Does anyone on this site homebrew? I have been doing it for about a year and a half, and it is very rewarding...

I like being able to physically leave the house once in a while :drunk:

Overrated...

I did it once a few years ago.  We bottled them in re-sealable Grolsh bottles.  I know one thing, don't drink it before it is ready....

^I know that would be my problem.  Patience is hard.

 

I've been thinking about trying brewing out.  What sort of expense are we talking about?  How much of my tiny apartment will I have to devote to this?

I have done it before at a micro brewery with a group. I kind of like that they had to deal with sanitation of things. I take it brewing is like canning, you have to be really careful. Anyway one of the batches (a MArtzen) was awesome. The other, a Bock, was not as good. It got really mediciney. I do not think I would bother to do it at home. I really do not have the space to store everything.  It is a lot of fun picking a recipe and seeing how it is made. Once you have invested in the 22 oz bottles, then brewing at a micro brewery is a little cheaper than buying brand name. 

Well the whole process does not take up a lot of space at all. Other than a few odds and ends, the biggest pieces you need is a large bucket (or glass jug known as a carboy) to ferment in, and a big brewpot. It is essentially like cooking, but you do have to keep your equipment sanitary. Currently I brew good beer for about 15 dollars a case, though that can be brought down using different techniques. And as far as investing in bottles, you can reuse any bottle that is not a twist-off. I just rinse bottles after I drink a beer...my own recycling program.

 

And you just need patience for that first batch. After that, you will always have some on hand, and you won't have to worry about keeping your hands off the newly brewed batch.

 

Perhaps a homebrew seminar is in order...

I have had an interest as well.  I have also heard people mention the importance of sanitation.  Is this somehow more important than regular cooking?  If you just wash your supplies with soap and water, is that good enough?  boilover, what would you estimate the startup cost to be to get all of the equipment and supplies necessary? 

I think sanitation is little more stringent than ordinary cooking. Kind of like canning-you can get sick if not done right. You can tread into home brewing lightly by trying at a local brewing facility. Definitely keep the bottles.

The sanitation aspect is important after you boil all of your ingredients together. Once the unfermented beer (called wort, pronounced wert) has cooled, you transfer it into a sanitary container and add the yeast. Being the perfect environment for yeast to grow in also makes it the perfect environment for bacteria to grow as well. Most bacteria are not harmful, but will add off flavors to the beer. However if there are harmful bacteria, they will grow as well, and thus make you sick.

 

You can buy startup kits for 50-75 dollars, which include just about everything you need except a recipe, bottles, and a brewpot. Ingredient kits run about 25-35 dollars, which get you a 5 gallon (a little over two cases) of beer. As I said, I just collect bottles I have used. And important note when buying a brewpot, make sure it is either stainless steel or enamel, not aluminum.

 

That is for extract brewing, where most of the fermentable sugar comes from a malt extract syrup. In all-grain brewing, you make your own extract from different grains. It requires slightly more equipment, adds time to the process, but is cheaper to brew in the long run. And you can get much more variation in the character of beer you make, as you are not limited to the stock of available malt syrups.

 

Homebrewing can be addictive. I started, then got my buddy involved, and now he works for Miller, so you never know where it will take you...

By the way, after one or two kits to get the process down and learn what you like about beer (malt, hops, different yeast flavors) half the fun becomes making up your own recipes and/or trying to replicate your favorite beer.

I've always wanted to see what it would be like to brew my own beer. New job and everything else has made it hard for me to find the time to research more into it. I know its not the same, or legal,  :angel: but a guy I work with hooks me up with some pretty good moonshine. He gave me peach and mountain berry to try out this weekend. Sounds odd, but he even has a batch flavored like apple pie.

i homebrew several times a year.  If you can keg the beer I recommend it, otherwise it is a lot of work.  Basically it is a fun excuse to hang out with your buddies for an afternoon and you get several gallons of beer out of it.

I think sanitation is little more stringent than ordinary cooking. Kind of like canning-you can get sick if not done right. You can tread into home brewing lightly by trying at a local brewing facility. Definitely keep the bottles.

