Home brewers CHECK IN please!

[Village Idiot™]

I'm going to get 4 more kegs when I get my taxes. I forget what site it was on but they have 4 ball lock cornies for $120-$140. That and probably some bottles so that we can bottle some to hand out to friends so they can have a try or to take to a party or what not.

Me and the brew friend were talking and we had an idea to open a store that sells nothing but good beer and homebrew supplies since the closest home brew store is 40-45 minutes away and they charge $3 an ounce for hops . Just a pipe dream, but it would be really cool if we could do it. It would be a gateway to maybe starting a real brewery operation.

[Kameirocco]

I'm going to get 4 more kegs when I get my taxes. I forget what site it was on but they have 4 ball lock cornies for $120-$140. That and probably some bottles so that we can bottle some to hand out to friends so they can have a try or to take to a party or what not.

Me and the brew friend were talking and we had an idea to open a store that sells nothing but good beer and homebrew supplies since the closest home brew store is 40-45 minutes away and they charge $3 an ounce for hops . Just a pipe dream, but it would be really cool if we could do it. It would be a gateway to maybe starting a real brewery operation.

keg connection recently had a large sale, all gone for though
i'm wanting to already build a bigger fridge! this hobby is effing reeeeetarded lol. And that sounds like my Local home brew shop. pretty awesome place, get a beer, go through a door and you're in the home brew shop getting all your wares..

http://www.portlandubrewandpub.com/

[Residentevol]

Finally got my stir bar in and was able to test out my stirplate...Can't wait to use this tomorrow to get my yeast starter ready to go...Excuse the dork-ness and there is a slight matter of foul language so possibly

NSFW?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G8DC...1&feature=plcp

[Village Idiot™]

keg connection recently had a large sale, all gone for though
i'm wanting to already build a bigger fridge! this hobby is effing reeeeetarded lol. And that sounds like my Local home brew shop. pretty awesome place, get a beer, go through a door and you're in the home brew shop getting all your wares..

http://www.portlandubrewandpub.com/

I have a small keezer that currently only fits two kegs and the CO2. It has a hump on one side that severely limits space. We're going to bild a collar and run the CO2 lines outside and after that we should be able to fit 5-6 kegs in there.

We're also in the market for a fridge that we can use for a fermentation chamber. Even an old freezer would work as long as it's cheap. Something we can lager in and use for hops and yeast storage so everythings not tossed in the beer keezer. That can get messy.

[Kameirocco]

this is what i've been using, has a small space on the bottom that keeps everything where it should be

although a larger fridge would be better to do multiple batches at once.

ah and it's an older wine fridge, got it for $90, keeps the temps between 45-65. so ales and some lagers would do well.

[Kameirocco]

now kegged... tried some last night... goooogahhh, wayyyy too sweet, needed to bitter it more, it's about 10% and only 40 ibus with a ton of late hops... was more of an experement, that didn't fare well... haha, sittin at 30psi and i'm going to try and drink it quickly



tonight or tomorrows brew day = porter!

[Village Idiot™]

Bought grains for a big belgian ipa. 12.9% and 144 IBU is the target. about 6oz of hops in a 90 minute boil.

[Kameirocco]

Bought grains for a big belgian ipa. 12.9% and 144 IBU is the target. about 6oz of hops in a 90 minute boil.

you should send one my way... just sayin

[kenny301]

you should send one my way... just sayin

yeah me too!

[killerparties]

New to this thread, sort of new to homebrewing, but not totally new to beer. Still brewing extract recipes, but have been happy with how they turn out. Usually don't have a ton of free time for brewing, and haven't looked into investing in an all-grain setup yet.

That being said, I am trying to brew more regularly these days. My first year the beers weren't turning out well and I was discouraged. With more discipline and some tweaks to my brewing method I've been on a good streak lately.

Sunday I brewed the 60-Minute IPA clone recipe that can be found on homebrewtalk. I did it once last year and it was one of my favorites I've brewed. Changed this one up a bit and used Warrior, Magnum, and Zythos hops. Big, messy fermentation right now...going strong and smells amazing. I'm hoping to get a great citrus hop profile out of this one.

Recently did a chocolate stout that turned out awesome, and I have a Belgian Blonde cold conditioning in the garage right now. Next up I will probably just do a quick pale ale with the Cascade hops I grew last summer in the backyard. Hopefully I remember to check back here from time to time, happy brewing everyone.

