| Author | Message | ||
     Misato |
anyone do it? just got all the hardware and made my first batch. so the first 5 gal is going to be about $20 pint.  how about cider? I have some questions... DME what the hells that? one kit had like 3 things and another has 8 ingredients. I bought both, I made the easy one first. malt extract or all dry grains? what about yeast, liquid better? I was going to get the liquid but the guy said not too for my first batch. its been in the primary for 2 days and not much bubbling out the air lock. normal? I have a kegerator that I built a few years ago, so I'm set there. | ||
| Buellkowski |
DME = dried malt extract. Extract (dry or syrup) is easier than whole grains. I've never used liquid yeast; always dry with warm water and some yeast nutrient. Keep your carboy warm and off the cold floor. If keeping it warm is hard, try making a little cabinet and suspend a light bulb inside. | ||
| Kelly |
I havent done it in a couple of years. I'll be brewing a lot more once I move to TX though. Sometimes a fermentation will take off for a short amount of time and then fizzle out. Or, you could have an infection going on in there. Sanitation is key. Did you use bleach? If so, how much? The key is to use about an ounce per 5 gallons and sterilize with cold water. Rinse with hot water. This ensures that more chorine is present in the sanitizing mixture. The hot water helps to evaporate the chlorine. Too much chlorine and you could kill the beer before it starts. Good luck. I recomment getting 'Homebrewing for Dummies'. It's a good book that has all of the important stuff, without sounding too uppity. It also has a lot of kick ••• recipes. | ||
| Misato |
I used idophor? I think its called, I did clean everything good with it. if I tap the side of it, bubbles will come out of the lock. the room is at 70-75 all the time. (servers make good heaters) I used the malt syrup but the guy said to also use some DME it because it will add to the taste and also raise the alcohol content. I read that some use one fermentor and others use 2. I got a 6gal bucket for the primary and a 6gal glass car boy for the second. I've been reading up online about it, I made some last year with a guy that does it all the time but I'm tring to remember it all. and just like everything else, everyone does it different. | ||
| Kelly |
If you want to get serious, do at LEAST a two stage fermentation. Carboy's are pretty cheap and a lot easier to clean than the plastic, since it's more pourous. You can use two carboys. My buddy has two pressure kegs that are basically like big beer bottles. He keeps them in a cool room and drinks the beer like the Europeans. It's an easy way to go since bottling can be a pain. Bottling also adds more variables when it comes to bacteria and infection. A good easy way to sterilze your bottles is with a few ounces of bleach in the dishwasher. Make sure there's no rinse aid in there though. It can impart an after taste. Get that book! | ||
| Misato |
yeah, I'm going to get one. I had one I bought before I moved but I have to find it.. this is the keg system I made  | ||
| Kelly |
How much were the soda kegs? I have one, but it doesnt seal. I tried to convert it to a fermenter, but since it didnt seal, the batch got infected. How are you dispensing it? CO2? That'll ruin a good beer. | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
This is the bestest. http://www.blacktable.com/gillin030901.htm | ||
| Kelly |
The stout I made a few years back is the bestest (where's my money Dyna?) I had stout lovers telling me that it was the best they'd ever tasted... Too bad I never wrote down the recipe.... Grrr. | ||
| Ethanr |
Just my $0.02... I've only been brewing for 10 years, but I've never done a 2-stage fermentation and everything I've made has turned out rather well (judging by the number of friends who ask when my next brew will be ready). Best advice I ever got was to pick up Charlie Papazian's book, "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing." (BTW, he notes that secondary fermentation isn't necessary for the majority of us.) That book will teach you more about homebrewing than anything else short of getting involved in a local group...one that has some truly experienced brewers, anyway. If you like stouts/porters, there are a couple very good, very easy partial-mash recipes in Papazian's book that beat everything commercial that I've ever tasted except North Coast Brewery's Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. Wish I could make it up to Ft. Bragg (CA) more often to get that stuff straight from their tap! Most of all...Relax! Have a homebrew! (I love off-topic threads.) | ||
| Sgtbuell |
I got interested myself when my mom gave me her cheesy Mr Beer set up. I have only tried twice, both ending up in failure. I am however going to continue to try. Like Ethanr I can not get what I think is the greatest beer because they do not sell it in Florida. The beer I am talking about is Pyramid's Hefeweizen, also brewed in CA. So I am going to keep trying to brew beer until I can make something close to it. Man I have to stop talking about beer period since I can not drink any here in the Big B. | ||
