IPA and Blonde

[RobertBrown]

I don't know why home brew would be a health risk

What is this contamination you speak of?
Seems to me that fermintation is an incubator. The wrong bacteria should enter the mix and things could get toxic.
I really don't know. I did notice that one of the chapters mention fish bladders to mellow the taste. I imediatly thought of botulism.
I have no idea why. Perhaps I missed the sterilization process?

 

[RobertN]

Never heard of a "bad" batch that was that bad. Usually, they just foam, or taste bad. I had one that was funky. Tasted great, but started foaming as soon as popped the cap. Was something in the fermentation.

What is this contamination you speak of?
Seems to me that fermintation is an incubator. The wrong bacteria should enter the mix and things could get toxic.
I really don't know. I did notice that one of the chapters mention fish bladders to mellow the taste. I imediatly thought of botulism.
I have no idea why. Perhaps I missed the sterilization process?

 

[RobertBrown]

Never heard of a "bad" batch that was that bad. Usually, they just foam, or taste bad. I had one that was funky. Tasted great, but started foaming as soon as popped the cap. Was something in the fermentation.

When things do go awry, is it usually apparent why? How much are you throwing away (in terms of cash) when a batch goes bad? What is the optimum temperature for this fermentation process?
What are the start up costs?
You mentioned 10 gallons, that is 80 pints.....are you going to wind up with 80 pints? (In time for the superbowl, hopefully the 9ers will win this weekend eh? That's my pick anyway).

 

[RobertN]

I have only had one batch go bad years ago. As I mentioned, it tasted good, but foamed after opening the bottle. Thru brew books, tracked it to the fermenter did not get cleaned well enough. The other folks I know of that had sour batches, were either foamy, or just tasted/smelled bad.

My batch years back was 5 gallons; at the time is was about $20

The optimum temperature is highly variable; it depends on the strain of yeast, the beer style and type. Most ales like around 65-70F. That is one reason they are popular; pretty much anyone can ferment at that temperature without fancy equipment. Lagers and Pilsners like fermentation in much colder; that is Lagering, to hold the beer at a cold temp.

For a beginner, cooking on the stovetop(that is how I started, as do most others), you would want a 20qt stock pot. Most people have one, and they are inexpensive if not.

- large (20qt) stock pot
- 2-1/2 cases 12oz bottles
- ingredients for 5 gallon batch
- Fermenting and bottling "kit"(fermenting bucket, lid, airlock, siphon hoses, bottle capper)

Ingredients for a 5 gallon batch run $25-35 nowdays. A fermenting and bottling "kit" can be put together from pieces or a kit, for $50-75 from most brew stores.

What I recommend, is hooking up with someone who brews, and sharing. This last weekend, my buddy had not brewed before. I have everything to brew 20 gallons. We split the cost, brewed 20 gallons. He just had to round up a bunch of bottles; free from friends etc. So his investment to try this out, was just the cost of ingredients($54 dollars each in this case). So for no investment, in this case he gets 5 cases of beer for $54, that he made himself.

The setup I use now is much fancier and expensive than stovetop, but I still use some of my original equipment; the system evolved over time.

When things do go awry, is it usually apparent why? How much are you throwing away (in terms of cash) when a batch goes bad? What is the optimum temperature for this fermentation process?
What are the start up costs?
You mentioned 10 gallons, that is 80 pints.....are you going to wind up with 80 pints? (In time for the superbowl, hopefully the 9ers will win this weekend eh? That's my pick anyway).

 

[dmccarty]

When things do go awry, is it usually apparent why? How much are you throwing away (in terms of cash) when a batch goes bad? What is the optimum temperature for this fermentation process?
What are the start up costs?
You mentioned 10 gallons, that is 80 pints.....are you going to wind up with 80 pints? (In time for the superbowl, hopefully the 9ers will win this weekend eh? That's my pick anyway).

Keeping things sanitized is important so a batch does not get ruined but it is really easy. There are food safe sanitizers sold in the brew stores that are easy to use. I keep some of my brewing equipment submerged in a container of sanitizer. We now keep a spray bottle of the sanitizer for everyday use in the kitchen. When brewing you just spray the equipment, like the fermenting bucket and you are good to go.

My biggest expense in starting up brewing was bottles. :shocked: I ended up buying 22 ounce bottles because they take up less space and you don't have to fill as many compared to a 12 ounce bottles. I ended up buying a boxed kit to make sure that I had everything I needed which included a five gallon glass carboy that I don't think I will ever use. That kit was $75-90 I think. I am brewing from kits that are somewhere around $30-50 depending on the beer style. These brew five gallons. Prices have gone up because of the increase in grain prices.

RobertN has a good list of what one needs to start. I would add a bottle filling bucket and bottle filling tube. The tube makes it easier to fill the bottles.

If you can't find another home brew, well, even if you can, watch home brew video's on YouTube.

Later,
Dan

 

[RobertN]

I guess I would relate making beer on the stovetop to making a good soup. Boil a couple gallons of water, with additions of onion, garlic, potatoes etc over a period of an hour. Only difference is, beer is allowed to cool, is placed in a container, and yeast is added.

It really is very simple in the beginning to intermediate stages.

Some of the kits can go to the $50 range. I seldom use kits though; mostly recipes from Pappazian or some I have made up. Just like any other cookbook recipes, there are tons of beer recipes out there.

 

[Biggreenavalanche]

For what it's worth the Mr. Beer kits actually make a pretty good tasting brew...you can buy them at Wal-Mart, Bed Bath and Beyond, or order on line at Mr. Beer . com...I've been making wine for years and the process between the two is very similar...Mr. Beer kits are a good way to get introduced to the art of handcrafting beer...and, you end up with with what you put in, ie...no artificial goop, just the grain, hops, (maybe sugar) and water...about two gallons of finished product, fresh and very tasty ! I will eventually round up the equipment to brew beer totally from scratch, like I currently brew wine...would love to be able to distill, however with the current laws I'm not willing to risk a 10 federal felony over a tumbler of distilled spirits !!

Just my :2cents:

Rich

 

[RobertBrown]

Sounds like the biggest expense would be the extra refrigerator to store the beer in after it is brewed. I'm thinking it needs refrigeration....
I spend 10$ a bottle for my favorite beer (I think it's 750ml). I don't mind spending money on it if it taste good and I enjoy it.
It seems that maintaining the proper temerature here is only feasible during the winter months and even then the range might vary too much as we have seen 85 degree days this January already (very unusual).
Since people have been making beer or somthing similar for about 5 thousand years....how hard can it be?...and now that I know I can't poison myself.....I just might give it a shot, maybe I'll become the next Jim koch...without the start up capitol.
I have often thought about brewing beer but never really did enough research. I'm the type to learn everything, work out every last detail..... before I start.
I memorized the budweiser can not long after I was old enough to drink legally, so I know about the "exculsive beechwood aging process...." "produces a taste, a smoothness, and a drinkability you will find in no other beer at any price"

I also remember that Anhauser Busch used rice to make the beer.
Ever use rice in the wort?

 

[RobertN]

There are tricks to keeping the unfinished beer warm or cool as necessary, without a lot of expense. For instance, if it is cool, wrap a sleeping bag around it. If it is hot, place it in a tub of water a couple inches deep, put a tshirt over it, and let the tshirt bottom go in the water(evap cooling). Not exact, but cheaper than a modified fridge or freezer...

Budweiser is a rice beer; rice and it's sugars are cheaper than barley. Coors is a corn beer; corn and its sugars are cheaper than barley...

Have to be careful using rice or corn sugar; it can lend a "cidery" flavor.

 

[RobertBrown]

At what point do you add the hops?