. Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

09-02-2007, 06:36 PM	#53 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	Bottled today. And knock on wood... like most everything else thus far I think all is still well. I'd hoped to bottle sooner, but couldn't get to it and from what I gather, the beer does a better job of waiting on me than it would were I to hurry. I almost enjoyed bottling it as much as the brewing. After filling 48 bottles, there was just enough to fill a 12 oz glass a little more than 1/2 full. So of course I had to taste it. And from the taste of it, I'm going to have a long 3 or 4 weeks waiting and keeping myself out of it. The color was beautiful too. I know I'm biased, but it has to be the prettiest beer I've ever seen. My wife has some idea about me starting an exercise program tomorrow. If I can get out of it by Wednesday, I'm going to brew a porter extract kit. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

09-28-2007, 03:15 PM	#54 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	I hate to blow my own horn so loudly... But I did damn good on this first batch. I was patient and stayed out of it other than a taste from the racking cane after bottling. From that taste I had high hopes. And those hopes were surpassed in more ways than I can describe. In fact the wife who to my knowledge has never had a beer other than Bud Light, loves it. Sunday night I shall make my toast to The Beer Hunter with my very own first home brew. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

10-23-2007, 03:27 PM	#57 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	I racked it into the secondary Sunday and it cleared up very nicely. It also smelled very good. I resisted the temptation to taste it, but when I bottle it I know damn well I will sample a bit of it. I also tried a bottle of the porter I brewed the other night. It has had a couple of weeks in the bottles and carbonated very well. Three more weeks and chilling it to about 54 or so should make it a good beer to drink while resting when raking leaves. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

10-24-2007, 11:40 AM	#58 (permalink)
jvwgtr Completely bananas Location: Florida	It's great to see so many homebrewers here! I'm just getting started - I've done about 6 batches of extract brewing, but I'm gradually adding equipment to move into partial mash, and hopefully all-grain one day. You guys are inspiring, and full of good tips. Thanks!

10-24-2007, 07:10 PM	#59 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	I have the stuff to make a mash tun and once I build or buy a wort chiller and get a turkey fryer, I'm heading to AG too. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

11-16-2007, 05:04 AM	#60 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	A lot of recipes here: http://www.skotrat.com/skotrat/recipes/ Of course I haven't tried any of them yet, just ran across the site this morning, but there are AG mini-mash and extract recipes of several varieties. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

04-27-2008, 02:53 PM	#62 (permalink)
serlindsipity Psycho Location: Boulder Baby!	alright, bumping this thread. My friend and i are working on our first 5 gallon batch of wine. Granted, we used cheap ingredients, but we expect to ruin it somewhere along the way. Any other vintners out there? This weeks batch will be dandelion wine since its that time of year! We're doing on 5 gal batch, and probably three little gallon combos. Not sure what should be mixed with dandelions, but who knows, we'll see what sounds good! (will post recipes) Thanks! __________________ My third eye is my camera's lens.

04-28-2008, 05:20 AM	#63 (permalink)
lotsofmagnets Upright Location: reykjavík, iceland	i really have little idea myself which is a bit embarrasing as my dad is an award winning winemaker and 1/2 of our huge house back in au has been converted into a cellar. i think he´s raking at the moment with about 6 friends (there is a group of about 10 of them all up who make wine together.) i can certainly ask for any tips as i call my folks at least once a week just for the latest and i think my dad has wanted me to learn about wine making. i think the best experience was when he wanted to learn how to make bourbon a family firend´s 85 year old father came and spent a week at our house over a holiday and spent most of the time in the cellar teaching my dad the old-fashioned way of making it and the rest of the time telling us all the old war stories (i love the old war stories.) perhaps you just need to find someone who has been there done that and willing to let you in on one cycle to learn how it all works hands-on. from my perspective it seems to be a social event anyway. __________________ mother nature made the aeroplane, and the submarine sandwich, with the steady hands and dead eye of a remarkable sculptor. she shed her mountain turning training wheels, for the convenience of the moving sidewalk, that delivers the magnetic monkey children through the mouth of impossible calendar clock, into the devil's manhole cauldron. physics of a bicycle, isn't it remarkable?