[Kameirocco]

welcome!

thats the fun thing about home brewing... you can plan and plan, and then brew whenever time allows.

if you have any questions, feel free to ask away!

porter brewed up yesterday, still have a whole kitchen to clean up... GF always gives me ****.. lol

[Village Idiot™]

you should send one my way... just sayin

yeah me too!

I wonder what the laws are on this? We should have a beer exchange.

New to this thread, sort of new to homebrewing, but not totally new to beer. Still brewing extract recipes, but have been happy with how they turn out. Usually don't have a ton of free time for brewing, and haven't looked into investing in an all-grain setup yet.

That being said, I am trying to brew more regularly these days. My first year the beers weren't turning out well and I was discouraged. With more discipline and some tweaks to my brewing method I've been on a good streak lately.

Sunday I brewed the 60-Minute IPA clone recipe that can be found on homebrewtalk. I did it once last year and it was one of my favorites I've brewed. Changed this one up a bit and used Warrior, Magnum, and Zythos hops. Big, messy fermentation right now...going strong and smells amazing. I'm hoping to get a great citrus hop profile out of this one.

Recently did a chocolate stout that turned out awesome, and I have a Belgian Blonde cold conditioning in the garage right now. Next up I will probably just do a quick pale ale with the Cascade hops I grew last summer in the backyard. Hopefully I remember to check back here from time to time, happy brewing everyone.

What's cool is that you can still brew higher volume beers like that. A bit of DME and other sugars and your beers gains several points of gravity. Just make sure your yeast can cope with it. The yeast I just purchased said 12%-14%+ Making a starter tonight.

welcome!

thats the fun thing about home brewing... you can plan and plan, and then brew whenever time allows.

if you have any questions, feel free to ask away!

porter brewed up yesterday, still have a whole kitchen to clean up... GF always gives me ****.. lol

My friend right next door to WVU has a garage with a drain in it, which makes brewing easy. Last time I was there an unattended kettle had a boilover all over the floor. He just sprayed everything down with a hose after he was done.

[rdubVr6]

I wonder what the laws are on this? We should have a beer exchange.

It is illegal to ship using USPS, but you can use UPS & FEDEX

its illegal no matter what, just UPS & Fedex wont put you away

[Kameirocco]

USPS is very illegal
UPS and Fed-ex is kinda like the military, don't ask, don't tell.

http://barlowbrewing.com/2010/11/11/...and-ship-beer/

here is a guide to do so, i'd be willing to trade some bottles of whatever, now... with that being said, i'm just starting to get my pipeline back up from moving and setting up a new shop etc. so it'll be a bit, but we should plan something!

[Green Hare]

USPS is very illegal
UPS and Fed-ex is kinda like the military, don't ask, don't tell.

http://barlowbrewing.com/2010/11/11/...and-ship-beer/

here is a guide to do so, i'd be willing to trade some bottles of whatever, now... with that being said, i'm just starting to get my pipeline back up from moving and setting up a new shop etc. so it'll be a bit, but we should plan something!

Nice link, thanks for sharing...

Somehow I found a bit of time to move my Hefeweizen clone into secondary this evening, albeit five days behind schedule I don't mind as the reading I pulled off of it put it at 6.15% ABV.

While not related to the company and having nothing to gain, one of my homebrewing colleagues pointed me to the iBrewmaster app and despite the price, I'm very happy with the results. I've got this on my iPad2, it's preloaded with a couple hundred recipes as well as a myriad of ingredients so you can add your own recipes (I've already put two in just this week). Scheduling, inventory, even keeping track of prior batches is all possible, saving that pile of random scrap notes that never have made it into a notebook for me.

[Residentevol]

Brewing Mike (Tasty) McDole's house American pale ale today for my b-day brewday...

If you're not sure who Mike McDole is you should look him up...quite an accomplished homebrewer he won the Sam Adams longshot a few years back and also had one of his beers brewed and put on tap at Russian River. He is one of the guys on the brewing network as well...I haven't tried this recipe yet but he says it's one that he has on tap 365 days a year so if it's good for him it should be good for me.

[Kameirocco]

and no recipe?!

[Kameirocco]

Total Domination clone has been brewed and yeast has been pitched... smells awesome!

got my freezer delivered today for my "keezer" as well as 2 more kegs. this hobby... i love it, but damn, **** is getting expensive! haha

[Kameirocco]

all installed



make sure everything works properly for the next few weeks, then paint time

[kenny301]

all installed



make sure everything works properly for the next few weeks, then paint time

Sweet! What freezer is that? I am looking for something small like that for a fermentation chamber. With any luck I'll at least be able to continue brewing cider when I move out of the burbs. Space is going to be tight and the AC is not going to be strong.

