Okay, so I brought this up in the Haiku thread, but figured I should start another discussion so we don't have to talk in 5-7-5, although an ode to beer is always good.

My friend has gotten me into brewing my own beer. If you've never done it, it's quite fun and easy. You can get started for around $100, and have a pretty good setup for $200.

I just brewed my first batch two weeks ago. It's a chocolate stout. I fermented it for a week and it has now been bottled for a week. I took a quick taste when we bottled it, and I think it's going to be REALLY good. I'm going to take my first real taste sometime later tonight.

Anyways, I was wondering if other people here brew their own beer. If so, do you guys have any tips or recipes to share?

I brew my own beer sporadically and a few weeks ago decided to brew some ready for xmas.

I'm using an all malt kit from Muntons called Smugglers Special Premium Ale. It's a nice refreshing beer and clocks in at around 5%ABV after 4-6 weeks.

I'm no expert at this game and a lot of people would argue that using a malt kit is cheating. Personally, I haven't got the time for buying grain and hops and all the pollava that goes with that level of beer making.

In terms of sharing tips/techniques (and I'm not an expert BTW), this is what I did on my last batch:
a) Hydrate the yeast in lukewarm boiled water (using a sterilised cup of course) before introducing it to the wort.
b) Ferment in a semi-closed fermenter bin for 3-4 days.
c) Transfer the wort to a secondary closed fermenter for another 3-4 days - this has 2 benefits; 1. A closed fermenter prevents airborne bacteria from entering the wort. 2. The dead yeast cells from the initial vigorous fermentation are left behind reducing the tendancy for yeast bite.
d) Transfer to brown bottles (any other colour and the light will ruin the flavour) primed with 1/2TSP of light spraymalt although I've read you can use sugar at a pinch.
e) Store the bottles somewhere warm for a few days to re-start the fermentation and then transfer to somewhere cooler.

This evening I got a 2nd batch into the fermenter. I will not bottle this one because I don't have enough bottles so instead I will transfer it into an airtight pressure barrel and pour from there into the glass.

I've had a few bacterial infections in the past and they are a real pisser, the wort goes very gassy and smells bad and all you can do is throw it away and start again. It's because of this that I get it out of the fermenter bin as soon as I can, while it's in there I don't stir it and try not to open the lid to have a peek!

Next time you use a malt kit try using some grains from the homebrew shop with a grain bag and steep the malts in the wort. It improves the brew greatly and you don't have to go all grain to get even better brews...

The instructions for my malt kit say I shouldn't heat or boil the wort (item 5). Do I need to boil to steep the grain you suggest adding?

Hmmm that's interesting. I've always used malt extract where you boil the wort and add the hops. I've never heard of not heating it before, but it's been a couple years since I brewed. If you're not boiling wort, you're missing one of the best parts IMO the smell of the sweet boiling wort...

you're missing one of the best parts IMO the smell of the sweet boiling wort...

Oh yes.

With this first batch I made, I used a mix of extract and grains and steeped them, as you mentioned.

In regards to the comment about yeast bite, I'm hoping that isn't a problem with my beer. I noticed I have quite a bit of yeast sediment on the bottom of the beer. This is because I only did a primary fermentation, and never racked it off to a secondary container. My friend has a nicer setup which allows him to rack off the yeast from the bucket without transferring. It has a nice spigot at the bottom of the fermentation container. Thinking I might have to pick me up one of those. Or at least, try racking off to a secondary container. With my current setup, it might be kind of hard because I'd have to rack off to my secondary (bottling) bucket, then back into the primary one, since the bottling bucket isn't sealable.

Well, we'll see how this batch turns out. More on that in a few hours.

I must say, the beer came out really well. It's got a pretty decent head on it. It's not overly creamy, and has a hint of bitterness to it. I think it still needs a week or two to clear up a little more. Should be rather tasty then.

The bottle I opened today was a small 12oz. one. Looking forward to opening one of my 22oz. bottles.

I think the biggest thing that most folk notice when they taste homebrew beer for the first time is the HUGE flavor hit. All of that stuff is usually missing in the vast majority of commercial beer.
Microbrews are better, but most them still have to kill the beer to ship it.
Give me a live beer anytime

Ash,

Do you know of anyplace in Austin that has cask ale that is not the highly hopped stuff from St Arnold in Houston? I hate their beers, they always have this peculiar "grainy" taste and they seem to be the only cask ale available around Austin. I want it like the Director's Bitter I had in London. No hops, lots of yeast and the incredible gas attack you get the next day...

Microbrews are better, but most them still have to kill the beer to ship it.

My favorite microbrewer around here (as well as others) do growler fills right at the brewery.

