Homebrewers?

[Kevin Q]

For Father's Day many years ago my wife got me a homebrew kit. I took a class. I then do what I always do and I REALLY got into it. Ended up brewing beer about twice a month. Had a dual tap kegerator going. Needed to stop when we moved abroad and didn't have the time to get back into it until now. Right now I have a vanilla bourbon porter aging. Wednesday night I brewed a Belgian Tripel. It's aggressively fermenting in my office right now. Anyone else in the hobby?

 

[Viking Jeeper]

I did many years ago and found the bottling process to be very tedious even though I had a bunch of 22 oz bottles. Kegerator is the only way I would think but how do you clean the keg between batches?

 

[Kevin Q]

Bottling does suck. Kegging is super easy. These aren't the kegs you likely have seen at parties with the single tap on top. These are "corny" or soda keys. You simply open the top...pour in keg cleaner with hot water then rinse, sanitize, and fill. When we finish our basement next spring I will add a 2-3 tap kegerator.

 

[jeepins]

What brewing system are you guys using? Been eyeballing the Clawhammer kit possibly this fall. I have a satsuma tangerine tree in my yard and next big fruit producing year I want to make an IPA with them.

 

[AFF]

I used to help a friend brew his beer. He bottled his for a while then bought a keg system. The bottled beer took about a month from start to finish and the keg beer was much less.

He had an interesting situation one time where the vapor lock thing (forget the name) got plugged up somehow and the built up gas blew the thing out of the top of the carbouy. He had beer all over the walls and ceiling in the room he had the carbouy. His wife was not happy!

 

[Kevin Q]

@jeepins I just use a 5 gallon kettle and my stove. I'm not doing all grain brews.

@AFF That's why I don't use the vapor locks for any beers over 5% ABV. The beer I am brewing right now should end up around 8.5%. Here is my vapor lock. I've had blow offs during fermentation and also had some bottle bombs. That happens when you bottle too early. The beer keeps fermenting in the bottle till the pressure wins versus the cap/bottle.

 

[RMETeeJay]

I've been doing it for about 25 years off and on and am still trying to do it right!

I have an all grain setup and use a batch sparge method like this: http://www.dennybrew.com/

I just bought an oxygenation setup (wand with regulator and gauge) to try and improve my fermentation. I have a fermenter chamber I made from a small fridge and an aquarium controller which works well at maintaining temps year-round.

I would like to eventually move to kegging, but want to get things dialed in before I take that big financial leap. Maybe in another 25 years?

 

[DuncLJ]

I had a couple of 5 gallon setups, and set up our guest bedroom walk in closet as my brewery and bottle aging cellar.

I loved all of the textures of the malts, hops and the aromas of the wort in the kettles, but my brews just never came out that good.
I had a few come out decent, but none were ever better than what I could run to the store and get in 5 minutes.

I do a lot of brewery tours and try to pick up some knowledge from the pros.
However, I've come to realize, I'm a much better beer drinker than a brewer.

 

[RMETeeJay]

I had a couple of 5 gallon setups, and set up our guest bedroom walk in closet as my brewery and bottle aging cellar.

I loved all of the textures of the malts, hops and the aromas of the wort in the kettles, but my brews just never came out that good.
I had a few come out decent, but none were ever better than what I could run to the store and get in 5 minutes.

I do a lot of brewery tours and try to pick up some knowledge from the pros.
However, I've come to realize, I'm a much better beer drinker than a brewer.

So true. I have come to the conclusion that you have to love the process and experimentation to keep doing it. It's never been easier to find great, fresh beer at your local brewery/store. I also have struggled to make excellent brew (maybe only 2 batches that were exceptional with the rest having off tastes).

I recently tried an extract mini-mash recipe and it came out better than my all grain. I am considering downsizing to only that style once I go through my sack of 2 row. It takes less time on brew day, but costs a bit more.

I stay with the hobby because I like styles that are out of fashion (Cascadian Dark Ales, Black IPAs, Robust American Porters) and enjoy the process/experimentation. If I can get things dialed in with my bottling setup, I will move to kegging.

 

[Kevin Q]

I've had success with my mini mashes and extract kits. I will be focusing my brewing on beers that are hard to get and/or too expensive. I lived in Belgium for 2 years and paid about $40 for a case of beer that costs me $120 here. If I can brew 2 cases for $55 and it's close to the same then I am happy. I've brewed Chimay Quad in the past and did a blind taste test with my wife and 2 friends. My beer was preferred but they said they tasted very similar.

 

[Rick Flair]

I don’t brew beer. But I do ferment foods and make my own hot sauce. It’s a fun thing to do. Makes great food! And it’s good for you!


I plan to try beer when I move and other things. Why not?

 

[PCO6]

I used to help a friend brew his beer. He bottled his for a while then bought a keg system. The bottled beer took about a month from start to finish and the keg beer was much less.

He had an interesting situation one time where the vapor lock thing (forget the name) got plugged up somehow and the built up gas blew the thing out of the top of the carbouy. He had beer all over the walls and ceiling in the room he had the carbouy. His wife was not happy!

I built a 5 litre mini keg set up in my garage fridge. One of the fittings let loose one day and I got the full 5 litres in the face when I opened up the door. All I wanted was a beer ... and I got LOTS!

 

[jeepins]

Yea you probably had it in 4WD H... got to put it in Low when you want a beer

 

[MaximusLJR06]

I've been wanting to get into brewing. Anyone know of a good starter kit to try out?

 

[Kevin Q]

I've been wanting to get into brewing. Anyone know of a good starter kit to try out?

I'd suggest taking a class at a homebrew club or homebrew store. It's helpful to understand the process. I order a lot from Northern Brewer and from a local shop in Montgomeryville. Start with an all extract, low ABV beer.

 

[andyshowfan]

I've been brewing for 7+ years. I do all grain brewing with an E-HERMS (electric heat exchange recirculating mash system) that I proudly built on my own. Currently have kegged an Irish Stout (won silver in Nashville), an american wheat fermented with kviek yeast @ 98 degress , and my newest, a Belgian Golden Ale ringing in at 10.5%

 

[vito2772]

We do beer and wine. When I was younger, my grandparents would buy 50+ cases of grapes and we would be crushing all day to make wine!! Nowadays (grandparents are much older) we buy the juice pre squeezed from certain grapes and make our family mix. Also, in spirit of the wine making, one of my family members have started a brewery!! If anyone sees Yonkers Brewing Company (near NYC), that's part of my family!! Keep an eye out at your beer distributor if you on the East Coast, they ship out pretty far! I'm not much of a beer guy, but their stuff is so good.

 

[j8ksdad]

I'm a beer drinker and my wife is a drinker/brewer. She is currently studying for her Beer Server and Cicerone certifications. She does all grain brewing in our kitchen with a batch sparge system similar to above and only bottles no kegging. She has been brewing and taking classes for about 15 years.

 

[andyshowfan]

I'm a beer drinker and my wife is a drinker/brewer. She is currently studying for her Beer Server and Cicerone certifications. She does all grain brewing in our kitchen with a batch sparge system similar to above and only bottles no kegging. She has been brewing and taking classes for about 15 years.

Good luck on the Cicerone Certification!

 

[AFF]

I'm a beer drinker and my wife is a drinker/brewer. She is currently studying for her Beer Server and Cicerone certifications. She does all grain brewing in our kitchen with a batch sparge system similar to above and only bottles no kegging. She has been brewing and taking classes for about 15 years.

sounds like you found a winner!