Captain Obvious Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 I have been thinking of trying to brew my own beer. Have been reading up on it quite a bit. Anyone do or try this and how did it go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mole Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 I've done it numerous times and find the end results pretty enjoyable. If you go up to Docs Brewing supplies on Court St you'll find what you need to get started. It's a good hobby and you'll find out how beer went from being a really great drink to some of the swill pawned off on store shelves today. There are numerous sources on the net to get you started. If you can pick up any of Charlie Papazian's books on brewing you'll learn allot. I suggest you start off on the simpler line, that is extract brewing. Basically, you boil up your wort consisting of malt extract, water and hops, cool it before moving it to your fermenting carboy and adding yeast. Let it go until it's finished burping, move on to the secondary fermentation and storage or bottling. It takes a little time so don't expect overnight results. The actual cost for brewing items isn't too much. If you really want to get cheap about it and like cider, I'd say give that a try first. Easier and less cost. I've really simplified the entire process here but you should get the gist of it. Good luck ! @ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Thanks for the info. In regards to the wort pot, do you recommend a stainless steel or enamel? I know this will be my first batch and should keep it simple, however I love dark brews. Sam Adams, Roxe Rolles, Smithwicks are my choices. Does that store have reciepes for these types and are they any harder to brew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 I have been thinking of trying to brew my own beer. Have been reading up on it quite a bit. Anyone do or try this and how did it go? I have been brewing for years and love it. It takes some work and time most important thing is to make sure everything is very sanitized(sp). Go see Doc on court st. across fom micky d's tell him you are going to start brewing and he will set you up on all the stuff you will need. I too recomend that you buy any of Papazians books very well written for a begginer. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Thanks for the info. In regards to the wort pot, do you recommend a stainless steel or enamel? I know this will be my first batch and should keep it simple, however I love dark brews. Sam Adams, Roxe Rolles, Smithwicks are my choices. Does that store have reciepes for these types and are they any harder to brew? Firts Brew I made was a Guiness clone came out very good so you can follow any recipe and get some good results right from start. I use stainless steel pot bigger the pot the better for your wort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 I have been brewing for years and love it. It takes some work and time most important thing is to make sure everything is very sanitized(sp). Go see Doc on court st. across fom micky d's tell him you are going to start brewing and he will set you up on all the stuff you will need. I too recomend that you buy any of Papazians books very well written for a begginer. Good luck Try MrBeer.com They sell complete brewing sets for around 100 dollars. Makes several batches. Gives you a great start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 I have a question! What is the start up cost to brew beer? round or about idea. THANK YOU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 http://hbd.org/brewery/cm3/CatsMeow3.html Go to this site as well you can get a ton of recipes from it. For the person who asked about start up it all depends on what you for your equipment. I payed $50 for my kit wich came with 2 pales, hydrometer, siphon and few other smaller things. I recomend a capper as well and caps and bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navin R Johnson Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 depends on what you want to brew. if you are just starting out i recomend buying a kit. You can choose from a lot of different styles of beers and the kits have all of your ingredients all ready in there and pre measured. Simplest way to get started. Also i recomend something fairly easy like a red or a pale ale just until you get the hang of the process. Once you do that go to barnes and noble and buy a recipie book to make your own. overall including the buckets and brewing kit...you can get started for about 100 bucks. make sure you always bottle in brown bottles that are not twist off. What i did is bought 2 cases of bottles at first and then bought beers like magic hat. drink that beer, wash and sanitize the bottles and you have more bottles. The bottles are about 50 cents per bottle to buy from docks. much easier and cheaper to reuse other bottles. home brewing is the best thing i decided to do. it is a fun hobby and the rewards are great too And like the other poster said...the most important thing is to sanitize everything. Hope this helps. feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Well, I think i'm going to head up there today and look things over. I have been reading tons of info on this and it sounds like alot of fun to do. I need a hobby other than just drinking it!! Also, I know that once you are ready to serve, there will still be residue in the bottom of the bottle. Is there a way other than pasturization to rid this? Perhaps filter process before corbonation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Thanks guys for answering my questions about start up costs! THANK YOU!! For a hundred bucks I m going to try it! How many bottles of beer do you get out of a kit? Just wondering! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navin R Johnson Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Well, I think i'm going to head up there today and look things over. I have been reading tons of info on this and it sounds like alot of fun to do. I need a hobby other than just drinking it!! Also, I know that once you are ready to serve, there will still be residue in the bottom of the bottle. Is there a way other than pasturization to rid this? Perhaps filter process before corbonation? yea you can do a secondary carbonation to clear that up. although some beers you do not want to do that for clarity purposes. Its not really a big deal to have the residue on the bottom. but never drink the beer out of the bottle. always use a glass. when you drink from a bottle everytime you tilt the bottle up and put it down mixes that residue around and gives the beer an off taste. also always remember to at least let it sit in the bottles for at least 2 weeks. the longer you can stand it, the better. talk to the guys at docs...they are awesome and extremely helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navin R Johnson Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Thanks guys for answering my questions about start up costs! THANK YOU!! For a hundred bucks I m going to try it! How many bottles of beer do you get out of a kit? Just wondering! if you do a full five gallon batch it gets you about 2 cases more or less. @ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted March 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 Ok, I just learned something new about beer brewing supplies. When you are "going a bit fast" and get pulled over with items like, 5 gallon pails, clear vinyl tubing, air locks, plastic bags of malted hops, and such sitting in your back seat. The Police are rather insistent on doing a full search and pat down on you. Thank God I had my reciept for everything. they Officer smelled the bag of malted hops like 6 times and even decided to call for a K9 unit. Good thing it wasn;t a beer hound. What a day it turned into. these guys thought I was on my way to methland. however, after I explained it all, the one Officer is going top stop in and look into brewing now. I felt like Uncle Jessie runnin' shine.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navin R Johnson Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 Ok, I just learned something new about beer brewing supplies. When you are "going a bit fast" and get pulled over with items like, 5 gallon pails, clear vinyl tubing, air locks, plastic bags of malted hops, and such sitting in your back seat. The Police are rather insistent on doing a full search and pat down on you. Thank God I had my reciept for everything. they Officer smelled the bag of malted hops like 6 times and even decided to call for a K9 unit. Good thing it wasn;t a beer hound. What a day it turned into. these guys thought I was on my way to methland. however, after I explained it all, the one Officer is going top stop in and look into brewing now. I felt like Uncle Jessie runnin' shine.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 I've been brewing for a while myself, and I'm actually thinking about transitioning into all grain brewing. I think the beer you get from homebrewing (if you do it right ) is in most cases better than what you can get at the store. I've got about three batches in the cellar now and I'm about to bottle another. My question is - are there any local homebrew groups, and if not would anyone be interested in starting one up? @ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 Can't express this enough...clean clean clean. Make sure everything is clean. Cleanliness is next to Godliness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 There are 2 clubs localy the one club I know about meets on 2nd tuesday every month at the AOH hall on main st.. Membership fee is 15 for a year not sure about the other club. Just show up to sign up or go to the web site http//bcfermenters.com. Good Luck @ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 Also a club in Endicott (BIER - Brewers In the Endicott Region), lots of good information. Here is the link. http://www.thebierclub.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 Thanks for info and the link! I'll have to try to get to a meeting. It seems like I've always got questions and it woul dbe nice to have a forum to bounce ideas off of people. For those of you that brew - what are you making for spring? @ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 Thanks for info and the link! I'll have to try to get to a meeting. It seems like I've always got questions and it woul dbe nice to have a forum to bounce ideas off of people. For those of you that brew - what are you making for spring? @ I am starting a yungling(sp) clone and a Imperial Stout can't wait for the stout to be done also started another batch of wine. @ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 I've been brewing for years too. Mr Beer seems cheap and easy but they charge a ton to ship their ingredients. I recommend, as others here have, that you go to see Doc and get a 5 gallon kit. Mr Beer can be used to brew decent beer if its done with non standard ingredients but it takes as much work and time as a 5 gallon batch. You're money and time ahead with a larger 5 gallon batch. Doc will answer all your questions too. Once you know you are going to stick with it invest in some nice sling top bottles, Doc has those too. Everyone is right about the sanitation of bottles and equipment, Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 21, 2008 Report Share Posted March 21, 2008 I just open one of my Pilsners that has been lagering for two mounths. When the temperature in the garage gets warm enough I plan on brewing a Belgian Tripel @ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Another good place to get stuff is www.midwestsupplies.com - they've got really good prices and the shipping isn't bad. This is where I pick up stuff I can't get at Doc's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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