is there a home-brew / zymurgy thread around here?

I'm thisclose to getting a one-gallon starter kit, just to see if I dig it.

Do it. It is a lot of fun, and even a simple setup like I have can make some really great beer with very little effort. I can set up a fermentation run in about an hour, then it is waiting about a week for the magic to happen followed by about a hour to bottle things. I use screw cap plastic bottles (like 1 liter soda bottles) to keep things easy.
 
Do it. It is a lot of fun, and even a simple setup like I have can make some really great beer with very little effort. I can set up a fermentation run in about an hour, then it is waiting about a week for the magic to happen followed by about a hour to bottle things. I use screw cap plastic bottles (like 1 liter soda bottles) to keep things easy.

Last year I bought 2 dozen Grolsch flip-top bottles off Craigslist (either $.50 or $1 each), and they're way easier to both bottle and serve (I was using corked wine bottles before).
 
So let's talk shop. How long have you been at it? What's your set-up? How often do you brew? Extract? All-Grain? What's in the fermenter right now? Favorite recipes?

Started around 1990....can kits -> extract w/ steeping grains -> partial mashes -> today, all grain
A couple I went all electric, added pumps & a plate chiller. Apartment fridge converted to a keg fridge w/ two taps
Nothing fermenting right now but I have a batch of Mike McDole's Janet's Brown ale http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/recipe/beer-recipe-of-the-week-janets-brown-ale/ on deck

Lots of favorites...I have them all on my laptop. I'll post a few later on.
 
^^ Sadly, the don't make a larger size of the conical. I have room in my laundry sink to add a second one, so I may run two 2.5 gallon setups side by side one day. I've been toying with the idea for a while now. I think just the tank, stands and cap is like 35 bucks, which seems pretty reasonable for a small conical to me.


Here's one example, but there are a few other places that sell ready to brew plastic conicals as well as DIY versions:

http://minibrew.com/
 
I've been brewing for 20 years. The best book I've found is Papazian's homebrewing book. He cuts through a lot of the noise and tells you how to easily and cheaply make good beer.

My kit consists of a large (5 gallon?) soup pot for boiling wort, a plastic fermentor (with the two gallon point marked with a paint pen), airlock, 7 gallon bottling bucket with spigot installed, and a bottle capper. Oh, and I have about 50 old returnable pop bottles to hold the finished product.

I only do extract brews. I tried adding some grains to my extract brews a few times, but it wasn't worth the effort. I'm much too lazy to try a grain brew. Besides, lots of guys in the local brew club do grain brews and event though I'd never tell them, there isn't much of a difference.

I put two gallons of cold water in the fermentor. I boil 3 gallons of water add malt extract and about half my hop pellets. Remove the pot from heat when adding the malt - it WILL scorch VERY easily. About 40 minutes later, I add half the remaining hops. After 20 more minutes, I take the covered pot off the stove, and sit it in the stoppered kitchen sink. I fill the sink with cold water, and let the cold water continue to run at a drizzle. The warm water flows over the divider between sink basins. After about 30 minutes, I dump the wort into the fermentor and add two packs of dry yeast and the rest of the hops pellets [1].

I use about 3/4 cup of corn sugar to prime 5 gallons of beer.

I don't do any fancy sanitizers. No TSP or other fancy stuff. Before I start, I put about two cups of water in the fermentor and add a bit of bleach. I swish this around and let it drain.

Don't worry too much about the temperature. If you are comfortable, your beer will brew just fine.

Oh, and lastly, I brew differently from the way most people brew. I don't start off with a specific goal in mind when I plan a batch. I just find malt extracts and hops that sound interesting, and end up with whatever may happen. If I'm in the mood for a darker beer, I'll choose a darker malt. Lighter beer, lighter malt. I usually shoot for an a bitterness level of 10 alpha acid units. Up for more of a pale ale type brew, lower for an amber or stout. I find brewing much more enjoyable when the finished product is an adventure.

[1] This is called "dry hopping". Most books will tell you that the hops need to be sterilized before adding to the fermentor, but I've found it not needed. I love hops, and I always dry hop every batch I brew. I've yet to lose a batch.

