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Phobophile · Aug 5, 2009

Are you interested in making your own beer? Have you just started? Are you an experienced homebrewer? Want to swap recipes or get some tips on how to make your beer taste like what you want? This thread's for you! Here you can discuss anything from where to buy your supplies to preferred brewing method to what you even prefer to prime your beer with. This thread will be the end-all reference for your homebrewing needs!

For those of you wondering, the pictures up there are of the first batch of beer my friends and I made. It's an oatmeal stout brewed with two-row barley malt, a nice roasted barley, a deep roasted chocolate barley malt for color, and finally some flaked oats for the rich smoothness that you know from oatmeal stouts. We also hopped with some Fuggles and Golding hops from the UK. Since this was our first batch brewing, technically my second but my previous experience was only in helping making an extract batch, we simply found a recipe online. The amount of grains we used was on the order of about 9 lbs, which simply wasn't enough to produce more than just about 4-4.5 gal of beer at a fairly low gravity and we didn't end up with more than about 4.5% ABV. Don't let it fool you, it still packed a lot of flavor.

Freest Rolexes · Aug 5, 2009

Woah, nice cooler mash-tun. Did you make it yourself? And if you did, what are you using for a grain filter? Also, what kind of oats did you use? A while ago I retrofitted a large water cooler for the piping and everything, but couldn't find a good grain filter and basically never finished the project. I was planning on making an oatmeal stout myself.

I've made a few beers with different extracts, and they've come out pretty good. I bought an Arrogant Bastard clone kit a few years ago that was excellent. Maybe not as good as the original, but better than anything I had ever brewed before.

Phobophile · Aug 5, 2009

Freest Rolexes said:
Woah, nice cooler mash-tun. Did you make it yourself? And if you did, what are you using for a grain filter? Also, what kind of oats did you use? A while ago I retrofitted a large water cooler for the piping and everything, but couldn't find a good grain filter and basically never finished the project. I was planning on making an oatmeal stout myself.

I've made a few beers with different extracts, and they've come out pretty good. I bought an Arrogant Bastard clone kit a few years ago that was excellent. Maybe not as good as the original, but better than anything I had ever brewed before.

Yep, we made it ourselves. The cooler we bought was a 28 quart. But it didn't have a spigot so we actually drilled a hole in the side for the fitting.

As for the filter? We hand built a copper manifold. Nothing too fancy, it's just essentially a rectangle with a bunch of slits sawed in it with a hacksaw connected by 90º elbow joints and a T-joint where the spigot is. Actually, the hardest part was getting the right number of fittings. We were sitting in the Home Depot for an hour trying to figure out what we need for the spigot and thankfully the guy working there knew what fittings and shit we were looking for.

The oats were nothing fancy. Just raw oats we bought with our other grains from Midwest Supplies.

deadbeef · Aug 5, 2009

I made the filter for my cooler mash-tun by using a stainless steel braided hose from Home Depot. Hooked it to a y joint for hoses and then hooked that to a brass spigot from Home Depot. Works great!

Shiv47 · Aug 5, 2009

I'm interested in getting into this, but I know zero about it. My main questions at this point are: 1) do you need dedicated space to brew, and how much? 2) what kind of investment am I looking at in terms of initial equipment?

Zod the Bear · Aug 5, 2009

Any CanadaGaf brewers? My dad and I've been brewing for a while, but he's up in Ottawa for about another year. He hasn't been able to find much in terms of supplies so he's been switching over to wine.

Any recommendations for finding good hops, malt extract and such up there so he can work on some more beer?

Phobophile · Aug 6, 2009

Shiv47 said:
I'm interested in getting into this, but I know zero about it. My main questions at this point are: 1) do you need dedicated space to brew, and how much? 2) what kind of investment am I looking at in terms of initial equipment?

I recommend this site, How to Brew by John Palmer.

There he explains what you'll need as a bare minimum to start brewing malt extract recipes. Most people will recommend that a first-timer starts off making beer with malt extract rather than all grain since it's much easier and won't need as much start up equipment.

a 20 qt. brew pot (large canning pot)
large stirring spoon (non-wood)
ordinary table spoon
measuring cup (preferably Pyrex glass)
glass jar (at least 12 oz)
fermentor (food-grade plastic bucket or glass carboy) [I highly recommend the glass carboy]
airlock (get from homebrew shop)
sanitizer (chlorine bleach or other)
thermometer (optional)

So if you don't have a pot big enough, that's one thing you need. As for the rest of the supplies, I recommend these sites:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/
http://www.northernbrewer.com/

There you can browse the different starter kits they have. You can spend as little as $60 or up to and over $200.

