Brewing beer

[goldstone97]

Anyone here have experience brewing their own beer? After a long period of consideration and deliberation -- which involved sampling a large number of different beers from around the world with some frequency -- I've decided to brew my own beer.

I'm not quite sure where to start. I'm thinking of buying this kit and this book, but does anyone have any specific suggestions or general advice?

[Gerontophile]

Brewing beer

my dad did this once... make sure its a warm cupboard, Thats all I remember, apart from the serious infestation of diahorrhea that all concerned had.

But they didnt care, because, BOY were they pissed.

[Reed John]

Brewing beer

I've done it a few times. The first two times it worked pretty well, the last batch failed. For reasons I'm not clear on it got way, way, way to carbonated. As soon as one opens the bottle it shoots out all over the kitchen. It also tastes a bit off.

I've the gear and some books, but because it takes a bit of doing, I haven't done it much or perfected the technique.

I think the main problem is that I don't drink very much so whenever I do a batch, it takes a long time until I can reclaim the bottles.

[Incandenza]

Brewing beer

Alton Brown did an episode of "Good Eats" on homebrewing. The recipe is here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_20302,00.html

[goldstone97]

Brewing beer

Reed of the Valley People wrote:

I think the main problem is that I don't drink very much so whenever I do a batch, it takes a long time until I can reclaim the bottles.

This will be the least of my problems.

How much do bottles cost? Where does one buy them?

[Guest]

Brewing beer

I have a friend who used to brew a lot of beer. It was always OK and sometimes even nice.. I think he just saved up old bottles and used corks to seal them.

He once turned his hand to cider. But only once.

[Reed John]

Brewing beer

You can buy them from the beer supply place. They're expensive to ship. Or you can just wash and sterilize ones you've already used. You'll need a bottle-capper and a bunch of "crowns" as they're officially called.

I find its easier to do most of the steps if you've got two people.

[Incandenza]

Brewing beer

The Good Eats recipe calls for sterlized Grolsch bottles--the ones with the swing-stopper thing.

[Reed John]

Brewing beer

That would be the simplest way to do it if you are keen on Grolsch and bought a whole lot of it.

[San Bernardhinault]

Brewing beer

I used to do it as a way of getting cheap booze as a student. The beer's not that bad, although it takes a bottle or two to get used to it.

I advise not putting all of the yeast at the end of the brewing process into a plastic bottle, topping up with sugat, sealing it, and putting it in a warm place.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Brewing beer

I used to do this quite a lot. You've essentially three options:

1. Do it from scratch (a lot of effort)
2. Use malt extract and hops
3. Use beer kits

The quality of the finished product is also in that order.

I'd seriously advise getting a pressure keg. Washing and sterilising forty bottles isn't much fun. Options 1 & 2 also require a very large pan.

[goldstone97]

Brewing beer

I think I'm going to get a beer kit to start with, see how I find it, and then progress from there. This one has good reviews on Amazon and seems very simple for a beginner.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Brewing beer

Seriously though -- do you really want to wash and sterilise all those bottles?

[goldstone97]

Brewing beer

Well, of course not, but I'd rather not invest in an alternative until I've tried making at least one or two batches to see if I enjoy the process. I can handle it a couple of times, at least.

[Cavalry Trouser Tips]

Brewing beer

I wish I could find a picture of The Emlyn Hughes Home Brewing Guide on cassette tape.

[Reed John]

Brewing beer

I washed and sterilized the bottles in the bathtub.

[Gambrinus]

Brewing beer

Done it a couple of times from kits. In all honesty, making it was more fun than drinking it. It's something I would like to try seriously though at some point.

Every couple of years, my father makes himself ill on home-made "wine". Don't do this.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Brewing beer

[EIM]

Brewing beer

As soon as one opens the bottle it shoots out all over the kitchen. It also tastes a bit off.

Sounds like Becks to me.

My mates made a load of homebrew at uni. Crates of the stuff. It was fucking horrible.

[Wyatt Earp]

Brewing beer

It must be possible to do this well, but I don't know of any examples. At all.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Brewing beer

It's like I said – if you're prepared to malt your own barley, buy fresh hops and suchlike, the results will be reflected in your beer.

Beer made from kits can be just about acceptable, but nothing better than that.

(The website where I lifted the cassette cover also features a transcript of the aforementioned Homebrewing Made Easy.

[Mumpo]

Brewing beer

Surely Emlyn Hughes' voice is too high-pitched to register on magnetic tape?

[Eggchaser]

Brewing beer

I like the way it's re-recordable. Presumably you could have recorded the sound of your vomiting up home made poison and sent it to Emyln.

[Pinback]

Brewing beer

I used to brew beer and wine from kits, and I can testify that it was all quite horrible apart from one batch of red wine that took nearly two years to ferment after a particularly cold winter.

Particularly vile were some dried beer kits that you used to be able to get in Woolworths.

I was looking for a link, but all I found was this treasure trove.

[hobbes]

Brewing beer

My dad used to brew his own beer and make Blackberry wine too. I can't vouch for the quality - it all looked fairly rank to me, but it kept him happy.
Not so my mother when the demi-johns filled the airing cupboard.