OT - Home Brew Wednesdays: Who Brews?
Greetings brewers! Based on some interest from another thread, I am proposing a new recurring OT topic for the blog - home brewing. Hopefully there's enough interest and expertise on here, because I've certainly got tons of topic ideas and questions.
For our first topic, introduce yourself if you are a home brewer, or even if you are interested in getting into the hobby and have questions! There's no better knowledgebase on the web than MGoBlog as far as I'm concerned.
Brewer? (yes/interested)
# of batches? (approx # of batches brewed)
Batch size? (typical batch size, 1 gal, 3 gal, 5 gal, etc.)
Method? (extract, partial match, all grain)
Recipe Software? (BeerSmith, BrewersFriend, etc.)
Future topic ideas? (best recipe, favorite style, favorite hops, etc.)
Other?
Brewer? Yes
# of batches? 8
Batch size? started with 1 gallon, moved on to 3 gallon
Method? all grain
Recipe Software? BrewersFriend
Future topic ideas? many questions and topics in mind
Other? Fairly new to the hobby, started at the beginning of 2016 and am hooked!
Brewer? Yes
# of batches? #2 is fermenting, so...1.5?
Batch size? All 5 gallon
Method? Grain, dry extract, liquid extract
Recipe Software? I have a book of recipes, forget the name. It has a pretty wide range of beers. I will try many.
Future topic ideas? Differences in types of hops, yeast, grains, etc. Dry hopping vs not dry hopping. Bottling sugars. I have a million.
Other? Very new to this, started in May, immediately addicted. I love beer.
Brewer? Yes
# of batches? a dozen or so
Batch size? 5g
Method? graduated to all grain last year
Recipe Software? Homemade spreadsheet with calculations from John Palmer's 'How to Brew'
Future topic ideas: successes and failures, favorite yeast strain and why, brew systems and setup, latest recipes
I wish I got into brewing years ago. This is the golden era of beer.
This is true. The right time to open a brew pub has probably passed us by.
Overall, yes, but I still see them popping up. It's just a matter of catching up for these new ones. I love the craft beer industry. Some people feel that the market will be saturdated with them, though, but not for me. The more, the better. I like having options.
Except beer is delicious and jovial...and real.
Religion is not real?
I think that was the point. Because he's a funnyguy
I'm going through that right now. I know someone who sunk everything they have into a brew pub. I appreciate the effort because that's what this country is about, but in my opinion he just has no chance.
I really hope he proves me wrong.
Don't mean to hijack your thread, but my dad and I are very interested in getting into it - any tips for starting off?
There is a place locally, The Flying Barrell, that lets you come on the weekend and brew in their facility. Would that be a good place to start to see if this is really something to invest in?
You should go out and buy the most expensive equipment they make and just wing it.
I already did that, just needed some reassurance that this was the way to go - thanks! Spent $36,000 on hops and it's filling my garage. Can't wait to use em!
Yes do it at the shop for the first time so you make sure you have it down. They'll walk you through it (or should) & will point out potential pitfalls and places that are easy to screw up (like watch out for boil over, sanitation issues, etc)
Definitely give it a try! That sounds like a great opportunity to start off without having to buy any equipment. I'd go for it.
The way I got started right into all-grain brewing was a kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop. For about $40 you can brew a 1 gallon batch which will net you 7-8 pints of beer. It's a pretty easy way to see the whole process on a small scale. The equipment is also re-usable, but if you get the bug you are going to want to upscale quickly. I'm brewing in an apartment, so I've only scaled up to 3 gallons. Basically after getting set up with cheap pots and plastic carboys, for roughly $20 of ingredients I can make 20 pints of beer. And some of the beer has been absolutely delicious.
Also, this is still 100% done on my stovetop in an apartment.
I take it you are in the Frederick area. As a brewer for the past 12 years I can highly recommend getting into the hobby as long as you have the time to dedicate to brew days and a desire to drink good beer. I find it a great way to hang out with friends who are into it as well and very rewarding to be able to drink my own product in the end.
As for visiting the Flying Barrel to try brewing a batch that can definitely be a useful way to test out the hobby. I don't know the cost or type of equipment they use there but it should give a great introduction to the process.
I live down in Olney and try to get up to Flying Barrel when I can as I enjoy the store quite a bit. If you do get into the hobby, feel free to reach out if you want some info on local resources for supplies and what not.
Awesome, thanks! I'm from Mount Airy. I appreciate the advice.
