Any Homebrewers here? (more OT fluff)

by Bendrr 26 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Bendrr

  I finally broke down yesterday and "did something". I did manage to last until about 5 pm, doing nothing.

  I drove down to a homebrew supply shop and bought my first beer-making kit. I've read the directions several times, as well as done some research on the net so I feel fairly confident that I can do it. This first batch is going to be made in plastic fermenting buckets, though in the future I do plan on buying glass.

  So in a couple of months, I'll have 2 cases of homemade Pilsner.

  Does anyone here brew their own beer, or have you had homemade beer before? Maybe you can give me some tips that aren't in the instructions.

  Mike.
• 

  Simon

  I made homebrew for a while a long time ago (beer and wine)

  The worst big (after making it) was waiting.

  The most important thing was serilising things and rinsing thoroughly. Rinse, rinse, rinse ...
• 

  SpannerintheWorks

  All I can say is that whenever I have drunk "Home-brew", it is so much stonger than the regular variety!

  Spanner
• 

  JamesThomas

  I used to brew beer some twenty five years ago. It was fun, and like Simon said that most difficult part is waiting a sufficient time for a good brew. As I recall, I never did. When the time came to drink it, I had already drunk it. Drinking it too green makes for a pretty yeasty and yucky brew....but of course it's your brew, your work, your baby, and to you it's pretty good. Others, may want to puke. Be patient. Stick with it. And you may end up with a brew for all to enjoy. jamesT
• 

  orbison11

  greetings

  does anyone know if a plactic fermenting jug differs greatly with a glass one in the making of red wine? i have done glass before but now i have plastic with built in heaters i want to try

  thanks

  orbi
• 

  Warrigal

  My only experience with home brewing was a near disaster. My dad decided to brew some beer in the garage and got a wood barrel and all the stuff he needed to make the brew....this was the days before beer brewing kits....He put everything in that his recipe called for and hammered the bung in the barrel.

  A few days later we heard a tremendous bang underneath the house. Fermentation had launched the bung upward and imbeded it in a large beam. Foam all over the place!!! Good thing no one was standing too close at the time it let go.

  Then my mother got the idea of making wine....really bad idea. She used concord grapes well mashed up and added a little secret ingredient here and there then put them into gallon glass jugs with corks in the top.

  At the time, we had a very large New Zealand White buck rabbit who had the run of the garage and back yard. He took great delight in licking the corks and the fermented liquid coming around the corks. We laughed at his antics! A few slurps of wine, a few hops in the yard then fall over and sleep it off. He was loopy for days. The wine wasn't too bad after it had 'aged' a bit.
• 

  TruckerGB

  Greetings Bendrr.

  I have brewed my own beer for many years,I have a brew on the go now.

  There are no hard and fast rules for brewing,as Simon said,cleanliness is the most important thing.

  What I have done over the years is stick to what I got right,and improved as much as possible,for me thats been best bitters.

  I have always added a little more sugar than the instructions on beer kits say,not too much though,and watch the temperature of your brew when you add the yeast,72-74 degrees c is about right,and dont panic if nothing seems to happen for a day or so,depending on the yeast,it can take that long for it to 'kick in'.

  When your brew is foaming over the top of the tub,you will know youve got a good one.

  Good luck,

  Cheers,

  Rich.
• 

  ballistic

  Yes, I brew English beer - "bitter". I am about to get this years brew on the go, but have a query I don't know if any experienced brewers can help?

  I brew in two stages; the fermentation bin for stage one, then add extra sugar and place in a sealed pressure barrel. The only trouble is, I used the pressure barrel to mix up 10 gallons of cocktail last summer and I have been unable to get rid of a slight "orangey" smell from it even using proper steralisation powder.

  I plan to go ahead and hope the orange smell doesnt kill it. What do you think?
• 

  searchfothetruth

  One of my mates made a batch of homebrew a few years back and we all went round one evening to sample it.

  It smelt fine, but when you drank it you got a horrible after taste of petrol. He had sterilised the plastic bucket that he made it in but it originally had petrol in it and you can't clean it out.

  We drank it anyway, but didn't go near any naked flames for days.
• 

  ballistic

  Search, if that was a reply to me, I would add that they weren't Molocov cocktails LOL, just 10 gallons of Mad-dog 50/50!!!