Anyone brew their own beer?

[lilbill]

Just wondering if anyone out there has any experience.  I'm really starting to like craft beers and am wondering if there is a savings and how easy/difficult it is to arrive at a good brew.  I like hoppy and or dark beers like good ales, porters and stouts (Stone Brewing Company and Great Lakes are two of my favorites).

I am considering trying to brew my own but it is very hard to figure out where to start and what is needed, so I would love to hear some of your opinions and advice.

[darb85]

Go to a decent wine/brewers store in your area.  They will be able to help you. oh and keep the hell away from mr. Beer kits!

made an amber bock once, but i havent had time to do it in a while. lots of steps but just follow your steps and youll do fine, its not bad.

[Jay_wolf]

I made some beer from a beer kit i got from my birthday , and brewed it for to long , because i put so much sugar in it , it was a sweet malty beer ,which got me wreaked ,

what makes it even better ,is get some lime juice and mix it with ur beer , *can do it with normal beer* , but it takes the bitter edge of it

[DoD#i]

If you want to save money, just buy the cheapest beer there is when on sale. No point putting the effort required into making p*ss. Good beer does cost money to make - though if you put the effort into it, I guess all-grain can save a bit of money and still make good beer.

If you like lager (of which Budweiser, despite the fact that I despise it, is an excellent example of the style) you're in for a major hassle - the stuff is brewed at temperatures that make it take forever, and the end result you are shooting for is easily available in tanker trucks for cheap. Good ales are much easier to brew.

When I can find the time (not much lately, but I have a nice mead bulk aging to convince me that I still brew, even though it's been aging for over a year) I make some beer. I have settled on dry malt/specialty grains as the point on the effort curve where I operate - not so much work as all grain, but a lot more control than canned, pre-hopped malt extract. I don't use any "sugar" (as opposed to malt extract) except for priming (providing carbonation).  Beer is made from barley malt, and anything other than barley malt is not helping your beer. I don't drink enough to feel that the investment in a keg system is worthwhile, so I bottle, and I use a little honey or dextrose to provide carbonation. I mostly brew porters and stouts, though I did do a blond "summer ale" a few years back that was quite nice for what it was.

Here are two of the better on-line suppliers - lots of info on the sites, too.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/
http://www.stpats.com/index.htm

As an aside, I personally have a drinking and riding policy that is a LOT stricter than any definition of DUI/OUI - my brain needs to be in top form to ride safely, and I see no point in going out riding with it impaired. Actually, I started there, and eventually transferred the same policy to driving. One lousy beer has measurable effects on your reaction time for much more than one hour after you drink it. I can be social and convivial drinking ginger ale, root beer, iced tea or tonic water, and ride home at 100% - which is what I choose to do. If I drink while I'm out, there's a designated driver who isn't drinking that I'm getting a ride home with.

[yamahonkawazuki]

ive made a batch in the far past, with an alcohol content which would make guinness stout jealous, but it was a royal pain in the ass. agreed, stay away from the mr brew kits, ( which is what i did mine on), however containers have to be sterilised,  ( if not can negatively affect quality) and many more hassles, but a decent wine/liquor type establishment, can guide you in the right direction, and pretty much sell you what you need to make it work. if you are patient enough. this cannot be rushed, AT ALL!.

[DoD#i]

A basic ale can be done in two weeks, though three is better.

Sanitation is a requirement - you're doing applied microbiology, after all. A BIG pot also helps - I use a 10-gallon on a "canning" element on my kitchen stove - this is for 5 gallon batches, but with a full boil a 5 gallon batch starts around 8 gallons, and it froths up quite a bit.

Aiming for a super-high alcohol content makes for many fermentation problems. I prefer to concentrate on good taste.

[lilbill]

Thanks for the tips...I would like to have a go at making a nice porter or stout...I'll check it out.

My riding and drinking policy is the same as your policy DoD...one drink and its no bikey for me...way too much to risk it.  I figured upon it taking a month or so.  I would like to save some cash but having a beer which I brewed to my liking would be great!!  We'll see

[yamahonkawazuki]

A basic ale can be done in two weeks, though three is better.

Sanitation is a requirement - you're doing applied microbiology, after all. A BIG pot also helps - I use a 10-gallon on a "canning" element on my kitchen stove - this is for 5 gallon batches, but with a full boil a 5 gallon batch starts around 8 gallons, and it froths up quite a bit.

Aiming for a super-high alcohol content makes for many fermentation problems. I prefer to concentrate on good taste.

yup, heh mine tasted like guinness on f%$king steroids, wouldnt mind tryin again, but for the work involved, hell i can jsut drink 2 guinness, instead of one of mine and get teh same effect

[theUBS]

I've done a couple of kit beers, but I've always wanted to get into more detailed brewing.  I unfortunately don't have a lot of time to do it though.  I haven't even found the time to get a good lesson in at The Brew Kettle.  Especially considering where you live, I'd highly recommend you make a reservation with them! 

http://www.thebrewkettle.com/
http://www.thebrewkettle.com/selects.htm

As far as cost goes, once you cover the bottles the first go around, you're getting a pretty decent amount of beer for the money!!!  I think you can even buy brewing supplies there.

