Homebrewing

[Thomaston]

Anyone do it? I'm thinking of getting some supplies and getting started.
Seems like quite the start-up cost to get everything I want right off the bat. I set up a shopping cart of everything at Midwest Supplies, and with the $60+ in FedEx charges, it looks like it would cost close to $270.

I hope this is considered an acceptable topic, mods...

[jemtheflute]

I take it you mean beer? Or wine kits?

Dunno about costs either Stateside or here 'cos I've never done either of the above, but I've always made "hedgerow" type wines - from flowers or fruits, whether self-picked or bought. That is very cheap to do - generally only costs for the sugar and specialist yeast if one is using wild sources of fruit (may have to add raisins or grape juice for flower wines).

Of course, buckets, brewing containers (demijohns or closed barrels), fermentation locks, filters (old sheets will do!), tube/pump for siphoning, maybe a specific gravity thingummy (not necessary) are a start-up cost that can add up to a fair bit, bit once equipped, doesn't recur. In GB at least one can often get them cheap or free from folk who've had one go and then don't bother again - check out car boot sales, Freecycle, etc. Bottles (use old pop/soda or wine bottles as appropriate) if needed at all, need cost nothing - save 'em up, get friends to, raid the local bottle recycling bins....

Are the results worth it? Well, you'll always get disasters, but generally the value-for-money (ignoring start-up costs) from ingredients and effort is pretty attractive. Can lead to pleasant autumn afternoons gathering blackberries, sloes, crab apples, elderberries, whatever - usually in thorny and nettly places with the fun of getting chased by bullocks or farmers!

Here's a cheap and easy (bought fruit) starter: http://www.box.net/shared/20bpyo8jd3. Only needs fruit, sugar, buckets (specialist ones not necessary) and pop bottles.

[chas]

$270 sounds like an awful lot. Shop around. Some brewing supply places have free shipping. PM me if you want the names of some suppliers I've ordered from.

What I'd recommend to start:

primary fermenter (plastic 6.5-7 gallon bucket with sealed lid)
secondary fermenter (carboy, 5 gallon bottle)
stopper with hole in it
two fermentation locks
bottling bucket (can be primary fermenter with spigot; I prefer to keep them separate cause the seals in the spigot tend to get nasty if there's wort on them for a week or two)
siphon
bottle brush for carboy
capper (I'd recommend a stand-up type rather than a scissors type)

You may want:

some kind of non-rinse sanitizer or a bottle rinser (attaches to your faucet and helps rinse bottles quickly)
bottle brush for 12-22 oz bottles

For bottles, just save good-quality bottles till you have enough. If they're available near you, get returnables and just don't return them. They're heavier and come in sturdy waxed cases. If not, microbrews or imports. You could also drink a bunch of Grolsch or Fisher or European lemonade if you want flip-tops. You might want to talk to a local pub or two and see if they'll save you some flip-tops. I got about 100 that way, but that was 20 years ago, just before homebrewing caught on. A couple of years later, they wanted, I think, a buck a bottle. I have about 20 cases of bottles, and I never bought one unless you consider the nickel deposit on returnables.

I haven't brewed nearly as much as I'd like lately. When I get a head of steam going, I'll make quite a bit, and also the results are much more consistent than if I do a batch every few months.

[Thomaston]

Yes, sorry, I did mean beer, not wine. Although, I wouldn't mind doing that at some point either.
This link shows the only thing I'd HAVE to get:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/everythi ... kit-2.html

The rest of the stuff I had in the cart are mainly for secondary fermentation and things I don't necessarily have to have, or can get locally (oak cubes, honey, vanilla beans, etc.)

I was looking at doing a coffee stout as my first batch. Basically, the Irish Stout ingredients in the kit with some additions. Vanilla beans, oak cubes, and cold-pressed coffee added to secondary fermentation, and maybe a pound of honey added to the wort to increase the ABV a bit. I may have some of the order of it wrong... I just got the book "How To Brew" a couple of days ago, so I'm still going through it and trying to commit all the basics to memory.
chas- I'd love any supplier info you have.

Another question, my wife is concerned about WHERE I'm going to do all this. I had said I could store the 5 gallon buckets in a closet during fermentation and move back to the kitchen when I'm actually transferring from one container to another, but it's a carpeted area and she's concerned about that. I could do it in the garage, but then temperature control becomes an issue. So, is there much risk of spillage, carbonation popping the buckets open, anything like that? Is storing in a carpeted area a bad idea?

[izzarina]

I'm not the brewer in our house, so I can't really comment on your technical questions. But I will say, once you've brewed your own, you won't be able to drink the commercial ick (like Miller or Bud) anymore. Seriously. Homebrew is SO much better. Plus, it's fun

Doesn't "How To Brew" have a good recipe for a brown ale? I would recommend it...it's a good one to start with.