Maryland Homebrew in Columbia also does all sorts of classes and workshops to get you into the hobby. Probably a bit farther from Mount Airy but they might offer other classes and what not of interest.
been brewing for years and prob did close to 100 batches. I've done all grain, extract, and a mixture of the two. I usually work with guy at brew store to develop my recipes or my friend who brews as well. Hate bottling so i keg everything. My favorite recipe is my double ipa with a lot of citra hops.
My double IPA has a lot of citra and chinook. I'm excited to try it.
yeah mine is citra, Columbus, centennial, and cascade...i prefer citrus hops to piney
Thanks for starting this thread. I don't mind working, but I like brewing and Michigan sports much more.
Brewer? Yes
# of batches? 250
Batch size? 12 gallons
Method? All Grain
Recipe Software? Beer Alchemy
Future topic ideas? What you mentioned plus: Brewing systems, home "brewery" projects, brewing competitions, failures and successess, how you got into brewing, beer styles, water chemistry...
CHEERS!
Damn that's a lot of beer, 250 batches of 12 gallons! Impressive. I will look forward to seeing your brewing system when that topic comes! I'm confined to apartment brewing so very much small batch.
I started off on the stovetop, progressed to 5 gallon batches and then built an Electric Brewery system (12 gallons). I've ran about 50 batches through it so far. I still enjoy taking the propane system out for camping trips. Right now I am in the process of building a walk-in fermentation chamber (calling it the Fermentardis as I am big Dr Who fan).
In it's normal state of operation.
Holy crap! That is an impressive setup!
My setup is below a dry cleaning factory and is partially owned by Los Pollos Hermanos. That's my buddy Jesse on the right.
Sampling the output.
I'm Hemlock Philosopher's Twin Brother... this topic interests us greatly.
Brewer: Yes
#of batches: Somewhere near 250 sounds right
batch size: 12 gallons
Method: All grain (as well as cider and mead)
Recipe Software? Beer Alchemy
Future topic ideas: On top of the awesomeness discussed alredy, Home bar builds
where does all that beer go? -- a perfectly cromulent question. I run a softball team.
I do brew and have been doing so for 4 years. Still very much a hobby and I don't do it all that regularly. Started doing 1 gallon all grain splarging but now do 5 gallon batches with a friend & we use extracts but almost always also use specialty grains steeping before the boil.
I've done probably 2 dozen batches (roughly). Had 2 non-potable (once with bottling issues when I was a true beginner & once when I used fruit (peaches) but despite baking some bacteria stayed on & ruined it). I like stouts & have probably brewed these the most. I like wheat too but I can't really get that as good as the commercial stuff which isn't expensive so I stick with that. Favorite other recipies have been for saisons. I'd like to get some extra equipment to do lagers (need refridgeration for lower fermenting temps)
As for recipes we have lots of sources: a clone book, a recipie book (Brooklyn Brew shop), & we get our stuff from a local shop where the owner can just come up with something if we tell him the style.
Great topic and hope we can have a good discussion!
Brooklyn Brew Shop! That's where my book is from. I couldn't remember. Thank you, that was going to drive me nuts all day.
Brewer? Yes
# of batches? 30+
Batch size? 5 gal or less
Method? All grain
Recipe Software? Brewersfriend
Future topic ideas? Equipment, brewing methods, etc.
Beer Styles: A cherry milk stout is my best. Like to drink Belgians.
Other? I love the engineering side. Made an electric kettle I'm proud of
My wife got me a starter brewing kit a few year ago for my birthday, and the stuff that came with it was ok. It didn't help that the types that came with the kit weren't what I would have picked on my own. Plus it was from extract instead of from scratch, which felt like cheating but I don't even know where to begin starting from scratch. In the end, it just seemed easier to try lots of different stuff from the store rather than try to make my own stuff that might not even be very good.
So what say you, people who actually brew from scratch. How hard is it to actually brew beer starting from scratch rather than from extract? And how hard is it to make beer that won't make me regret not buying good stuff from the store?
By "from scratch" I think you mean all-grain, and it's definitely the way to go! I think our next topic will be home brew systems/setups which will give you a good idea of how to do it. I can tell you I started with Brooklyn Brew 1 gallon kit, and now am doing stovetop all-grain batches of 3 gallons in an apartment. It's doable!
Also, I'm only on batch #8 but have made beers that can go head to head with Two Hearted and Fresh Squeezed IPA (ok maybe I'm a bit biased). Roughly $20 for 20 pints in the end.