That's the great thing I find about homebrewing. It seems you can get as technical about it as you'd like, or you can keep it incredibly simple and still get great results. The book I just finished mentioned this, saying that there is still a lot that people don't know about the science of brewing. It's not, however, because it's so difficult, but rather because it's so easy. People have been making tasty brews for thousands of years, and it just works. You put grains in hot water for an hour, you remove the grains, you boil what's left with some other ingredients to add flavor, you throw in some yeast and let it sit for a few weeks. BAM, you're done. (basically)

That said, my personality probably won't allow me to be a lax about it as your are. I'll likely spend hours tweaking each recipe, calculating the IBUs, estimated OG and FG, water PH levels, then taking measurements throughout the process to figure out how close I was on my estimates, what my efficiency was, etc. That's just the way I am and how I approach things. But I get enjoyment out of that. Most people are bored stiff by it.

My first few attempts however, will probably be closer to your method. I'm just going to focus on sanitation, process, and temperatures. Just make sure the beer turns out drinkable. Then once I get a batch or two under my belt I'll develop from there.

Also, Palmer mentions some people's fears of dry hopping as well. But gives several reasons why you shouldn't have to worry. First of all the hops are good regions condusive for bacteria growth, secondly, if you add them after the primary fermentation, the alcohol and CO2 levels will lower the chance of an infection taking hold as well, if you add them before the primary fermentation, as you do, then the bacteria have to compete with the vigorous yeast activity during that time, which will lower the chance of them infecting the beer.

I might have to make a trip to the brew store this weekend. I'm getting all antsy in my pantsy.
 
One other thing. I've seen mention of using plastic pop bottles with screw on caps to bottle. This does work, but keep in mind that those plastic bottles are, to a degree, oxygen permeable. If you leave your beer in them very long (over about 8 weeks), you'll probably notice that your beer is developing a cardboard taste from oxidation. I've tried them, and I just didn't care for them.

Homebrew shops sell glass bottles fairly cheap. I highly recommend using them over plastic. Or, grab a couple of cases of Grolsch. Homebrew shops sell replacement gaskets for them. And you have the added fun of emptying them.

Make your first couple of batches simple. Don't worry - have a homebrew, as Papazian would say.
 
That's the great thing I find about homebrewing. It seems you can get as technical about it as you'd like, or you can keep it incredibly simple and still get great results. The book I just finished mentioned this, saying that there is still a lot that people don't know about the science of brewing. It's not, however, because it's so difficult, but rather because it's so easy. People have been making tasty brews for thousands of years, and it just works. You put grains in hot water for an hour, you remove the grains, you boil what's left with some other ingredients to add flavor, you throw in some yeast and let it sit for a few weeks. BAM, you're done. (basically)

Yes and no, IMO. I think cooking is a good parallel to brewing that most people can relate to: You can haphazardly toss ingredients together with out knowing how they taste or what ingredients are complimentary or what flavors clash, apply a random amount of heat for a indiscriminate time and sometimes you'll make something great...sometimes not so much but at least it's still food. (The plus side w/ beer is that you can almost always find someone to drink your beer as long as it contains alcohol. Course if you have a dog, you're covered w/ your cooking) Everyone comes into brewing with different goals. At two extremes, some people just want to make alcohol while some want to brew 'world class beer'. Two different approaches that require two different levels of skill, equipment and approaches. Both are equally valid if the brewer is satisfied with the beer in the glass at the end of the process.
 
Yes and no, IMO. I think cooking is a good parallel to brewing that most people can relate to: You can haphazardly toss ingredients together with out knowing how they taste or what ingredients are complimentary or what flavors clash, apply a random amount of heat for a indiscriminate time and sometimes you'll make something great...sometimes not so much but at least it's still food. (The plus side w/ beer is that you can almost always find someone to drink your beer as long as it contains alcohol. Course if you have a dog, you're covered w/ your cooking) Everyone comes into brewing with different goals. At two extremes, some people just want to make alcohol while some want to brew 'world class beer'. Two different approaches that require two different levels of skill, equipment and approaches. Both are equally valid if the brewer is satisfied with the beer in the glass at the end of the process.

