Homebrewing - A walkthrough

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Fellow beer drinkers!

I embarked on this new hobby about 5 months ago. From day one I was hooked. Its been quite rewarding and I have a new found appreciation for all things beer. My hobby is still in its infancy and I hope to develop my skills even further in the future.

Most new brewers start out using what is called an "extract" method. Extract brewing is basically the use of malt extract and the steeping of grains in the brew process. There are advanced methods which will allow a brewer to really customize their recipe. For now, I've started out taking baby steps.

Anyway, I brewed a new batch yesterday and I just wanted to share the process with you as well as update on the batch as it progresses.

Saturday's batch is a Celis White clone, which is a Beligan White (Witbier).

Sample of how it should come out.


So lets get to it!

Here are my ingredients...malt, grain mix, and various hop and spices for flavor...



Lots of water...



Starsan. The most important part is sanitizing the crap out of everything...



The 5 gallon brew pot...



We start with steeping the grains for 30 minutes...



After steeping, we sparge the grains with more water...



This is what we have so far. This comes to a boil and we add the malt...



Malt and hops added. This will boil for 45 minutes, at which point additional hops and spices will be added and timed for 5-15 minutes at a time.



After the boil is complete, we quickly cool it down in an icebath. This gets it ready to pitch the yeast. It must be below 70 degrees for this particular recipe.



This is then strained into the fermenting bucket and cold water is added to bring the total volume to 5 1/8 gallons.



Now! I wait 7 days and I will transfer it to the next fermenting stage.

I'm going to be updating this thread for those that are interested. This particular beer will take a combined time of 6 weeks to be finished. Then I get to taste the fruits of my labor!

[Razi]

Sweeeet.
Homebrewing is cool.

[nissangirl74]

I'm not a beer fan but I think this is cool. I hope it turns out well. Just out of curiosity, how cost effective is this?

[alms24sebring]

= profit?

[SHIFT_COUPE]

I'm not a beer fan but I think this is cool. I hope it turns out well. Just out of curiosity, how cost effective is this?

This is my 3rd batch, the other two turned out great. Its cost effective after the initial investment of equipment. I spent about $150 on everything I have to produce it. If you look at it strictly by materials alone its about $1.00 a bottle. Could be less depending on the ingredients. It makes 5 gallons which is equal to a little over 50 bottles.

= profit?

If you mean selling, I can't do that. But I can barter and trade with my buddies!

[DJ_B_Easy]

A friend of mine was big into brewing for a while, I helped him out a few times. The only unenjoyable aspect of the whole thing is the smell of what I believe was the yeast. Its pretty potent.

Looks like you've done this a few times...good stuff.

[SHIFT_COUPE]

The smell of the fermenting process stinks to high hell. The smell of the grains and the boil and amazing though.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

5+ gallons! Wow, you bought the big boy kit! Looks good man.

[300ZXttZMAN]

This is cool I can't wait to see the updates.

[Rager]

ive been brewing for almost 3 years and I love it. 5 gallons of beer will cost 40-50 bucks and you will get about 48 beers or 2 cases. i think i might actually go drink a home brew now . f***this budwieser 40

[alms24sebring]

Thats cool man. Have you made anything like Whiskey or rum? What does it taste like, give me a beer thats close to it. Do you taste a major difference between home and name brand beers?

[PEZi]

One of my buddies just made a nice imperial stout. I told him he could bring it down to age it in my barrel... could be win!

[SHIFT_COUPE]

ive been brewing for almost 3 years and I love it. 5 gallons of beer will cost 40-50 bucks and you will get about 48 beers or 2 cases. i think i might actually go drink a home brew now . f***this budwieser 40

Cool! If I have any questions I know who to ask! I would like to get into kegging the beer in the future and avoid this bottling nonsense.

Thats cool man. Have you made anything like Whiskey or rum? What does it taste like, give me a beer thats close to it. Do you taste a major difference between home and name brand beers?

I haven't gotten into that. This particular beer can be compared to Blue Moon, if you've heard of that. Homebrew tastes better because I made it!

One of my buddies just made a nice imperial stout. I told him he could bring it down to age it in my barrel... could be win!

Sounds awesome!

[alms24sebring]

I have had Blue Moon only once. I cant remember the flavor though.

Mini-keg it like Heineken did. Its best of both worlds

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

Third batch and not using extract? Excellent. Next step is a wort chiller and NO2 bottling!
And yeah, my mom kicked my dad and I out of the kitchen and into the garage because of the smell, so we had to buy a camp burner.

