Does anybody in here brew their own beer?
I'm getting my equipment next check and was wondering if anybody else was into homebrewing?

 

at one time I was big into it. me and a buddy won first place in a couple of competitions.We had all thegear, even had a 6 tapperkegerator in the garage. the 6th tap wasa nitros tap so we could haveguiness style beer on tap as well, with thenice thick head. had to get rid of all my equipment
some time ago. just dont have the time anymore. I travel about 80% of the time, so the 2-3 days a week Im home, is spent doing chores
instead of making beer[:@]

 

A good buddy of mine has been doing it for years. He brews a Meade that is out of this world. His beers have been a bit out of my palette, a little "hairy", but thats his thing. He likes the beers you have to cut with scissors to stop pouring.

 

My dad used to brew some every once in a while. Ive been wantin to try it but whenever i get the urge i just pick up a sixer of bud and call it a day.

 

I brew my own. I started a few months ago so no expert here but I produce some quality beer. I started out with the can kits to get the idea down at first. Patience is key, there can be a world of difference in waiting a week more in bottle conditioning to the flavor and quality of your brew. You can get most starter kits for around 100 bucks but you'll find things you want to upgrade. If you'll take a few helpful pointers.....Get an auto siphon, 11 dollars and worth its weight in gold, nice, easy and clean way to transfer your beer. Second, get 2 carboys so you can put you beer in secondary, this will drop allot more yeast out of the beer and make it really clear and smooth with little to no sediment. When you go to full boil batches, brew pots and burners can get expensive cause thier made for beer, but get a turkey fryer, exact same thing but waaaay cheaper to boil your ingrediants. Most brewers go by the tried and true method of the 1-2-3 method. One week in primary, 2 weeks in secondary and three weeks in bottles. Your looking at anywhere from 5-8 weeks until you have your first beer, but if you brew a batch once a week, it'll all catch up and you'll have 5gal going regularly, which works out to about 50 bottles or so per batch. Also, start drinking primo beer with the pop-tops so you can save them. Bottles are expensive for what they are....empy bottles. You shouldn't use twist off bottles as the threads on the top don't like to seal all that great. You'll see scads of gear for brewing but like anything, it can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. I have a minimal of gear, and sanitize everything in my kitchen sink with 1-2 tbs of un-scented bleach, rinse with hot water and follow directions and you'll be good. All you really need is two glass carboys, some tubing, a bottle filler, 5 gal bucket, a few rubber plugs, air-locks, all little stuff. GET AN AUTO SIPHON! Those things are so nice I don't know why they don't come standard in the kit. Anyway, like CBR fanatics, theres a good forum for beer brewing also, the one I am on is HomeBrewTalk.com on there I go by Stape, if you join, hit me up, but it's a great place, laid back, helpfull, all that good stuff. Good luck in your brewing, if you need any help, I'll do my best.

 

yeah the kit I'm buying has the auto siphon

 

Cool. Some folks use the 5 gal bucket to ferment in, I prefer the carboy, seals easier and you can watch your beer come to life! Did you get your kit from a local HBS (home brew store) or on-line? Youd be suprised how many HBS's are out there, good chance you have one right down the street.

 

dont ferment in 5gal buckets, plastic will hold flavor and smells, good and bad. use glass caraboys, steralize between uses.

also, you will soon learn bottling is way too much work and time. look into kegging it. it costs a few more dollars up front, but its the easiest, and fastest way to get the beer.

it takes weeks to finish out in a bottle, less than 24hrs in a keg.

 

My Dad used to brew...but it has been years and years . I understand that the sterilization process is very important, and aconsistant "goldylocks" temperature (not too hot and not too cold) is also crucial. Good luck, bro!

 

I havent gotten it yet,I have to wait for another paycheck which should be around next thurs.
And i'm actually buying it from a HBS here in Utah(glorious isnt it!?)
They also have a website if you want to check it out www.beernut.com
Look for the basic homebrewing system in the beer equipment.