Home Brew Discussion

Heidenlarm

Heidenlarm

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Home Brewers

So who here brews their own beer or other alcohols? I just started my first batch a couple of weeks ago and it's currently sitting in the secondary awaiting to be bottled. Any tips for a beginner like me?
 
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I've Homebrewed 3 stouts so I'm still new to it.. I plan on doing a black IPA next
 
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SCREW THE BREWERS!




I do love beer, tho.

never brewed my own...will one day, tho. How'd you all start? just buy a kit? or...?
 
Crystallas

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I only do sodas now, but I used to do beer and wine.

People don't believe it, but home-made stuff knocks the socks off anything you can buy in the store. Once you go home brew, everything else sucks in comparison.
 
Heidenlarm

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X-Factor said:
SCREW THE BREWERS!




I do love beer, tho.

never brewed my own...will one day, tho. How'd you all start? just buy a kit? or...?
Click to expand...

Yeah there's a lot of starter equipment kits out there and ingredient kits. I got mine from Midwest. If you're in Chicago there's a couple of stores around the city by the name of Brew and Grow that sells what you need to get started.
 
Heidenlarm

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Crystallas said:
I only do sodas now, but I used to do beer and wine.

People don't believe it, but home-made stuff knocks the socks off anything you can buy in the store. Once you go home brew, everything else sucks in comparison.
Click to expand...

What made you switch? And I don't know, maybe in some cases.
 
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Heidenlarm said:
What made you switch? And I don't know, maybe in some cases.
Click to expand...

I don't drink anymore. I had family members that made beer and wine, as well as their parents, ect. Eventually it was passed down to me. We made everything from scratch, as much as possible, not these catalog/internet brewing kit deals(which, aren't bad at all either). Then I started making soda, when it became impossible to find legit ginger beer, as well as trying to avoid HFCS and artificial sweeteners.
 
Myk

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I started brewing in '93. Eventually took a 10 year layoff because our LHBS shut down and I had a couple bad batches ordering on line.

I've been making wine since I was a kid pilfering my parent's winemaking equipment. I grow and press my own apples now.
 
Myk

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My best recommendation is http://beersmith.com/ especially if you're all grain but even for extract or extract kits it will help you formulate recipes. Use the proper ingredients to the amounts that make the numbers hit the style and it should produce something drinkable along the lines of the style you were after. It also make AG seem very do-able.

Next up would be primary only for 2-3 weeks, preferably in a carboy or betterbottle.

Normally I'd throw in "liquid yeast" as 3rd but there are some quality dry yeasts now, although they jacked the price up so you may as well use liquid.
 
DaDanimal

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Hey guys. This place we can share some recipes, photos, and just shoot the breeze.

Here's my "brewery":
400155_225972590815795_968157316_n.jpg


My bottle caps:
2012_08_21.jpg


My current primary:
zomboz.jpg
 
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Heiden already started a thread.
 
DaDanimal

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Myk said:
My best recommendation is http://beersmith.com/ especially if you're all grain but even for extract or extract kits it will help you formulate recipes. Use the proper ingredients to the amounts that make the numbers hit the style and it should produce something drinkable along the lines of the style you were after. It also make AG seem very do-able.

Next up would be primary only for 2-3 weeks, preferably in a carboy or betterbottle.

Normally I'd throw in "liquid yeast" as 3rd but there are some quality dry yeasts now, although they jacked the price up so you may as well use liquid.
Click to expand...

Ditto. All Grain is simpler than it appears and yields better results.
 
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Dammit Jim


Could we supplement this as a microbrew talk?
 
DaDanimal

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Sorry I read his thread and saw he was asking for pointers. I figured this could be an umbrella thread for all discussion.
 
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No probs Bob.

This thread could be all things beer...just not the piss water light shit.

I'm curious about home brewing...although I wish i had the time to do it.
 
Myk

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DaDanimal said:
Ditto. All Grain is simpler than it appears and yields better results.
Click to expand...

With brewing software it's very simple. You have to measure the crap out of everything for a few brews but once that's dialed in it's pretty much plug and play. No need for slide rules to figure out a recipe and hit the desired numbers.

The main reason AG did better for me is because I brew UK beers and Maris Otter was the missing link.
Then I started wheat and rye. Maybe I've become an AG snob but I don't think you can hit this styles right without AG.
 
Myk

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onebud34 said:
No probs Bob.

This thread could be all things beer...just not the piss water light shit.

I'm curious about home brewing...although I wish i had the time to do it.
Click to expand...

All Grain takes about 6 hours for brew day and up to 2 more hours for other stuff.

Extract can be done in very little time.
 
Heidenlarm

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Myk said:
My best recommendation is http://beersmith.com/ especially if you're all grain but even for extract or extract kits it will help you formulate recipes. Use the proper ingredients to the amounts that make the numbers hit the style and it should produce something drinkable along the lines of the style you were after. It also make AG seem very do-able.

Next up would be primary only for 2-3 weeks, preferably in a carboy or betterbottle.

Normally I'd throw in "liquid yeast" as 3rd but there are some quality dry yeasts now, although they jacked the price up so you may as well use liquid.
Click to expand...

It's been bookmarked. Cheers!
 
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