Author Topic: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts  (Read 24604 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2012, 05:01:01 PM »

Offline cdif911

  • Antoine Walker
  • ****
  • Posts: 4868
  • Tommy Points: 43
next step for me is kegging...we have the corny keg, we did on batch on it, didn't turn out as carbonated as we hoped and we sort of dropped it.  When I moved to a house and can put it on my own draft system I think I'll bring it back (I homebrew with a friend and he has the draft system)...

last few batches:

did 2 ciders - 7% each, one with British Ale Yeast, one with English Ale Yeast, noticeable difference believe it or not

did an IPA - came out very drinkable, not too hoppy. low alcohol though 4.5

just finished an imperial pumpkin, bottling tomorrow - 9% or so, tasted great when we last took the hydrometer reading..

..has anyone entered a contest?
When you love life, life loves you right back


Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2012, 05:04:16 PM »

Offline csfansince60s

  • Paul Silas
  • ******
  • Posts: 6233
  • Tommy Points: 2237
There is beer on my ceiling. My big stout exploded, twice. And the second time, I forgot to sanitize. Infection is very likely, but heaven help the bug that tries to compete with my yeast right now. It is just demolishing the beer right now.

Anybody remember that Stooges episode where "we all threw the yeast in!!" and it explodes?

Check this out:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/we-all-put-yeast-244802/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XHQM4bkRgl0#!

Especially starts at 3 minute mark and culminates around 6:00.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2012, 05:11:37 PM by csfansince60s »

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2012, 05:31:32 PM »

Offline indeedproceed

  • In The Rafters
  • James Naismith
  • *********************************
  • Posts: 42583
  • Tommy Points: 2756
  • You ain't the boss of the freakin' bedclothes.
I get the rationale for the starter, but the "Yo dawg I heard u like brewing so we made brew u brew b4 u brew so u can add brew 2 ur brew and make it brewier" aspect is a little daunting, since I already have trouble finding time as it is.  Sounds like a problem for 2013 FWF, that guy seems pretty on the ball.

I re-read the 'yo dawg' 3 times, and it checks out. That's hilarious and mostly accurate.

Yeast Starters for me are NBD, because honestly, it takes 15 minutes the night before, and you can do it while doing other stuff too. I managed to cook dinner while doing my last one.

And with Wyeast packs, I think it is even more important. Critical, even. Wyeast has the best yeast, it completely changes the profile of your brew, but even if you properly use the smack pack, you run a possible risk of under-pitching in any batch with a OG over say..1.060 (I'm guessing..I'm not that guy who knows this stuff off hand).

Plus, brewing is fun. If you can brew a brew before you brew your actual brew that you use to make your real brew brewier, who says no?

"You've gotta respect a 15-percent 3-point shooter. A guy
like that is always lethal." - Evan 'The God' Turner

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2012, 06:36:14 PM »

Offline Lucky17

  • DKC Commish
  • JoJo White
  • ****************
  • Posts: 16021
  • Tommy Points: 2352
Still having highly variable carbonation levels on my last three batches. Within a single batch, one bottle will be virtually flat, and another will literally geyser out of the bottle. I've had two friends tell me they ended up wearing the beer I'd gifted them.

On the other hand, my last batch of dry Irish stout turned out terrific (arguably my best yet), and I just transferred my second batch of gluten-free ale yesterday eve. Hoping it ends up as good as the first.
DKC League is now on reddit!: http://www.reddit.com/r/dkcleague

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #19 on: December 03, 2012, 07:15:18 PM »

Offline action781

  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5217
  • Tommy Points: 609
Do you guys bottle or keg?  My father and I brew and we keg it (he has a 2 tap kegerator).  We've bottled once and I think that was our best batch, but we still keg.  Wanna hear your opinions on it.
2020 CelticsStrong All-2000s Draft -- Utah Jazz
 
Finals Starters:  Jason Kidd - Reggie Miller - PJ Tucker - Al Horford - Shaq
Bench:  Rajon Rondo - Trae Young - Marcus Smart - Jaylen Brown -  Peja Stojakovic - Jamal Mashburn - Carlos Boozer - Tristan Thompson - Mehmet Okur

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #20 on: December 03, 2012, 07:16:26 PM »

Offline action781

  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5217
  • Tommy Points: 609
There is beer on my ceiling. My big stout exploded, twice. And the second time, I forgot to sanitize. Infection is very likely, but heaven help the bug that tries to compete with my yeast right now. It is just demolishing the beer right now.

