My advice is to skip extract completely and start with brew-in-a-bag (BIAB) if you are not comfortable with all grain to start. I started with extract and moved to BIAB, and I don't think there was anything that was difficult about BIAB that I would have regretted starting with that from the beginning.
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Last: 8 mo ago by goodbull92
I agree with at least doing a mini mash. May not need to do full BIAB right away, but the mini mash kits I got started on were great.
Essentially, you steep some grains for a bit, then remove the bag and bring to a boil. Unlike a regular full mash, you then add your LME or DME. Generally the steeped grains are specialty grains.
Essentially, you steep some grains for a bit, then remove the bag and bring to a boil. Unlike a regular full mash, you then add your LME or DME. Generally the steeped grains are specialty grains.
I talked to my brother-in-law & he agreed with what you guys suggested. I ordered the morebeer starter kit & he is going to help get me going. I'm looking forward to joining these discussions with you all.
goodbull92 said:
I talked to my brother-in-law & he agreed with what you guys suggested. I ordered the morebeer starter kit & he is going to help get me going. I'm looking forward to joining these discussions with you all.
Its a science and an art. First you have to nail the science and then you can work on making better beer.
After you get the kit the #1 first issue you'll face is using the right water. Since you'll be doing extract, this is pretty easy. Just use RO water. Get 2 5 gallon water jugs and fill up at a Glacier or similar spot. We'll water may have all sorts of high concentrations. Municipal water is most likely treated with Chloromines, which is a stable form of chlorine which is used to sanitize the drinking water. While you may not be able to taste it, during fermentation the yeast will transform this into a medicinal or plastic flavor. It'll ruin your beer but it's the easiest flaw to avoid. If you have a home RO unit (not the fridge filtered water) that'll work as well.
The 2nd issue is managing fermentation temps. This can be a bit tricky depending on your budget or space. Ideally for ales you want it 65F to 68F. There is some leeway. The cheapest option is to put your FV in a big bucket and fill it with water to a level an inch below the wort line in your FV, then throw an old Tshirt around. The shirt will wick water up and it'll evap off. That will keep it cooler. Rotate frozen water bottles out to keep the water cool.
Rule of thumb: active fermentation is about 1 week. After the yeast is done farting, let it sit a second week to allow the yeast to reabsorb by products. Then you're ready to package.
Also out of the blue the AHA sent me a notice I'm now a Distinguished Certified judge. I need to prep and take the written exam to hit National.
Thanks for the tips & encouragement! I look forward to learning & discussing this new adventure.
Also, ales are best to start with generally. But brew what you like and want to have a lot of!
Blonde ale, amber ale are both great starting options.
My first handful of batches I learned on I used store bought water. Good rec from Alaska. Remove that variable as being a potential detractor while you learn. Didn't use a drinking water hose with a filter and adjustments until a little later.
Blonde ale, amber ale are both great starting options.
My first handful of batches I learned on I used store bought water. Good rec from Alaska. Remove that variable as being a potential detractor while you learn. Didn't use a drinking water hose with a filter and adjustments until a little later.
I am very fortunate and have very good tap water for brewing. I sent specimens in to Ward Labs twice. My only complaint is that it is a little high in sodium for most styles. The only way to fix that is with dilutions, I typically don't and it's never been an issue. I will amend my water for English styles and NEIPAs by adding various components but for most other styles I brew as is. For Pilsners, 7gal distilled to 1gal of my water is very close to Pilsen water profile.
swampstander
I got my brew kit in yesterday! I plan on starting my first batch this weekend with the help of my BIL. He suggested using the Primo water station at Walmart for this brew. Anyone have opinions on that water? They do say they use RO and this is their filtering explanation:
- 9-Stage Purification Process including Reverse Osmosis to ensure quality
- Ingredients: purified water, sodium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate
That's probably just fine IMO. Unless the Na:Cl ratio is all whacky, but I'm guessing since it's store bought they're not.
If I remember right (been a while since I've thought about this), higher Na concentration will lend itself to more bite on the beer and crispness, and more Cl is what drives softness or that plush mouthfeel. I think as long as one or the other doesn't heavily heavily outweigh the other you'll be okay.
If I remember right (been a while since I've thought about this), higher Na concentration will lend itself to more bite on the beer and crispness, and more Cl is what drives softness or that plush mouthfeel. I think as long as one or the other doesn't heavily heavily outweigh the other you'll be okay.
What's your first batch going to be?
AlaskanAg99 said:
What's your first batch going to be?
The German Hefeweizen.
Yesterday I brewed an English style IPA for a SMaSH beer competition coming up in April. I have brewed this once before and it turned out great. To get the caramel flavor and color associated with this style I did a small separate mash the day before. I took a gallon of first runnings from this mash and boiled it down to a quart of thick sticky caramel. This was treated as amber liquid malt extract for my calculations. I posted a pic of before and after boiling it down below.
SMaSH English IPA 5.5 gallons
Grain/Extract/Sugar
2.00 lbs. caramelized Maris Otter wort
8.00 lbs. Maris Otter
Hops
1.00 oz. Goldings - E.K. 60 min.
1.00 oz. Goldings - E.K. 45 min.
1.00 oz. Goldings - E.K. 15 min.
Mash 1 hour at 154
SO-4 yeast.
SMaSH English IPA 5.5 gallons
Grain/Extract/Sugar
2.00 lbs. caramelized Maris Otter wort
8.00 lbs. Maris Otter
Hops
1.00 oz. Goldings - E.K. 60 min.