Brewer? Yes
# of batches: Twice a mont for the past few years, once or twice a year before that. Somewhere around 70 batches at this point.
Batch size: 5 gallon but have done some 10 gallons batched with friends on their equipment
Method: all-grain
Recipe software: Beersmith, Brewtarget sometimes...
Future topic ideas: hop growing, beer/homegrown hop exchanges, brew day meetups
Other: I started brewing with a simple kit 12 years ago in a house on Packard after late night drunken purchase. I have refined my equipment and skills quite a bit since those days but there is something I miss about trying to boil on a crappy electric stove top and cool a kettle in a bath tub of ice.
That last part: well, I guess I have a ways to go, because that is exactly what I'm doing
We all start somewhere. I have made great beer with my simplest setup and suspect beer with my current rig. One thing I have always loved about the hobby is how easy it is to get into and how quickly rewarding it can be. I have slowly pieced together an ever evolving system but a lot of what that has been good for is easier setup and cleanup to make my brew days smoother.
I'm about ready to pull the trigger on a Blichmann Easybrew unit. I've never been able to make an extract batch in buckets that results in the flavor I prefer so I'd like to dive right in to an all grain mash process. If I can begin making 5 gallon batches that I actually don't mind drinking, it would easily offset the $$ spent on buying the beer.
Have you looked into brew in a bag? All you need is one larger vessel, and you'll be doing all-grain brewing. I use that method with my keggle and I've had award winning results. It's going to be a whole lot cheaper than the Blichmann system.
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I'm doing BIAB without a large enough vessel actually. Mash in with the typical all-grain volume, then a second pot for a shorter "sparge" mash at a bit higher temp. Getting mid 70s% efficiency so it seems to be working.
Brewer? Yep
# of batches? Hundreds? Haven't kept count, but I've been brewing since 1994
Batch size? Always a 5 gallon
Method? Mostly extract b/c it is much easier
Recipe Software? No software. Started with the Homebrewer's Bible and have gone to the internet and Homebrew Forums quite a bit
Future topic ideas? Any chile beer. Have a great Chipotle Porter. Dry hopped IPAs are a personal favorite.
Other? Great hobby. For those gettting into brewing, I highly recommend inverting in Corney kegs (5 gal soda kegs) and building a keezer. Beats the hell out of bottling and draft is always better. Not to mention you can force carbonate and drink on keg day!
Absolutely agree on the kegging. I only bottle for competitions and gifting home brew. Draft systems are extremely easy to make and care for.
Agreed completely as well. I was brewing sporadically for a long time after I got tired of the time and mess associated with bottling. Once I invested in a kegging setup my dedication to the hobby really blew up.
And, for those living in South East Michigan, Adventures in Homebrew on Jackson consistently has some of the best prices on used kegs around. I live down in Maryland now but have bought all my kegs from them while visiting family in Chelsea.
I was (pleasantly) surprised to see how many MGoBloggers roll their own, so to speak. Awesome! My son got me one of those 1 gallon starter kits but I haven't had the time to try it yet.
Brewer? Yep
# of batches? Don't even remember. I've been brewing for about 6-7 years.
Batch size? 5.5 gallon, but I've got the ability to do ten gallons for lower abv beers
Method? All grain, mostly 3 vessel, but I do brew in a bag occasionally for lower abv stuff. It saves time.
Recipe Software? BeerSmith mostly, and BrewPal.
Future topic ideas? Recipes, brew day meet ups, style discussions
Other? I just recently took first place in a local homebrew contest with my black ale and it will be brewed and on tap at Lumber Barons brewpub in Bay City. Pretty excited to get in there and brew with them on their big system. I also love the diy approach most people bring to brewing. It's always fun to see how someone else rigs up something to save money and time.
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The DIY nature of it all is definitely one of my favorite aspects of the hobby. I started with a basic kit from Midwest years ago. I still use some items from that kit today along with a collection I have built up over the years. I love hunting out cheap parts and used equipment to improve my setup without breaking the bank.
It is its own sort of adventure trying to build gear from hardware store parts. In fact, most of my equipment has been put together DIY style. My favorite has to be the fermentation chamber I built from a "scratch and dent" wine cooler, an aquarium thermostat from China, a heating pad, and a hobby box from an electronics store. It works like a dream -- fermentations are always perfectly controled at 63 deg F.
However, I'm looking to get back into it. I have a ton of fresh raspberries this season and I am looking for a good receipe to make use of such. Anyone have any suggestions?