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Thread: Beer making!

  1. #1

    Beer making!

    The most important skill anyone should have is the production of BEER! It is simple, enjoyable, and the worst part is knowing your beer is going to be yummy and having to wait a few weeks before you can enjoy it.

    There are two methods if you will, for brewing beer. The first is using extracts, which come in liquid and powder form, and the second is the all-grain method. Both will produce great tasting beer. Using extracts is easier and faster while all-grain gives you complete control over your beer's characteristics.

    Not to mention the beer you will make tasting better, it will also save you money. An ingredient kit costs on average 40 bucks, and will yield roughly 50 beers as most kits will make 5 gallons of brew and you will get roughly 10 bottles per gallon (1 gallon is 128 oz, and bottles are roughly 12.8 oz. It depends on how much you put in each bottle.) You can alternatively keg your brew. This is roughly two cases of beer, which could cost anywhere from 50$ to 140$ depending on what and where you buy it.

    There are kits you can buy that come with everything you need to brew your own beer and they only cost around 100$. This is a kit made by Coopers that comes with everything you need to brew and bottle: http://www.makebeer.net/item.asp?idP...dSubCategory=0 There are many others like it.

    I'll cover the extract kit method.

    All you really need is a stainless steel pot of 3 gallons or more,


    a container to ferment in, with carboys being the most popular,


    a bung for the carboy


    an airlock


    bottles and bottle caps


    if using press fit caps (which I recommend) then a capper



    and a method of getting beer out of the fermenting container and into your bottles. Some containers have spigots in the bottom, otherwise an autosiphon will be of great use


    some hose


    and a bottling stem


    and a way to rapidly cool your wort (the water mixed with the extracts). You can either use a sink filled with ice and water, or a wort chiller. There are three types of chillers: immersion which goes into the wort


    Continued next post
    Last edited by noxagol; 11-22-2010 at 04:03 AM.
    "Anarchists oppose the State because it has its very being in such aggression, namely, the expropriation of private property through taxation, the coercive exclusion of other providers of defense service from its territory, and all of the other depredations and coercions that are built upon these twin foci of invasions of individual rights." -Murray Rothbard



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  3. #2
    a counter-flow chiller, which has a tube within a tube. The hot wort flows down inside the inner tube while the cold water flows up the outer tube. These work FANTASTIC and it is what I personally use.


    and then there is the plate chiller


    Those were listed in order of effectiveness, cost, and complexity of setup: sink, immersion, counter-flow, and plate. The immersion and counter-flow chillers are easily made on your own.

    You will also want a hydrometer


    This is used to measure specific gravity of water. You take a reading before you pitch your yeast and after fermenting is done. Subtract the final gravity from original gravity and multiply by 131.25 and this gives you your alcohol by volume percentage. Not a necessary tool, but you should get it anyways.

    And then you need a sanitizer. there are many but I personally use starsan

    Everything that comes into contact with the wort after it has been boiled needs to be sanitized in some way.

    A thermometer is also needed.


    In addition, you will need a heat source, a stirring tool, and a cool, dark place to set your fermentor while the yeast does its thing. A basement is perfect. It is important that once yeast is added that any and all light is kept off the brew as much as possible.

    All of this will be available at a home brewing supply store. Outside of the pot and carboy, you are looking at about 50-100 dollars, depending on where you get it from. The chiller is the big variable. I suggest making one, it is easy and will save you a lot of money. Most people already have the pot and the carboys can be gotten anywhere, or you can also make your own. It just needs to be a glass, food-grade plastic, or stainless steel container with an opening on top you can close up and fit an airlock into.

    Now, onto the steps of brewing your beer!

    Step 1: Purchase your beer ingredient kit! There are many of these and they are of varying cost. They will come with all of your ingredients including malt extracts, dry and liquid, grains if the recipe calls for them, a steeping bag, hops, yeast, priming sugar, yeast, bottles caps, and most importantly INSTRUCTIONS! You could follow those from here on, but that would make this kind of boring post. Pick whatever you like, I started with an American wheat ale.

    Step 2: Gather your brewing gear to your brewing location and clean up your brew kettle (the stainless steel pot). Put in 2.5 gallons of water and start to heat. While it is getting warm, gather your ingredients. If your kit has grains, put them into the steeping bag now. Clean up the rest of your gear.

