BioBeing and other Home Brewers

[LoneWolf]

I have been in Libya for almost a month now and the only beer I have had was Bud Light (can I even call that beer) at the Ambassador’s residence and some Tunisian beer onboard a Tunisian naval vessel the other day (that one was just ok). I miss the good stuff. So I am going to go ahead and purchase the things I need to get started in home brew and need some advice on what to get.

Is Mr. Beer the way to go? Right now I just want a basic kit for making ales, but preferably something I can build onto once I become more experienced. I am also not ready to start formulating my own recipes. I am thinking about a clone of Arrogant Bastard Ale, Stone IPA, or Dogfish Head 90 minute. I still love stouts but they don’t seem as appetizing to me in this desert heat. The house I am in is very large and each room has its own air conditioning unit so temperature control shouldn’t be a problem. I am thinking about keeping the batches in my office, which has too much empty space in it anyway.

And as for the yeast, keep in mind whatever I order will take 2-3 weeks to get to me via diplomatic pouch, so something that has to stay cold won’t do. I will check out some other sources as well but any tips you guys can provide will be greatly appreciated.

[BioBeing]

I never used Mr Beer, but from what I understand, it isn't the best way to go if you want to be able to expand later. It will make beer, however, and could be a gateway to the hobby.

I think you'll be better off with a kit like this:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/b/r/brewing-starter-kit-w-better-bottle.jpg (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-starter-kit-w-better-bottle.html)

(There are other suppliers, although Midwest are good too. They just had the best picture I could find.)

You will also need a big pot - how big depends on where you plan to brew. I use a turkey fryer outside, and have a 15 gallon pot from a restaurant supply store. If you brew inside, using your stove, you wont be able to get that much liquid to a boil, so a 3 or 5 gallon pot would be the most you'd need (make sure there is room to avoid boil over during the hot break).

A "standard" batch is generally 5 gallons of wort into the fermentor. This is what the kit above is designed for. To do this, you either need to be able to do a "full boil" of at least 6 gallons, as you lose a gallon during a 1 hour boil; or you do a "partial boil" with 2 or 3 gallons and top up with cold water in the fermentor. If you use extract for you fermentables, doing a partial boil is fine. If you want to do "all grain" you really need to be able to do full boils (plus you will need a mash tun). You can also do smaller batches (I think Mr Beer is 3 gallons?) but hey - that is less beer!

[There are many discussions on whether full boil is better than partial boil (and whether all grain is better than extract), but bottom line is do whatever you can to make beer. I assume you'll start with extract plus steeping grains on the stove top?]

A very good place for kits is Austin Homebrew Supply (http://www.austinhomebrew.com/). e.g. Arrogant Bastard Kit (http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_43_601&products_id=1096); Stone IPA (http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_43_601&products_id=1734); DogFish Head 90 kit (http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_43_247&products_id=12212). You are not going to get these beer kits for Mr Beer, btw. For your shipping, use the dry yeast option - e.g. the Fermentis S-04 for the DFH 90.

I have some Arrogant Bastard I made, and it is very good (not that kit, but similar recipe I think). I also have a wonderful recipe for the DFH 60 minute (not 90; I prefer the 60), which I'm about to make again. And I made a wonderful Stone Ruination as well...

Temp control during fermentation is critical to a good beer. Yeast give out heat when they grow, so the bucket will actually be hotter than the room by 5 to 10 degrees F. Putting the fermentor in a big tub of water with ice packs (switch out daily) can help tremendously. Generally, you want the yeast to be around 60 to 70F for ales (even colder for lagers).

All I can think of for now, but I'm sure I missed something...

[LoneWolf]

That is a HUGE help Bio. So let's say I want to do a 5 gallon batch with a full boil. What is the smallest pot I could comfortably do that with on a gas kitchen stove? A 30, 33 or a 38 ounce pot?

