Beer.

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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:43 am

I just realized that this may be my first post in the General Chat forum.. Embarassed

Anyways, I am an avid homebrewer. Does anyone else share this wonderful hobby with me?

This Sunday is "brew day" for me. I am going to make an attempt at another barleywine (with a bit more hops than the last one) a Dogfishhead 90min IPA clone, and something along the lines of Kolsch.

I've done ok with the barleywine and IPA's in the past but I am having trouble with the Kolsch clones.

Anybody ever made a good one? Any advice to impart on me? Very Happy

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:57 am

I'm not into brewing but I love IPAs.

Currently I'm sipping on a Sam Adams Light.

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:11 am

Never had the chance to homebrew beer, I make my own wine though, albeit usually with grape concentrate rather then the real deal. Despite its cheapness/simplicity it always does the trick for quick inebriation, I'm not a serious winemaker.

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:21 am

Not a home-brewer, but if you need someone to come over and taste your creations I'll be right over. Wink

I've always wanted to try brewing. How long have you been doing it?

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:28 am

@Jane

About a year and a half now. I took a break during the holidays for the sake of needing to buy presents etc. But for awhile I was brewing a new batch every two weeks or so.

You would think that 6 gallons of beer would last a while, but with two roommates, think again. Sad

I now have a pumpkin porter thats ready to swill, and I have to admit, it's pretty damn good. Very Happy

To get started in homebrewing only costs about $100US. And that will include all your equipment (roughly $70US) and the extract ingredients for 5.5 gallons of beer.

I have moved on to "all-grain" recipes simply for the challenge and flexibility. But anyway you do it is a lot of fun! Very Happy

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:34 am

Sounds interesting, all we do here in harvest time is getting the barley in bins and sit on it until the price is right, I might as well make good use of it.
Any good websites about it, the process I mean, I'm thinking big Laughing

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 4:04 am

@Mentor

The best site that I have ever found for just about anything/everything having to do with homebrew is here.
http://www.beertools.com

They have a really nice tutorial for beginners here.
http://www.beertools.com/html/tutorial/index.shtml

Seeing as you're an old retired guy bill, I would highly suggest taking up a rewarding hobby such as this. It keeps you from getting senile. Wink

*edit*
One nice thing about the site is that they are very well-rounded in the sense that they cater to not just Americans, but to everyone.

Find the recipe for your favorite beer and then go make your own BETTER version of it! Very Happy

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 619

Bill
Do you know how to do the malting process on that raw barley of yours? You'll need to do that before you can get any beer out of it. I found a link from an old magazine that should work.

http://byo.com/stories/article/indices/44-malt/1097-make-your-own-malt

It would be very interesting to malt your own--I've never heard of anybody that has done it before.

As for the original post, I share the hobby with you but have never made a kolsch. Not an easy beer to make well I understand as it is rather light and flaws are more obvious than with many other beers.

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:49 am

iv done a little but have been doing other thing of late about 10 years ago when i was in cairns i got into it and made some nice dark ales than i moved to brisvagas (brisbane) and the change in the weather changed my brewing i also bought some special caps for brewing wine and cider it was as easy as falling of a log buy 2lts of apple juice put in measured amount of yeast that was supplied with kit put cap supplied with kit and wait required time on chart . dame nice cider similar to stongbow and i made a really really nice sparkling mango one the thought of it makes me want to get back into it ..
A word of warning to brewers don't add more suger to get more alcohol rating it stuffs you up big time Laughing

I will try and find the link on the caps well worth the money

http://www.oztops.com.au/

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 7:53 am

I've been doing HB for about three years now. A restricted budget limits me to K&K but at least that can be augmented with additional hops and malt. For some time I've been culturing Wyeast smack-packs which definitely keep the cost of good quality yeast down and markedly improve the end result. Temperature control during fermentation can be a bit of a bugger during summer considering the lack of a designated brew fridge. At least one local'ish homebrew company has reported a marked increase in sales in the face of a worsening economy. It's a common feature apparently when the economy becomes depressed that many people will forego a visit to the pub/bar and turn to brewing their own at home.

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:50 am

I used to make my own beer, it became known as 'lager free alcohol' Shocked

After we drank a couple of crates of it over a weekend, my mate Joe thought that to still feel too ill to go to work on Tuesday was a bit much. puke

Years ago I had a Polish girlfriend, her dad took vodka and distilled it again in his kitchen to get rid of more of the girlie water in it. Zero to hammered in five minutes, as I vaguely recall..... Shocked

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:02 am

@ Roycropper
there a few guys getting into small stiles over here talk about rough brews some of them are not taking the first litre off the start. "Holy fire starting material" The more experienced ones use it to start the barby or top up there fuel tanks Laughing

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:08 pm

@ blah-limburger and all the other posters.
Thanks for the info, now I know why nobody here does it, we don't have good water. You would have to use bottled water, for all steps, which means added costs which will out way free barley I guess. But it's an interesting process, I might buy a package and try it once.
I like the darker stronger "trappist" kind of beer Pauwels Kwak being my favorite, any hints in that direction?

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:10 pm

Tried homebrewing a couple of times with varying degrees of success.

Worst I ever made was when I was a student - looked like someone had been sick in a bucket & took the lumpy bits out. puke

Just down the road was a pub which sold Matthew Browns bitter in 4 pint plastic takeaway jugs. We used to buy these, drink the bitter, fill the jug up with the revolting homebrew & take them to parties. Needless to say, we drank everyone else's. Laughing

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 21 Jan 2009 Posts: 2

much like Dupes, i haven't ever had the chance to home brew it. Sam adams is pretty good. A little expensive, for someone like me Smile

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Posts: 720

Any Brits of a certain age remember party seven’s

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:08 pm

@bill/Mentor

http://www.beertools.com/html/recipe.php?view=2349
Wink

Not to mention this is an "Extract" recipe which is perfect for beginners! Very Happy

As far as your local water goes.
If you drink it, then you can brew with it.

If you only drink bottled/purified water, then just go pick up 5 or 6 gallons of the same stuff you like. Purified water in the grocery store here in the USA runs about $0.50 per gallon.

Or there's also those little attachments you can put on your kitchen sink that will filter your water. Very Happy

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:11 pm

@ Doodlebug : - I met my wife when I gatecrashed the wrong student party. I had a party seven under my arm, and that was the third we'd gatecrashed that night.

Anyone with beer and a mate of Dave's (there was always someone called Dave) was welcome at any party.

I used to do a trick with party seven's, or any full can for that matter, if you put your hand flat on a table and bash the full can onto it, you bend the can, not your hand. It does pay to notice where the soldered join is that runs up the back of the can. Bash your hand with that bit and you break your hand Shocked