[pepegurr]

I have always wanted to try this. Only wish I had the time.

[Rager]

home brewing is awesome. there is deffinatly a difference in taste of the beers but most beer on the market has a "clone" receipt out there. ive been really getting into making hard apple cider. it takes a lot longer to ferment but well worth it.

this is a good site for info
http://www.brew-wineforum.com/

these are two hard apple ciders i made in the fall of 2010, they fermented for almost 6-7 months then bottled and im still drinking them. they turned into a crazy good "wine" reason i say wine is because they are not carbonated.

the bottle on the left has 5 gallons of fresh apple cider and a quart of fresh vermont maple syrup, the right is 5 gallons of cider and 2 pounds of fresh honey. notice the difference in color.

this is fresh brewed american hefewiezen . the reason for the tube going into the milk jug is to create an air lock. this style brew ferments very quickly at the beginning and a regular "S" airlock will over flow and create a mess. i change the tube after about 10 days to the standard airlock



after about 4-5 weeks fementing its time for bottling



so yea if anyone has any questions let me know. this is an awesome thread BTW

[alms24sebring]

That one on the left looks great and I bet the honey cider is delightfully sweet. Does the sugar from the honey convert to alcohol too and make it stronger? What do you think the alcohol content is?

This is all new stuff to me lol

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Looks good Rager! I'd like to get into doing some lagers but I don't have anything to keep it cold enough during fermentation. Have you played around with this at all?

[Rager]

That one on the left looks great and I bet the honey cider is delightfully sweet. Does the sugar from the honey convert to alcohol too and make it stronger? What do you think the alcohol content is?

This is all new stuff to me lol

they are both very strong . the honey cider is so strong that there is a slight burn of the the throat. my guess is that they are both of 14 percent alcohol but thats just a guess.

yes the sugars from the maple syrup and honey are different types of sugars and help create higher alcohol content. generally the more sugar the more alcohol.

[Rager]

Looks good Rager! I'd like to get into doing some lagers but I don't have anything to keep it cold enough during fermentation. Have you played around with this at all?

i have not made a lager before. my next beer is going to be a really hoppy IPA. i dont have a reciept yet though. your best bet though is to wait and make lagers in the winter and put them in your basement on the cold concrete floor. i believe the lager temps range between 50-60 degrees F.

[Dattebayo]

What happens if you don't cool the wort and yeast mixture down right away?

[Rager]

What happens if you don't cool the wort and yeast mixture down right away?

it can affect the flavor of the beer. if you dont cool it right away it wont "ruin " the beer but its best to cool it as fast as possible , plus if the wort is to hot and you put your yeast in it , the yeast could be killed from the hot wort. then you wont get fermentation and you wont get beer
i have found the best way to cool the wort is to put 3 gallons of water in the freezer a couple hours before brewing until they are almost frozen and i add them to the carboy once the wort as been done brewing and been put in the car boy. this will drop the temp quite quickly

[alms24sebring]

i dont have a reciept yet though.

*Recipe. Those 2 words are stupid lol

i have not made a lager before. my next beer is going to be a really hoppy IPA. i dont have a reciept yet though. your best bet though is to wait and make lagers in the winter and put them in your basement on the cold concrete floor. i believe the lager temps range between 50-60 degrees F.

I have a real problem with hoppy beers, specifically Sam Adams. Im not much of a beer guy but I find the Samual Jacksons disgusting and way too overpowering. Thats just me though. Im more of a Corona and Heiny guy

[DJ_B_Easy]

I LOVE hoppy beer. Please send me 6 pack upon completion, K thnx. Preferably 120 minute.

[Rager]

*Recipe. Those 2 words are stupid lol

[Rager]

I LOVE hoppy beer. Please send me 6 pack upon completion, K thnx. Preferably 120 minute.

whats your favorite IPA? the hoppiest one i know is dogfish 120. have you ever tried lauganitas? sp something like that

alms- i love heineken as well. im the only one of my friends and family that drinks it.

[SHIFT_COUPE]

i have not made a lager before. my next beer is going to be a really hoppy IPA. i dont have a reciept yet though. your best bet though is to wait and make lagers in the winter and put them in your basement on the cold concrete floor. i believe the lager temps range between 50-60 degrees F.

Thats what I heard. I'd like to get a dedicated refrigerator with a thermostat

[numbnuts240]

beer tasting party in bethel. ct crew UNITE!!!!!

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

Rogue Imperial IPA. Hell yes.
Used to hate IPAs but now I can't get enough of them.