04-30-2008, 07:03 PM	#64 (permalink)
serlindsipity Psycho Location: Boulder Baby!	thats what my frine and i are doing. we found a guy who ran his own business a while back and he's unloading all his equipment and knowledge on to us. Its been fun so far, but there is a lot to learn! that and i need to grow a big batch of patience, or make intermittent batches of quick wine.... __________________ My third eye is my camera's lens.

05-24-2008, 11:04 AM	#65 (permalink)
Mr Scorcex Insane Location: Colorado	A quick homebrewing question to those who might have done the same as me. Alright, first I'll preface this by saying my mind was not in the right place to be bottling, with graduation and my last college test ever looming. Regardless, while I was bottling I forgot to add the damned priming sugar. So right now I have 48 bottles of flat pale ale that is unlikely to carbonate and I'm not too keen to dump it all out. So does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Would it work if I sterilized some water and put the priming sugar in that, and then measured it out into the bottled beer as evenly as possibly? I'd sooner waste a bunch of caps than a whole batch of beer.

05-24-2008, 12:11 PM	#66 (permalink)
Mister Coaster Big & Brassy Location: The "Canyon"	I have seen these little sugar pellets at my local homebrewing store that can be used to bottle carbonate beer. They are a tad spendy compared to priming sugar, but I'm sure you'd be able to open the caps, drop them in and recap without losing the batch. __________________ If you have any poo... fling it NOW!

05-24-2008, 04:06 PM	#67 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	+1 on the priming tabs. Trying anything else is likely to either risk contamination or oxidation. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

05-26-2008, 09:18 PM	#68 (permalink)
Mr Scorcex Insane Location: Colorado	Good looking out guys, I'll check those out. Thanks everyone.

09-02-2008, 06:24 PM	#69 (permalink)
Taja Bent Moderator Emeritus Location: Scaling Half Dome	Do any of you have experience with kegging, rather than bottling? I've been having trouble getting the right pressure. Either too much foam, or not enough carbination. Any thoughts? __________________ I fear neither death nor pain. What do you fear milady? A cage.

09-05-2008, 11:53 PM	#70 (permalink)
evilbeefchan Addict Location: Alhambra, CA	Just caught the Good Eats episode the other day, seriously itching to start brewing. I had a question about the kits available online, like the Apprentice Kit from Wind River Brewing Co. (I like the kit from WRBC cuz it comes with an included recipe kit). I'm cheap, but still want to be able to make as many styles I can from one kit (from oatmeal or coffee stouts to high gravity Belgians). Can I get away with this, or do I have to stop being such a penny-pincher? Thanks! Last edited by evilbeefchan; 09-05-2008 at 11:57 PM..

09-06-2008, 05:40 AM	#71 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	Take the Good Eats episode with a grain of salt. While I think one could make perfectly fine beer the way Alton Brown did, I don't think one could make great beer that way. Especially if you want to make Belgians. One thing though is beer making isn't as hard as it looks. Here are a couple of links (THE POSTS ARE FINE BUT THE SITE IS NSFW DUE TO THE BANNER ADS AND AVATARS). However it is a pretty good nutshell opinion of brewing IMHO. • View topic - Beerntits Home Brewing Guide Pt 1 • View topic - Beerntits Home Brewing Guide Pt. 2 The second link deals mostly with equipment. Good basic equipment kits like you linked to are fine. As you explore other techniques, you can add or upgrade equipment as you go along. Check to see if you have a local home brew store. You can often get better deals as well as personalized help from the shop owners. I have a LHBS an hour away from me and rarely buy on-line as I like shopping for my beer toys in a brick and mortar place. They do have a website. High Gravity Homebrew & Winemaking Supplies This is the kit I started with: Beer Equipment Kit - Two Stage - Equipment Kits - High Gravity I now brew all grain, but still adhere to the home brewer's mantra RDWHAHB. Relax, don't worry, have a home brew. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.