On Friday, I'm going to a BBQ at one of the local brewerys. Beer, burgers and dogs. Doesn't get much better than that.

Beer, burgers and dogs. Doesn't get much better than that.

Cue the Swedish Bikini Team...

A couple thoughts off the top: (actually this will be long, and scatterbrained I'm sure)

Grains do different things at different temperatures. If you aren't going all-grain (which is a huge PITA), the easiest things is to add grains to cold water, turn on the heat, and pull them out before they boil. Of course it can boil afterwards, but after the grains are taken out. There's some sock-like "things" that do a good job holding them. You can hold it at different temperatures for each step, but often it doesn't matter enough to worry about.

On the grains you do use - crack them open. Either have the shop do it if they have a mill, or you can do it yourself. It's tedious, but rolling a bottle over them works - eventually. Don't use a blender, or they'll turn into dust. The boiled dust doesn't taste so good, and it's hell later when you pour it into the fermenter trying to keep the spent ingredients from getting into the mix.

Use glass carboys! Plastic buckets are notorious for infecting batches. Also, use lots of bleach, B-brite, or something similar. Actually you don't need much, but use it on everything that won't get cooked. Don't be afraid to be "too clean".

Make sure to aerate the wort when you pitch the yeast. At this stage, lots of oxygen is good. Later on, after it's done fermenting, don't disturb it at all - at that point oxygen is bad!

If your Munton& Fison kit says don't boil... don't boil. Most kits need it though, I guess follow the directions? Typically, I use pure extract without hops added. I need to boil - I use hops for bittering (boil about 45 minutes), some more for flavor (boil about 10), then a last bit for smell (throw in when pulling off the stove). You just have to experiment really.

"Dry hopping" is incredible, if you love hops. Save a pinch (1/4 oz?) to add when you transfer to your secondary. The smell is just great when you are having a beer later on. Of course, this depends on what you make, it works better on a cream ale than a stout.

Use "Irish Moss". It helps coagulate the grain dust and hops and everything else at the bottom of the pot to make it easier to pour,and you get less "junk" in the fermenter.

I keep it in a primary fermenter until it's "done". This can be 48 hours, it coud be over a week. Optimum would be to check specific gravity and see when it stops changing. But I usually just watch the fermentation bubbles, wait for them to stop, and then add about 24 hours. Then put it in the secondary and keep as much yeast as possible from being transferred. Having a cold secondary environment seems to help let the yeast settle out too, in preparation for bottling.

I always get cloudy beer. If you figure out how to prevent it, let me know.

Kegging is a great invention. I picked up two 5 gallon used soda kegs and a CO2 tank, regulators, etc. for about $200. Add $50 for an old dorm fridge, and $20 to buy a pice of plexiglass to put in place of the inner door shelves. Small fridge holds two kegs side by side, with room to store unused hops and malt behind them, and still fits under a workbench Needs no primer sugar, no bottles to sterilize or clean afterwards, and generally has less sediment too. Much easier to control carbonation.

Also, on recipes, you simply have to experiment. If you brew enough, try variations of a single recipe. Pick one you like - for me it was "cream ale". Make it. Then try it again with different malt. Then again with different hops. yeast, etc. each time. Gives you a great idea what each one does. My favorite's are "light" extract, cascade hops, and "American" yeast. There's lots of books with recipes, and 'net sites too. Think of your favorite microbrews, check the maker's homepages and see if they list recipes - sometimes they do. Taste each ingredient when you throw it in, so you know better what's coming out of it all, and what to change next time. Wheat beers are fun too, if you drink them a little early they have a banana flavor which can be quite good.

Don't overdo any one ingredient though, too much of any ingredient makes it taste bad... You can make it "too strong". It'll only ferment to a point, and the alcohol will kill the remaining yeast. If it hasn't all fermented by then, it isn't very tasty.

Invite lots of friends over to help drink it, makes it easier to get more batches down to experiment with. Have them bring food over so you get something for your trouble. "You bring the burgers, I'll provide the beer" for example. Owning a pool table or something similar helps too.

Get a book - 'the bible" - I believe it's Charlie Papazian?

And at any particular step - "relax, don't worry, have a homebrew".

I always get cloudy beer. If you figure out how to prevent it, let me know.

You need Isinglass fining gel to clear your brew. It's not vegetarian friendly (of fish origin) so be wary of your audience.

Wow, I must say that is a great comment! You've hit quite a few things on the head. I had my friend help me with my first batch, so I think we addressed most of what you said. But, here are my comments:

I'm doing a partial grain wort. I do use the steeping bags, like you mentioned. I crack the grains when I buy them (the store has a mill to use) and put them into the bags. I throw them into the cold water and bring it to a boil. Depending on the recipe, you may leave it in the boil a while. A note from my friend: Make sure to not let the bags touch the bottom of the pot or you'll melt them. Find something metal to raise it off the bottom of the pot by just a bit.

