I am thinking of getting into brewing my own beer at home. Does anyone on here do that? If so, what does the up front investment look like, and is there much to it?
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I used to own a home beer and winemaking shop. You're probably looking at a $150 for a good beginner setup with a first kit and bottles. That's assuming you have a 5 gallon or larger stainless pot to boil in, otherwise add another $30-50. It's pretty easy. If you have a bigger budget, go straight to kegging and skip the bottles. You'll go there eventually.
Btw, I don't brew any more. -
mgaretz : I'd rather just get what I need right away and be done with it heh. I like me my beer. A lot. Is there a brand/kit that you would recommend?Comment
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The kit I designed is still available from HopTech - www.hoptech.com. That's equipment. They have a variety of beer kits as well, originally also designed by me, but I am not sure if the recipes are still the same.
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About 12 years ago I ventured into it with zero success. I bought a "Mr. Beer" kit, and realized after the fact that's probably not the best beginner's kit. Then my BIL loaned me his very nice bucket setup, complete with vent traps. I bought a bottle cap crimper, got some caps & bottles, looked up different recipes, was all gung-ho. I tried numerous times, first with the canned malt (lol), then with actual grains I roasted myself and did everything to a T or so I thought, including sanitizing everything well. (<----extremely important). I could never get the yeast to take, and the temps were perfect according to the recipes I followed. I re-pitched the yeast, bought new & different yeast. Nada. Tried maybe 4 or 5 times with differing techniques before I gave up.
My story is probably in the minority of experiences, and I hope to one day get back into it when I have more time. But I'm sharing this in hopes that if you have a rocky start you won't give up like I did. BBQ was so much easier!
I really wish since beer & winemaking is legal that liquor distilling was too!Comment
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sfrancis353 I don't know, perhaps that was the issue...something had to be the issue...let's call it that! I really want to get back into it. I know it's not rocket science, just like BBQ- follow some basics and let her rip. -
Huskee that really stinks. If the mash is sweet after the boil then there is for sure sugars (fuel/charcoal). Now if you pitch the yeast into hot water meaning above 95F or so then the yeast will die. Ideally 75F but can be lower for lager yeast which I would not mess with. -
I made some real toilet dumpers when I started. Yeast has come along way since you started. They now have starter kits/slap packs that pretty much insure that you'll pitch healthy, viable yeast. My beer improved when I started pitching the right vol and aerating my wort with pure O2 frm a bottle.
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That sucks Huskee . My friend is really into it and he recommended to me that I start out with an "extract kit". I guess these things make it easy for beginners..Comment
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kingdarb extract brew is just concentrated grains. Basically grain sugars that got extracted to water then boiled down to a syrup to make it concentrated. This effectively takes out the grain sugar extraction process which can be a pain. For me I never got brew to taste as good as the stuff I buy but maybe it is me. However I have made awesome cider. It is way easier than beer because there is no need to boil anything. I would say that once you are committed to making your own beer to invest in a keg setup. Bottling sucks and sucks bad. If you are handy and cheap (like me) the cheapest brew kettle is a used keg with the top cut off as beer kegs are made of stainless which is important because aluminum affects taste. Feel free to message me.Comment
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I started with extract brewing and bottling. With the recipe kits available it's an easy way to learn. I would average about 50 bottles out of a 5 gallon batch. As you start that addiction, it is much like bbq. You'll get more gear, step up to all grain brewing, start kegging, get multiple taps, etc. Once you get comfortable with the kits, there are plenty of recipes to use as a starting point.
Life has changed my opportunities to consume, so I don't brew anymore but had fun while I was doing it.Comment
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Did it for many years, then had kids and didn't have the time to brew and drink so much beer. It's actually not hard to do and much like BBQ can become an addiction. I agree with BriggsBBQ bottling sucks. I think I did it once before springing for a kegging outfit and never looked back. If you have a homebrew store near you, that's where you want to start out. I was living in Austin and Austin Homebrew http://www.austinhomebrew.com/ was a god send. Basically if you have one, go hang out and ask questions. The people that work there are fanatics and will impart more information than your head can contain.
If not, then get yourself a beer making kit (you can seen many options from Austin Homebrew) and also buy a recipe setup. You'll want to start with malt extract and ideally liquid yeast. Also make sure you get some good sanitizer like B-Brite. You have to make sure everything is clean and sanitized otherwise bacteria will kill your product. Again, it's not that hard and there's tons of resources on the internet (also YouTube videos). It can be a lot of fun, and once you get a few under your belt you can produce some really nice quality stuff.Comment
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I've done a fair amount of business with Northern Brewer ( http://www.northernbrewer.com/ ) over the years. They've got a good selection of stuff, decent prices, and lot's of good information. In addition to the hardware, you'll want to get as much useful information as possible in advance of purchasing anything. I'd recommend Charlie Papazian's book "The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing" as a great starting point.Comment
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Beware, homebrewing is a cult, much like BBQ'ing. I agree that Austin Homebrew and Northern Brewer are good sites and the forum on Northern Brewer is very active. MoreBeer is another good site. All these sites have equipment kits from the basic starter set to one that comes with all the equipment needed for kegging. Kegging is definitely the way to go, filling up one big can is way better than filling up 50 bottles. The kits are easy and taste great. "How to Brew" is a good book to get started with and BYO magazine is pretty informative too.Comment
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+1 on kegging. That's the way to go if you take the plunge. I LOVED being able to pull a pint from my serving fridge after I finished mowing the yard in the summer, and your neighbors will think you are a golden god. Don't forget, you can also keg homemade soda for the kids and carbonated water. If you don't like brewing then you'll always find other brewers who will buy your equipment so you can recover some of your investment if you find out it's not for you.
