Beer Brewing Thread

CHEMIKER

CHEMIKER

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Any other brewers out there? I started in January and I'm hooked! I got an entire setup from a friend who used to brew and needed to clear up space in his garage. Score :rockon:

Here's my setup:

brewing_1.jpg


It's a converted keg, so I can brew up to 10 gal at a time. What you see is the kettle, my mash tun (red cooler), and a catch bucket for the wort. It's obviously an all-grain setup.

The good stuff from which sweet sweet beer is made; malted barley

brewing_4.jpg


The mash

brewing_9.jpg


Collecting the sweet wort

brewing_8.jpg


The boil, where proteins are coagulated and hop bitterness/flavor/aroma are added

brewing_10.jpg


After the boil, the wort is pitched into a sanitized fermenter with yeast, and put in a temperature controlled chamber to do its thing. (This is where it comes alive!)

brewing_12.jpg


After fermentation, the beer is moved to another container to let residual yeast and solids settle out.

brewing_15.jpg


I found bottling very time consuming, especially at the rate at which I drink beer! Kegging is much more convenient.

brewing_14.jpg


Anyone else here brew? What's your setup? What do you brew?
 
I have brewed a porter, belgian double, and pale ale. Right now I have a helles bock fermenting, and am planning a strong wheat ale for next week.

What's your favorite?
 
Wolfman said:
Wow, that's a fairly involved process....

How's the Beer taste?
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I don't know if it's because I'm a chemist and am used to involved experiments or what, but it doesn't seem too bad. Also, once you get the basics down it's pretty straightforward. I do most of the work before brew day - recipe development, setup, and ingredient prep.

The beer is gooooooood. And about 1/4 the price in the store.
 
Doesn't the mash smell great! I started drooling when I saw the mash tun opened.

Long time homebrewer here, almost 20 years now.

If you don't have it already, get "Brewing Classic Styles" and join a local homebrew club and you'll have a great time.

Cheers:iconbeer:
 
I don't brew myself, but a NYC roommate I had at Iowa State did, and he didn't have near the fancy setup you do.
The head on his homebrew was so thick you could stand a cigarette in it, and it wouldn't tip over! Tasty, but you could only drink one... :surrender:
 
i used to brew, but then everything i made ended up turning bad.. so i sold off all my stuff.. +1 on kegging... makes things much simpler..
 
Travis has been kind enough to send me some bottles of his efforts, a nice Pale Ale and a rich Porter. The Pale had a nice citrus overtone, well balanced and not over-hopped. The Porter was even better, roasted malt hitting you in the mouth with a nice silky flow.

He knows his beer and would be willing to drink it anytime I can get hold of some! Thanks again, Travis!!
 
Lefty said:
I'm a sucker for a good porter.

:rockon:
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Next time we meet for lunch, I'll bring a couple.

chuckfz6ryder said:
Doesn't the mash smell great! I started drooling when I saw the mash tun opened.

Long time homebrewer here, almost 20 years now.

If you don't have it already, get "Brewing Classic Styles" and join a local homebrew club and you'll have a great time.

Cheers:iconbeer:
Click to expand...

That mash does smell heavenly. I have read Joy of Homebrewing, and plan to get the Palmer book. Additionally, Brad Smith of Brewsmith software fame is releasing a book soon that I'm excited about. I like Palmer and Smith because they're scientists too.

viviifz6 said:
I have always wanted to try, but dont know how to start for cheap...
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Get the Joy of Homebrewing book. Papazian starts off with very simple setups with minimal upfront costs, and it's a great primer for brewing. You should try it - it's awesome!
 
Cali rider said:
Travis has been kind enough to send me some bottles of his efforts, a nice Pale Ale and a rich Porter. The Pale had a nice citrus overtone, well balanced and not over-hopped. The Porter was even better, roasted malt hitting you in the mouth with a nice silky flow.

He knows his beer and would be willing to drink it anytime I can get hold of some! Thanks again, Travis!!
Click to expand...

Thanks John, glad you enjoyed them! You're welcome over any time to try out what I have on tap!
 
Hey CHEMIKER, thanks for posting the brewing process pictures, I guess I may be able to have some small set up on my apartment, I will love to make my own beer. Me and my wife think during the week on what to cook on the weekend, most of the time we do a whole meal, some soup/salad, main dish and dessert, of curse we always try new beer/wine.
I will do some more research and hopefully I'll have my first HOSHIKOWEISE :ban:for next year.
 
Hoshiko said:
Hey CHEMIKER, thanks for posting the brewing process pictures, I guess I may be able to have some small set up on my apartment, I will love to make my own beer. Me and my wife think during the week on what to cook on the weekend, most of the time we do a whole meal, some soup/salad, main dish and dessert, of curse we always try new beer/wine.
I will do some more research and hopefully I'll have my first HOSHIKOWEISE :ban:for next year.
Click to expand...

There are lots of people who brew in apartments. The space isn't as much of an issue, as you can have a pretty small setup. The bigger worry is the smells that may offend your wife/neighbor. I like the smell of brewing, but some don't. Only one way to find out!

I recommend borrowing or buying a copy of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. The first section is dedicated to starting out and has a setup that is very compact and requires little upfront investment, in addition to very simple easy to do recipes. Highly recommended for anyone looking to get into it. You can also join a forum. I love homebrewtalk.com, like this forum they have a wealth of info for all levels.

Good luck!
 
I've never brewed myself,but i'm a HUGE fan of the craft,and I sample Mr. Michelobs work on a daily basis!!! :BLAA: :rockon: :rockon: Awesome Hobby you got there!!! wish I was close enough to sample your work!! :iconbeer:
 
I just got a nice surprise in the mail, I guess I won 3rd place in a brewing competition with a belgian dubbel. The contest happened in August and since I didn't hear anything, I figured I didn't place. Since this is my first year brewing, I wasn't expecting anything anyway, just wanted the judging cards. This was a nice surprise.

Got a nice Sam Adams hat, keychain, and a certificate for free yeast. Woot!
 
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