Brewing beer at home

Psychotogen · August 2011

So, this is something I've wanted to do for a while. A friend of mine made a few really awesome beers and it got me interested in it. I just ordered this I picked up an Amber Lager kit also. I didn't want to get too complicated for my first go at it. Comments/suggestions on the setup? Oh, I bought a make your own cheese set on there too. haha

RaggedOldMan · August 2011

I was talking to people the other day who said that they tried to brew their own beer but it ended up tasting like crap. Interestingly I also used to know a woman who made wine and beer in a back room of her house. It turned out great, and she'd often give me a bottle for looking after her dogs. The setup looks good by the way.

Psychotogen · August 2011

Yeah, I think a lot of it has to do with the carboy. My buddy who brewed said never to get plastic. BTW the shipping for this site is incredibly cheap. That looks like a lot of boxes and heavy. and it was only like 30 bucks.

Unknown · August 2011

I imagine that the flavor would be all funny if you used plastic, but I've never brewed before. I also have had friends who have brewed their own stuff, and it's a little hit and miss from what I can tell. It's definitely worth a shot though, let us know how it all turns out!

ShadyTroll · August 2011

Post pics of everything as you're going through the process. I have a friend who used to make his own beer but never got to see his setup. Actually, it would be cool if you would make a guide on it. For the beer & the cheese. I've been interested in trying cheese making.

Psychotogen · August 2011

Ten Four, As soon as I get it I'll do a guide. That's actually a good idea.

CommunistDaughter · August 2011

Wow.. That's pretty nifty.. I definitely want to know how it turns out for ya.

HOLLISTER GUY · August 2011

I made alcoholic stuff all the time. I called it spice wine. I made shit like ginger, cinnamon, cloves, hot pepper, lemon, and all sorts of shit.

If I remember correctly it was 14c sugar to 5 gal water(flavored, strained, cooled) and 1 pack of champagne yeast. It's optional but helps the fermentation to add some lemon juice and cream of tartare. Let it ferment for 7-10 days, siphon into another 5 gal container to do secondary fermentation for another week, bottle it and let the bottles sit for about 9 days refrigerate and you have some amazing tasting carbonated alcohol stuff.

And it's fine to do something like that in quality plastic. It's only really extended fermentation periods that require glass.

Psychotogen · August 2011

yeah, I don't want to make jail wine. I want to make good beer. Thanks though.

Psychotogen · August 2011

Still waiting on my kit. I think its gonna be a SUPER big package.

angryonion · August 2011

I used to brew all the time.The biggest thing you have to do is keep everything super clean.
People get funny tasting beer when some rouge yeast took over.Read a few books on the subject.
Keep us posted.

Psychotogen · August 2011

Well It's in the closet for the next 5 days. Then I'm gonna switch it to a secondary fermenter. (Supposed to make the beer taste cleaner) Here's some pictures. I might get around to a guide later on.

ThirdRockFromTheSun · August 2011

That last picture is pure awesome. But the rest of it looks... a little off putting. But since that's just the brewing process, it shouldn't matter. This has caught my interest. More Updates!

ShadyTroll · August 2011

Thanks for posting pics.

dr rocker · August 2011

$160?! Shit, thats about £100. For my gear, I use a 6gal food grade plastic bucket and for siphoning what ever tubing I have lying around. I use two buckets - one for the primary fermentation and when this has settled, syphon into the other one so the vast majority of the yeast it left in the first (which goes on the compost heap). Leave it in the second one for a few days to clear some more then syphon into bottles.

2x buckets = £15
Pint bottles = £1.50 for 6 - need 40 per brew but you use them again and again. If you can get your hands on old grolsch bottles, great, as they have the spring cap
Bottle sealing tool = £4
bottle caps = shit loads for £1

I dont fuck around with hop pellets either, just use the canned malt and hop extract. The trick is to add maltose or use 1 1/2 - 2 cans of the extract, that way the beer is not like piss. When I am cleaning my gear, it all gets put in the bath with bleach and cold water, cleaned, then rinsed.

If I am making things like wine or turbo cider I just use a 1 gal mineral water container with a pin hole in the lid. If you make the pin hole from the inside of the lid, it only really 'opens' whith pressure from fermentation.

angryonion · August 2011

dr rocker wrote: »

$160?! Shit, thats about £100. For my gear, I use a 6gal food grade plastic bucket and for siphoning what ever tubing I have lying around. I use two buckets - one for the primary fermentation and when this has settled, syphon into the other one so the vast majority of the yeast it left in the first (which goes on the compost heap). Leave it in the second one for a few days to clear some more then syphon into bottles.

2x buckets = £15
Pint bottles = £1.50 for 6 - need 40 per brew but you use them again and again. If you can get your hands on old grolsch bottles, great, as they have the spring cap
Bottle sealing tool = £4
bottle caps = shit loads for £1

I dont fuck around with hop pellets either, just use the canned malt and hop extract. The trick is to add maltose or use 1 1/2 - 2 cans of the extract, that way the beer is not like piss. When I am cleaning my gear, it all gets put in the bath with bleach and cold water, cleaned, then rinsed.

If I am making things like wine or turbo cider I just use a 1 gal mineral water container with a pin hole in the lid. If you make the pin hole from the inside of the lid, it only really 'opens' whith pressure from fermentation.

^^ beat me to it all malt brews are the way to go.
Every time I used sugar it tasted off.

dr rocker · August 2011

Yeah, when I started brewing as a kid I used white sugar. Tastes like crap. I talked to the old fella in the local brew shop and he said if you are using sugar, its not 'real' beer. He told me to try making stout, which I had and I told him it came out like piss - he said to use two cans of the mix and it turned out like real beer. Always addded half as much again as the recipe says since then.

I have found tho, that if you fill up the container for the primary ferment with 1 1/2 -2 cans of mix, the fermentation will blow the lid from the bucket and you end up with foam everywhere. Start off only half filling it with water and top it up after 2 days or so.

Psychotogen · August 2011

Well, thanks for the heads up. That might've been cause you used plastic. I did some reading and apparently when you clean plastic its pourous so its hard to get it entirelly sterile. But i woke up this morning and my top blew off. apparently i used the wrong jug. I switched to the 6.5 gal and shook it up a little bit. I hope i didn't just completely fuck everything up. It looks like it's starting to ferment again. :cross my fingers:

Psychotogen · September 2011

So, we popped open a few of these babies the other day. I gotta say, they were pretty amazing considering it was my first brew. They were hoppy, but not overly. Not too heavy, but I could tell I was drinking a beer. I,m in the process of moving. But, as soon as I get all squared away I will definately give it another go. I purchased a few lbs of an orange blossom honey to use in the next batch. I,m super excited. If anyone's got any ideas I'd love to hear them. I will post a more detailed guide also.

Edit: I never said what it tasted like. A bunch of my friends said it was similar to a belgain wheat. Hope that satisfies all interest.

Brewing beer at home

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