| Rek |
Sometimes if you have a "stuck" ferment you can merely re-jug the wort into a new container and that will activate the fermentation process. I love home-brew. A friend and I are seriously looking into a 4,000 gal. micro-brewery for sale a few miles from here. We don't have a lot of hope for getting rich, just want an unlimited supply of our own brew.  | ||
| Prof_stack |
My brewing experience goes back to 1985, after a trip to Germany, about the time that the microbrewery explosion hit the NW and the nation. So far, I've made 288 5-gallon batches, all styles (you name it). Right now I have 4 beers on tap and one Oktoberfest in the keg waiting to go on-line. I don't drink as much as I used to so the beers don't go as fast these days. Anyone want to help? ![: ]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) There are many keys to making a beer as good as what you buy. Having a generous quantity of yeast is one of them. It wins the battle of fermentation over the nasties that always want to get into your wort. Mashing is easier nowadays with the malt being more highly modified. Single temperature mash is quicker and more efficient. I'm too lazy to do decoction mashing anymore. But I'm disappointed in how dull Misato's kegs are! I thought he'd be making them look like mirrors. Heck, even my kegs are cleaner! He's probably polishing his green XB9 as I write... | ||
| Hootowl |
Use bleach. I have to echo what Ethanr said. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing is the definitive guide. I have brewed using grain only, and I can tell you, if you spill any wert on your stove, clean it up right away. Sticky mess. It also requires a bit if filtering before you bottle. This is where the secondary fermenter comes in handy. After 24-48 hours when the yeast activity has died down, the majority of the solids will drop out as well as the dead yeast. Siphon the clear stuff to the secondary at this point. "We don't have a lot of hope for getting rich, just want an unlimited supply of our own" Rek, you need any new friends? | ||
| Misato |
I think thats the book I bought, have to dig through some boxes. I think the corny kegs were 30.00 plus all the o-rings. I've been having the local brewerys fill them for me for the last ~2yrs. The CO2 works great, 4 months is the longest I've had a keg around and it was still good. That pic is old, the kegs are now covered with all my stickers I've had for forever. I didn't have a tool box to put them on so they went on the kegs. Its been almost 3 days in the primary, last nite I saw activity in the airlock. The info I had says 2-3days in the primary and then 1 week in the secondary. I have to figure out what the hydometer is for. does it check the fermantation proccess? I know it measures specific gravity but what does that tell you..? So do I siphon from the primary to the secondary? I bought a siphon thing, and a racking cane? which I guess you use when it goes form the secondary to the keg? hey norm, I might email you some questions.. the 9 is apart waiting for the new LED taillight and I'm redo'ing the tail section... | ||
| Hootowl |
You use the racking cane to siphon off the wert. You do'nt NEED to, but the hook in the cane keeps the hose from getting kinked, and there should be a standoff on the bottom of the cane to keep it off the bottom of the carboy. The hydrometer tells you the alcohol content, though not directly. You take a sample (never put the hydrometer in your beer for fear of contamination) and take a reading. Take another sample when you're ready to bottle, and the difference in specific gravity can tell you what the alcohol content by volume is. The formula is in the book. And above all...Relax, have a homebrew. | ||
| Misato |
got it, so I didn't take a reading to start so it wont matter. I've been reading this all day. seems pretty good. maybe I didnt aerate it enough (lots of lagtime), also I think I poured the wort in hot. Which sounds bad according to what I've been reading(oxidation). I should have cooled the wort (wert?) in the boiling pot, shaken up the water in the primary, then added the chilled wort. It sounds like I should also leave it in the primary for 4-6 days and not 2-3. Also, I was told 1 week in the secondary but I've been reading at least 2 weeks in there.. | ||
| Buellkowski |
Taking a hydrometer reading early is good for estimating relative sugar content and helps when reproducing your favorite recipes. | ||
| Hootowl |