Right, my point was more to show how brewing could evolve over time without the need for very detailed knowledge of the process. You might not make the best beer, but if you do those simple things (adding a few missing details) you will make beer. So anyone wanting to just have fun and follow a recipe online and make OK beer. Once you get the basics, it seems you can add/remove/tweak and not really bother getting too detailed as long as your additions/tweaks are small and within the basic structure. But if you wanted to really get into it and control every level and predict and calculate and formulate, then that's certainly an option too!

But anyway, I think I'm taking the plunge. Drummergirl has a Bachelorette party to go to next weekend so she'll be gone 3-4 days. I'm going to make a shopping list this week and decide on a recipe, then I'm going to get the equipment and ingredients this weekend. I'll double check that I have everything I need throughout the week and get prepared, make another stop at the store if I need to, and should have my first brew day the following weekend!

I'll try to find a quick fermenting and bottle aging beer, so maybe it will be ready for my friend's bachelor party.

So any suggestions on equipment or Brew Day tips/rituals/sacrifices to the Gods would be welcome.

Here's my basic idea right now:
All extract brew, so no need for a Mash Tun/Lauter Tun
I'll get an 8 or 10 gallon brew pot though, so I will be ready for when I do want to do all-grain.
Wort Chiller copper coil if they have them. I'll be prepared to stop by Lowes to get the stuff to make my own if they don't
Still deciding on glass carboy vs. plastic bucket fermenter. Will get a plastic bucket with spigot for bottling though.
5 gallon batches, so about 20 1-liter grolsch type flip top bottles.

And all the small (but important) things like sanitizer, probably another bucket just to use to sanitize things, air lock, etc. I'll lean on the store clerk some to make sure I'm not forgetting anything. I'm sure they'll try to sell me anything they can.

Am I overlooking anything important? Anything worth changing? Recipe suggestions?
 
Right, my point was more to show how brewing could evolve over time without the need for very detailed knowledge of the process. You might not make the best beer, but if you do those simple things (adding a few missing details) you will make beer. So anyone wanting to just have fun and follow a recipe online and make OK beer. Once you get the basics, it seems you can add/remove/tweak and not really bother getting too detailed as long as your additions/tweaks are small and within the basic structure. But if you wanted to really get into it and control every level and predict and calculate and formulate, then that's certainly an option too!

Our points really aren't that far off from each other:thu:

But anyway, I think I'm taking the plunge. Drummergirl has a Bachelorette party to go to next weekend so she'll be gone 3-4 days. I'm going to make a shopping list this week and decide on a recipe, then I'm going to get the equipment and ingredients this weekend. I'll double check that I have everything I need throughout the week and get prepared, make another stop at the store if I need to, and should have my first brew day the following weekend!

I'll try to find a quick fermenting and bottle aging beer, so maybe it will be ready for my friend's bachelor party.

So any suggestions on equipment or Brew Day tips/rituals/sacrifices to the Gods would be welcome.

Here's my basic idea right now:
All extract brew, so no need for a Mash Tun/Lauter Tun
I'll get an 8 or 10 gallon brew pot though, so I will be ready for when I do want to do all-grain.
Wort Chiller copper coil if they have them. I'll be prepared to stop by Lowes to get the stuff to make my own if they don't
Still deciding on glass carboy vs. plastic bucket fermenter. Will get a plastic bucket with spigot for bottling though.
5 gallon batches, so about 20 1-liter grolsch type flip top bottles.

And all the small (but important) things like sanitizer, probably another bucket just to use to sanitize things, air lock, etc. I'll lean on the store clerk some to make sure I'm not forgetting anything. I'm sure they'll try to sell me anything they can.

Am I overlooking anything important? Anything worth changing? Recipe suggestions?

IMO glass carboys are a PITA. My last one broke a couple years ago and I'm all better bottles (PET carboys) and buckets. Buckets are easier to clean, cheap as dirt and easy to use but more also easily scratched/gouged. FWIW, never has a BJCP score sheet come back to me with a comment on what vessel I fermented in so don't over think it. You'll probably be pushed to onestep for your sanitizer but if you intend to continue brewing, starsan is the way to roll for a sanitizer; easy, economical w/ reuse, quick contact time and you can spray it.

Mild, Hefes & Wits are quick brew to glass styles. What's your time frame brew day -> consumption?

