Beer Brewing: For the sake of science?

[FleetingSmoke]

I am a fan of culinary sciences! There is insanity and then there is the idea of homebrewing beer.

While out shopping for dinner ingredients I decide to stop by my local brew house, Dry Dock Brewing South Dock. Next door they have a brew supply store called The Brew Hut. I wandered for a bit and stopped at their bookshelf. I picked up two books and started reading last night.

How To Brew by John. J. Palmer
Simple Homebrewing by Drew Beechum and Denny Conn

I am really excited as I think that learning the science of beer will allow me appreciate the taste of beer even more. Additionally, I think that it would be fun to create a whole meal surrounding cooking at home, offering everything from libations to fresh food. How many of my new Pit friends are doing the same thing?

[jfmorris]

I've been brewing beer (all grain) for many years, along with a few ventures into cider and mead. It's another creative outlet, just like BBQ and cooking in general, and I know quite a few here that are into both.

The Palmer book "How to Brew" is good. I've actually emailed with John Palmer and have friends who have met him - he is a really nice guy.

Another favorite book I keep on my shelf is "Brewing Classic Styles" by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer. It has recipes (both extract and all grain) for award winning beers in each of 80 styles. I've yet to brew a bad beer using the recipes in that book, and it gives you a nice little discussion of each style as well. What I *don't* like is that the BCJP has changed the style guidelines radically since 2008, and done away with some styles, and combined others, and made a mess of things. So some styles in that book may no longer be listed in the latest BJCP style guideline.

Sadly I have 4 taps in the garage, and only one beer on tap at the moment, due to lack of time to brew this summer. The beer on tap is my attempt at a Fat Tire clone, just because that is what a couple of my kids asked for.

[WayneT]

That’s pretty hard core and I really admire you guys who are into home brewing. I’m afraid this ol’ dog isn’t going to learn that new trick. I’ll accept tasting invitations though.

[radiodome21]

I too have been brewing beer for about 10 years. I do BIAB (Brew in a bag) and make 1-2 brews a year. I made my last beer the day after thanksgiving. It was a Belgian Blonde and it turned out about 9%. It’s very good but not something I can drink a lot in one sitting. Plus my wife doesn’t like it. I’ve been brewing mostly IPAs and pale ales over the years. I’ve never done any lagers because I lack the proper equipment. I bottled my first batch and hated that process so much I bought a kegerator and kegs and haven’t looked back on that purchase. I also use Brewsmith brewing software on my MacBook which is very helpful. I do like to do stouts and porters in the fall for Christmas. I’m going to do another batch soon because I spent some money lossy year on some Spike Home brew equipment which was not cheap. But very much worth it. The main reason why I haven’t done too much as of late is it’s a timely process. But it’s very rewarding.

[jfmorris]

Haha. Wife doesn't like it is the story of my life! I've made exactly TWO beers over the years she liked. One was a blueberry hefeweizen, and the other was a strawberry berlinerweisse. Other than that, she will just keep on drinking her Bud Light, while I drink my craft or home brew...

[FleetingSmoke]

My work schedule allows me to take my time currently. I guess I will need to get my first batch of yeast going in the next few days.

[jfmorris]

You know that old saying "Cleanliness is next to Godliness"? Well, that is probably the single most important advice I can offer to you starting out.

Sanitization. Starsan is your friend.

No one likes to spend a couple days waiting on a yeast starter, 5 hours brewing and cleaning up, two weeks fermenting, to find that they have a badly contaminated mess that has to be poured down the driveway. And keep it up until its in the bottle or keg.

[jfmorris]

In a normal year I would probably brew once a month, maybe 12 to 14 batches a year some years, either 5 gallon or 10 gallon batches. Since 2020 my brewing really tapered off, as we dealt with various health issues. And just less beer being consumed. Now that we are both healthy, this year I had a home renovation project keeping me strapped for time, but all that is pretty much over now, thank goodness. Maybe I can fill some kegs finally! I doubt I will get back to brewing as much as I used to, and I use it mostly as an opportunity to hang out with my son or son in law for 5 hours while we brew and eat some ribs I put on earlier in the day.

[WillTravelForFood]

Allegedly there's a CO2 shortage affecting beer makers, according to this morning's news. Prices going up!

[jfmorris]

Don't get me started on CO2. What is ridiculous is how that price has increased over the past 10 years, due to tacking on of a bunch of hazmat fees onto cylinders of a gas we all exhale with every breath. Even the yeast I brew with exhale (excrete) CO2!

[Sid P]

So one possible solution to ozone depletion is for more beer to be brewed? Come on ya’ll, we can do this!