You have to adjust for each batch. Getting everything perfectly controlled and repeatable is almost impossible for a homebrewer. 1-3 days for max yeast activity, plus a few days for the residual. You just have to make a judgment call on when you think fermentation is pretty well done. If you're using a single carboy, you don't have to worry about it. I usually do a week in the primary and 3 in the secondary, but you have to be able to adjust based on conditions. For example, I added quite a bit of corn sugar to a batch once (forgive me my adjunct sin) and it took almost 2 months to finish. Had quite a kick though. You purists can use more crystal malt with similar effect, as the lighter the roast, the more sugar will break out during the boil. Corn sugar (100% glucose) converts 100% to alcohol, so its a good way to bump the alcohol content without changing the recipe i.e. adding more grains, but it violates the Purity Laws. American brewers get around this by adding rice (yes, rice) to their wert. Adds alcohol, very little flavor. | ||
| Misato |
well, its a first batch.. second one will go much better. not that this one is a failure, I guess I'll know in a few weeks. the g/f wants me to make some of that hard lemonade or a cider. anyone do that yet? I thought too much sugar was bad, 'they' were saying some of the cheaper malt extracts were basiclly diluted with that because it was cheaper to make it that way. so if I wanted to make an 'extra' batch how long would it last in a keg? say if I kept it in the garage on the cement floor. how about summer? is just being in the basement enough? or will it have to be in a fridge.. I should have started with a bigger fridge and not a dorm one... I can only fit 2 in it. | ||
| Rek |
COOLING A very crucial step. You can build a simple coil from copper tubing and a couple hose fittings that will fit right into the kettle. Run cold H20 through the system until the wort cools to ~70 degrees (or is it 80?). Another good trick is the freezer, esp if you want to defrost it. Also, "The complete joy... etal is an OUTSTANDING source of information. Use it. But as stated above, have fun and enjoy your brew. BTW, if we get our brewery going I promise a Buell Beer for the BWB. Y'all come now, y'hear! | ||
| Misato |
HA, purity laws.. if it tastes good, drink IT! | ||
| Misato |
yeah, I bought the chiller, works good. I just didnt use it FIRST. I dumped the wort into the secondary, then chilled it.. | ||
| Prof_stack |
Misato, you introduced oxygen into the beer which is a no-no at this stage (after the primary ferment). The yeast have just finished fermenting and used the O2 in the wort to help with their digesting the maltose molecules. Your beer might taste okay but won't be as good as your next one. I know this from experience... Don't worry; several slugs enjoyed my early attempts at beer making. | ||
| Misato |
yeah, I see that now  tonite is 3 days. I'll see what its up to when I get home. | ||
| Ethanr |
I've never worried about the alcohol content of my brews, so I don't measure until the initial blow-off has stopped. My hydrometer has been most useful for telling me exactly when fermentation is complete. When I get the same reading 3 days in a row, it's done...nothing significant left to convert to alcohol (keeping in mind that I don't do an intentional secondary fermentation). Man, with all the homebrewers here... | ||
| Grndskpr |
ANybodu interested in buying home brew equiptment, let me know, i just dont drink as much, so i dont need as much stuff as i used to I have over 12 corney's, 10 carboys extra CO2 tanks, a kegerator, may consider selling the malt mill(JSP) you name it,Sabco converted keg/mash tun(very,very nice) i have it let me know via email, not cheap(its all quality stuff, but fair on the prices (oh and for the beginers i have enuff stuff to set up an advanced beginers home brew kit, if your interested, but i would suggest that you live in the Chicago area, shipping is a killer due to size and weight) R | ||
| Hootowl |
You don't have to have a cooler. I've never used one. As long as you let the wert cool to 75-80 degrees before you pitch the yeast, you'll be fine. Sugar isn't "bad", it's just not real grain. I don't really like the Pilsner style beer, so I generally brew amber to stout. Stouts will end up with almost no alcohol, because the grains are cooked so much that there isn't much starch left to break over when you boil them. So you either have to add crystal, which I think colors the flavor, or corn sugar. Like I said, I'm not a purist, so I use the sugar. | ||
| Hootowl |
Oh...beer will last quite a while in a keg or even in a bottle. I drank a brew last month that I bottled three years ago, and it tasted just fine. | ||
| Buellkowski |
the g/f wants me to make some of that hard lemonade or a cider. anyone do that yet? I've made blackberry & grape wines, apple/pear ciders, and a honey wine (mead). Use as much sugar as you want and just about any fruit for the kind of cider/wine you want. Be prepared to do a lot of crushing and straining pulp. You can make still or sparkling ciders, too. A tart, sparkling cider is probably what your girlfriend is looking for. Probably what you were looking for in a girlfriend, too... |
