Brewing your own beer

Anyone done it? I'm working on my first batch now. The hardest part is waiting! :readng:

My buddies and I used to do it here and there in HS... Waiting is a pain in the arse... Forgetting about it, then remembering about it way too late sucks too... Of course, when the beer tastes like wine, you know you're about to get flucked up...

I'm cheating a little, doing "extract brewing" versus dealing with full grains. Still, it's brewing. Yeah, if you're only looking to get drunk there are better ways to do it.

Anyone done it? I'm working on my first batch now. The hardest part is waiting! :readng: Yes, I've brewed many many times. What style are you making? Is it from a kit? Single stage or 2 stage brewing? 5 Gallons? Are you going to bottle or keg?

Where I am from the stuff we brew isn't beer. If your looking to get drunk though, it's the only way to go. :dthumb: :lol:

I'm cheating a little, doing "extract brewing" versus dealing with full grains. Still, it's brewing. Yeah, if you're only looking to get drunk there are better ways to do it. Your using some grain though right? Are you using any dry malt or is it all liquid?

I know someone who is interested in this...shhh don't tell him :lol: I choose to leave it to the professionals :dthumb:

Where I am from the stuff we brew isn't beer. If your looking to get drunk though, it's the only way to go. :dthumb: :lol: :lol: Read the lyrics to Rocky Top, I think we are on the same path. I lost my connection when my bro got divorced. I need to find someone new to train me. Damn I miss those moonshine cherries. 1 or 2 cherries could get most people plastered it was so strong.

hmm, I think I should start brewing my own beer. would be an interesting experience for sure.

I used to brew quite a bit. Got tired of bottling though and started using one of those plastic kegs with a tap and mini CO2 cartridge. Put it in a used fridge I bought and there you go! Cold, delicious beer ready anytime you want it. Even kept a couple of mugs chillin in the freezer. Scary how easy it was to drink.

I've only done it once so far. Turned out ok. Not alot of carbonation tho. Keeping everything clean is a chore fo sho.

Ok, now that I've got some do it I'll go into more detail. First off, I'm just starting so it's a Mr. Beer kit. All of you all-grain/mash/whatever brewers roll your eyes now and take a big sigh. THere, better? I'm working on my first batch of "West Coast Pale Ale" right now. I am deviating from the original instructions a little by NOT using white granulated sugar for priming, instead I bought 5lbs of corn surgar from a local home brew shop. I'll boil it in a solution (doing that as I type actually) and prime the bottles, then condition. I can see where I can alter the method to get a better end result, even with Mr. Beer, now that I've had a chance to (almost) finish one batch.

My buddy back in college had an entire bedroom in his apartment on campus dedicated to brewing. He would make some pretty good stuff. I helped him make a port once (don't advise trying this without someone who knows what they are doing, takes A LOT of work). Had a little micro brewery but only got one batch out of it.

I've been brewing for 7 years and have been serving as Primary Fermenter (read: President :wink:) of the local homebrew club for the last 5 years. I started with botttling extract brews before graduating to kegging and all-grain brewing. I won't slam you for using a Mr. Beer kit. It's actually not a bad way to get into the hobby to see if you enjoy it before getting a full blown brewing kit. A number of my club's members started this way. In fact, my first 2 batches were made with a kit my wife got me at the science store at the mall! :cheers:

PS, over the last few months my friend and I have been talking about making some absinthe (the old kind) I will let you guys know if we venture it. And just to cover my arse absinthe does contain harmful toxins so I wouldn't recommend trying it.

So how did the beer turn out.....?

It hasn't turned out yet. I did taste it from the keg prior to bottling and it tasty yeasty and not sweet, as it should. Of course it's warm and non-carbonated at that point so it's not drinkable. I used eight 1 liter (PET/plastic) bottles for my batch. I primed four bottles with a water/sugar solution I boiled in a pot on the stove (using instructions I found here (http://www.leeners.com/mrbeer.html)) and the other four with dry corn sugar. The Mr. Beer instructions state to use table sugar, however after reading that not all of regular table sugar is fermentable and corn sugar is, I opted to go that route. As far as priming, it's MUCH easier using the boiling method. I simply used a syringe to prime each bottle with a tablespoon of the liquid. Priming with the corn sugar directly into the bottle created a mess. I don't even know that I got all of the sugar in there, there was a lot on the counter. The bottles will sit for a week while the yeast breaks down the sugar and creates carbon dioxide gas under pressure, giving me carbonated beer at the end. The bottles are already starting to firm up a bit so I know it's working. As a precaution, since I deviated from the original instructions and since I experiemented with headspace in the bottle, I put the bottles in plastic bags in case of explosion. Mr. Beer said 2" of headspace in the bottle, the website I linked above said 1". I have variations between 1" and 2", so I can see what works best. It should be done in about a week when I can refrigerate them for a day or two and taste it. So it'll be the end of next week at the earliest. So far so good. I'm enjoying it, but even the easy kit is a bit time consuming, I'm sure I'm interested in all-grain brewing at this point. I'm going to order some more Mr. Beer recipes and start the next batch. I'd like a few kegs of brew under my belt before I determine how serious to get.