[Kameirocco]

Sweet! What freezer is that? I am looking for something small like that for a fermentation chamber. With any luck I'll at least be able to continue brewing cider when I move out of the burbs. Space is going to be tight and the AC is not going to be strong.

That is the holiday 7cf from lowes (it's $199 right now in portland). fits 3 pin lock kegs perfectly. it's not on their site though. just saw it in the store.

hope this photo helps!



i want to get another as a ferm chamber, but i think my girlfriend may kill me.. haha. although i don't mind fermenting one at a time in my mini fridge... or else shiz may get out of hand... lol

[MachineOp03]

I am interested in home brewing, only question I have for all of you is if I should start with a simple kit and do extract brew for a bit or if I should dive right in and build up a whole grain kit and start out right the first time?

[kenny301]

I am interested in home brewing, only question I have for all of you is if I should start with a simple kit and do extract brew for a bit or if I should dive right in and build up a whole grain kit and start out right the first time?

Start with a brewing starter kit and a recipe extract kit. No sense in dropping major coin and getting in over your head right off the bat. Besides, most of the kits you buy have stuff you need when you switch to all grain anyway. I would definitely spring for a big stainless boil pot right off the bat though. If you only get a five gallon pot you will have to end up buying a second one. I got a five initially and had to turn around and get a nine gallon when I was doing full boil partial mashes.

[MachineOp03]

Thanks for the tip, seems to be the general consensus.

[Kameirocco]

I am interested in home brewing, only question I have for all of you is if I should start with a simple kit and do extract brew for a bit or if I should dive right in and build up a whole grain kit and start out right the first time?

Start with a brewing starter kit and a recipe extract kit. No sense in dropping major coin and getting in over your head right off the bat. Besides, most of the kits you buy have stuff you need when you switch to all grain anyway. I would definitely spring for a big stainless boil pot right off the bat though. If you only get a five gallon pot you will have to end up buying a second one. I got a five initially and had to turn around and get a nine gallon when I was doing full boil partial mashes.

what he said, extact is very simple. Thus you get everything else down (sanitizing, cleaning, process, temp controls, etc) before you jump into having to maintain all grain systems with temps and such.

with that being said, i know a few people that have dove in to either none, or 1-2 extract brews before making the jump to AG... it's mostly what you feel comfortable with.

this is what i got done over the weekend





still need to tweak it a bit, but it was i think $30 all together with the screws (almost used a full box)

and i built this second tier of seating for my home theater.



should make movie viewing easier! i squeezed i think 12 people in there night before last for a movie... that was a bit crazy lol

[Village Idiot™]

Or see if your local distributor has some out of commission half kegs. Cut the top off and have a 15 gallon brew pot.

Tapped the Smokin' Snow Porter for my Birthday on Saturday. It was awesome. The peat smoked flavor was ever present without being too over powering. I want to put it in everything.



I'm thinking a thai basil ale since it's getting warmer out.

[Kameirocco]

so this is what happens when you have a 1.080 beer that you mix with wyeast 1098... my girlfriend was just busting up laughing

http://static.photobucket.com/player.../VIDEO0044.mp4

it was doing that for a good 8 hours straight... talk about a mess i have to finish up cleaning later

[Kameirocco]

blueberry wheat and peach wheat from yesterday.

[Residentevol]

and no recipe?!

Oh and ^BLOWOFF TUBE!!! haha that is pretty intense though...I always always hook up blow off tubes on my beers for the first 48 hours just for that reason

Recipe for the Dark red hoppy beer that's in my keg right now...Holy hell this is good...

The water additions (gypsum and calcium chloride) are for soft water..If you're water is soft I would suggest using it...If not you may want to cut it back or cut it out completely....

Mr Bones Darkam
10-B American Amber Ale

Size: 7.0*gal
Efficiency: 74.0%
Attenuation: 85.0%
Calories: 183.17*kcal per 12.0*fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.056 (1.045 - 1.060)
Terminal Gravity: 1.008 (1.010 - 1.015)
Color: 15.61 (10.0 - 17.0)
Alcohol: 6.23% (4.5% - 6.0%)
Bitterness: 36.7 (25.0 - 40.0)