Midwest Supplies - Starter Kits
Northern Brewer - Starter Kits

For recipes, I recommend starting off with an ale. Lagers require cold storage for several weeks so unless you have a dedicated fridge and you're very patient, make an ale.

Midwest Supplies - Recipe Kits
Northern Brewer - Recipe Kits

Darias · Aug 6, 2009

Wheee!! Brewing!

<--- obsessed homebrewer.

ATF487 · Aug 6, 2009

That reminds me, my brother and I made a Scottish Ale that I still haven't tried yet.

Once I get a permanent residence of my own, I am joining this party

Link1110 · Aug 6, 2009

Homebrewing is piracy! Every time you make some of your own beer, another beer company CEO is forced to go on welfare! Soon, there will be no beer companies left in the world and it's ALL YOUR FAULT! Making beer is the exclusive right of megacorporations, and don't you forget it!

And don't get me started friends pouring half a can of beer for each so the company only gets paid once.

(couldn't resist.)

Phobophile · Sep 1, 2009

My latest homebrew, an English India pale ale.

Deep amber color and dry, dry, dry. More heavily hopped than other English-style pale ales and stouts, but nowhere near the bitterness of American IPAs and pale ales. Dry, biscuit malt profile with a subtle, buttery finish. Conditioned with oak chips for that scurvy authenticity.

riskVSreward · Sep 1, 2009

Phobophile said:
My latest homebrew, an English India pale ale.

Deep amber color and dry, dry, dry. More heavily hopped than other English-style pale ales and stouts, but nowhere near the bitterness of American IPAs and pale ales. Dry, biscuit malt profile with a subtle, buttery finish. Conditioned with oak chips for that scurvy authenticity.

I love all of the zany adjectives beer enthusiasts come up with.

sharkmuncher · Sep 1, 2009

Amazing thread. I will be joining this party as soon as I move into my new place next week!

AndyD · Jan 22, 2010

Great thread so far.

Sorry for a bump from the dead, but I thought its better than starting a new thread.

I like the Palmer link above. A more thorough version of what I used to start homebrewing about a year ago, an instructables.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Beer/

I have made a number of delicious beers so far. Amber ales have been my favorites and easiest to make so far.

I take a number of shortcuts and dont sterilize as much as I should, but have yet to have any problems. My only major failure has been a blackberry hefe beer, the pectin killed me and clogged everything. It took me forever to bottle that thing.

Kentpaul · May 10, 2010

My respect goes out to home brewers i'm going to get into beer making, wine making, prison hooch making , and possible "plant growing"

Speevy · May 10, 2010

Are there three of these threads or does it keep getting a title change?

AndyD · May 10, 2010

Speevy said:
Are there three of these threads or does it keep getting a title change?

I think it keeps changing titles. I just made a nice mellow oatmeal stout, so good we went through 50 bottles in 2 days between my friends and us. :lol :lol

iapetus · May 24, 2010

I've just joined the homebrew fraternity. Starting out with a pre-prepared kit (makes 40 pints of Woodforde's Wherry), but with the intention of moving on to creating my own brews once I've got the hang of it.

AndyD · May 24, 2010

iapetus said:
I've just joined the homebrew fraternity. Starting out with a pre-prepared kit (makes 40 pints of Woodforde's Wherry), but with the intention of moving on to creating my own brews once I've got the hang of it.

Welcome aboard.

I just got two recipes that I want to brew in time for the World Cup, a Red Rye Ale and an Oatmeal Stout. The Oatmeal is sort of a half stout, and is delicious. I have never made it, but had it at my friend's.

Let us know if you want any recipes or advice.

MidnightRider · May 24, 2010

AndyD said:
Welcome aboard.

I just got two recipes that I want to brew in time for the World Cup, a Red Rye Ale and an Oatmeal Stout. The Oatmeal is sort of a half stout, and is delicious. I have never made it, but had it at my friend's.

Let us know if you want any recipes or advice.

too soon correct?

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