Whats Up With the Brewz! Official Homebrewing Thread

[Sourceworx]

I was talking with Raoul through PMs about homebrewing, and we both thought it would be a cool idea to have a thread to talk all about homebrewing. I know OrangeJet and a few others on JI brew regularly. I myself started brewing in October and I absolutely love it. It's such a great feeling to crack open a beer that I made myself, and having it taste really good.

So feel free to post recipes, brewing tips, etc.

[RaoulDuke]

Good man Source

I told Sourceworx that it was Jstokes thread that made me want to give it a go, so maybe this thread will do the same for others.

Five star thread!

[OrangeJet]

Agreed...great thread.

I am absolutely addicted to brewing. I have a fridge that can't handle one more beer, a closet filled with them, a spare bedroom littered with them, two batches fermenting now, and my next one tentatively planned for Wednesday...another batch of the Haus Pale Ale I just brewed last week. Never again, will I be left with a blown keg of it without a back-up.

I love cracking open a homebrew and tasting it side by side with a commercial version. It's an awesome feeling when yours is better Also very humbling when yours sucks....

[OrangeJet]

If there is one tip that I think has done wonders, it's temperature. Ignore any instructions that say to pitch the yeast under 90 degrees. Wait until it is under 70.

edit: sometimes the esters caused by higher temps are desireable...

[JStokes]

Should try to necro that thread, there were some great pointers in it.

Love the homebrew, if made right, can be better than store bought beer.

I was fortunate, the first times I tried it, I had a brewmaster take me through the process.

I love Lagers and Pils, so I usually stick to them, made a bunch of really tasty ones

And most of the recipes are out of a book that this guy had from about 15 years ago.

Found some great recipes on line too. My buddy that I brew with insists we try different styles in addition to our lagers, so we've made some Heffe Weisen and some Pale Ales, all really very good.

Haven't brewed in a few months, I think it's time to crank out a batch or 2

[PlumberKhan]

What about IPA's? How hard are they to homebrew?

[Sourceworx]

So far my first beer was my best. It was an Imperial Brown Ale that I made from a recipe kit. I added cinnamon, brown sugar, honey and 3lbs of sliced apples during the boil. The beer came out amazing. Some of my friends have been begging me to make another batch of it.

Since then I've made some other brews. Some good, some not so good. My last brew came out pretty bad. It was the first beer where I used finnings. It looked beautiful, like a commercial beer. But the flavor was kind of soapy. I think the extract I used was old or bad. Either that or it got contaminated.

Currently I have an Irish Red that's going to be bottled this upcoming weekend. The recipe calls for aging it at least a month, so I'll have it ready to go on St. Paddy's Day.

I also brewed this past weekend, expecting to be snowed in. A simple English Pale Ale with a healthy amount of Fuggles hops.

[Sourceworx]

Originally Posted by PlumberKhan

What about IPA's? How hard are they to homebrew?

I've never brewed an IPA, but the beer I just brewed this past weekend was a pretty simple recipe. I'll let you know in a few weeks how it turned out.

[LIDeadHead]

Not really brewing beer, but I did get a make-yer-own wine kit. Looks straightforward and wanted to wait until after the SB to get started. Maybe have to make some beer at the same time.

[Sourceworx]

By the way, how many of you guys brew all grain beers? How much space is needed?

I've been sticking to extract brews, mainly because I don't have a ton of space to work in.

[Timmy®]

My wife went shopping for Super Bowl beer and the sales woman was pushing some Chocolate Stout. It was 10.99 for a big bottle though, so she passed and got Smuttynose Winter Ale. Maybe for the better.

[OrangeJet]

Originally Posted by PlumberKhan

What about IPA's? How hard are they to homebrew?

One of the easiest...and unless you buy hops by the pound, can be a tad on the expensive side. If you're a regular brewer of IPA's, hops by the pound is the only way to go.

[OrangeJet]

Originally Posted by sourceworx

By the way, how many of you guys brew all grain beers? How much space is needed?

I've been sticking to extract brews, mainly because I don't have a ton of space to work in.

All grain here. You don't need much more space...but you need the ability to boil around 7 gallons of wort, along with the ability to chill it in a reasonable amount of time. I can get my temp to 65 in about 15-20 minutes with an immersion chiller and an ice bath.

