any home brewers on here?
 

hey all,
i seem to recall one thread where someona made mention of doing some homebrewing. i've been toying with the idea of trying it and was wondering if anyone on here had any good advice (i.e. whats the easiest type of beer to start out with, should i do all grain or extract, best setup/tricks). I've been doing a lot of research and reading (and drinking) and think i have a pretty good general grasp of how it works and what i need.

...any advice for a brewing n00b?

don't start iwth too high of expectations. you may have to choke down a couple bad batches ;)

BTDT... don't go into thinking you can do it better (taste) or do it cheaper. it's only a go if you really WANT to HOMEBREW for SOME esoteric REASON.

Buy a kegerator and enjoy w/out the hassle IMHO. i sold ALL my Gear 2 years into it for 25 cents on the dollar. i buy 12 packs of steel reserve now...for 6 dollars

i can't really justify why i want to do it, all i know is that it seems like a fun little hobbie to have. i have no delusions of grandeur, i know that the first few tries will probably taste like alcoholic toilet water. from what i understand, extract brewing is the easiest to start out with.

my taste in beer has gotten a bit more complex since i got out of college. I find myself drinking a lot of barley wines and imperial IPA. with a normal batch of ale you barely break even but i think working up to brewing "bigger beers" i'll save a buck here and there.

whats the easiest kind of beer to try first...any ideas?

when I was brewing, I had a taste for pete's wicked ale, molson golden/ice, etc. so I brewed similar. when I got a job travelling, it all just became too much hassle. see what's available in kegs near ya' and do a cost/benefit analysis vs a kegerator...trust me...

I'd say go for it. My brother got into it for a while and had a setup in his garage. Some of it was pretty good.

Another route might be to check out your local microbrew restaurants. I know that here at least they'll let you brew your own stuff at their place (minimum order of course, but with 2-3 friends going in with you it's pretty reasonable).

sounds like a good idea but the breweries here are few and far between and i'm not sure if they would allow any random a-hole like me mosey in and try to brew. i'm going to be brewing a chocolate stout with a friend this evening...definately eager to see how it turns out.

i'm thinking i'm just going to bite the bullet and get all the supplies as soon as i have the scratch to do so.

Good luck with that. Oatmeal stout is a favorite of mine, but I only drink it at microbrews...at home I drink the traditional stuff....with a tendency for those south of the border, orale!

My dad dabbled in home brewing. The first couple of tries were just terrible. I could just barely get up the nerve to try the next batch. He finally got it drinkable after 2-3 brews, but it still wasn't good and he gave it up shortly after. I seem to remember Alton Brown (on Food Networks Good Eats) doing a show on home brewing. It might be worth watching. He usually gives good tips and "short cuts".

I had a good friend in college making a home brew and some of them were amazing. Others were just ok. He babysat that beer like it was his first born. We had beer tastings and tried all sorts of different scenarios. The best one we ever had was a stout he made with different levels of Marrakesh coffee extract. The 1 and 2 teaspoon versions were ok. He made a 3 teaspoon version tha we tried after two weeks of sitting, and it wasn't great. But after letting it sit three months it was incredible. It seems the flavors needed more time to blend.

I say go for it. If you need someone to sample, just let me know.

Hey Bundle, I just visited w/ my dad and he gave me the new issue of Mother Earth News. It has a few page article on home brewing. If you want, I can scan it and send via PDF. PM me if interested.

pm sent!

You've got mail, and lots of it:D

I made some very good brews back when I had time on my hands :lol:
Key elements were : keep it clean, sulfates and water clean them good, take the long route, transfer to another container when bubbles slow down and put an airlock for at least 10 days or until bubbles completely stops. I put the whole 46 liters container in water to sink the heat from the reaction, it heats itself up and will taste like crap if it ever get too hot, vinegar like taste. Be patient, leave the bottles sit a few months before enjoying, if you want to get busy make another batch for when you and your new freinds have finished the first one :lol:
Follow direction, more is not always better. For the stout, you may try to reduce the water content...10 % + beer... that was the first ever batch and the best one ever, I could not duplicate what I did.
Oh yeah and quality cereal mix is a good thing, trying to cook your own cereal is a master thing.