[chas]

Don't EVER add wood to beer. You'd have to boil the hell out of the wood to sterilize it, and by then there's no flavor left. It can increase the surface area for the yeast and decrease fermentation time (primarily of interest to commercial brewers), but beyond that, I can't think of it doing anything good. If you want it more acidic, add more hops, if you're after tannins (I'm not sure why you would be), you can always add some over-steeped tea.

I've known one person who had fermenting beer explode. All over his kitchen. It's never happened to me, although I've had a few batches in which I've found yeast residue on the top of the primary fermenter and wort in the fermentation lock. It's generally been wheat beers. If you're worried about it you're probably best off using a large-bore blowoff tube for the primary instead of a fermentation lock. I've been doing my fermentation in a room with a rug for 10 years and never had a problem.

[Walden]

My great grandfather used to run homebrew for his father-in-law. As I recall, they ran into some trouble with the law around here.

[maki]

The kit you posted a link to looks reasonably complete.
Home brewing like anything else can be as cheap or as expensive as you want.
If you’re willing to scrounge and comb you can find many items cheap, just make sure they are food grade and can be sanitized.
If you want convenience you will pay more.
Brew enough beer and you'll eventually break even or maybe come out ahead.
But the best reason to brew is the satisfaction of making GREAT beer.
I love ale, all ale, any ale.
Ale, ale, the gang's all here!

Here is a basic IPA.

Recipe
Cincinnati Pale Ale
Ingredients for a 5 gallon batch

3-4 lb. Pale malt extract syrup, unhopped
2 lb. Amber dry malt extract
12 AAU of bittering hops (any variety) For example, 1 oz. of 12% AA Nugget, or 1.5 oz. of 8% AA Perle
5 AAU of finishing hops (Cascade or other) For example, 1 oz. of 5% Cascade or 1.25 oz. of 4% Liberty
2 packets of dried ale yeast

http://howtobrew.com/section1/chapter1-1.html

[brewerpaul]

I used to brew, which is where my online name of Brewerpaul came from. No time since I started making whistles though.
It's great fun, lots of room for experimentation once you have a little experience, and you can pretty easily brew beer as good as anything
commercially available.
I highly recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Homebrew ... 443&sr=1-1
It's great fun to read, Papazian's advice is solid and no-nonsense, and the recipes are very dependable.
You're in for a LOT of fun.

[Innocent Bystander]

In these parts they add oak-leaves to give the beer extra tannin. I'm agin it. I've consumed - I won't say enjoyed - an "extra oaky" pint which was like cold stewed tea. Not nice. This is for those macho-challengey guys to weed out the stupid ones with.
If you get deeply into it you might like to try using mugwort instead of hops. Hops only came into the UK in the sixteenth century, and they used mugwort to make bitter beer before that. Mugwort is nifty stuff.

[Whistlin' Will]

You're in for a LOT of fun.

Especially after you sample the fruits of your labors, so to speak.

[FolkLife]

I homebrew and it is a great hobby. I agree with chas that you should start out cheaper. You can get the few basic supplies that he mentioned and a full extract kit and be brewing fairly quickly. "How to Brew" is the best book out there on the subject.

I would HIGHLY recommend that you make the trip into Homebrew of Columbus and buy the stuff from them or another local shop. That way you are also getting the advantage of there knowledge. That is invaluable when you can call up and say "HELP!"

What I don't agree with chas on is the use of wood. I use oak all the time and it isn't a problem. Just do some research first. Start here http://morebeer.com/content/using_oak_in_beer

Good luck and PM me if you want to chat.

[chas]

What I don't agree with chas on is the use of wood. I use oak all the time and it isn't a problem. Just do some research first. Start here http://morebeer.com/content/using_oak_in_beer

I guess I've just had bad luck with it; the one batch I oaked got badly infected, requiring a grenade-defusing operation.

[Thomaston]

Yeah, I'd like to check out that place in Columbus soon. It's just hard to find the time. Most days that I'm not at work I'm taking care of my 9 month old son. I may try to check it out the next Saturday that my wife and I are both off. Do you live nearby, Folklife?

[highland-piper]

Don't EVER add wood to beer. You'd have to boil the hell out of the wood to sterilize it, and by then there's no flavor left.

I used to set the wood on fire, and then drop the flaming bits into the secondary. Can't say I could identify any specific effect though.

Regarding the original question -- price seems high. You can get a lot of that stuff cheap or free. Buckets from donut shops or delis. Stock pot from wal-mart. You presumably already drink beer, so save your empties. No sense to paying over a $1 each for an empty bottle when you can buy a full bottle for the same price