Any other Home Brewers out there?

I have several varieties of hops growing around the farm. They are about a foot tall. We make hop pillows to make you sleep like a baby.
 
Jr Hampton said:
It's a fun hobby, until you have a bad batch and have to dump 5 gal of beer down the drain.
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No joke. I actually had to dump my first ever batch. I keep trying to drink it. I thought its just in your head that its nasty... nope it was nasty. Now I over sanitize....

SixPapaCharlie said:
I used the airlocks but went to a blow off tube after I made an IPA that I dry hopped and the airlock couldn't keep up with the carbonation. Never got the green stains off the ceiling.
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That becomes a pita with the heavy gravity beers. Blow off tube is almost a necessity.
jonnyjetprop said:
What home brewing did do was to destroy my ability to drink **** beer. I'm now a beer snob. I love a good glass of beer.
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Sounds about right.
 
I just got into brewing a few months ago. So far, I have only done 5 gallon extract kits from Northern Brewer. Of course all the ingredients come in a box, but I always do something to make it my own, and I want to do extract until I find the styles that I really like before I progress to AG. I have an American Cream Ale in the keg right now using Northern Brewer's base kit and added a little Oklahoma wild honey to give it a bit of a local character. I just brewed an American Wheat yesterday. I added the zest of two Oranges and an oz. of coriander at the tail end of the boil just to put my own spin on it. I have high hopes for this one being a great summer brew. I guess we'll see. I plan on doing a Kolsch next. For the colder months, I prefer brewing up darker beers with a little more body. Malty and less hoppy English Brown Ales and Scottish Ales are my favorite for winter. It's a really fun hobby. Part science, part art, and delicious to boot.
 
Do a partial mash. Get to have some fun with the grains that way. Your supplier should have many recipes with proper amounts of grain and extract. I have been doing it this way for years.

Also, make friends with your local pub owner. Ask for all their Grolsch empties. 16oz, no capping required. Just need to mindful of the stoppers and replace when needed. Also something attained from your supplier. One step better....kegging!
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Do you get a noticeably better end product with all grains?
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All Grain brewing is absolutely the best way to go in terms of control, quality, and creativity. It adds a little more time onto the brew day but the net result is worth the extra effort. I've been brewing now for 21 years and love beer! along with flying of course.
 
It's getting all breaking bad up in here.

Finishing up a cab, one experimental, and a chocolate cherry port.


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Oak shavings, and grape skins in the cheese cloth


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And now we wait

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SixPapaCharlie said:
It's getting all breaking bad up in here.

Finishing up a cab, one experimental, and a chocolate cherry port.


999982607431.jpg





Oak shavings, and grape skins in the cheese cloth


999996368808.jpg



And now we wait

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So that's what you were doing while your sister and I drank wine and shot the schit. Looking forward to sampling the results! :D
 
Have to keep the supply up to match the demand :)
 
RonHammer may have some info on this but I am perplexed so please chime in if you have thoughts sir.

I started a Cab about a year ago and it had been in the fermenter for longer than the directions specified because I got busy. So I was supposed to bottle it about 5 months ago but I just never got to it.

That said, I sampled it twice during that time and both times, I thought it was shot and wasn't going to make it.

It just seemed a little sour and I kept thinking at some point this is going to turn to vinegar.

I let my mom try it and she just goes "No this is a young wine, it needs time"

Last weekend I bottle it and I steal a sample and it is great. It seems in about 2 months of just sitting there, it went from being not so good and thinking I might have to dump it to being pretty good. Still needs time in the bottles but that was a dramatic change in a short period for a wine that had been sitting for almost a year total.

Is this normal?

Last year, I tossed 5 gallons of Merlot because it tasted iffy and now I wonder if it was just "young" as my mom calls it.

If I make something that seems off do I just wait it out?
 
You can watch the Ph levels and chemically balance the taste or simply wait.

I have 5 gallons of Mead that is nearly 12% and sweet but has been trending on the acidic side. Instead of bottling or balancing, I let it sit for about 6 months to age in bulk and now I think I'd rather find a big straw and skip bottling all together.
 
Kits are designed for the "quick" satisfaction. So more time is usually good.
As long as it has an air lock waiting to bottle it everything is good.
Was it in the "fermenter" or did you already transfer at least one time or was it still sitting on the sediment (lees ).
This bulk again vs bottle ageing. I have a port that is bulk ageing for over a year now. Wife is getting impatient :)

Yes ageing wine helps balance everything out and mellow wines. Usually cant go wrong ageing longer.
Waiting longer (ageing) also helps things settle out and clarify the wine.

If you screwed up something and made Vinegar you will know. :mad:

Try here
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/
 
ron22 said:
Kits are designed for the "quick" satisfaction. So more time is usually good.
As long as it has an air lock waiting to bottle it everything is good.
Was it in the "fermenter" or did you already transfer at least one time or was it still sitting on the sediment (lees ).
This bulk again vs bottle ageing. I have a port that is bulk ageing for over a year now. Wife is getting impatient :)

Yes ageing wine helps balance everything out and mellow wines. Usually cant go wrong ageing longer.
Waiting longer (ageing) also helps things settle out and clarify the wine.

If you screwed up something and made Vinegar you will know. :mad:

Try here
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/
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Cool Thanks.

I had transferred it to a 2nd fermenter. Only thing in the carboy was the wine and oak chips.
 
Haven't tried wine yet, thought it is on the list of things to do. All my fermenters are 6 and 5 gallons, and the kits seems to call for 7 and 6.

I do the all grain tango most of the time, though once in a while someone will gift me a kit and then I get to recall what a 'short' brew day is. I did go a little extreme on the home brewing, with a single tier all electric brew stand, kegs in the fridge and a fermentation chest. I think the electronics are more than half of the fun. But, I save money, right?

For all grain vs extract - I hit the point where after N extract kits, I could taste this twang that was there in every single one. Made the switch to brew in a bag and discovered wet barley is <blanking> heavy and turned my bottling bucket into a mash tun. Just used a mesh bag and steamer basket in the bottom, wrapped in some bubble wrap.
 
Gary F said:
A friend and I made some pretty good stuff when we were in high school. We added a few cans of frozen Welches grape juice, sugar and a pack of baking yeast to a cider jug and filled it with water. We stuck a balloon over the jug opening and placed it in his attic. We made several batches that way until it got a little too hot and the balloon burst and the whole house smelled like prison hooch. His parents were not amused.
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SixPapaCharlie said:
Smart to use a balloon. I did it in capped bottles.
Went to open one and it exploded. Glass went everywhere.

I gently carried the rest out side and threw rocks at them from behind a piece of plywood.
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Non-lubricated condoms work better, or so the Machinist Mates who made bilge wine say. They are stronger.

Back to beer, I've been saving my non-twist off bottles to either trade with a home brewer or brew my own.

I have not made any since college.
 
I've got all the stuff for making wine. My wife and I made one batch about two years ago, then had two kids and now there isn't enough time in the day.

We used the quick fermenting kit and it was... okay. Next time I'll let it bulk age some more and see what happens. I think a Chianti is on the to do list. I'm an Italian wine kind of guy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I did the same went from kits to all grain. I went through a couple of mills to find one that cracked them open the way I like.

I agree with everyone else's comments, that you have a lot more control over the quality, and flavors (I would recommend being very careful with using smoke flavoring in beer, a little goes a very long ways).

For me the bigger turning point was going from bottling to a Firestone keg set up. It is much easier to clean, sanitize and fill than bottles, and you add carbonation later, so that is one less step.
 
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