I'm using plastic buckets for now. We'll see how they work out. I might consider moving to glass carboys eventually. I think as long as you take care of the plastic buckets and make sure not to scratch them, you should be okay.

My friend talked about aerating the wort. Very important. I basically mixed it vigorously while I poured the liquid yeast into the fermentation bucket.

Dry Hopping sounds interesting. Could you expand on that a bit? With this stout recipe, we had two hops. One was thrown into the wort for like 15 minutes, and another was thrown in for the last 5 minutes. If I remember correctly, one was for bitterness and the other was for aroma.

My friend recommended the Irish Moss for my next batch. We didn't do it in this batch. I noticed my next recipe I want to do calls for it, so I'll see how it works out. My friend also suggested gelatin, which he said really helps attract the yeast.

As I mentioned before, I'm definitely going to try a secondary fermentation so I can cut down on the amount of yeast. Just need to pick up another sealable bucket.

Even with my first batch just finished, I'm already looking at kegging solutions. They look like the way to go. I'm watching an ebay auction of a kegerator that somebody put together. It's pretty cheap right now and the seller is local. Might let my friend take it, though, since it's a full-size fridge and he has a house (as opposed to my condo).

I've found tons of recipes on the web. I think it's just a matter of making them and figuring out what affects the taste. There's some good sites online that mention the overall aromas and tastes that hops and barley lend to a beer. I'll definitely be studying those.

I already have the bible. It's a great book. Tons of recipes and other information.

Dave,
Unfortunately I am a total hophead so not much use to you
I assume you have been through places like Lovejoys and NXNW?
I know what you mean about Courage Directors tho, that and REAL Bass ale are two of my favorite beers, such a pity that Bass is a pale shadow of its true self by the time it gets to these shores

Alright, I confess...I'm the one that got svferris into brewing. I've been doing it for sometime and have gotten to an almost all-grain setup (I only use about 3 lbs of extract now) with mashing and sparging...if you feel like going there, you will get real flavor improvement in your beer. The setup I have that ferris reffered to is a cylindrical-conical fermenter. It looks like a mini version of the big fermenters the breweries use. The benefits are that the dead yeast a other crap settles in the cone at the bottom which has a drain valve. You can drain off that crap every morning (4 oz or so) and it keeps the beer really clean. You don't need to rack the beer off for secondary fermentation since you are draining off the junk from the bottom. It also has a bottling valve, so bottling is a snap. So, a couple comments:

>>I always get cloudy beer. If you figure out how to prevent it, let me know.

Gelatin...nothing fancy, just go to your local home-brew store and ask for gelatin. You put this in the beer 2-3 days before bottling. I work with a local homebrew store here in San Diego, and made a web site for the guy...he has some great explanations about "clarifying agents" http://www.redkart.com/cgi-bin/brew/ahbs/showstory.pl?s=tips&a=clarify (not to mention some great recipies and other advice)..

"Dry Hopping" is the act of adding hops to your brew AFTER the boil. This is usually done at the time of secondary fermentation or 3-4 days before bottling. Since you are not boiling the hops, the flavor and aroma they contribute are very different. This process usually contributes to a VERY strong hop aroma to the beer...great for IPAs!!

Now the good one...why you don't boil "malt kits". These are pre-done and already hopped. In other words...the wort is already done and pre-boiled. Another boil would ensure that the beer was sterile, but it would kill it. These kits are not meant to be heated. These are entry level kits for people whoe want to make beer, but want to keep it really easy...nothing wrong with that.

davec...what you are talking about is the next step up...extract brewing. This is where you use pre-fab malt extract, steeping grains for flavor and color, make your own wort, and boil that with hops for desired flavor and aroma. This is is still REALLY easy to do and will result in a MAJOR increase to the quality of the beer to produce...Rue...give it a try sometime. The next step would be what I do...partial mash brewing. It's not totally all grain, but it's close enough that if you know what you are doing, even seasoned beer snobs will think that it is all grain. This requires additional equipment and time, but I think it's worth it (it did take me 4 years to work up to this though).

As far as adding grains...Rue, steeping is NOT boiling. Steeping should be done at 155-165 F. Steeping grains are not meant to be boiled. Even in all grain you never actually boil the grains. You mash them at 155 and sparge them at ~170. The only thing you boil is the resulting wort.