http://www.thebrewkettle.com/homebrewing.htm

+1 on the importance of sterilization!  ...and ALWAYS remember to use good water!

theUBS
(the Ultimate Beer Snob)

[DoD#i]

It takes a little bit of looking given all the screw-cap beer out there, but I've never "bought" a beer bottle (other than full of beer). I actually do most of my bottling in "sparking cider" bottles, which happen to be heavy-duty, dark green, and take a standard bottle cap. They are about 25 oz, so good for having a beer with someone, or I just pop a plastic cap on it and put it back in the fridge. They are probably twice as thick as the 22oz beer bottles the brew supply places sell. I also have an array of other beer bottles, some of which did cost a nickle (or at least I didn't get it back) since we have a bottle return law. Heavy-duty Coke bottles work well, but you have to store them in the dark since they are clear - but dark is best regardless.

Grolsch bottles are often appealing to the new brewer, as they seem less intimidating that having a decent crown capper (use a capper that the bottle stands in, not a capper than just sits on the neck of the bottle, BTW). I've given most of mine away, as they are comparatively a pain to properly sanitize, and new gaskets cost a lot more than bottlecaps (though you can get more than one use from the gaskets).

[yamahonkawazuki]

ive sterilised 2 liter coke bottles, which worked, well, but damn i set the track record for beer hangovers by the time i finished that batch.  avg alcohol content i guesstimated was close to 20%, well bout 16-18   

[Cal Price]

I used to make a lot a while back, had much better results with the top-fermenting Ales, stouts and Porters and less with Lager types. I bottled using 1 litre PET soft drink bottles but switched to plastic 5 gallon barrels with a CO2 cylinder. Never had a bad one, some were better than others. Best advice is keep good records of everything you do, hydrometer readings etc so that if you hit the perfect note you can repeat it, and cannot over emphasize the importance of keeping your kit sterile.

[DoD#i]

The plastic bottles cause issues with oxidation - oxygen diffuses through them. Pre-staled beer 

They are very strong and will take a heck of a carbonation pressure, but the only place they are really suitable is for transporting small amounts from a keg system for prompt consumption, IMHO.

If you know what to look for by visiting the beer supply sites, you can sometimes do VERY well at garage sales or with friends who don't have the energy to bother anymore. Cheap at the former, sometimes free or it might cost you a beer or two you've made at the latter.

As for the cappers, my brain has finally coughed up the right terminology - single-lever good
, double lever bad .

Oh, and: 

[mikedrees]

i am in the the middle of my first batch now. american style wheat (ale) is fermenting in the closet now. i'll be bottling it on sunday. the way i figure it is if you like GOOD beer, it is alot cheaper to homebrew. plus you can tailor it to your tastes. last week i paid $10.65 for a 6 pack of bottle conditioned wheat. it was good, but a $35 ingredients kit makes 50+ bottles. i have $80 invested in the kit (true brew). the hardware store down the street carries all the homebrew stuff because an employee is in the local homebrew club.

[The Buddha]

K I have a Q about this too.

Essentially boil the water and toss in wheat (I am wheat only guy) and boil it for a few hours and put in yeast when warm right. Then sit it at room temp.

Then 2 weeks later add in sugar and sit for 2 more weeks.

Then ... oK The wheat will all be eaten by the yeast no chunks of stuff left

I can get big ass metal kegs cheap. Will it help ?? or am I better off in wooden barrel, or plastic bucket

Cool.
Buddha.

[DoD#i]

Essentially boil the water and toss in wheat (I am wheat only guy) and boil it for a few hours and put in yeast when warm right. Then sit it at room temp.

Then 2 weeks later add in sugar and sit for 2 more weeks.

Then ... oK The wheat will all be eaten by the yeast no chunks of stuff left

Essentially...no. Not even close. No barley for you?

Malt (sprout) the wheat, and dry it - or purchase wheat malt with that already done. Then you need to steep the wheat malt in water at particular non-boiling temperatures for certain times to allow the enzymes to convert starches to sugars, and extract the sugars - leaving the grain behind. Or you can buy it at this point (as wheat malt extract, which I assume you might be able to find, though barley is far easier to find), too. Then you boil it, add hops, cool, add yeast, ferment, usually move to a second fermenter after a week or so to get it off the bulk of the dead yeast, then bottle, adding a little sugar to cause carbonation, or keg, and add CO2 for carbonation.

[The Buddha]

OK ... steep first ... OK. Leaving the grain behind - so do we filter it at the point where the grain is left behind ? I want unfiltered wheat beer - hefe-weizen style.
Cool.
Buddha.

[TonyKZ1]

Very interesting topic, I've always wanted to make my own beer. I lean towards the brown ales and stouts also. Some of the guys here at work have been making their beer for a while and my supervisor makes pretty good wine.
Tony

[The Buddha]

Wine is easier than beer.
I have heard ... I think.
Cool.
Buddha.

[The Buddha]

Also there are some clowns near me selling a "twice used wine making Barrel" Oak I think.
Seeing that I hate wood tasting beer, and the fact that I also hate plastic tasting beer ... is there an option - like brew it in a metal container ... or do I just give up and drink skunk beer. (hell no, not when I am employed - hefeweizen only)
Cool.
Buddha.