I just bought a ton of equipment to give it a shoot.
Any tips or sites I should check out before attempting my first batch?
Any tips or sites I should check out before attempting my first batch?
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I drink a new beer every day. I'm not kidding.
Today is this one
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Good luck with the beer/wine making ..bumperoo for youComment
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I've made beer in the past. Strong, belgian style beer.
I wonder what you bought though since there's a difference in equipment for making beer or wine
My tips:
1. READ a lot
2. look up brewing recipes that have been proven to work
3. do the MATH correctly
4. work precise. If the recipe calls for the brew to be kept at a certain temp for a certain time, try to make sure it does that.
5. be CLEAN when working. It's easy to ruin your brew. It won't make you sick but it'll fuck your brew up.
6. MAKE NOTES. Document EVERYTHING. If you succeed, you want to succeed again next time. If you went wrong, you can figure where and why it went wrong from your notes. I can't stretch this enough.Last edited by Pixelbucks Eric; 10-15-2009, 02:56 PM.New Program! http://www.pixelbucks.com | ICQ: 369055569Comment
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I make my own beer its easy with the right equiptment.
Start with extract brewing then move up to all grain.
check out homebrewforums for good tips.
start with an ale for easy top fermentation.
lagers are a pain in the ass without perfect refridgeration and take much longerComment
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Thank you man
Got both, I've got all the stuff for Beer, Tubs, Thermometers, Alcohol testers, and god knows what else. Plus 4 dimijons (or however you spell it) And all the stuff need to make both.I've made beer in the past. Strong, belgian style beer.
I wonder what you bought though since there's a difference in equipment for making beer or wine
My tips:
1. READ a lot
2. look up brewing recipes that have been proven to work
3. do the MATH correctly
4. work precise. If the recipe calls for the brew to be kept at a certain temp for a certain time, try to make sure it does that.
5. be CLEAN when working. It's easy to ruin your brew. It won't make you sick but it'll fuck your brew up.
6. MAKE NOTES. Document EVERYTHING. If you succeed, you want to succeed again next time. If you went wrong, you can figure where and why it went wrong from your notes. I can't stretch this enough.
Thanks for the tips I will definately keep that in mind
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I own 50% of a Belgium Brewery, does that classify me?Comment
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I started homebrewing in the early 90's. I worked as a Brewmaster for about 6 months then the pub brewery went under due to bad management. Got out of the brewing business because I could not make enough $$$ as a brewmaster. I loved the job but the pay just did not cover my lifestyle.
Check out this book it is a must read if your serious about making your own. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Homeb.../dp/0060531053
also I recommend starting out using malt extract for your first few batches of beer then move on to the all grain goodness. Read the book and you will understand what I am talking about.
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i only drink... not making...
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I make Ol' Milwaukee's Best.
I drink a good brand of beer and then piss it out“If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.”
-- Ulysses S. GrantComment
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yes, a lager is a more advanced process.
requiring you to drop and hold temps for a certain amount of time.
diactyl rests, etc.
plus bottle conditioning can take months
My first brew was an Amber =Ale, using cascade and kent golding hops.
It came out perfect.
Time from brew day to drinking was 6 weeksComment
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Here are some pics from a random brew day.
First you need to start off with enough product to make about 5 gallons which is 48 bottles or 2 cases.
And this will do it for a nice blonde ale with an almost pilsner taste
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Here is the mash tun and grain, basically a converted cooler.
It's where the grain and hot water mix to release the enzymes.
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next I heat up the water to around 170 degrees.
I mix it with the grain and stir it really well until the whole thing hits 152-154 degrees.
When it does, I close it up and let it sit for an hour.
This is how the exact the sugars from the grains.
Too cold and it wont extract, too hot and you will get off tastes.
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After an hour I start to extract the "wort".
It's basically pure sugar at this point, but notice I got the color right on it looks like.
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I have done it in the past.
I just rather make Soda now.Comment
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next I start the wort boiling and add hops.
I'm adding cascade and saaz hops for this recipe.
I like saaz hops for the bitter and cascades for the aroma.
So I will boil the saaz hops a full 60 minutes and add the cascade hops in around the last 15 minutes of the boil.
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after the boil is done, I start cooling the wort by adding cold water then I put it in the fermenting bucket.
Then I put it in the bathtub to bring the temp. down to about 68 degrees.
When it gets to the right temp. I add yeast to start the process.
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here it is the next day, lid on with airlock bubbling away as the yeast eats the sugar and creates the alcohol.