I just love how you reopened a 5 day old thread with the sentence "There is beer on my ceiling."  I'm sure you love it a lot less than me though... so TP for that.
2020 CelticsStrong All-2000s Draft -- Utah Jazz
 
Finals Starters:  Jason Kidd - Reggie Miller - PJ Tucker - Al Horford - Shaq
Bench:  Rajon Rondo - Trae Young - Marcus Smart - Jaylen Brown -  Peja Stojakovic - Jamal Mashburn - Carlos Boozer - Tristan Thompson - Mehmet Okur

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #21 on: December 03, 2012, 07:21:56 PM »

Online Neurotic Guy

  • Dave Cowens
  • ***********************
  • Posts: 23290
  • Tommy Points: 2501
The thread got me thinking and inspired me to post this even though I haven't a clue about brewing:

My best friend growing up began brewing over 30 years ago.  He ALWAYS had a new brew when I visited and he experimented like crazy.  Chocolate, fruits, chiles, all kinds of spices, flavors and varied amounts of hops, barley (and whatever else typically goes in).  He never got tired of trying new brews and eventually got so good that he could predict in advance the amounts of new ingredients that would impact flavor subtley or robustly.

Sadly, he passed away about a month ago.  I miss him a lot. Thanks for the thread --  you all got me thinking about how much he enjoyed brewing it, drinking it and sharing it. So for him I say, brew on!

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #22 on: December 03, 2012, 07:48:18 PM »

Offline indeedproceed

  • In The Rafters
  • James Naismith
  • *********************************
  • Posts: 42583
  • Tommy Points: 2756
  • You ain't the boss of the freakin' bedclothes.
Do you guys bottle or keg?  My father and I brew and we keg it (he has a 2 tap kegerator).  We've bottled once and I think that was our best batch, but we still keg.  Wanna hear your opinions on it.

I only bottle right now. I hate bottling. I want to no longer bottle. But getting outfitted for kegging will run me about $200 buck, so Im passing for now.

"You've gotta respect a 15-percent 3-point shooter. A guy
like that is always lethal." - Evan 'The God' Turner

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #23 on: December 03, 2012, 07:50:32 PM »

Offline indeedproceed

  • In The Rafters
  • James Naismith
  • *********************************
  • Posts: 42583
  • Tommy Points: 2756
  • You ain't the boss of the freakin' bedclothes.
And NG, that's really touching man. Thanks for sharing that with us. Homebrewing: bringing people together!

"You've gotta respect a 15-percent 3-point shooter. A guy
like that is always lethal." - Evan 'The God' Turner

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2012, 08:07:45 PM »

Offline Lucky17

  • DKC Commish
  • JoJo White
  • ****************
  • Posts: 16021
  • Tommy Points: 2352
Do you guys bottle or keg?  My father and I brew and we keg it (he has a 2 tap kegerator).  We've bottled once and I think that was our best batch, but we still keg.  Wanna hear your opinions on it.

I only bottle right now. I hate bottling. I want to no longer bottle. But getting outfitted for kegging will run me about $200 buck, so Im passing for now.

I bottle. I don't mind bottling day so much, because my SO helps me out (she's a real trooper).

It's much easier to share homebrew when it's bottled. Plus, it looks cool to go down into the basement and see an entire bookcase filled with bottles of beer.

BTW, just yesterday I pulled out a bottle of my first batch ever (a bitter from almost 18 months ago), and it tasted fantastic: smooth and mellow. Very cool to go back into the archives and see what time does to a homebrew.
DKC League is now on reddit!: http://www.reddit.com/r/dkcleague

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #25 on: December 03, 2012, 08:21:44 PM »

Offline JSD

  • Frank Ramsey
  • ************
  • Posts: 12558
  • Tommy Points: 2152
Who is the Walter White of home brewery here?
The only color that matters is GREEN

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #26 on: December 03, 2012, 08:50:07 PM »

Offline indeedproceed

  • In The Rafters
  • James Naismith
  • *********************************
  • Posts: 42583
  • Tommy Points: 2756
  • You ain't the boss of the freakin' bedclothes.
Who is the Walter White of home brewery here?

