I saw VoIPA in another thread talking about brewing beer. This is something I've sort of wanted to do for a while, but I'm slightly hesitant. I don't know what a "good" brewing system is, or how much to expect to pay. I'm sure there are a lot of bogus ones out there.

I've heard that it's tough to make decent beer the first few times you try. Why is that, if you properly follow a recipe?

Also, if anyone's ever made wine, any thoughts about how tough that is?

Thanks, it's Friday and I'm bored!

 

I've used the cheap Beer Machine to brew a couple of batches. I bought it from Fry's Electronics. It is very cheaply made. This design provides complete "packet" mixtures of different styles of beer and tiny CO2 cartridges to pressurize the plastic keg as you dispense. I follow the directions, wait about six days, and my results are fantastic. My tap water must be good.

I had a buddy stop by, driving down from Northern CA to drop off some of HIS homebrew for a local competition. He's won awards across CA for a couple of years now (and he's got a serious set-up w/bottling and such). Anyway, he's beer-fussy but he was surprised and gave it two thumbs up too.

I'd keep brewing but my SO doesn't like the room it takes up in the fridge. So someday I'll buy a garage fridge and drink more...

 

When just starting to brew your own, brew ALE. To do a lager (well) is more difficult and I'd save that for after you have a dozen or so batches of ale under your belt. If your not sure of the difference, save your money or keep doing homework.

Good beer is the result of good ingredients (surprise!). So, don't buy a kit with powdered malt and yeast, you'll end up with a bitter taste in your mouth (ha! a beer pun!).

Find a "brew your own" supply store & ask lots of questions. Plan to spend around $75 for a very basic setup (GLASS carboy, cleaning brushes, brew kettle, etc.) Ingredients will set you back another $40-75 depending on what you brew. ALWAYS use liquid yeasts, and a combo of liquid malt and dry grain when you first start (stay away from powdered malt and yeast).

Buying at the liquor store is cheaper and WAY more convenient. Brew your own as a hobby, and because you like to play mad scientist. There is a lot of activity at the molecular level when you brew your own and it's really quite interesting from a chemistry point of view.

 

I think I may have been on the other thread with VoIPA. I'd echo the comments above* and add that you should just start by doing it. I highly recommend http://www.midwestsupplies.com/ as a source for everything. I've tried local stores in Southern California and they're never as fresh or cheap as Midwest (I think ground shipping is still free). Plus, Midwest has the ultimate perk -- with any order they'll send you a free video that shows you every single step of the brewing process from a professional home brewer. That video is much better than any beginner book I've seen.

Kit -- pick up the intermediate kit here: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/equipkit.asp

That kit is pretty good. I prefer a different style of bottle capper but other than that it's right on IMO. Other kits often include crappy cleaner. Always look for a type like One Step, rather than chemical solutions like bleach which has terrible fumes and require another rinse step that adds more time to bottling day.

To start, try stable ale recipes. One that I like on Midwest is their Octane IPA. It's sort of like Stone Arogant Bastard -- strong flavor, high alcohol hit. With any yeast get liquid, as suggested above. The powder requires another long, error-prone step where you have to bloom/grow the yeast in a warm sugar solution. It's completely unnecessary if you have access to good brewers' yeast and results in less live yeast to combat any contamination that you encounter.

* I differ with getting just a glass carboy. Plastic is a better first fermenter IMO because it lets in less light. Glass is better for the second stage fermentation. If you get only one get food-grade plastic. (See the kits at the link above)

 

Don't hesitate. Just do it! You can brew a great beer first time off.

Brewing good beer is almost more about not doing the wrong thing than just following the proper steps. Here are some things to keep in mind that the beginner books might not tell you (in order of importance):

1) Don't use liquid malt extract. This stuff starts going downhill as soon as it hits the can. It oxidizes very quickly. There's no telling how old it is, and most beers I've had that were made with it taste like soggy cardboard.

Instead, if you're just starting out, use DME (dried malt extract). It does not get oxidized and produces a much more consistent result. Don't bother trying all grain until you have the brewing process down.

2) Don't use dry yeast. Dry yeast contains a lot of wild yeasts and is harder to start, plus it leaves a pretty strong yeast bite in the finished beer. There are some newer strains that seem to be better (the SAFlager and SAFale yeasts aren't too bad).

Instead, if your recipe kit comes with dry yeast, find a liquid yeast that is appropriate for the style. I tend to prefer White Labs, but Wyeast is fine too. No matter what you use, MAKE A STARTER. The more yeast you pitch, the less likely your beer will get infected and the quicker your beer will ferment. Plus you know you're pitching good yeast and not a few dead cells because the package is old. I actually spend several days stepping up my starter (double the volume each day) until I have a good half gallon at high krausen on brew day, but that may be a bit extreme for a beginner. Just do some research on building a yeast starter.

3) Don't brew on the stove. Brewing a full batch of wort (rather than topping off with water at the end) is ideal.

Instead, find a cheap turkey frier. It comes with a big pot (which lets you boil more wort) and a propane burner that will get your water boiling quickly and lets you take your brewing outside. Trust me, the first time you boil hops in the house, your significant other will cut you off for a month. I use a couple of 15.5 gal sankey kegs with the tops cut off that let me boil a full 5 to 10 gallon batch at a time, but a turkey frier ought to be fine up front.

4) Don't spend a lot of money on a brewing setup. Really all you need, beyond your boiling apparatus is a fermenter (glass or plastic, I use both), an airlock, a siphon (get an auto-siphon, NEVER use your mouth to start the flow!), a spring-loaded bottle filler (these are cheap), and a bottle capper. You can probably buy these components cheaper individually by shopping around, although the $50 kit flitcroft linked looks like a decent deal.


The most important thing is to have fun while brewing, and to share the end results with your friends.

 

On the plastic bucket vs. glass carboy fermenter subject, it's really just a matter of personal preference. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Glass breaks. I know, I've broken two. Cleaning up 5-6 gallons of sanitizer or worse, beer you just finished, really sucks.

Glass has the advantage of letting your see your beer ferment.

Plastic buckets are easier to lift and transport, plus you can stick you arm in to clean it.

I use both, and after the initial wow factor of watching the beer ferment, I think I prefer the plastic. The main thing is to get your fermenter clean after each brew session. I actually store both my glass and plastic fermenters with a bleach solution (no scrubbing) and they are perfectly clean by next use. You just have to make sure to rinse it well, otherwise you'll produce chlorophenols in your beer that will really be nasty (but won't hurt you).

 

or you could pass over all this expensive stuff and do it at home with the common appliance we all love.

http://www.allaboutbeer.com/features/235coffee.html