    Step 3: If your kit comes with grains to steep, bring it to temp, usually 150-165 degrees and put your steep bag filled with grains in. It is important that you don't pack the grains in and they are loose in the bag. You want the water to be able to get to all the grains and extract everything. At this stage it is drastically important that you don't go over 165 degrees. Over this temperature you will begin to extract tannins which will make your beer so bitter it will pucker your face. Usually this will last 20 minutes, refer to your instructions for the specifics.

    Step 4: Remove your grain bag after the required time has elapse and let it drip in. Don't squeeze or you could get tannins. You could sparge (rinse) the bag with 165 degree water to extract more bits from the grains, but with kits it isn't necessary. Now begin to bring your wort to boil.

    Step 5: Add the extracts. These will either be liquids or powders or both. If you have liquids I HIGHLY suggest putting them in another pot of hot water. These things are THICK. The first time I did this,the stream was bending in the air from me stirring. It is important that as you add LME (liquid malt extract) that you stir the wort so the LME doesn't settle on the bottom and burn.

    Step 6: Once the water is boiling, add your bittering hops and set a timer. You will need to refer to your instructions, but typically you will boil for 60mins total, but at 55minutes into the boil you will add another round of hops, the aroma hops.

    Step 7: Once the required boil time is achieved, cool the water as fast as possible! It is also very important that at this point anything that comes into contact with the wort is clean and sanitized. You want to cool the wort as fast as possible because the heat is causing your wort to create sulphur compounds which were previously being boiled out. Your wort isn't boiling anymore so they are sticking around. If you are too slow, they will begin to impart the taste of raw eggs. There is also something called chill haze, but as far as I know, this is just cosmetic. Cooling to 70-80 degrees in 20mins is fast enough from what I read, with my setup I'm able to do it in 3-5.

    Step 8: Put your wort into your fermentor. I do this at the same time as chilling. The tube goes from the kettle, through the chiller, and flows into the fermentor. Again, it is super important that you've sanitized your fermentor, airlock, and everything coming into contact with your wort now. If you used an immersion chiller, grab a funnel and pour it in. This will aerate which people say needs to be done, but I disagree. Fermentation is an anaerobic activity, which means in the absence of oxygen. Aeration adds oxygen. But, either way it will work.

    Step 9: Fill your fermentor up while taking an occasional hydrometer reading. The instructions will have the original gravity (OG) reading that is required for your particular brew. Once you get to it, stop filling.

    Step 10: Add (pitch) the yeast. The yeast will need to be activated which requires a 15min soak in warm (NOT HOT) water. Once the yeast is pitched, put your airlock and bung on then set your fermentor in your designated fermenting spot.

    Step 11: WAIT. The sad part. Primary fermentation usually takes 7-10 days. Go down and check your airlock. It will have bubbles forming and pushing through. When these get really sporadic, like a minute or so, it is done. You can also take hydrometer readings and look for the final gravity the instructions say.

    Step 12a: You have two choices now, either bottle or put it into a secondary fermentor. Secondary fermenting helps clarity and is when you would add flavor things like cherries or wood chips or cinammon or whatever. It typically lasts like 2 weeks. Either way, take a hydrometer reading and calculate your alcohol content.

    Step 12b; Bottle your beer! Make sure you've washed your bottles and sanitized them AND your caps. Get your priming sugar dissolved in some water and add it into your freshly brewed beer. Mix it in. Remember that everything must be clean and sterile. Get connect your bottling stem to your hose and your hose to your autosiphon and get the siphon started. Everything has valves so it won't leak out. Get a bottle, stick the stem in and push it to the bottom of the bottle. Once the beer reaches the top of the bottle pull the stem out. Put a cap on top of the bottle, get your capper and press it on. This is best done with two people and is enjoyable I think. One person bottles, the other caps.

    The reason for the priming sugar is this will allow more fermentation which produces CO2. Since your bottles are now sealed, the CO2 will carbonate your beer! It is important that you don't use more sugar than they give you or you will make too much CO2 and when you go to open your bottle to drink, you will get a mess instead of yum beer.

