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I couldn't find a thread on this so if I missed it please delete. I got a fairly inexpensive home brewing kit for christmas. See the link below for info. I, actually my WIFE<------(keeper) and I are looking for some good beer recipes to try. Any thoughts on this and the kit itself?
http://www.mrbeer.com/
Kyobanim
12-26-2011, 09:08
Send Brewmonkey a PM. I think he still pops in from time to time.
I couldn't find a thread on this so if I missed it please delete. I got a fairly inexpensive home brewing kit for christmas. See the link below for info. I, actually my WIFE<------(keeper) and I are looking for some good beer recipes to try. Any thoughts on this and the kit itself?
http://www.mrbeer.com/
Congrats on starting an addictive hobby! My wife bought me a brew set a few years ago and it may be one of the best gifts she ever gave me (children not withstanding). You should be able to take the 5 gal. recipes and reduce them (i.e. use 40% of the ingredients) for Mr. Beer recipes. If your fermenter holds 2.5 gal. then reduce by half. Below are a few sites that I found that may be of use. Google any type of beer that you like (e.g., arrogant bastard clone) and look for the extract recipe. There are a ton of home brew sites out there, and many of them can answer any brewing question you may have.
http://www.bodensatz.com/staticpages/index.php?page=mrbeer
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/converting-5-gallon-recipes-2-gallon-96699/
The BeerSmith (http://www.beersmith.com/) program is pretty good program that will reduce recipes to your specifications, plus it is a good way to keep track of what recipes you have used. Also, get a composition book and keep detailed notes of each brewing event, that way if something goes wrong (or turns out really well) you can track back to what you may have done to cause the result. Charlie Papazian has some good books on the brewing process if you are so inclined.
Ambush Master
12-27-2011, 10:24
Until Air.177 was born, I had a hell of a Brewery in our "Second" Bathroom/Bedroom. At any given time, I had 20-30 cases ready to serve and 30-60 gallons "in work"!!
Cleanliness, or actually the lack thereof, is your worst enemy. I used to soak all of my bottles in a bathtub with Clorox water. This was after washing if they needed it. Rinse and let air dry for a day or so (This goes for ALL of the equipment that comes in contact with the Fermenting Liquid.). Clorox will tell you, with your nose, if it's still present. Always boil for a couple of minutes at least anything that you are going to add to the fermenter. If you get a good hydrometer and use it religiously, you'll never blow a bottle up!!
If you have any "Homebrew" shops in your area, they usually have the extracts in bulk (like 55 gal drums) and also, if they're really a good shop, some samples that they've brewed with different hops etc.!! If you can find it, Corn Sugar works WAY better than commercial sugars and disolves much easier.
Another little known hint, any "sparkling wine" bottle that has a "caged cork" will usually accept a standard Bottle Cap!! (Most "Mexican" Restaurants throw their empty bottles away and the Mexican Beers do not have twist-off caps, good cheap bottle source.) The only thing, have a pitcher chilled to pour it into, because with most homebrews, once you start pouring, don't stop until the bottle is almost empty. If you do stop, the sediment will become stirred up into the remaing beverage. I like it, but some find it's taste offensive. There is a trick using Knox Gelatin to bind the sediment, but you need to get the basics down before you try to step into that world!!
Good Luck!!
Martin
Good Luck!!
Cake_14N
01-03-2012, 10:53
Austin Homebrew is a great mail order shop. They allowed me to order about $800 worth of equipment while I was deployed, held it at their warehouse for 6 months and drop-shipped it to me when I returned from the deployment, and they even gave me a better discount than the advertised sale and included about a hundred bucks of free stuff just to thank me for my service.
Kegconnection.com for your kegging supplies. I bought a chest freezer and a temp controller. Now all I fill is one single 5 gallon keg instead of 56 bottles. I brew about every 6 to 8 weeks and keep a variety on tap.
StarSan is a good solution to use to keep all the nasties dead. In the past 5 years I have had to dump 2 batches. One because I was using iodine and didn't rinse well enough, and the second because I had grain caught in the post of my keg and contaminated the batch.
I jumped into brewing at the all-grain stage and have never looked back. It was expensive to start, but I think it was worth it. It is always cool to make beer to share.
PM me if you want more info and I will be glad to share.
Anybody traveling through Albuquerque is always welcome to stop by and sample a pint or three.
Cake
Streck-Fu
01-03-2012, 11:25
If you enjoy the process and the product you create, you will quickly move beyond the kit.