 

generally the beer will taste awful if infected with bacteria, so you won't get sick unless you like really bad beer

cincinnati is hosting the national homebrewer's convention this summer

For those of you interested in trying, and want a sinple introduction of the process, try to find the ber making episode of the food network's show "Good Eats".  Once I watched it, I realized it couldn't be that hard (and it wasn't).

I have a lager fermenting in a glass carboy down in the basement as we speak.

I brewed for a while with a friend of mine in Seattle, and will probably be taking it up with a different friend here soon.  I'm excited.  In addition to beer, we will also be doing mead, which will be awesome, because it is so seldom commercially available.

did you see this article on mead?:

http://www.slate.com/id/2184361/

while i'm definitely no expert, i've been brewing on and off for about three years now.  i really think my wife and i are going to be a great brewing team!  we recently brewed a fantastic dortmunder style ale, which for $32, made about 30 22oz bottles of creamy yet hoppy ale, with a beautiful head - delicious!

if you don't want to invest in a glass carboy, you can always ferment in 5 gallon food grade plastic buckets, so long as you have the lid.  we also have  used a 'gatorade style' 5 gallon orange thermos with a spigot.  the spigot made the process of filling the bottles really really easy.

if anyone in the cleveland area would ever be interested in trading bottles of home brew, i'd be most interested!

 

Boilover:  do you know why aluminum is a bad choice for cooking the wort?  is it due to some sort of reaction?  we used a 4 gallon aluminum pot, but had no problems.

I only drink HeBREW. It's the chosen beer :drunk: :-D

 

but a guy I work with hooks me up with some pretty good moonshine. He gave me peach and mountain berry to try out this weekend. Sounds odd, but he even has a batch flavored like apple pie.

 

I wonder if his neighbors ever report explosion noises coming from his house. Reminds me of a funny episode of The Simpsons.

I have a few questions for the home brewers regarding some of the steps.

When we brewed at the brew keeper, after filling the bottles we did something to, I believe, suck air out of the bottle. It was done by a machine. Is this needed at home?

 

Second, there was a manual machine to put the caps on. What about this part at home?

 

Finally do you store the bucket in the fridge while it ferments?

 

In Cle, where are you getting your supplies (the place on Mayfield is coming to mind currently)

1. I don't remember sucking air out of my bottles, though it may be a good idea if one has the equipment.

 

2. There is a little handheld clamp to crimp on the bottle tops.  It's a pain.

 

3. I wouldn't think so.  Ales ferment in the low 60's (ideally) and while lagers ferment at a lower temp, I don't think it is "fridge" cold.  But I don't remember offhand.  I never tried brewing lagers.

 

4. There is a store on Detroit, just west of Warren Rd. that has all the supplies.  I haven't purchased there yet, though. In Seattle I lived two doors down from Bob's Homebrew, which was convenient.  But that doesn't help us here, I suppose.

Aluminum reacts with the acids in the wort, causing it to leach into the liquid. This can contribute to off flavors, not to mention the consumption of aluminum.

 

Never sucked the air out of bottles.

 

As far as cappers I use the manual capper with the two handles. It is starting to become a little worse for wear, so I am going to invest in a bench capper soon.

 

As noted above, ales are best fermented between 65-68 degrees. Lagers, depending on style and yeast, are best done between 35-55 degrees. There are also steam styles which are lagers fermented at ale temps.

 

I have never been to cleveland, so I can't help with homebrew stores. Listermann in Cincinnati is a phenomenal shop. Paradise brewing out on Beechmont Ave isn't bad either. For the all grain brewer though, Listermann can't be beat.

^The Party Source in Bellevue, KY has a decent aisle for home brewing, plus the people that work there are very knowledgeable about home brewing as well.  I used to work there, these guys know their stuff, and if they don't they will find out right away and let you know whats up.   

Rozi's is the homebrew/beer/wine store in Lakewood on Detroit & Warren where I purchased the Dortmunder Ale kit.  Their selection is somewhat limited, but the folks at the store are friendly and knowledgeable.

There is another store in Berea, which I believe is called Twice Good Wines.