    Step 13: Set your bottles in your designated fermenting area. These will be ready to go in a week or two. This is the really crappy part. If you're like me, you've already had a bottle to sample, which despite being pretty flat and warm tastes awesome. And after experiencing beer nirvana, you have to wait a week or two more before you can enjoy something you know is going to be even better!

    Step 14: DRINK THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR! Save the bottles for reuse! The caps can't be reused.

    And that's how you make beer at home!

    I've got 5 gallons of American wheat ale bottled and conditioning as well as 5 gallons of an Irish stout and 5 gallons of a red ale fermenting currently.
    "Anarchists oppose the State because it has its very being in such aggression, namely, the expropriation of private property through taxation, the coercive exclusion of other providers of defense service from its territory, and all of the other depredations and coercions that are built upon these twin foci of invasions of individual rights." -Murray Rothbard

  4. #3
    Cider and Wine are much easier.

    Put raw juice in airlocked carboy (Raw juice contains natural yeast and there is no need for store bought yeasts and activation of the Wort.).

    Wait 2 weeks for appx 6-8%(will carbonate) or 5 weeks for 14-18%(flat)

    Bottle.

    Note: if you go for the 6-8% it will over carbonate and become champagne unless you kill the yeast. After one more week to build head, Bring your bottles to 90*C and hold for 10 Minutes.
    Last edited by Icymudpuppy; 11-22-2010 at 07:03 AM.
    CPT Jack. R. T.
    US Army Resigned - Iraq Vet.
    Level III MACP instructor, USYKA/WYKKO sensei
    Professional Hunter/Trapper/Country living survivalist.

  5. #4
    But those are not BEER! But I am going to make some hard cider tomorrow with 2 gallons of apple juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
    "Anarchists oppose the State because it has its very being in such aggression, namely, the expropriation of private property through taxation, the coercive exclusion of other providers of defense service from its territory, and all of the other depredations and coercions that are built upon these twin foci of invasions of individual rights." -Murray Rothbard

  6. #5
    Personally, I think beer tastes like $#@!, but if I were a european peasant and the nobles owned all the fruit orchards, and the only way I could get wasted to drown my sorrows was by fermenting grass seeds, I might have a reason to drink beer. Otherwise, I'll enjoy the flavors of fruit fermentation without ever getting drunk.

    I put hops in the same category as eggplant. Fine for the hogs, or to prevent starvation, otherwise not fit for human consumption.
    Last edited by Icymudpuppy; 11-22-2010 at 07:48 AM.
    CPT Jack. R. T.
    US Army Resigned - Iraq Vet.
    Level III MACP instructor, USYKA/WYKKO sensei
    Professional Hunter/Trapper/Country living survivalist.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by noxagol View Post
    But those are not BEER! But I am going to make some hard cider tomorrow with 2 gallons of apple juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
    No need for sugar or cinnamon if you use fresh pressed raw sweet cider rather than store bought juice
    CPT Jack. R. T.
    US Army Resigned - Iraq Vet.
    Level III MACP instructor, USYKA/WYKKO sensei
    Professional Hunter/Trapper/Country living survivalist.

  8. #7
    We brew with extracts and get about three cases worth of beer for $15 of extracts. We also use a plastic food-grade bucket for the initial fermentation, which works well, though I might prefer glass in the future. I don't use a cooler or a special heater and everything turns out pretty well.

    The one piece of advice that I have is to NOT re-use most regular commercial beer bottles. When you crimp the caps on, the glass is often not strong enough for the crimper and little shards of glass will break off. One exception I've found to this is Labatt's Blue bottles--they seem to have heavier glass than others. My local brewing supply guy is fantastic and will buy end-of-run supplies from smaller commercial brewers, so I can get really cheap caps and re-usable bottles from time-to-time.

    Oh, and the bottling stem is a must have...I used to brew a while ago and bottle without it. It sucked and there'd often be beer everywhere.

    Great thread!
    Those who want liberty must organize as effectively as those who want tyranny. -- Iyad el Baghdadi

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by noxagol View Post
    The most important skill anyone should have is the production of BEER!
    Can not agrue



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  11. #9
    I use strap and snap lock top bottles. No need to buy caps. No breakage... There aren't many pics on google image, but here's one of a blue bottle. Mine are clear bottles, but my local brewer's supply has a few other colors.