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Harperresource-Book/dp/0060531053/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325611080&sr=1-1) is a must own for any potential brewer. It will answer most newbie questions and give you some great recipes to start with.
I also have Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide (http://www.amazon.com/Dave-Millers-Homebrewing-Guide-Great-Tasting/dp/0882669052/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325611080&sr=1-9) which is a great companion to Charlie's book with lots of recipes that get more advanced.
Find a local homebrew supplier and see if they offer any classes. Usually they do and it is well worth it when starting out. Also, they will sell kits with all the ingredients you need for a brewing various styles of beer.
I still use kits with Malt extracts as the basis of beers but create recipes with various additives like grains, oats, and different hops combinations.
Most homebrewing kits start you off with a large pot on the stove usually brewing about 3 gallons of wort and then topping off to 5 gallons with water. I find that using a turkey frier is perfect for creating a full 5 gallon batch of wort. It's a much better product that doesn't require going to full mash.
Good luck and have fun!
Thanks for all the help guys. Streck and Cake, I'll prolly be hitting you up in the near future for some advice. My first batch is brewing as I type. Bottling this weekend and then letting it condition while I attend a short course at Bragg. I'll post the outcome.
Side note: It's the Mr. Beer west coast pale ale. (came with the kit so we'll see)
Just google eer brewing.. you will find a ton of site... Northern Brewing Co to many others.
Buying a kit.. Go cheap first off.. Say $150.00 will cover everything. I like a Turkey cooker to "cook" my beer on. My wife doesn't really like the way the house smells after a day of brewing. It will stay in the house for about 2 days.
Your Basic Starter Kit will run around $80.00 with teh turkey cooker $55.00. But you can cook right on your stove to save money with starting out.
I like Glass carboy over fermenting bucket. But cheap will take you with plastic fermenting bucket.
Lastly if you get a glass carboy KEEP the box it comes in!!! You will like having it around to cover to beer while it is Fermenting.
Beer brews.. I like using Malt Extract.. they are simple and easyer IMHO. When you go with Extract Kit they are "cleaner beers" than working with a Grain. Grains give you more cloudy beer and teast. Once you like it and get good with brewing.. Say 4 to 6 brews. You can start looking at Specialty Grains and IPAs. All easy, but your first beers (Brews) stay with blonds (BUD style) and basic Brown Extract.
Lastly look on Youtube.. a ton of videos on homebrews!!!
If you have the tax money.. and you and wifey like brewing. Look into Kegging!! You can brew and drink beer faster than running down to the local quicky mart!! If you bottle beer you look at 30 day or more before you can drink them!!
Go luck.. if you first brew is shit.. brew a new one. I started out with a Mr. Beer kit... They suck, but it is a start. Drink beer while brewing too and then brew some more!!
So after roughly a month or so, my West Coast Pale Ale is complete. Tried my first bottle after it conditioned two weeks in the fridge and I have to say it is pretty good. I may have found a new hobby to keep me occupied during CAQC.....along with learning Pasto.
Dragbag036
02-05-2012, 11:25
Decided to post here now. I have been brewing for almost a year now. I picked up the hobby from a buddy of mine who was using it while studying chemistry. I never started with a kit like the one you suggested in the beginning. I went for a box kit with all the ingredients and the Home brew kit that comes with the pots and carboys and the like. Now I am doing recipes with no DME. it has become such a hobby that my cul-de-sac has its own brew club. We are even considering how to make a profit from it. Today I am making a Bavarian Chocolate that should take me about 6 hours. I have even started making my own labels for the brews. Another good site is http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/MarylandHomeBrewInc/StoreFront.bok Plenty of magazines offer ways to make homemade brew systems from even an old ice chest.
DB
West Coast Pale Ale was surprisingly good. Now working on a Honey Citrus Red Ale and then a blueberry wheat for the wife. Pictures will follow this time...
Divemaster
03-03-2012, 15:19
DB,
Those labels rock! Please cover in detail how you did that. Do you have any pics of them on bottles? Nicely done, indeed.
Dragbag036
03-04-2012, 00:05
DB,
Those labels rock! Please cover in detail how you did that. Do you have any pics of them on bottles? Nicely done, indeed.
http://www.myownlabels.com/beer/
http://www.beerlabelizer.com/
Very simple really. Follow the first site, this is where I do mine, but I started with the second site. It is free as opposed to paying. Also of a pic of my neighbors garage brew setup>
Not a good photo, but it's a Citrus Honey English Brown Ale. Next up is the wife's Blueberry Canadian Draft.