1.00 oz. Goldings - E.K. 45 min.
1.00 oz. Goldings - E.K. 15 min.
Mash 1 hour at 154
SO-4 yeast.
swampstander
Sounds good. Clever use of the base malt to add some different character and color into the single malt beer.
Ya... hopefully it will stand out in a smash competition. I was braver the last time I did it as far as how thick I boiled it down. Pic below is what I ended up with that time. Paper plate is vertical.Chipotlemonger said:
Sounds good. Clever use of the base malt to add some different character and color into the single malt beer.
swampstander
Our youngest kid is walking now and he doesn't need to be constantly held, so free time has been easier to come by the last month or so. I just ordered ingredients to brew 3 batches over the next 2 months - a Belgian Golden Strong, then a Hazy IPA, then a fruited Saison. Feels good to be getting back into it after a 2 year hiatus.
Got my first brew day in yesterday! Everything seemed to go well. Thanks for the encouragement & information!
That's a beautiful sight! Keep us updated.
goodbull92 said:
Got my first brew day in yesterday! Everything seemed to go well. Thanks for the encouragement & information!
Looks like a nice cool fermentation based on your thermometer.
swampstander
This may be sacrilegious but has anyone tried the Pinter home brewing system? I have been gifted a kit and it looks kind of cool.
Ornlu
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There used to be a thing called Brew in a Bag or something like that. This was actually my first home brew experiment. My dad was not really a beer drinker but someone gifted him a Brew in the Bag in the early 1990s. He was living in coastal Massachusetts at the time so his cellar was typically cool. On a whim he and I brewed the thing and the bag swelled up the next day. We left to drive back to Texas a few days later. The next summer the bag was still hanging from the ceiling of the cellar (basement). At some point we decided to give it a taste. We never made it that far, just a sniff sufficed.
swampstander
I think you're thinking of the Mr Beer system.
Brew in a Bag didn't become popular until the teens.
Brew in a Bag didn't become popular until the teens.
You are probably right. It did have a thick plastic bag that was used to ferment in though.AlaskanAg99 said:
I think you're thinking of the Mr Beer system.
Brew in a Bag didn't become popular until the teens.
swampstander
Fermentation completed. Kegging this afternoon. FG came in at 1.015 for a calculated ABV of 4.86%. A little lower ABV than I expected but I can't wait to see how it tastes!
Awesome! Try it now if you haven't dumped that sample already! Interesting to see how a beer tastes before getting carbed up.
Been out of town a couple weeks. Finally tapped my SMaSH English IPA on Thursday evening. I think it came out spot on as far as taste and color. Now I better bottle some before I drink it all.
swampstander
It's brew day y'all! First one in almost 2 years. Got about 40 minutes left on my 90 minute boil, for a Duvel clone. This is just like riding a bike.
fav13andac1)c said:
Hey all. Selling my keezer if anyone is interested. Includes 4 intertaps, temp controller, tank, and pressure regulator. Pickup in Corpus Christi. Open to offers.
I'll list on FB soon but I've been holding off because it feels weird to get rid of homebrewing gear. But I've brewed twice in two years so it doesn't feel right to take up all this space on equipment I'm not using. Speaking of which, I have a ton of homebrewing gear I AM willing to ship. If anyone needs anything specific, let me know. I'll post an inventory soon. If anyone isn't cool with me selling stuff here, say the word. Just like doing business with fellow Aggies and I think most folks looking at this thread would recognize my handle.
Hey yall, reposting this here. Willing to let it go for $150 to an Aggie. The faucets alone are worth $120. Located in Corpus Christi, but I am relocating to DFW area next week, if folks in that area are interested.
Hell of a deal! Crazy the evolution that homebrewing has had.
Brewing a RIS called Russian Collusion it's going to be "bourbon barrel" aged. This one is going to be about 10%. Last time I made it it went to 13% but I couldn't get that much grain into my mash tun. I brewed a dark mild last week and this is going right on top of the leftover yeast cake. Should be ready for Thanksgiving. Been fighting these weird tiny worms that are falling out of the trees.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1546769/russian-collusion
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1546769/russian-collusion
swampstander
Carbonation not complete but the first sample tastes great!
That chipped lip on the glass...
Yea, I was pretty sure someone would notice & comment on that once I uploaded the picture. The chip doesn't bother me. I just spin the glass around & chug away.AlaskanAg99 said:
That chipped lip on the glass...
I do have a question though. How do you guys carbonate your beer? I kegged this one without any priming sugar and pressurized the keg to 15 PSI of CO2. How long should it take to fully carbonate with the method I used? Also, what have you found to be your preferred way of carbonating?
At 15 psi it should be about a week. There are calculators on kegerator.com to figure out pressures based on line length and diameters. I only do force carbonation. Less hassle than trying to bottle condition.
Force carb in keg is a function of temp and pressure.
Once you get it to serving temp a fool proof way is to set pressure equal to serving pressure (pressure/ID of tubing/length of tubing). Takes roughly a week. However, if you agitate the keg while carbonation it'll absorb gas quicker. But you still need 24hrs for the beer to settle down and for particulates to drop out of solution.
I personally do serving pressure, set it and forget it for a week.
Once you get it to serving temp a fool proof way is to set pressure equal to serving pressure (pressure/ID of tubing/length of tubing). Takes roughly a week. However, if you agitate the keg while carbonation it'll absorb gas quicker. But you still need 24hrs for the beer to settle down and for particulates to drop out of solution.
I personally do serving pressure, set it and forget it for a week.
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