I think this is a nice subtle twist on the Wit with the chamomile, citrus zest and corriander. I used a tangerine/grapefruit/orange zest combo when I did this recipe and it was a really interesting & tasty beer (but might not to be you and your friends preferences):
http://byo.com/stories/item/1647-witbier-style-profile
 
Our points really aren't that far off from each other:thu:



IMO glass carboys are a PITA. My last one broke a couple years ago and I'm all better bottles (PET carboys) and buckets. Buckets are easier to clean, cheap as dirt and easy to use but more also easily scratched/gouged. FWIW, never has a BJCP score sheet come back to me with a comment on what vessel I fermented in so don't over think it. You'll probably be pushed to onestep for your sanitizer but if you intend to continue brewing, starsan is the way to roll for a sanitizer; easy, economical w/ reuse, quick contact time and you can spray it.

Mild, Hefes & Wits are quick brew to glass styles. What's your time frame brew day -> consumption?

I think this is a nice subtle twist on the Wit with the chamomile, citrus zest and corriander. I used a tangerine/grapefruit/orange zest combo when I did this recipe and it was a really interesting & tasty beer (but might not to be you and your friends preferences):
http://byo.com/stories/item/1647-witbier-style-profile

Concerning time, I was just reviewing the fermentation/conditioning section of the book, looking at recipes, and reading some forums. It looks like the general consensus is (for lighter OG beers) 3 weeks conditioning minimum at around 70 degrees. The Bachelor party is the weekend of April 25th. So from this Friday, that's 6 weeks. 3 weeks in the bottles leaves me 3 weeks in the primary and/or secondary fermenters IF I changed my plan and brewed THIS weekend after shopping instead of next weekend while Drummergirl is away.

A lot of ale recipes I'm seeing are saying something like 10 days in the primary or 7 (week) in Primary and then 14 (2 weeks) in secondary.

What I'm wondering is, does that 2 weeks in the secondary help with the conditioning so then it would possibly need less time in the bottle? Or would doing the shorter 10 day primary single fermeter fermentation be better so my bottle conditioning will start sooner?

But it looks like I could just squeeze in a Pale Ale type recipe in those 6 weeks if I brew this weekend instead of next. Or I could just give up the idea of surprising him with a present of 5 gallons of homebrew for the weekend. But I think it's doable.
 
Concerning time, I was just reviewing the fermentation/conditioning section of the book, looking at recipes, and reading some forums. It looks like the general consensus is (for lighter OG beers) 3 weeks conditioning minimum at around 70 degrees. The Bachelor party is the weekend of April 25th. So from this Friday, that's 6 weeks. 3 weeks in the bottles leaves me 3 weeks in the primary and/or secondary fermenters IF I changed my plan and brewed THIS weekend after shopping instead of next weekend while Drummergirl is away.

A lot of ale recipes I'm seeing are saying something like 10 days in the primary or 7 (week) in Primary and then 14 (2 weeks) in secondary.

What I'm wondering is, does that 2 weeks in the secondary help with the conditioning so then it would possibly need less time in the bottle? Or would doing the shorter 10 day primary single fermeter fermentation be better so my bottle conditioning will start sooner?

Actually if you have the current revision of the book, Palmer and JZ (Jamil Zanisheff) recommend skipping the secondary and just utilizing the primary vessel w/o transfer for most beers:

"herefore I, and Jamil and White Labs and Wyeast Labs, do not recommend racking to a secondary fermenter for ANY ale, except when conducting an actual second fermentation, such as adding fruit or souring. Racking to prevent autolysis is not necessary, and therefore the risk of oxidation is completely avoidable. Even lagers do not require racking to a second fermenter before lagering. With the right pitching rate, using fresh healthy yeast, and proper aeration of the wort prior to pitching, the fermentation of the beer will be complete within 3-8 days (bigger = longer). This time period includes the secondary or conditioning phase of fermentation when the yeast clean up acetaldehyde and diacetyl. The real purpose of lagering a beer is to use the colder temperatures to encourage the yeast to flocculate and promote the precipitation and sedimentation of microparticles and haze.

So, the new rule of thumb: don’t rack a beer to a secondary, ever, unless you are going to conduct a secondary fermentation."

