Posted on 12/05/2008 9:10:10 AM PST by djf
OK.
I have a bunch of empty Grolsch bottles and have been thinking about doing some moon shining of sorts.
Any Freepers ever home-brew? Beer? Hard cider?
Curious about experiences and recommendations, and since Freepers are the smartest people in the world, figured it needed a thread!
Don't expect to save a great deal of money; do expect to brew exactly the beer you like.
Look up recipes on the net.
I recommend taking up reloading your own ammo.
Google < home brewing > ... the internet is your friend.
You will need to start with a heavier ale to get the hang of things. An upscale beer store or deli should have all the equipment/ingredients you need, plus some literature . . . make sure you do your reading first.
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?p=30637
http://new.craftbrewer.org/Digest/me...msg00662.shtml
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” — Benjamin Franklin
Reply With Quote
You might want to ask the folks from Dickens' Fruit Stand...
As a person who cooks quite a bit, I understand that usually things turn out best if you make more - for instance, when I make lasagna, I never make fewer than three at a time.
But I was thinking about starting smaller than 5 gallons - 2.5 to 3 or so, just to get the hang of it. Is it safe to bottle the stuff when it’s still fermenting a bit?
There is a beer making supply place not super close, but I can get there.
I tried making wine from fresh berries for a few years. The best “wine” I ever made though wasn’t wine at all. To get to 12% alcohol, you need 3 pounds of sugar per gallon (really). My real wines always tasted funky because of wild yeast that naturally grows on fruits. That is why wine you buy in stores contains sulfites to kill wild yeast. My wife is allergic to sulfites. One year, I omitted the fruit altogether and just used the cane sugar. I got a golden drink like a reisling. Other times I have added flavorings after making the cane wine.
That's how they get bubbles in bottles.
It can be a lot of work. Easier to make vodka?
I’ve home brewed beer probably 100 times. Do it every fall/winter -— two batches.
Now is the time . . . cool garage is a pretty good place, so you don’t get yeast spores everywhere.
I do a two-stage brew set up.
It’s very easy. Just keep stuff VERY CLEAN.
I also tend to overkill on yeast -— it will grow with a little, but a lot will overpower any contamination -— within reason, you can’t over do it.
Yes, in general you add some malt to re-vigorate fermintation in the bottle.
I prefer my own bottles with a capper over using old Grolsch bottles -— never fully confident the rubber “caps” get clean.
It’s not like they are expensive.
Someone else may come along here to say that 2.5 gal. carboys are available but I can't.
Couple articles I read actually recommend sort of priming the yeast by mixing it into a cup of warm sugar water a few hours before you are ready to add it to the mix.
But I’ve never done this before and am interested other folks experiences.
We used to sell replacement washers for the flip-top bottles. Probably a good idea to replace them before bottling the batch.
No...and yes. Here's the deal. Your wort starts off being attacked by the yeasties, who break down the first and easiest carbohydrate bonds. This is "primary" fermentation, and you get lots of foam, called "kreuzen." As those carbohydrates are broken down completely the yeast shift metabolic gears to work on other bonds (the ultimate result of which is ethanol, a VERY simple carbohydrate). This is "secondary" fermentation. Lots less foam, still not safe to bottle.
When all this stops you're ready to bottle. What you do is add a very little, carefully controlled amount of malt just before the bottling. This wakes up the yeasties and carbonates the beverage in the bottle. That's the only kind of fermentation that's safe. Bottle too soon with secondary going on or overestimate the amount of bottling malt and you get a bottle full of foam or little popping sounds coming from yer basement...which is bad news because it tastes bad after you wring it out of a mop. Don't ask me how I know that... ;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.