    CPT Jack. R. T.
    US Army Resigned - Iraq Vet.
    Level III MACP instructor, USYKA/WYKKO sensei
    Professional Hunter/Trapper/Country living survivalist.

  12. #10
    Those are really nice noxagol, but I'm thinking of moving within the next year, so...I'm trying to keep the amount of stuff I have to move down to a minimum. Ultimately though, those would be ideal. I've brewed enough to start looking into the more expensive equipment and starting without extracts, but I'm keeping everything as simple and cheap as possible now.

    Beer still turns out great. My wine turns out pretty crappy so far though, but it's all experimental. Hard cider turns out decently.

    Oh, and this book is pretty helpful for many different types of fermented products:



    Lots of interesting recipes and tips about various setups.
    Those who want liberty must organize as effectively as those who want tyranny. -- Iyad el Baghdadi

  13. #11
    I love to brew and have been doing it for over two years now with a friend of mine. We switched to all grain about 8 months ago and will never turn back. It really cuts back on your expenses because 'the extract is too damn high!' Anyways, here is the setup we will be using for quite some time

    We altered this table to support three burners that can be controlled individually through their respective regulators. We also mounted a food grade hot water pump to transfer our wort from kettle to kettle (saves a lot of lifting! ).




    We also converted three industrial size kegs to serve as our three specialized kettles.




    We stopped bottling our beer a long time ago and started kegging our beer in 15.5 gallon kegs and sometimes in the 5 gallon soda kegs.
    I strongly urge anyone who's interested to brew beer. It isn't hard to learn and doesn't cost that much to get started. Of course, if you're anything like me, you will gradually sink more and more money into the project until you end up with the results above

    If you are a do it yourselfer and like beer, I can guarantee that you will enjoy making it and enjoy drinking it even more.
    Liberty is for all; privileges are for none.

  14. #12

    Brewing

    One reason to brew beer instead of wine is that you can homebrew beer that is as good as ANY commercial product. Homebrew wine, not so much. Of course if you don't like beer, it doesn't matter.

    Just a couple comments on brewing beer.

    1. Don't freak out about sanitation. If you use a wort chiller to bring the temperature to the ideal, pitch the yeast immediately, use liquid yeast that has been allowed to "wake up" to room temperature for a couple hours, and agitate the wort so the yeast is evenly distributed when you pitch, you are not going to have a problem with contaminants. Yeast can take care of itself, given half a chance. I do a half-assed rinse of the (clean) glass carboy with a sanitizer before using it, use water (good quality well water) straight from the tap to dilute the wort, and I never have contamination. If, for some reason, fermentation does not start within a few hours, THEN you can start getting excited. But this is usually due to pitching at the wrong temperature and shocking the yeast. Fly over to the brew store and get another tube of yeast and pitch it.

    2. Bottles suck. Filling bottles sucks. Capping bottles sucks. And most especially bottle washing sucks a big donkey schlong. You will grow to hate it if you brew very much. Unless you LIKE tedium and frustration. If you think you will do much brewing at all, spring for a corny keg system. A cylinder of co2, a couple kegs, some hose and fittings, and you are in business. For home use you will want a cooler, which you can make with a relatively cheap chest freezer with a thermostat.
    The proper concern of society is the preservation of individual freedom; the proper concern of the individual is the harmony of society.

    "Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow." - Byron

    "Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe." - Milton

  15. #13

    Wow!

    Quote Originally Posted by keh10 View Post
    I love to brew and have been doing it for over two years now with a friend of mine. We switched to all grain about 8 months ago and will never turn back. It really cuts back on your expenses because 'the extract is too damn high!' Anyways, here is the setup we will be using for quite some time

    We altered this table to support three burners that can be controlled individually through their respective regulators. We also mounted a food grade hot water pump to transfer our wort from kettle to kettle (saves a lot of lifting! ).




    We also converted three industrial size kegs to serve as our three specialized kettles.