[BioBeing]

30 would be enough. But make sure you stove can bring that much (~6 gallons) to a boil - you'll probably have to span two burners, and it might take it forever. Some people make an electric heat stick to help out, and insulating the pot can help too. Careful with the lid, as using it can lead to boil overs very easily, and leaving it on during the boil can lead to an accumulation of DMS (off flavor).

ETA - try to get PET bottles instead of glass. Shipping will be easier!

[BioBeing]

Don't forget you'll need to bottle or keg the beer at the end. Kegging is easier, but requires kegs and CO2 and stuff. In the States, you can collect non-twist top beer bottles to re-use, but I'd imagine you might need to buy some?

[LoneWolf]

So I purchased my stuff this week. I purchased the Super Deluxe Beer making Equipment Kit. I did order from Austin Home Brew, who currently offers free shipping with orders over $100. I went ahead and upgraded to a 10 gallon pot and purchased an outdoor propane cooker. The reason for this is, while I plan to do 5 gallon extract batches for now, I eventually want to move on to all grain batches, and I know that requires a bigger pot. I also purchased an extra fermenter so I can have two batches going at a time. I ordered the Arrogant Bastard Clone (for me) and the Blue Moon clone (for my wife). And yeah, because beer bottles aren’t exactly in large supply here in Libya I had to buy my own. I bought enough for 10 gallons of beer. That is a lot of bottles. One day I will try my hand at kegging but it isn’t feasible at the moment.

I am already thinking about future batches. The thing is, at most I drink about 10 beers a week. That is also as much as will allow myself to drink with the exception of special occasions. So that means a single batch of beer will last me about 5 weeks. I like a little more variety in my beer drinking, so I know I will eventually want several batches going. But I wonder how many batches I could feasibly pull off. I guess there are worse problems than having too much beer around.

[David B]

In my brewing days I found that the best bottles to use were quite large, as that cut down on the work of sterilising them.

Screw top 2 litre carbonated drinks bottles, like coke and lemonade were fine. Any that were designed to hold liguid under pressure.

David

[LoneWolf]

In my brewing days I found that the best bottles to use were quite large, as that cut down on the work of sterilising them.

Screw top 2 litre carbonated drinks bottles, like coke and lemonade were fine. Any that were designed to hold liguid under pressure.

David

How long does those last after opening them, carbonation wise? I understand the utility of them for, say, parties, but what about just my nightly 12 ounces with dinner?

[David B]

In my brewing days I found that the best bottles to use were quite large, as that cut down on the work of sterilising them.

Screw top 2 litre carbonated drinks bottles, like coke and lemonade were fine. Any that were designed to hold liguid under pressure.

David


How long does those last after opening them, carbonation wise? I understand the utility of them for, say, parties, but what about just my nightly 12 ounces with dinner?

So you like a fizzy beer.

When I used to brew I started with bottles, then moved onto purpose designed 5 gallon kegs which stored the beer under pressure, and fed the beer via a tube down to just above the bottom of the keg. I'd syphon to the keg when the primary fermentation had nearly finished, and the beer in the bucket was pretty clear, and allow the pressure from the secondary fermentation to deliver the beer. the keg had a fitting for a CO2 bottle, which would add pressure towards the bottom of the barrel.

I also used to use bottles, and there one has to be careful about how much secondary fermentation one allows, and how to cope with it.

Two things to remember - one being that a good beer doesn't have to be fizzy - lots of traditional brit beers were served from a tap at the bottom of a barral with no internal or added pressure, and some afficionados prefer it like that.

The other being that a certain amount of cloudiness does not make a beer bad. If there is too much pressure the dead yeast from the secondary fermentation which sits at the bottom of the bottle can get disturbed.

No bad thing - one of my brewing advisors, now dead, used to tell me that during the wat, when beer was in short supply, pubs used to sell their supplies when it first came in without giving it time to settle, so it was cloudy. Pubs with clear beer were looked on with suspicion - if it hadn't sold before the cloudiness went there must have been something wrong with it. A bit of brewers yeast does no harm, and there are claims that it is good for you:dunno:

If secondary fermentation takes place in a glass bottle with no screw top there is the possibility of it exploding, which is messy.