It hasn't turned out yet. I did taste it from the keg prior to bottling and it tasty yeasty and not sweet, as it should. Of course it's warm and non-carbonated at that point so it's not drinkable. I used eight 1 liter (PET/plastic) bottles for my batch. I primed four bottles with a water/sugar solution I boiled in a pot on the stove (using instructions I found here (http://www.leeners.com/mrbeer.html)) and the other four with dry corn sugar. The Mr. Beer instructions state to use table sugar, however after reading that not all of regular table sugar is fermentable and corn sugar is, I opted to go that route. As far as priming, it's MUCH easier using the boiling method. I simply used a syringe to prime each bottle with a tablespoon of the liquid. Priming with the corn sugar directly into the bottle created a mess. I don't even know that I got all of the sugar in there, there was a lot on the counter. The bottles will sit for a week while the yeast breaks down the sugar and creates carbon dioxide gas under pressure, giving me carbonated beer at the end. The bottles are already starting to firm up a bit so I know it's working. As a precaution, since I deviated from the original instructions and since I experiemented with headspace in the bottle, I put the bottles in plastic bags in case of explosion. Mr. Beer said 2" of headspace in the bottle, the website I linked above said 1". I have variations between 1" and 2", so I can see what works best. It should be done in about a week when I can refrigerate them for a day or two and taste it. So it'll be the end of next week at the earliest. So far so good. I'm enjoying it, but even the easy kit is a bit time consuming, I'm sure I'm interested in all-grain brewing at this point. I'm going to order some more Mr. Beer recipes and start the next batch. I'd like a few kegs of brew under my belt before I determine how serious to get. Plastic bottles? Are they clear? Light will have an adverse affect on your beer. Also the plastic will give your beer an "off" flavor. ALWAY, ALWAYS use brown GLASS bottles. Makes sure you keep your beer in a dark place while it is fermenting. Also you may want to pick up a book called The Brewers Companion by Michael Jackson (No, not THAT Michael Jackson:lol: )

Plastic bottles? Are they clear? Light will have an adverse affect on your beer. Also the plastic will give your beer an "off" flavor. ALWAY, ALWAYS use brown GLASS bottles. Makes sure you keep your beer in a dark place while it is fermenting. Also you may want to pick up a book called The Brewers Companion by Michael Jackson (No, not THAT Michael Jackson:lol: ) They are amber, dark PET bottles that came with the kit. I am going to buy a case of 24 glass bottles, caps and a capper. However, is there any compelling reason NOT to use the bottles from the beer I buy at the store, i.e. Sam Adams. I've got a SA Summer Styles case and I can recycle those bottles. I know glass is better and I have every intention of using them in the future! Plus, a liter of beer is a bit much. ;)

I have a brother in NH that brews his own beer, he's gotten really good at it too. He makes a raspberry wheat that is to die for. My brother uses leftover beer bottles, he just makes sure to wash them out, and sanitize them. Let us know how it turns out Shan!! :thumbs:

They are amber, dark PET bottles that came with the kit. I am going to buy a case of 24 glass bottles, caps and a capper. However, is there any compelling reason NOT to use the bottles from the beer I buy at the store, i.e. Sam Adams. I've got a SA Summer Styles case and I can recycle those bottles. I know glass is better and I have every intention of using them in the future! Plus, a liter of beer is a bit much. ;) yer SA bottles will work fine. When I was in Desert Storm we made dandy brandy n shine from the available ingredients we could collect :lol:

Yeah, the only issue would be to properly sanitize them, otherwise your cross breeding (and contaminating) your yeast and other bacteria from the open bottle and dried residue. Think of it like reusing a canning jar. Wash in hot soapy water rise with boiling water.

I'll just save my SA bottles then and sanitize them well. You have to do that with whatever bottles you use anyway.

Just avoid twist-off bottles because they sometimes won't seal well when you use a crown cap. Good call priming with corn sugar. Table sugar will impart a cidery character to your beer. Don't ask me how I know. :wink: :cheers:

Ok, first batch is done. I bottled four bottles with a boiled water/corn sugar solution and four bottles with dry sugar. The pressure in the bottles seems about the same so it appears the priming worked. The solution was much easier to prime the bottle, I used a syringe. So, what does it taste like? Frist off, it looked very clear, almost filtered. The yeast settled to the bottom and the color and clarity was excellent. It had a light yellow color to it. The carbonation was excellent, it bubbled non-stop and did not taste flat at all. I was very pleased that after only seven days the carbonation was as good as it was. Ok, the taste. Well, it tasted a bit like apples. I know this is due to acetaldehyde, the byproduct of the yeast fermentation. I was a bit premature in opening the first bottle, but I was anxious to try it. It was the 4th of July afterall. :D The was diligent in my sugar to wort measurements so I'm certain I did not use too much priming sugar. I still have seven more liter bottles that continue to carbonate, only one of which I am not "lagering" in the fridge. In time the apple taste will go away, I just need to be more patient. :thumbs:

Thanks for the update, I was wondering...