Who Brews on the Forum?

jarubla

Better half and I do. Started a couple 2 gallon batches of adult beverages (an American ale and a pear cider), as well as put some veggies in the fermentation jar for an Italian raw ferment (think antipasto). 

Anyone else on the forums brew and or ferment?

Blackberry wine is next; did a stellar blueberry last autumn (4 rackings) which ended at 18%, and incredibly smooth. The wine took 4 months versus 4 weeks for the beer (ale is fast, only 2 weeks for brewing, 2 weeks for bottle finishing).

All this typing is making me thirsty...

-Jay

jarubla

I have a fair bit of gear now, and prefer the smaller 2-3 gallon batches. 

Nothing like having 6 gallons of the same beer to polish off, lol.

While this sounds like a recipe for a party, I am far too taciturn and old to hold a beer bash

jarubla

I am a little surprised, what with the number of people on the forum who garden, that more folk don't turn their fruit into alcohol or ferment pickles, etc.

Is it still illegal in some states? Admittedly I have no idea. I do know that dry counties still exist...

Or is it that it is easier to buy it all from the store?

Just curious...

-Jay

ExpendableYouth

I tried home brewing once and it was absolutely terrible. Kind of killed if for me to try again.

Gray4lines

Always interested me, and it seems like it could be really cool. I don't have the time for it now though.  

I prefer whisk(e)y more, and I can't see getting good at homebrewing that!  I'm not into wine at all, and beer is fine, so... fermented veggies sounds interesting.

avengethis

I used to dabble a little in it but now I spend more time around the smoker and grills drinking beer so I dont have the time to make my own.  Plus there are so many greats beers for purchase already that I will stick to good meat!

peter4jc

I brewed beer for a few years, once using extract, and then partial mash - never went to all grain.  From the very first batch onward, the beer was excellent.  But I got tired of the work it takes, not only to brew, but to clean/sanitize, and especially the bottling.

I plan to get back into it some day, with a conical fermenter and an all-grain setup.  If I do, it'll definitely be with a kegging setup - screw them bottles.

My problem, if you want to call it that, is I don't drink every day, maybe 4-5 days in a week, and typically only have one or two.  And those one or two drinks might be hard stuff, so buying beer is simpler than making it.  I think brewing is a bit cheaper than buying, and you get the satisfaction sitting back with a good beer and saying, "I made that" but that still isn't worth the time/effort for me.

Now, I have a customer coming over this afternoon who has gotten very good with his still.  Last time he left me with a pint of some apricot brandy he made.  That has piqued me interest too.

jarubla

hey @ExpendableYouth

there are a ton of simple kits out there; mr beer gets a bad rap, but makes a good inexpensive kit. It is not a grain sparging kit by any stretch of the imagination, but they are good. They tend to go on sale at Target, keep your eyes out for them if you want to give it a try again. They typically have all the accouterments with them.

@peter4jc the no rinse method really helps w/ cutting down on the sanitizing time. 


@avengethis

There are gone great beers out there for sure! What are you drinking as of late?

-Jay

ExpendableYouth

I used the mister beer kit. I had to throw it all out it was so bad.

jarubla

Hmmmmmmmm...sounds like an infected batch

jarubla

I am a little worried about the pear cider as I have seen no Krausen yet. The ale is rocking and rolling. 

@avengethis

Have you ever used yeast nutrient? Can I spike my cider w/ a dose?

-Jay

jarubla

Did a little research and the cider is fine. Just not gonna high krausen like the ale. 

-Jay

avengethis

I have never used yeast nutrient. 

jarubla

Cool, thx man

jarubla

The cider is now bubbling, it seems it just got off to a slow start.

Interesting, as the yeast packet was 2x the size of a normal one (11.5 gram vs a 5 gram). 

kuzi16

I brew a few times a year. Maybe 30 gallons a year or so. 

jarubla

@kuzi16


Are you doing an Oktoberfest? Am I too late to start one?

-Jay

rsherman24

I brew in the colder months.  Have 3 batches still in kegs I am working through and some bottled.  

kuzi16

jarubla said:

@kuzi16


Are you doing an Oktoberfest? Am I too late to start one?

-Jay

nope... im not doing one.
however, it isnt too late to do a fall beer especially if it is actually an ale. from brew day to opening the first bottle can be as little as 6 weeks depending on what you are doing to it.
one week in the primay, one week in the secondary, two weeks to carbonate in a bottle.
however i generally like the secondary to be a bit longer so i can age it over things.

jarubla

I haven't yet lagered, don't know if I will (who knows, TBH). 

I suppose my question was more geared to "will I be mucking up anything (tradition wise)f it doesn't have 4 months rest."

I bottle finish my beer (kegs are a no-no here), and stuff stores very well in the basement.

Thx for your feedback! Good to know it ain't too late!

-Jay

rsherman24

An Oktoberfest you should be fine.  Aging is needed with big beers such as barleywine or anything with spices such as a holiday beer.  I have a chocolate coffee stout on tap which took a few months to mellow out and keeps getting better.  They usually get better with some rest, but bottling you can drink some and let them age as you work through it

kuzi16

Tradition be damned.  Brew what you want when you want it with no restrictions to "keeping in style"
Do you like the final product?
Yes?
Good. That means you are brewing correctly. 

jarubla

Kuzi, thank you for your post. Good commentary!

Tangential comment, but I appreciate that you aren't as hung-ho about everything etiquette as your sticky might lead one to believe.

Bottom line; know the rules, but be flexible and do your thing.

Until it borks a 6 gallon batch of apfelwein(been there, done that, lol).

-Jay

Rolanddeschain

I know the thread is over a year old but I thought I'd bump this here. All-grain homebrewer and recent cigar smoker. I just kicked the keg of my bourbon barrel aged porter and its a shame as it paired very nicely with a cigar:)

Usaf06

@Glock1975

Echambers

I use to brew a lot but there are so damn many good breweries in my town that I like to support so I haven't for a while.  Might pick it up again this winter. 

Wylaff

Today I got to taste the first fruits of my labor in the form of an extract batch of Amber and a partial grain Hefeweizen. I am very happy with the result on both of them, but that hefe taste better than any hefe I've ever purchased. Now I have to get these kegs empty so I can play around some more. I can see this being very addicting.

Yakster

Sounds great, looking forward to some homebrew at the next Reno herf. 

Guitarded

Goat head stout?

Rolanddeschain

Wylaff said:

Today I got to taste the first fruits of my labor in the form of an extract batch of Amber and a partial grain Hefeweizen. I am very happy with the result on both of them, but that hefe taste better than any hefe I've ever purchased. Now I have to get these kegs empty so I can play around some more. I can see this being very addicting.

For me, it's not as bad as CAS, but it's getting close. I brew all grain and I usually brew something every 2 weeks. When I run out of empty kegs I have some friends over to help drain them.

Rolanddeschain

This Christmas Day I'm doing a Russian Imperial Stout that will be barrel aged until next Christmas. It's a fun way to spend a few hours with the family as we make next years Holiday beer.