[SmokeyGator]

Don't need CO2 unless you are kegging. If you are bottling just add 1/2 cup corn sugar per 5 gallons of beer then do not filter anything. The added sugar becomes yeast food and the capped bottles carbonate themselves.

[Murdy]

Maybe this will help:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/941071/pabst-blue-ribbon-clone

[jfmorris]

Haha. That is SUCH a light beer. Under 4%. One thing is sure, I could make a LOT more beer with the ingredients I already have on hand with recipes like this, as it is about half of the fermentables of most regular recipes I would brew.

[SmokeyGator]

It isn't hard. I did it. Kegging is easier than bottling, but also requires more crap (keg refrigerator, CO2 bottle, CO2 regulator, beer tap, frozen mugs). McDonalds was kind enough to donate 5 gallon soda kegs to me, I was at the drive through window and I watched employees cart empties out to the dumpster. I went back well after closing time and simply helped the store out by taking them, so they did not have to pay for disposal. Because I am ALWAYS there to help!!!

If you plan to bottle, that is not hard. Just need enough bottles for 5 gallons (a rather standard home brew amount), a bottle capping machine (get the bench model, the hand operated ones work but SUCK), bottle caps, and tri sodium phosphate (TSP) to sterilize the bottles.

STOP buying twist offs. Save your empties. It will not take long.

[mgaretz]

I will second that John Palmer is a nice guy. He was a customer of mine (when I owned HopTech) before he started writing.

While there is some science involved in brewing beer, mostly it is cooking (making recipes and selecting ingredients).

[DaveD]

Mark! I wondered if that was you from HopTech. I was a regular back on the old original Homebrew Digest from the early 90s, ordered hops from HopTech a couple of times.

[mgaretz]

Yep that's me. HopTech changed hands three times and is sadly now gone.

[58limited]

I've been brewing since 1995, drinking a Belgian Wit now while I type. I also make meads and I have won two gold medals at the Mazer Cup, the International Mead Festival. Home brewing is a way to get good beer at a good price but you can tweak and develop recipes just like with cooking food.

Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff has numerous great recipes. Jamil started home brewing in 1999 and went on to basically win every major brewing contest in the U.S. I have his Chocolate Hazelnut Porter recipe on tap, it is probably one of the best beers I've ever made (or ever had).

All grain is the preferred brewing method and is the way that commercial beer is made but it takes awhile and the equipment takes up space. Due to space and time issues I brew extract with specialty grains and I use only plastic fermentation buckets, no glass carboys (they take up way too much space, buckets stack into each other when not in use). Brewing Classic Styles is Jamil's attempt to prove that you don't have to have an all grain set up to win contests and make great beer.

One of the most important ingredients is good water. There are brewing related books devoted entirely to water chemistry.

[DaveD]

I brewed for a couple decades, from 1991 until about 2017 when I gave away all my gear - back and other mobility issues made it much less desirable to sling around a cutout keg full of wet mash, to say nothing of standing over a boiling kettle in July in Houston. Started out when the homebrewing world was very fledgling, in the early days of email, when I used to participate regularly on the original Homebrew Digest. First malt extracts & kits, then evolved up the ladder to full grain by about ten years in. Very much enjoyed it, and if one is consistent in cleanliness, temperature control, and ingredient quality, one can brew great beer at home.

John Palmer is an old buddy from the original HBD days, I think I even got a shoutout in the intro to his book... Good times.

[Waster]

As Larry would say Beer and BBQ go hand in hand!

I’m an all grain brewer and love the science of brewing. Always something to keep you engaged!
I started off with all grain brew in a bag and have progressed to an electric brewery for consistency.
if you are new, don’t be intimidated by all grain - look up Ben Cull easiest all grain brew day video on YouTube - this made me jump into it. I never started with extract, as Ben’s video made it easy to understand, and I knew I wanted to end up doing all grain anyway (for better control and results).

BYW - that John Palmer book is excellent!

I can highly recommend David Heath and The Apartment Brewer on YouTube.

Brewfather software is good and cheap and keeps track of all your recipes. There is a huge library on there for pre-built recipes to try before designing your own.

Keep it simple in the beginning and then work up to more complex recipes and equipment.
Lots of knowledgeable people on here will help you out, just ask!

RDWHAHB

[DaveD]

Sure wish there had been such a thing as Youtube when I was starting out... would have saved me a lot of trouble I'm sure. Actually seeing something happen is really useful in anything like cooking or brewing, to be sure.

[JHB]

I’ve been home brewing for 30 years. I agree that sanitation is the single most important factor in making clean tasting beer. And I second the recommendation of Starsan. But remember: give a friend a home brew and he’ll waste an afternoon. Teach a friend to home brew and he’ll waste a lifetime.