A bit further out is Leener's in Northfield, which appears to have an excellent selection, though I've yet to visit > http://www.leeners.com/aboutus.html

Further still, in Kent, is LD Carslon, which is one of the country's largest wholesale distributors of wine and beer making supplies.  They produce the Brewers Best kits which can be found at all area homebrew stores, as well as home brew stores across the country.  Not sure if they have a retail option in Kent though.  http://www.ldcarlson.com

 

 

Here's another list > http://cryptobrewology.com/homebrew-suppliers.php?Ohio

 

the use of aluminum for a brew pot seems to be an ongoing controversy in the home brew world. some love it and some stay away from it.

I started with the Classic English Pale Ale kit from brewers best and it made a pretty decent beer. That was with the brewers best equipment kit as well. All told it got me started for like 80 bucks (the only thing I had already was a big pot that I could use for the boil).

 

Listermann makes their own kits, and they can be mail ordered. Being from DC, I also like to use annapolis home brew, which is in annapolis maryland. They mail order as well, and they have some good variety to their kits. Listermann has a larger grain selection, while annapolis has a bigger malt selection (I am talking fresh malt they get in bulk, not the canned stuff that sits on the shelf for months...)

Rozi's is the one.  If you look at the Lakewood photo thread Inkaelin did recently, it is in one of the pictures about halfway through.

I had no idea Rozi's had supplies. I think they are a great shop and nice people running it. If any Cleveland area people have the materials such as bottle capper, big pot,buckets, strainers, etc, I would go in on actual beer materials (malts, hops, grains etc) and labor. I just can't do IPA'S though. Which may rule me out.  I can't find the supply place that was on Mayfield rd. Maybe it closed?

Great thread, i actually just bottled my second batch of homebrew last night, my wife got me a pretty nice kit for christmas this  year. I believe that she picked it up from Homebrew Heaven off the internet. It was pretty pricy but came with everything I would need except for bottles and a pot. I actually was in Rozi's last night to pick up a couple of cases of bottles. It looks like they have everything you would need for homebrewing from the kits to individual ingredients. I agree with  boilover, I have done two kits and I itching to try a reciepe next.

 

Has anybody on here had experience using the 5 gal kegs. bottling is a pain....

I haven't tried kegging, but to be honest bottling with two people goes pretty quick. My buddy and I who brew together just pick a role, one of us fills bottles, the other one caps. The whole process may take a half hour. It took me about an hour the one time I had to do it myself.

 

As a quick note to budding homebrewers: Charlie Papazian's homebrewers bible is one of the greatest books on earth. You can read the basics in there and feel smart, then start getting into the advanced stuff, feel stupid, then start to realize what he is talking about and feel only moderately ignorant. Once you have a grasp on things it becomes a great tool.

 

And as for recipes, I do recommend buying, or at least looking at the BYO (Brew Your Own) magazines 150 clone brew  issue. Most homebrew stores sell it. It is great to look at beers you like to drink, and how to try and replicate them. Even if you don't follow a certain recipe, it gives you some guidelines and something to get creative with.

 

Thanks Boilover, I already got a copy of the bible in the kit. It is great, it goes from the first timer to advanced. I already realized that I probably screwed up the IPA by putting the bittering hops in too early. I like my IPA with some bite. It should be more than drinkable though.

 

I am pretty luck that I've got a couple of family friends that have been serious homebrewers for years and once I get the hang of it they will be an invaluable resource. They both keg their beer and I was thinking I've got an old (but working) frig in my garage...hmmm

 

btw... How bad was your first boilover to clean up?

Well, it teaches you not to let it happen again...

As far as your IPA, you need bittering hops in there from the start of the boil. There are a lot of "continuously hopped" beers, like dogfish head's 60, 90, or 120 min IPA which have hops thrown in about every ten minutes during the boil.

here is another brew supply place: 

http://www.leeners.com/index.html

 

l actually found it looking for something else. I wish I had more room to store this kind of thing. I just am not sure I have space

If anyone is a fan of IPA's, I am ordering a case of Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe IPA. Retails for something absurd, like 12 bucks a four pack. But it is damn good. If anyone wants to throw in with me, I am going to have it by this weekend (I hope).

