Anyone here do any home-brewing? I have a couple of friends who have been doing some, so I tagged along. I can see this being something I will enjoy. Another one of those things though, that can be cheap, or it can get very expensive. If you homebrew, are you doing kits, or all grain? Are you bottling or kegging? Any pointers for a guy starting out?
Sterilisation is key to everything. If in doubt, sterilise it. Also generally speaking the longer you leave it, the better it is.
I'm not exactly a pro at homebrew, but I have made a quite successful batch of Hefeweizen and have read up on the subject quite a bit. First, I would look around and see if you have a good homebrew supply nearby. Usually the shops are run by hobbyists who took the next step and are happy to help you learn (and usually will share some samples with you.) You can use a commercial kit, but honestly, it's pretty easy to get everything you need from a good supplier. A local shop or one of the online specialty supply places may have their own kit that will include all of the proper equipment without the commercialized bs. I'd avoid using a recipe kit though, that just takes a lot of the fun out of it. I would suggest going with a partial grain (malt extract) ale for your first attempt. You need additional equipment to make full grain (lauter tun and the like) and a dedicated refrigerator to make a lager. I can recommend a couple of books: Brewing Quality Beers by Byron Burch - This book is cheap and great for beginners. It's the book I started with. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charles Papazian - This book is the uncontested bible of homebrewing. A little weak on partial grain though. And I agree absolutely with hunnymonster. Cleanliness and sterilization are everything!
Honestly, I know I cannot match the experience of those who came before me, and made fortunes doing so. Give me a Molson, and feed me to the lesbians.
To actually answer the original questions, though: It can be done cheap or expensive. If you get into full grain lagers you need more equipment. You can rig up some of that stuff cheaply, but some people spend enormous sums on crazy equipment. I'd love to do some kegging, but kegs and CO2 systems are fairly expensive. A slightly cheaper method is to use soda kegs or a party pig. Bottles can be expensive too, if you actually buy new ones. The best way is to save bottles whenever you drink a beer that comes in a suitable bottle. (suitable meaning no screw off caps, brown bottles are preferred)
When I was starting out on the brewing road as a poor student about 20 years ago, I actually used 1 litre PET soda bottles - they have the advantage that they tend not to explode if you inadvertently overprime the bottles...
I've brewed on and off for the last 15 years or so. Yes, it can be cheap or expensive. I do partial extract brews. That is, I make a "tea" of cracked grains and then add the liquid extract and hops to that for my one-hour boil. I just started kegging when a friend got rid of his kegging equipment and I was the beneficiary! Bottling is too much work for me.
Thanks for the advice and info guys! I have my first batch in secondary fermentation now. I did a IPA kit like this that had malt extract, and pellet hops. My friend has a lot of the equipment and is extremely helpful, so that has been a great way to start. I should be bottling now, but I am seriously considering building some sort of kegerator, just because I think it would be easier. My friend is using the soda kegs, and it seems to work well. Unfortunately they don't fit in my old dorm fridge, so I'll have to find something else. I agree Jason, I can buy beer from people with more experience, and it will probably taste better, and won't cost much more, if at all, but I really enjoyed brewing with some friends. I get hooked on hobbies easily.
You're buying from a massive concern that like most modern corporations is run by accountants - a bottle of Molson today bears little resemblance to a bottle as it was originally produced (one of the often overlooked items is the water - it has a big effect on the beer, but the accountants will shift production from the original area to the other side of the country/world without a thought for the output) - even in the last 20 years since I've been drinking beer I've noticed that it's changed and not necessarily for the better. Brewing your own you have the ultimate control - I like a very well-hopped old-fashioned IPA - there isn't one that fits my personal taste on the market, so I brew my own. I still buy some, but mostly I drink my own.