There is also the possibility, both with glass and soda bottles, that when opened it will gush out everywhere like a coke bottle that has been shaken violently. But more so.

With plastic pressurised bottles with screw tops one can feel when the pressure is getting too high, and ease the top to let some gas out before resealing. Again this might disturb the sediment from the secondary fermentation, but you can let it settle again.

When you have it right, you can carefully decant the fizzy beer into a jug or glass without disturbing the sediment, but there is often some disturbance of the sediment when you put it down again. Which can settle overnight, if you've poured a glass, and it will be ready for the next day. or perhaps the day after - you could have two bottles on the go.

If you decant the lot off, then it won't hold its fizz.

If you like cold beer - as Americans tend to, I gather - then keeping the bottle in the frig will make it less likely to be over fizzy when you pour it. Some beers are best at cellar temperature, though, say 50-60 degrees F, which some people seem to think is warm.:bang:

In Libia, though, there is probably no alternative because it will be too warm.

Rambling on, now.

I'd use screw top bottles if I were you, and learn to monitor by feel how much secondary there has been, and loosen the cap to allow some to escape if necessary. Maybe some two litre ones, and others your preferred size for single use.

They will need careful handling if you don't like the aesthetics of cloudy beer.

If your aircon is good, having a couple of pressurised kegs on the go (one being drunk, the other settling, is ideal, with the internal oressure topped up by a gas bottle when the volume of beer gets low, and it has also been substantially de-fizzed by using the pressure to pump the beer.

David

[LoneWolf]

Thanks David. I don’t like an overly fizzy beer, particularly in my stouts, but I also don’t like them to be flat, particularly in my IPAs. As for cloudiness, I really don’t care. I have never noticed a degradation in taste due to that. The only reason I would aim for clarity is for the benefit of other people who may drink my beer, particularly those who aren’t accustomed to drinking home brew. As for how cold I prefer them I usually keep them in the fridge, and then let it sit for a little while after pouring to let the temperature drop. I can understand drinking Bud Light ice cold, but not craft beers.

[BioBeing]

"Correct" carbonation depends on the style of the beer. A British bitter can be served with a low level of CO2, but certain Belgian beers, for example, want to have very high levels of fizz to them. Getting the correct amount of head helps carry the aroma of the beer to the nose. Its also why you shouldn't drink a beer from the bottle, as you miss out on the head and the aroma...

It is possible to over carbonate homebrew by adding too much priming sugar at bottling time. This can lead to "bottle bombs" which can be dangerous. A more common cause of these though is bottling too early, before the beer is actually finished. Patience is a virtue in homebrewing, and so is using a hydrometer.

But good luck, Wolfie. Sounds like you are on the right track! Waiting for those supplies to come is going to be hard, then waiting for the beer to brew, then waiting for it to carbonate and condition... better get some more kits ordered straight away! I had my third batch fermenting before I'd even opened one bottle from my first batch!

[Gooch's Dad]

The only thing I've brewed in the last 10 years is mead, but DAMN, it turned out good. And I found it to be a lot easier to make than a batch of beer.

I think it takes longer to age, but it makes a delicious drink. The mead I've made has always tasted much better than the commercially sold meads.

[Rie]

Can I interrupt this male bonding here? The funniest thing brewed by me as a good and innocent Mum was ginger beer. some one gave me a ginger root or bulb and so i set about nurturing it in a dark place and Ta DA! I gave some to my kids.

My younger daughter was about 3 and crawled under a table. I thought '?' and then she began a long undeniably drunken 3 year old rave about me being carefull about using the iron. 'Cosh Mummy's ish dangeroush. Hic'. And then she said triumphantly "I know how t' make Power Jelly...itsh good". I whipped the ginger ale away and for the first time took a good swig of it and noted that it was indeed almost 100% proof!