But it looks like I could just squeeze in a Pale Ale type recipe in those 6 weeks if I brew this weekend instead of next. Or I could just give up the idea of surprising him with a present of 5 gallons of homebrew for the weekend. But I think it's doable.

Yeah, that's plenty of time with a good flocculant yeast strain, fermented at a decent temp. Proper pitch rate and temp is the key to a clean fermentation. Optimal temp is typically 'round the middle of the labs stated range. The closer you are to the lower end/middle, the cleaner you fermentation usually is & the less off flavors (fusels, esters and phenols) your yeast spit off during fermentation in general, the less time conditioning to convert those compounds you need. I'll typically reach FG under 7 days for an average pale ale. If you have a basement, you're probably golden with ambient temps to keep the fermentation in the upper 60s around this time of year, given your location.

I have the BYO clone brews issue, Brewing Classic Styles and a few others around. If you want a couple extract pale recipes from those, I can post them up.
 
One other thing. I've seen mention of using plastic pop bottles with screw on caps to bottle. This does work, but keep in mind that those plastic bottles are, to a degree, oxygen permeable. If you leave your beer in them very long (over about 8 weeks), you'll probably notice that your beer is developing a cardboard taste from oxidation. I've tried them, and I just didn't care for them.

Homebrew shops sell glass bottles fairly cheap. I highly recommend using them over plastic. Or, grab a couple of cases of Grolsch. Homebrew shops sell replacement gaskets for them. And you have the added fun of emptying them.

Make your first couple of batches simple. Don't worry - have a homebrew, as Papazian would say.

The key is to drink it as fast as you make it, so as to avoid these problems. :)

Seriously, though, I think this issue is a very real problem with plastic bottles, so it isn't an ideal solution by any means. I also have some glass 1L pop cap bottles that I use for stuff I want to age a little bit. I think they were under 30 bucks for a dozen on the web. Also, if anyone tries plastic bottles, but sure to NOT use the thinner walled plastic used for bottled water, as they can split from the gas pressure...and the clear plastic tends to suck for light damaging the beer.
 
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Actually if you have the current revision of the book, Palmer and JZ (Jamil Zanisheff) recommend skipping the secondary and just utilizing the primary vessel w/o transfer for most beers:

"herefore I, and Jamil and White Labs and Wyeast Labs, do not recommend racking to a secondary fermenter for ANY ale, except when conducting an actual second fermentation, such as adding fruit or souring. Racking to prevent autolysis is not necessary, and therefore the risk of oxidation is completely avoidable. Even lagers do not require racking to a second fermenter before lagering. With the right pitching rate, using fresh healthy yeast, and proper aeration of the wort prior to pitching, the fermentation of the beer will be complete within 3-8 days (bigger = longer). This time period includes the secondary or conditioning phase of fermentation when the yeast clean up acetaldehyde and diacetyl. The real purpose of lagering a beer is to use the colder temperatures to encourage the yeast to flocculate and promote the precipitation and sedimentation of microparticles and haze.

So, the new rule of thumb: don’t rack a beer to a secondary, ever, unless you are going to conduct a secondary fermentation."



Yeah, that's plenty of time with a good flocculant yeast strain, fermented at a decent temp. Proper pitch rate and temp is the key to a clean fermentation. Optimal temp is typically 'round the middle of the labs stated range. The closer you are to the lower end/middle, the cleaner you fermentation usually is & the less off flavors (fusels, esters and phenols) your yeast spit off during fermentation in general, the less time conditioning to convert those compounds you need. I'll typically reach FG under 7 days for an average pale ale. If you have a basement, you're probably golden with ambient temps to keep the fermentation in the upper 60s around this time of year, given your location.

I have the BYO clone brews issue, Brewing Classic Styles and a few others around. If you want a couple extract pale recipes from those, I can post them up.

No, it appears I have the 3rd edition, released around 2006. In there he does mention very little need for the secondary fermenter in most cases, but still gives the option a nod since some people still choose to go that route. But that's good news. I can save money on a second fermeter (or just use it to brew another batch the next week!!) and it will take less time to ferment!

OK, so a week to ferment and 3 weeks in the bottle, for a ~1.050 OG Pale Ale. That sound about right?