For another level of quality on your pre-fab beer kits, try two things:
1. Use liquid yeast. If you can find it, White Labs makes great stuff. You buy a little test tube like thing, shake it up and pour it in. It will improve the quality of your beer drastically.
2. Use corn sugar (as your local brew store) for priming and don't prime the bottles individually. Use 3/4 cup of corn sugar / 5 gallons of beer. Disolve the sugar in 1 cup of boiling water (sterilize it), cool it down, then put it in a bucket and rack the beer into it. Mix it GENTLY, then bottle. There are two reasons for this:
1. The corn sugar is pure and processed and is a known quantity, malt varies and will never be the same from batch to batch
2. The ensures even distribution of the priming sugar throughout the beer...less chance for exploding bottles.

Lastly, once you've graduated to not using pre-fab malt kits, enter a local homebrew contest. The judges are almost always cool people and you can ask them questions about your beer. They will give you GREAT advice and insight into your brewing and help you brew better beer.

Stepping down from soap-box now....

Man, I think I'm stopping at the homebrew store Thursday after work (the night they stay open late). Mmmm.

Man, I think I'm stopping at the homebrew store Thursday after work (the night they stay open late).

This thread has got me seriously thinking about giving homebrewing a try. I ordered a couple of books, which should be here tomorrow.

This is the one to get (as mentioned previously):

The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charles Papazian

I got that one and another one called 'The Homebrewers Companion', which is described as '... the next steps above the Complete Joy'. I also ordered some 35 page 'book' on brew kits. I'm excited to read all I can and decide if I want to try it. So far I read the 'How to Brew Your First Beer, Rev. F' a couple of times and glanced through the 'How to Brew' guide (until I saw the reference to the first beer one).

Awesome!

Just read through the first half of the first book, and go for it. If you can completely understand and follow both books, then you're a pro. But a standard "kit" from a local supply shop, both the brew kit and ingredients kit, should be enough for your first batch. Also, a local shop will have great ideas on what you "need" and "might want". My experience is that it's not like buying a car, you'll get genuine advice that you can trust Also consider, as I think was mentioned, buying liquid yeast instead of the powder. We can save you a step by recommending going straight for it right off the bat, it really is better. again the powder isn't bad, but liquid is better (my opinion).

Just make sure to keep things clean, and almost anything you brew will taste good. I would however recommend starting with something light though. A cream ale, red, whatever. Stouts and such aren't necessarily difficult, but seem to be a little harder to get "just right".

I was thinking about starter kit #4 since bottling seems like a great way to contaminate your beer if you aren't really careful (as well as looking like a PITA). It might be easier to avoid all the yeast in each of the bottles by going with the keg. With this kit, I'd have to supply more stuff up front, like a kettle (found a 33qt ceramic kettle at the same place) that would come with kit #3.

It doesn't look as hard as I always assumed it would be. My main concern right now is temperature control during the fermentation process. There is a non-insulated closet I could use (nice and dark), but I wonder what the temperature is in there. I'm going to have to find out when I get a chance (Friday at the earliest).

I did find a local home brew shop, right down the road from me. I'll have to stop in there and talk to them.

Hey, I don't suppose you could take a few pictures of your kegerator and post them here? I'm curious about the different types of home-made ones. I'd love to build one in a dorm fridge since I could fit that much easier in my condo than a full-size one.

I ended up ordering the starter kit #3 from http://www.homebrewmart.com - Less extra stuff to buy right off the bat (like the kettle, bottles, etc, etc.) I'm hoping it gets here on Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving!

Hey, I don't suppose you could take a few pictures of your kegerator and post them here

Here's a page I threw together awhile back on how I made my kegerator. It's a 16 cu. ft fridge, though...

Very nice. I'm watching this ebay auction to see how high it's going to go. It's nice because the guy is here in San Diego and is willing to deliver. Still think I might have my friend Dan (redbutt2) pick it up since he has more room for it.

Kegerator

That kit looks really nice. I highly recommend picking up a wort chiller when you have some time. It works wonders in speeding up the brewing process.

I think I'm going to have to stop by that place, since they're like 5 minutes from my house. Looks like they have quite the selection of supplies.

I highly recommend picking up a wort chiller when you have some time.

I was going to fill the sink up with ice and water. I assumed as long as it didn't enter the wort I'd be OK. Is a wort chiller more efficient than the ice bath?

Wow! Looks familiar! Almost like mine! But he's got the flat bottom in his. Mine has a weird shape to it from where the salad compartment was. I need to build a base instead of using cinder blocks and the flimsy shelf... Good luck, it'll change your life... eBay is also good for finding cool tap handles.

I've got a wort chiller that I'll sell if anyone is interested. I haven't brewed for a couple years and it's taking up space. 25' cooper tubing, 12" diameter. It goes for $27 at the homebrew shop in Austin See it here It's the ones near the bottom of the page. I'll send it via UPS Ground in the US for $20. The hoses need to be cut and reattached as they've crimped at the attachment point.