Ingredients:
11.27*lb 2-Row Brewers Malt
697.25*g Cara-Pils® Malt (Organic)
697.25*g Crystal 40
232.42*g Midwest Wheat Malt
136.08*g Acidulated Malt
138.91*g Roasted Barley
16.54*g Northern Brewer (8.6%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0*m
16.54*g Northern Brewer (8.6%) - added during boil, boiled 30.0*m
16.54*g Northern Brewer (8.6%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0*m
16.54*g Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0*m
16.54*g Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 5.0*m
66.15*g Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 1.0*m
2.33*oz Centennial (10.0%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
1.0*ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05

Schedule:
Ambient Air: 70.0*°F
Source Water: 60.0*°F
Elevation: 0.0*m


Notes
Added 2 tsp of calcium chloride and 1 tsp of gypsum to the mash water

Added 1 tsp of gypsum to the boil.

used brew365 mash temp calculator and it was only 1 deg off. I hit 153 and I added a tad of boiling water to bring it up to 154.

Mashed with 5.5 gallons and sparged with 6 gallons.

Came out WAY darker than I anticipated figured out this is not Tasty's APA recipe but it's very close in grain bill w/ the exception mine has roasted barley and no pilsner malt.

Wort sample was fantastic...Nice and sweet and bready.

After 3 day of active fermentation I slowly ramped the temperature up to around 68-70.

This caused the yeast to attenuate down to 1.008 (I used US-05 dry yeast) A little drier than expected but the hydrometer sample was delicious. Started crash cooling 1 1/2 weeks after brew day. Will crash cool for 3 days then transfer to the keg and carb.

Dry hopped after 6 days w/ 2 oz of centennial <3 Going to let it sit for one week on the dry hops then move to keg w/ gelatin for fining.

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.21

[Der Schaltwerks]

I brewed my first batch of beer last weekend. I'm using LME and my own recipes with the help of BeerSmith. So far it seems like the hardest part about brewing is waiting for it to be ready to drink.

I need more fermenters!

[Kameirocco]

So far it seems like the hardest part about brewing is waiting for it to be ready to drink.

I need more fermenters!

truth...
it's playing the waiting game... even with brewing, you HURRY UP! then wait... then DO SOMETHING NOW! then wait.... lol then wait 2-52 weeks or longer to drink it.
i can get some of them from carboy to keg within 2-3 weeks

[Der Schaltwerks]

truth...
it's playing the waiting game... even with brewing, you HURRY UP! then wait... then DO SOMETHING NOW! then wait.... lol then wait 2-52 weeks or longer to drink it.
i can get some of them from carboy to keg within 2-3 weeks

I'm probably going to have to wait a while for my first brew. I'm thinking at least 45 days. It's a boozy 7.5% cherry chocolate milk stout.

I think I'll start my next brew soon and it will be a citra hopped wheat beer. Well, it will be boozy too, so I'll have to call it a Weizenbock.

The third beer will be a Pale Ale. The fourth beer will be a Belgian Strong Ale.

It's an interesting process. I'm glad I tried it and look forward to exploring it.

[Village Idiot™]

I'm probably going to have to wait a while for my first brew. I'm thinking at least 45 days. It's a boozy 7.5% cherry chocolate milk stout.

I think I'll start my next brew soon and it will be a citra hopped wheat beer. Well, it will be boozy too, so I'll have to call it a Weizenbock.

The third beer will be a Pale Ale. The fourth beer will be a Belgian Strong Ale.

It's an interesting process. I'm glad I tried it and look forward to exploring it.

ABV doesn't equate to fermentation time. I had an 8.5% Belgian with 3lbs of candi sugar that was done in less than two weeks. I have a Belgian IPA that's going to have been fermenting 3-4 weeks because it got a stuck fermentation and it was at my friend's house where I couldn't check on it. That one's going to be 9-10%, IIRC. I've had beers done in under a week.

I do usually transfer to secondary and give it another week or two to clear up so it'll keg better. The Belgian IPA we made is going to be dry hopped for 2-4 weeks.

I'm probably going to the LBHS tomorrow and getting supplies to do 10 gallons of a Thai Basil ale since it's starting to turn into spring and we'll need something for just hanging out an drinking as opposed to drinking 4 and passing out.

[Der Schaltwerks]

I'm not kegging. I'm figuring 2 weeks in the primary. 2 weeks in the secondary and 2 weeks in bottles before I drink it. I can wait that long.

[Village Idiot™]

I'm not kegging. I'm figuring 2 weeks in the primary. 2 weeks in the secondary and 2 weeks in bottles before I drink it. I can wait that long.

Same goes for bottles. I also use gelatin and the keezer. If you can trap all the extra particles in the bottom of the secondary, you'll have a cleaner beer.