Wow that Leeners store looks great. Thanks for the find Peabody.

Got the double simcoe, just as good as I remembered. The last IPA I made was a centennial IPA (i.e. Bell's two hearted ale). The next one will definitely be a Simcoe...

I'd like to thank the wonderful folks at Great Lakes Brewing Company - $7.49 six-packs for the month of February! :-)

I'd like to thank the wonderful folks at Great Lakes Brewing Company - $7.49 six-packs for the month of February! :-)

 

I think I need to go and buy myself some birthday presents....

I'd like to thank the wonderful folks at Great Lakes Brewing Company - $7.49 six-packs for the month of February! :-)

 

Whooo hoooo!!!

Is that price only good at the Ohio City location? Or are they on sale for that price at all Northeast Ohio stores?

I've been emailing Sam McNulty to convince him of the merits of operating a small brewing supply store in the soon to open Market Garden Brewery on W. 25.  I'm figuring a 10'X10' area would be plenty of space and a great connection to the west side market stands next store.  Perhaps it could have it's own entrance and be open during market hours?  Sure would be convenient and get me brewing more often....

Another good home brew supply store is JW Dover on Detroit, way out in Westlake.  They have a good selection +  a wine tasting cave and a variety of old soda tanks for kegging.  www.jwdover.com

 

Anyone in NEO up for trading homebrew?

I like Rossi's in Downtown Lakewood for homebrewing supplies, but it would be cool if McNulty opened a supply store in OC.

I'd like to thank the wonderful folks at Great Lakes Brewing Company - $7.49 six-packs for the month of February! :-)

 

Whooo hoooo!!!

Is that price only good at the Ohio City location? Or are they on sale for that price at all Northeast Ohio stores?

 

Confirmed - that price is good all over, for the month of February! :-)

Damn, and that's a good price? I used to buy Schafer or Stroh's for less than $4 a 12-pack in 1985! Granted, that was cheap pisswater, but the point wasn't to enjoy it on your tastebuds but in your dying brain cells. Then there was Little Kings -- priced for the starter drinkers in college....

I've been emailing Sam McNulty to convince him of the merits of operating a small brewing supply store in the soon to open Market Garden Brewery on W. 25.  I'm figuring a 10'X10' area would be plenty of space and a great connection to the west side market stands next store.  Perhaps it could have it's own entrance and be open during market hours?  Sure would be convenient and get me brewing more often....

Another good home brew supply store is JW Dover on Detroit, way out in Westlake.  They have a good selection +  a wine tasting cave and a variety of old soda tanks for kegging.  www.jwdover.com

 

Anyone in NEO up for trading homebrew?

 

I'm not in NEO, but I homebrew....I have ordered kits from Austin Home Brew Supply http://www.austinhomebrew.com/

 

They have Extract, Partial Mash and All Grain Kits..hundreds and hundreds of 'em...as well as clone kits. And all the other stuff

 

Check out

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/

 

 

If you ever in the "nati check out Listerman's on Dana Ave near Xavier

 

http://www.listermann.com/

Not sure where the Beer You Go thread went that I created.  I guess this is the thread now...

I'll second Austin Home Brew Supply...My brother just made a keg boiler so we can starting brewing with all grain.

 

KJP, don't worry you can still get a 12 pack of highlife long necks for $7.00 out the door including tax at most places...

 

 

MMMM Stroh's America's only fire brewed beer. We drank a lot of Stroh's in college.

I happened to go to Biddulph Beverage in Brooklyn a few weeks ago and realized that they allow you to break up six packs and buy singles or make your own six packs.  I've been going there ever since to buy and try all kinds of new stuff.  They have a pretty decent selection, and if they don't have something, they'll typically order it for you.  But the hours kind of suck (they close at 8pm during the week).

 

Anyone know of any other beverage stores in NEO that will allow customers to break up six packs?

Has anyone tried the Lake Erie Monster by Great Lakes?  It is very strong and very delicious. It might be my new favorite GLBC beer.