Any Beer Brewers out there?

[chinaco]

DW got me a Beer Brewing kit for christmas one year. BIL and I went at it. We brewed several batches. Stout, Porter, Pale Ale. It turned out pretty good. After we drank the inventory (took a while), I decided that good beer is too inexpensive to make it worth my while. I did not continue as a hobby (I would have to drink too much).

When we moved back in 2000, I gave my kit to a young neighbor who was interested in trying his hand at brewing.

Anybody out there got a "batch of brew to brag on"? That's kinda tough to say three times real quick

 

[lswswein]

You realise there is a guy named brewer here right?

-h

 

[smileydog]

I have a buddy of mine that is into brewing and he loves it. I would not mind trying it one day.

 

[brewer12345]

Maybe I am a little cheaper than you, since I have kept up the hobby for almost 15 years. Still brewing, and I still enjoy the process. Don't have time for it any more, but I am also a National ranked BJCP beer judge.

 

[kat]

Can anyone suggest a place or product to learn more about brewing?

 

[chinaco]

Maybe I am a little cheaper than you, since I have kept up the hobby for almost 15 years. Still brewing, and I still enjoy the process. Don't have time for it any more, but I am also a National ranked BJCP beer judge.

I stated that it was not worth my while... but not so much because of the cost savings. Matter of fact, I not sure I saved anything. It was more related to the quality of the beer. Out the the three batches we brewed, I thought the stout turned out the best. After a few tries, it always turned out pretty good... but not quite up to the quality of the commercial microbrew available.

I used the malt extracts. Maybe that was part of the quality issue. Never started a batch from scratch. I didn't graduate to that level. Starting with the grain looked like it would be quite an involved process.

 

[chinaco]

Can anyone suggest a place or product to learn more about brewing?

I just bought a few books. The best of the books I had was "The Brewers' Handbook: The Complete Book to Brewing Beer"

 

[brewer12345]

Can anyone suggest a place or product to learn more about brewing?

"Homebrewing, Vol. 1" by Al Korzonas is excellent. Also see if there is a local home brew shop in your area.

 

[WanderALot]

Back when I used to live in Huntington Beach, I remember that there used to be a brewery close to Main st. which used to let you come in and make beer on their premises. They have all the vats, ingredients and bottling facilities. You do all the ingredient selection, brewing and bottling. You could even design your own label IRC. It's since closed down and I can't seem to find a similar type of setup. This type of place is probably looked down upon by hardcore home brewers, but I thought it was a great idea.

 

[bosco]

I'm also a home brewer and nationally ranked by BJCP (judging organization).

After you read Korzona's book, I recommend Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide if you want to get into it a bit further and are considering all-grain. It's a pretty good background in the chemistry etc. Although I caution you about his recipes--he gets ungodly extraction efficiencies and you will need to up your grain bill to reach his starting gravities.

All-grain brewing does take more time and equipment, and is a bit scary the first time. But it's well worth the trouble, especially if you want more control over the final beer.

 

[brewer12345]

All-grain brewing does take more time and equipment, and is a bit scary the first time. But it's well worth the trouble, especially if you want more control over the final beer.

Its all I have done for years. Not that hard after the first couple of tries, and a far better product with a lot more control over what you make.

 

[kat]

Thanks for all the info!

 

[Elderdude]

I started brewing at home a while back. I thought I got pretty good and entered a sample bottle into a amatuer beer brewer's contest. I got a letter back which said, "Dear Sir, Your horse has diabetes."

 

[ERD50]

Another decent book it "how to Brew" by John Palmer. The older addition is on-line so you can get a good idea and it's a nice resource.

www.howtobrew.com

As far as cost - yes, the all grain process will be cheaper per batch, but it does require a bit more equipment and more time. But if you buy the extract from the on-line sources, it is usually much, much cheaper than the extract kits at most local home brew shops. And usually fresher also, as the online places probably do more volume than your local shop.

There are some limits to extract brewing vs all-grain, but with fresh ingredients you can def make some great beer. You can do a 'partial mash' for more flexibility, and very little extra equipment.

A couple good sources:

http://northernbrewer.com/

http://morebeer.com/

tons of info: http://forum.northernbrewer.com/

And see if there is a local home brew club - I joined one near me, amazing resource, we have several BJCPs and I get tons of help and these guys know how to brew some awesome beer! Russian Imperial Bourbon-Oak Porter anyone? mmmmmm Or a sour Gueuze* if you feel like something on the other end of the scale.

-ERD50

* Gueuze - (From the BJCP style guide) - Flavor: A moderately sour/acidic character is classically in balance with the malt, wheat and barnyard characteristics.

I guess 'barnyard characteristics' is an acquired taste, but for some reason it is great in this style of beer. I'm getting thirsty!

 

[audreyh1]

I did it once. It was a blast! Some of the best cooking smells I ever smelled in my life! And I must say a wort chiller is a pretty cool low-tech device.

A major mail-order brewing supply company is in Austin - http://www.stpats.com/. I just used their "kit" and it turned out pretty great for a first attempt.

Audrey

 

[RAE]

My wife took up home-brewing about a year and half ago. She broke her ankle and needed something to keep her busy around the house while she was off work. I'm sorry she broke her ankle, but in retrospect, this has been the greatest thing that ever happened......the beer she brews now is simply AWESOME. She started with extract brewing, and graduated to all-grain brewing after that. The extract brews were good, the all-grain brews are simply amazing. Much better than any microbrews I could buy, and I have had a lot of microbrews. The fresh taste of the malt and hops is the difference. As a matter of fact, I am drinking one of her IPA's right now (Dogfish Head clone), and it is heavenly. But my favorite is her Mai-Bock, that is simply scrumptious.......

The cost is not that bad, still cheaper than I could buy good beer for, and the quality surpasses anything I could buy, in my opinion.

Check out this website for lots more information...

www.homebrewtalk.com

 

[SteveR]

Another brewer here. No time recently, but will after ER. The yeast farm will be restarted and the equipment taken out of storage.

I am a full grain brewer and a yeast farmer. I buy the hops from a distributor in WA state and use fresh when I can.

Good ingredients=Good beer .

I prefer amber ales, stouts, ESBs, Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, and Porters to lagers.

The kits are a nice place to start but if you get into it, you will move up the ladder to less refined sources of ingredients which allows more individuality to your beer making and better flavor profiles.

Good luck.