Home Brewing

[nathaniel]

Dang, this thread took off. I appreciate all the great info, Baronsamedi, and everyone else. Now I just have to convince the other half... which shouldn't be all too difficult, as she appreciates a good brew too, like any decent woman should!

 

[baronsamedi]

@brewshooter Kvass is awesome! Best use for old bread any time!

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

I've tried it 3 times and each time was pretty much a failure haha. I plan on giving it another go when I'm at home but with a keg this time instead of bottle fermenting/carbonating. I have been looking into barrel aging as well but wanted to figure out WTF I was doing first

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

Yeah, I did that too but the kits I was getting said to do the bottle fermentation as well. I'm thinking the kits we got weren't all that great because we were sterilizing everything very well. Gonna try some actual home brew stores next time.

 

[strave19]

I've been brewing for awhile. The downside is that I'm always disappointed when I go to a local brewery and pay $4.50 for a pint of something, and I know all the while that I'm sipping it that I have a much better version of the same style at home... Refining your palette is not always a good thing! :P

 

[pstlpkr]

Kamakaze you need to read Baronsamedi's book.

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

Well, I am a Texan and I've really, really, really been wanting to brew some mead (I love that stuff). OK, you (and I) talked me into it Should be in in a couple of days. Thanks for the recommendation! I assume it will also have stuff that applies to beer.

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

Paul: I have the exact same problem of going overboard with my hobbies...when I can afford it at least (and that doesn't even always stop me) See my new found interest in pipes for example. I've got roughly a dozen new blends and 3 new pipes on their way to my house right now. No way I can fully take advantage of all that in the 3 weeks I'll be home and I'll probably be buying and least 1 more new pipe in Europe and several more tins. But yeah, I'm going to go talk to some brew stores when I get home for good and really make a valiant effort at it. My cousin's husband is also starting up a micro brewery so I should have a good reference there too. I'm gonna be working in the Middle East for at least another year though so I've got plenty of time to read up

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

Dang it! Sorry for the extra post. My internet out here sucks bad.

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

I meant to add too that if the brews don't work out I live less than half an hour from the Fort Worth Flying Saucer and Central Market. That's easily 400 different beers at my disposal

 

[johnnyxpipe]

I love brewing! I have a batch of Hefeweizen x3 (brother is coming here for Thanks giving which is also his 21st birthday), hard cider, IPA, Rye APA, in the fermenters right now. My father in law is huge into brewing he has won tons of competitions and judged a few national competitions (Mexico is the only one I remember off hand) and he brewed all the beer for my wedding last month.

 

[scotrob]

home brewing in the UK used to be VERY popular (in the 70s & 80s...my parents regularly cooked up beer and wine, and my dad in particular was quite skilled and could produce some excellent reds in particular) then seemed to die in the 90s....I am glad to see now though that there has been a resurgence lately, with shops here beginning to stock more home brew equipment though i have yet to try my hand....so far I have only made fruit liqueurs (steep the fruit in brandy/vodka, sweeten and mature) but I like the idea of home brew beer

 

[uberam3rica]

i got a friend whos cousin is looking to make wine and vodka.my friend is looking to possibly make absinthe

 

[chispa]

Been brewing since 1994 shortly after discovering "good beer". Saved me a lot of money over the years and every brew session is a joy. The biggest advice I can give to a new brewer is to buy your ingredients from a homebrew store, not a kit from the mall. Get the malt extract, hops, and yeast. You can get into the equipment and break even after one or two batches. The breakthrough for me was when my wife bought me a CO2 tank and 5 gallon kegs for my beer fridge. Washing bottles gets really old after a while and consistent carbonation is nice.
I also make limoncello every year and a big batch usually lasts all year with some to give away for the holidays.

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

@baronsamedi
Just got your book from Amazon. I think I'm going to start seriously trying to brew when I get home next september so I'm going to start reading and taking notes on whatever I can get my hands on I've really, really wanted to start mead so I'm looking forward to the read.

 

[throwryuken]

i actually live not to far from this guy http://www.beernut.com/zen-cart/
ive heard great things about his set ups and stuff. i will try when i make some good space for it lol

 

[gwynclan]

Been Brewing for 12 years, buy everything in bulk and grow my own hops. On a good sunny Saturday me and a friend can put out 36 gallons. Ready to be drank in 2 weeks. I use 3 half barrels I have cut out the tops and welded valves and huge cajun propane burners

Usually run about 400-500 gallons between march and october. Have driveway party's all summer on Fridays.

 

[baronsamedi]

Hey kamikaze I just saw that you bought my book! Thanks, man! I hope you get lots of use from it and make some things on your own. I know Lawrence is going nutz brewing right now!

 

[pstlpkr]

... Huh?

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

Aye, that I did. I've got several beer and mead brewing books set up to study before I get home, then I'm gonna go nuts. I think I'm going to try to brew something once per week. Too much you think? I'm really excited about the mead though because I love the stuff I've had (mainly Chaucer's) and a friend's dad just started keeping bees so I got a honey hookup