It's not art, it's just chemistry. And I'm more like Cap'n Cook.

But Lucky is pretty solid, and cdif and FWF have both been doing this a while. But the_Bird likely has the most streetcred.

"You've gotta respect a 15-percent 3-point shooter. A guy
like that is always lethal." - Evan 'The God' Turner

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #27 on: December 03, 2012, 09:37:41 PM »

Offline Cman

  • K.C. Jones
  • *************
  • Posts: 13068
  • Tommy Points: 120
I love this thread. It brings back memories of home brewing I did about 15 yrs ago. Sadly, can't quite swing it now as my wife , toddler and I live in a typically small NYC apartment. I'm getting the urge now, though, after reading y'all's posts!
Celtics fan for life.

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #28 on: December 03, 2012, 10:26:59 PM »

Offline indeedproceed

  • In The Rafters
  • James Naismith
  • *********************************
  • Posts: 42583
  • Tommy Points: 2756
  • You ain't the boss of the freakin' bedclothes.
Do you guys bottle or keg?  My father and I brew and we keg it (he has a 2 tap kegerator).  We've bottled once and I think that was our best batch, but we still keg.  Wanna hear your opinions on it.

I only bottle right now. I hate bottling. I want to no longer bottle. But getting outfitted for kegging will run me about $200 buck, so Im passing for now.

I bottle. I don't mind bottling day so much, because my SO helps me out (she's a real trooper).

It's much easier to share homebrew when it's bottled. Plus, it looks cool to go down into the basement and see an entire bookcase filled with bottles of beer.

BTW, just yesterday I pulled out a bottle of my first batch ever (a bitter from almost 18 months ago), and it tasted fantastic: smooth and mellow. Very cool to go back into the archives and see what time does to a homebrew.

Bottling does have its upside. I'm lagering something that will run about 6 months to completion, and that involves a solid 2-3 of bottle conditioning.

But imagine, for a second, two taps. On one, your favorite ale. On the other, your favorite stout..ON NITROGEN.

Yeah, I got a Lil excited there too. Totes natural, nothing to work about.

"You've gotta respect a 15-percent 3-point shooter. A guy
like that is always lethal." - Evan 'The God' Turner

Re: Homebrewing Notes/Thoughts
« Reply #29 on: December 05, 2012, 12:39:06 AM »

Offline action781

  • Rajon Rondo
  • *****
  • Posts: 5217
  • Tommy Points: 609
Do you guys bottle or keg?  My father and I brew and we keg it (he has a 2 tap kegerator).  We've bottled once and I think that was our best batch, but we still keg.  Wanna hear your opinions on it.

I only bottle right now. I hate bottling. I want to no longer bottle. But getting outfitted for kegging will run me about $200 buck, so Im passing for now.

I bottle. I don't mind bottling day so much, because my SO helps me out (she's a real trooper).

It's much easier to share homebrew when it's bottled. Plus, it looks cool to go down into the basement and see an entire bookcase filled with bottles of beer.

BTW, just yesterday I pulled out a bottle of my first batch ever (a bitter from almost 18 months ago), and it tasted fantastic: smooth and mellow. Very cool to go back into the archives and see what time does to a homebrew.

Bottling does have its upside. I'm lagering something that will run about 6 months to completion, and that involves a solid 2-3 of bottle conditioning.

But imagine, for a second, two taps. On one, your favorite ale. On the other, your favorite stout..ON NITROGEN.

Yeah, I got a Lil excited there too. Totes natural, nothing to work about.

2020 CelticsStrong All-2000s Draft -- Utah Jazz
 
Finals Starters:  Jason Kidd - Reggie Miller - PJ Tucker - Al Horford - Shaq
Bench:  Rajon Rondo - Trae Young - Marcus Smart - Jaylen Brown -  Peja Stojakovic - Jamal Mashburn - Carlos Boozer - Tristan Thompson - Mehmet Okur