I normally buy craft beer (~$8 / 6pack). However, buying ingredients in bulk (hops & grain) and brew all grain batches of beer I can brew a 5 or 10 gallon batch of beer and have it come out close to commercial quality (not every time...) for about $20 for an average strength average hopped beer. I have been brewing for just about 2 years and got into it really heavy right away. I also have to agree that brewing can be as frugal or expensive as any hobby... It all depends on how much you want to invest. I would certainly agree that if you are generally buying macro brewed light laters (Bud Light, Miller, etc etc) you cannot save money by and large. However, I thoroughly enjoy the brewing process and the outcome is nice too. An awesome resource for any up and coming homebrewer is, in my opinion, homebrewtalk.com ... This site has helped me to meet brewers in my area and helped learn great brewing practices.
I would like to do all grain sometime, but I don't think I am ready to jump in to that yet. I did talk to a friend earlier this week that is getting a new refrigerator, and offered me his old one, so I will be building a kegerator and kegging my brew, and maybe some DIY soda. I guess I am going to be asking for kegerator parts for Christmas this year. That and brew kits.
My friend homebrews. We just had a brew session a few weeks back. He made up a batch of "Pliny the Elder" which was quite nice.
I started brewing in 1985. In 1991 I started brewing commercially. in 2005 I quite brewing. I couldn't make any money doing it. I keep wanting to start homebrewing, but it kinda feels like work now. I figured out how much beer I have brewed in my lifetime. It comes out to approximately 4,375,000 pints of beer not including homebrewing. Of course I brewed 217, 435 and 620 gallon batches, but it was really good. I wrote the recipes as well.
I used to do a fair amount of it.. As others have said, sterilization is everything, and is sometimes easier said than done. But, I produced some great Ales that were very enjoyable.. It can also be a bit messy, at least the way I did it, and I had to pay a price in negative comments from my wife whenever a batch was brewed. On the positive side, there is absolutely nothing that can compare to a full carboy bubbling happily away in a cool place.. The magic of yeast at work! Unfortunately, home brew can be considered "liquid bread," and it just put too much weight on me to continue..
Wow, that is cool. What was the name of your brewery? Sorry that homebrewing lost its fun for you. Eek. I hadn't thought of that aspect...
Helped open up the Oasis in Boulder. Unfortunately close to the end most of the good brewers left and the owner did som bad buisness decisions. Worked at the Rock Bottom in Denver for a bit, Baja Brewing company in San Diego also now defunkt, Harpers in East Lansing Michigan, but hated Michigan and the owners were asses, last brewery was Ironworks a very small place just outside of denver, but could not make enough money so I quit. Ironworks is where my user name comes from.
Hey Rodd, I'm a bit late to this thread, but looks like you've got some great advice. Your friend who has been brewing is probably your best resource, and can maybe save you from some of the mistakes that he made. If you have a local home brew supply shop, they are typically very helpful, unfortunately you occasionally get one that is clueless. Also, just like this site is great for shaving; http://www.homebrewtalk.com is my favorite for brewing. As for all grain, I started brewing in 1980, all I did for years was extracts, now all grain is what I do 95% of the time, but occasionally i'll whip out a batch of extract; you can make great beers either way. You have years to accumulate brewing hardware,,,,,,, seems to take a little longer than collecting razors and brushes As for kegging, it is my primary method of storage/serving, and soooo much easier than bottling (the father-in-law loves to come over and poor a draft of home brew). I will bottle certain beers,,,,,, I currently have a breakfast stout in the bottle, German Altbier in the keg, and will keg Bohemian Pilsner after Christmas. Probably brew a pale ale in January that will be headed to a keg. Dropped in a photo of my electric hot liquor tank and mashtun Good luck on your first batch, if you ever get to my part of the state, i'll let you sample,,,,,,,,,, if I haven't drank it all -Moe
Wow Moe, I missed this when you posted it. Sweet looking setup you have there! I have finished a couple batches now, and have a couple more fermenting. I have been really happy with the results. I said earlier that the first was an IPA, it turned out pretty good. I enjoyed it. Friday I tapped a Malted Cider that I found a recipe for at homebrewtalk. I am really enjoying that. It is really fun, I just wish I had more time for brewing. I did end up building a kegerator, but after seeing the energy ratings for a 1987 refrigerator, I decided to do it with a new chest freezer. Still needs a little work, but it is pouring cold beer, cider, and Diet Coke.