I brewed for about 5 years and took a hiatus when I had kids. Then we moved and I sold most of the equipment I'd accumulated. I probably won't go back. You have to be really disciplined (or drink a lot of beer) to make back the money you invest in your equipment. And don't forget your time. An all-grain batch from start to finish can take 5 or 6 hours. It's addictive - you keep trying to upgrade equipment and refine your techniques and then you find yourself remodeling your basement so that you have a dedicated brewing area with fridges that ferment, lager, store and serve your beer. There are guys out there who keep a small footprint and who can make awesome beer, though. Join homebrewtalk or one of the chat rooms -- you can find great info. there with brewers on all sorts of levels and budgets.
You'll probably want to do full boils so go ahead and get a big pot (10 gallons) with a burner and propane tank. And buy a fridge with an external temperature control so you can control your fermentation temps. Those two things will improve the quality of beer more than anything else. If you want to save money get a fridge someone else is throwing out by surfing craigslist.
Book? Jamil Zainasheff's Brew Your Own. His collection of award winning recipes (all grain, partial and extract).Comment
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I learned to brew in the 90's while working at a brewpub. A little help with clean up resulted in free lessons from a pro. Since then, I think I've brewed just about every major style(I have the workbook to prove it...lol).I started all-grain brewing on by 3rd batch, and continue to, brew all grain. All grain brewing , with its associated techniques, has made me a much better chef. You learn when to add flavor, and how long it will take heat before the added flavor weakens, for example.This is just what every cook needs to learn, especially with sauces, stocks, and long cooking techniques. Trust Uncle Tom on this...
I agree with Beefchop and others, that kegging is by far the way to go. Much less clean-up, which is a major part of brewing time.
The best book I've seen for home brewing, especially for beginners, is The Seven Barrel Brewery Brewers Handbook, by Greg Noonan, and others. https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Barrel-...ag=amazi0a8-20
This book breaks all processes down to where anyone can understand. Plus, most importantly, it has recipes of all major styles of beer. All these recipes are written for extract, partial mash, and all grain brewing. It is the only book on brewing I haven't put into storage(I have lots of books!).Last edited by Huskee; January 30, 2017, 12:14 AM.Comment
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I'm a Chemical Engineer by training. I have quite a few friends who are really into home brewing. I mean they spend all kinds of money on their home brewing equipment, certainly more than I spend o my BBQ Obsession! And they brew some incredible beer, But after trying ti, it's not for me. I have however done some incredibly good corn squeezings in various homemade stills over the years. Now if anyone wants to chat about that, I'm all in.
Huskee - I'm with you in this deal. It's easier for me to rent than own.Comment
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I did it for a couple of years many years ago. I never advanced beyond the prepackaged kit stage but even that was a pain in the ass. The actual boiling process was kind of fun, even with kits there's still certain grains you can steep to add a twist to it and the hop choices are enormous. After that though it was a royal pain to me. The attention to sterility is of the utmost importance, if you're even slightly lax in that area your whole batch is ruined. Bottling wasn't ever that much of a chore for me other than making sure that each bottle was completely sterile and not over filled. Miss on either one of those points and you could have exploding bottles.
I'd justify it all as a beer that was uniquely mine. The end of it all for me though was when I was sterilizing a 5 gallon glass carboy. It was full of a water and bleach solution and while moving it from the sink to the floor I dropped it. It went off like a bomb sending glass flying all over the place. Fortunately I jumped up at just the right moment and missed catching any shrapnel, otherwise my lower legs would have been shredded meat, resembling something like pulled person. At that point my brewing career was over and I decided I'd just buy craft beer from the local liquor store.Last edited by ribeyeguy; June 30, 2016, 07:18 PM.Comment
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I know I am a little late to this conversation, but i have been home brewing beer and mead for about 5 years now. You can get super crazy with it or just keep it simple with a lot of good Do it Yourself projects. Most people have a large SS stockpot and the only thing you need to buy to get started is something to ferment the wort in. I think initial investment 5 years ago was around $75-100.
I think home brewing is a perfect match the BBQ. When the weather is good, I am smoking meat and brewing at the same time all while enjoying a cold beer from one of my two taps.
+1 on the homebrewtalk.com - That site is like the amazingribs.com to beer making.
Let me know if you have any questions.Comment
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