Unfortunately I don't have a basement. So I'll be trusting the central air to keep the house in the right range during this time. We have an upstairs and downstairs unit, and while the upstairs does get hot on really hot days, downstairs usually works well. I'll find a closet or dark corner (covered in a blanket or sheet) and just hope we don't have a scorcher anytime too soon.

I was messing around with Beer Smith and altered a Pale Ale recipe to give a few more ABV% points and a little more hops. So something close to this is probably what I'm looking to try first. So yeah, any proven recipes you have close to this would be appreciated. Hopefully this is readable:


So something like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, New Belgium's Ranger IPA, ... but it doesn't need to be too hoppy. Just clean, refreshing, and good enough for that people with want to drink it.
 
I'll post some tomorrow am. Google up swamp cooler you probably have everything you need to make one. Fermentation will often run 7 to 10 degrees above ambient so a swamp cooler will keep you from needing to turn your place into an ice box and reduce temp shifts during fermentation.
 
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I'll post some tomorrow am. Google up swamp cooler you probably have everything you need to make one. Fermentation will often run 7 to 10 degrees above ambient so a swamp cooler will keep you from needing to turn your place into an ice box and reduce temp shifts during fermentation.

Yeah, one of the threads I was reading about bottle conditioning mentioned it, so I was meaning to look it up. I'll check it out. Thanks,
 
That's the great thing I find about homebrewing. It seems you can get as technical about it as you'd like, or you can keep it incredibly simple and still get great results. The book I just finished mentioned this, saying that there is still a lot that people don't know about the science of brewing. It's not, however, because it's so difficult, but rather because it's so easy. People have been making tasty brews for thousands of years, and it just works. You put grains in hot water for an hour, you remove the grains, you boil what's left with some other ingredients to add flavor, you throw in some yeast and let it sit for a few weeks. BAM, you're done. (basically)

If you're going to do this the "easy way", I'd focus more on the pre-made stuff than on the primitive approach. Buy the prepared whatevers, then gradually move yourself towards less refined ingredients.
 
If you're going to do this the "easy way", I'd focus more on the pre-made stuff than on the primitive approach. Buy the prepared whatevers, then gradually move yourself towards less refined ingredients.

I'm not too concerned on doing it the "easy way". But you can't get much easier than extract and steeped grains, unless you just do all extract. Or you could do one of those "brew-in-a-box" kits. But I'm not really interested in that.

I just spent 2 months reading what equates to a 300+ page textbook on the subject, listening to podcasts, reading websites and forums, watching Youtube videos, and more. I feel plenty prepared and knowledgeable about the subject to feel that I can do a good batch. That said, I'm also not foolish enough to jump all-in head first without testing the water. I'm not going to attempt an all-grain decoction with multiple steps, lots of adjuncts, high OG, pro-level recipe for my first go around. But I feel I can pull off an extract with steeped grains without much trouble. As I mentioned, I want the recipe to be easy enough that I can focus on sanitation and temperature m first go-around. But I don't want to sacrifice quality too much, and I feel I'll get a better end product out of a tried and proven recipe online that's been put together and brewed plenty of times by plenty of people, but where I might have to piece together the ingredients myself, than from an all-inclusive kit at some brew store that might have been sitting on the shelf for months or even years.
 
SNPA
1.8# Briess Light DME
4# Briess Light LME (late addition)
1# 2 row
10oz crystal 60
1.8oz Magnum @60
.7 oz Perle @ 60
1oz Cascades @15
.75 oz Cascades @ 0
.75 oz Cascades dry hop
WY 1056 or WL001
 
American Pale Ale (JZ. scaled down from 7 gals)
Ingredients:
6.5 lb (82.1%) Liquid Light Extract - added during boil
0.41 lb (5.1%) Munich Liquid - added during boil
0.41 lb (5.1%) Liquid Wheat Extract - added during boil
0.61 lb (7.7%) Victory® Malt - steeped before boil
0.54 oz (30.6%) Horizon (12.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 m
0.2 oz (11.6%) Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10 m
0.2 oz (11.6%) Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10 m
0.41 oz (23.1%) Cascade (5.5%) - flameout
0.41 oz (23.1%) Centennial (10.0%) - flameout
1.0 ea WYeast 1056 American Ale™
 
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