[Peebag]

Originally Posted by Timmy®

My wife went shopping for Super Bowl beer and the sales woman was pushing some Chocolate Stout. It was 10.99 for a big bottle though, so she passed and got Smuttynose Winter Ale. Maybe for the better.

did ya hear 'bout my bottom?

[Sourceworx]

Originally Posted by OrangeJet

All grain here. You don't need much more space...but you need the ability to boil around 7 gallons of wort, along with the ability to chill it in a reasonable amount of time. I can get my temp to 65 in about 15-20 minutes with an immersion chiller and an ice bath.

You have any good extract recipes? I really want to brew a good dunkelweizen. I've found a few recipes on byo.com, but I don't know if they're any good.

[OrangeJet]

Originally Posted by sourceworx

You have any good extract recipes? I really want to brew a good dunkelweizen. I've found a few recipes on byo.com, but I don't know if they're any good.

It's been awhile since I have done any extract brews, and I never did a dunkelweizen with extract. If you find a good looking all-grain receipe, you can use about 20% less extract to sub for the base malt and steep any specialty grains, though.

[RaoulDuke]

All right, I’ve been trying to find an extract recipe for an IPA that does not require a cold fermentation since my basement is 20°C and that’s all the storage space I have.

I’ve found zillions, each recipe has anything from 2 to 5 different malt extracts and 3 to 4 different hops.

WTF do I buy ????

From my online store here’s what I can get.

Dry malt extracts. From what I understand they are generic:
Amber
Black
Blond
Dark


As for the hops (pellets)
Amerillo
Brewers Gold
Cascade (I saw this one mentioned a number of times in the IPA recipes)
Challenger
East Kent Goldings
Fuggles
Hallertau Hersbrucker
Hallertau Mittelfrüh
Hallertau Perle
Northern brewer
Saaz
Spalt select
Styrian goldings
Target
Tettnanger
Willamette


As for the yeast, I think I’m OK. I found this:
Wyeast – Brewer’s Choice: American Ale


Can someone help me pick out the correct ingredients?

Thanks.

[Sourceworx]

Originally Posted by RaoulDuke

All right, I’ve been trying to find an extract recipe for an IPA that does not require a cold fermentation since my basement is 20°C and that’s all the storage space I have.

I’ve found zillions, each recipe has anything from 2 to 5 different malt extracts and 3 to 4 different hops.

WTF do I buy ????

From my online store here’s what I can get.

Dry malt extracts. From what I understand they are generic:
Amber
Black
Blond
Dark


As for the hops (pellets)
Amerillo
Brewers Gold
Cascade (I saw this one mentioned a number of times in the IPA recipes)
Challenger
East Kent Goldings
Fuggles
Hallertau Hersbrucker
Hallertau Mittelfrüh
Hallertau Perle
Northern brewer
Saaz
Spalt select
Styrian goldings
Target
Tettnanger
Willamette


As for the yeast, I think I’m OK. I found this:
Wyeast – Brewer’s Choice: American Ale


Can someone help me pick out the correct ingredients?

Thanks.

IPAs don't require a cold fermentation. They are ales, which are supposed to ferment in the 60-70°F range. Your basement should be fine for any of them.

Check out northernbrewer.com for ingredients. They also have some good recipe kits, with numerous IPA recipes. The website has user reviews on a lot of the kits, so you can see what's good and what isn't.

Cascade hops are a must in IPAs. Great aroma and flavor.

But honestly check into the recipe kits especially if you're brewing for the first time. It's a good way to learn the initial process. Plus you can always modify them.

I just bottled my red ale two days ago. I'm kegging my English Bitter this weekend. It's going to be the first time I force carbonate a beer.

[Sourceworx]

Originally Posted by OrangeJet

It's been awhile since I have done any extract brews, and I never did a dunkelweizen with extract. If you find a good looking all-grain receipe, you can use about 20% less extract to sub for the base malt and steep any specialty grains, though.

Thanks. I found a Hacker Pshorr Dunkelweisse (my favorite) clone recipe on BYO that I'm going to try next week.

[Dirtstar]

Rex Banner is not amused...