Takes about a week then I will move it to a secondary fermenter to clarify for 2 weeks.
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So after fermentation is done, altogether about 3 weeks, I bottle the beer and add some sugar to each bottle.
This will eat residual yeast in the beer and create a natural carbonation. This finishes in about 2 to 3 weeks and your beer is good to go.
Here is the finished product.
It was very clear, hard to tell because the glass was fogged and cold.
Color was perfect and the taste was a cross between almost an amber ale taste and a pilsner urequell. Very eastern european taste with the saaz hops.
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Homemade beer sounds like a good time.Adult Copywriters
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There are many sites for this im looking at some of the affiliate programs
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Tried it a cuople times and it never really turned out right,also too much trouble and mess for meComment
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Thanks for the tutorial Shok!
That looks like a very nice glass of beer right there
Should be going down to the brew/wine store tomorrow to see what they have got, the guy down there will probably give me a few pointers aswell.
I'll post some results when I make the first batch
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I'm really not good at it, kind of a shame since I love beer. We made a Guinness clone it was good but very low alcohol content. We used raw ingredients, pimp hops, vialed yeast.. .Comment
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Aerating the yeast in some feeder and make it grow(not always necessary)
Grinding the malt(obviously grinding isn't the correct word but I don't know the
correct English term for it :P )
End result of the "grinding". This malt mill is one that works with 2 plates
that grind against each other. You're better of with rollers.
You need to squash/crush the kernel/grain, not cut it up. The chaf will make a
nice natural filterbed. But for this type of mill, it's not bad.
Measuring temperature during the boiling process.
Hops(kept them in a boiling net, makes it easier to scoop out
Spices
Measuring the pH-levels and add lactic acid if necessary(depends on your waterquality for example)
Draining/filtering the hot wort-to-be. It has rested at several temps along the way
I used the chaf as a natural filterbed. Thats why I gently scoop big bowls
of the mixture as not to disturb the filter bed at the bottom of the sieve.
The clear "wort"
The boiling of the hops (and later on the spices)
The COOLING of the wort. The trick is to cool the hot wort as quickly as possible.
Pref in 15-20 minutes tops. This reduces the chance of your beer getting infected
by having a good warm temp for germs/fungi
Aerating the wort with the yeast in it.
The actual yeasting. As you can see it looks disgusting and sometimes smells disgusting too. The goo on top does serve as a natural protector against infection. This process will last for a few days.
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That looks amazing -- and thanks for sharingSo after fermentation is done, altogether about 3 weeks, I bottle the beer and add some sugar to each bottle.
This will eat residual yeast in the beer and create a natural carbonation. This finishes in about 2 to 3 weeks and your beer is good to go.
Here is the finished product.
It was very clear, hard to tell because the glass was fogged and cold.
Color was perfect and the taste was a cross between almost an amber ale taste and a pilsner urequell. Very eastern european taste with the saaz hops.
Quite excellent!!!!
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I've done the homebrew thing and you can make exceptional beer yourself
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i'd rather just drink it lolComment
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Never tried to make it!I'm just a newbie.Comment
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liquid yeast seems to make better beers for me.Dr. Wicks
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Great postings, Shok! Going to try to make some beer soon! If I can make it taste like urequell, I will be very happy!!
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i've made a lot of wine over the years and the ONE thing i can tell you is READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY - EXACTLY.
if you do that you'll be fine.This dog, is dog, a dog, good dog, way dog, to dog, keep dog, an dog, idiot dog, busy dog, for dog, 20 dog, seconds dog!
Now read without the word dog.Comment
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I usually just buy a kit with everything that is needed. Have one each for beer, hard cider, and wineLast edited by beerptrol; 10-16-2009, 12:15 PM.“If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.”
-- Ulysses S. GrantComment
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I always felt that water was one of the key ingrediants. If your tap water is not fucking perfect, just like for coffee. It often is better to use filtered or even purchased water.Comment
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Some really great tips in this thread
As for water, I'm definately going to be using bottled/minerial water to much sure. But I could always test out the tap water to see if it would be suitable first.
Can't wait to get started
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Pretty sure if your tap isnt funky tasting. Just using something like a Britta filter would be fine and cheaper.Comment
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You obviously know your shit but I do feel I need to correct you on this one
The sugar will not eat the risidual yeast. It's exactly the other way around.
The yeast will eat the sugar (yeast + sugar = alcohol+CO2).
The yeast will remain afterwards and can be revitalised.
Yes you are correct, I meant to say the yeast will eat the sugar causing the c02Comment
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all hail shokComment
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