    We stopped bottling our beer a long time ago and started kegging our beer in 15.5 gallon kegs and sometimes in the 5 gallon soda kegs.
    I strongly urge anyone who's interested to brew beer. It isn't hard to learn and doesn't cost that much to get started. Of course, if you're anything like me, you will gradually sink more and more money into the project until you end up with the results above

    If you are a do it yourselfer and like beer, I can guarantee that you will enjoy making it and enjoy drinking it even more.
    Niccccccccce!!!!!!
    The proper concern of society is the preservation of individual freedom; the proper concern of the individual is the harmony of society.

    "Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow." - Byron

    "Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe." - Milton

  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by keh10 View Post
    I love to brew and have been doing it for over two years now with a friend of mine. We switched to all grain about 8 months ago and will never turn back. It really cuts back on your expenses because 'the extract is too damn high!' Anyways, here is the setup we will be using for quite some time

    We altered this table to support three burners that can be controlled individually through their respective regulators. We also mounted a food grade hot water pump to transfer our wort from kettle to kettle (saves a lot of lifting! ).




    We also converted three industrial size kegs to serve as our three specialized kettles.




    We stopped bottling our beer a long time ago and started kegging our beer in 15.5 gallon kegs and sometimes in the 5 gallon soda kegs.
    I strongly urge anyone who's interested to brew beer. It isn't hard to learn and doesn't cost that much to get started. Of course, if you're anything like me, you will gradually sink more and more money into the project until you end up with the results above

    If you are a do it yourselfer and like beer, I can guarantee that you will enjoy making it and enjoy drinking it even more.
    That's beautiful...+rep.
    Those who want liberty must organize as effectively as those who want tyranny. -- Iyad el Baghdadi

  17. #15
    My first batch I ever brewed is an American Bock and it came out perfect. I'm now brewing a gluten-free beer and starting a Belgium wit.

    After my gluten-free beer was in the fermentor for a week and a half, I measured the specific gravity and it was only 1.02 so I added more corn sugar and let it ferment another 5 days. I hope this does the trick. Homebrewing is awesome!
    "..and on Earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out...while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited Earth." -- Jesus of Nazareth

  18. #16
    I like brewing, but hate bottling... and you probably will too. Rinsing, cleaning, sanitizing, keeping track of and storing bottles... it's all a pain in the ass.

    Rather than buying a capper, bottles, caps, etc, you may want to look at some alternatives. For just a little more money you can get a Party Pig or a Tap-A-Draft system. They're smaller than a full keg, so you can keep them in your fridge without any modifications, and they're portable. The Tap-A-Draft can also force-carbonate, which is a huge advantage if you don't want to wait for your beer to naturally carbonate.

    Another advantage to having the ability to force-carbonate is that you can make your own soda for really cheap.

    Corny (Cornelius) keg systems are the king of homebrew dispensing, and they always will be. These are the 5-gallon kegs you used to see at fairs and stuff for dispensing soda. You can get into a used keg system for under $200 and it will last you a lifetime except for keg repairs and you'll eventually want more kegs so you can have a variety. You'll also need an extra mini-fridge or kegerator because they aren't going to fit in your kitchen refrigerator. It also isn't real portable, so you might eventually want to get something like a Party Pig or Tap-A-Draft just to transport your homebrew (although growlers will also work), or if you want to bring a whole keg to a party you can use a jockey box.

    One of the biggest lies in homebrewing is that it will save you money. Ok, yeah, eventually you'll make your money back, but equipment and supplies are expensive, and you'll be spending a lot of time on it. If you spent the same amount of time working a part-time job as you did brewing, you could most likely buy just as much really good beer as you would have brewed, and still have money left in your pocket. Just don't go into it thinking that it's going to save you a bunch of money... do it for the joy of it, because it really is fun!

    As you get more into it, you'll start moving away from kits to extract recipes, and eventually you may want to start using brewing grains and then maybe even use straight unconverted grains. Each step brings you closer to brewing the way your ancestors did, and it comes with promises of money savings, but then requires more equipment and more work. You also get a lot more control over your final product. Do it because it's fun! Another thing you get if you learn to brew from unconverted grains is that if SHTF, you'll be able to go to a farmer, buy some grain, and make beer from it... a pretty useful skill. Some of the equipment is useful for SHTF as well, such as a grain mill.

    Before you ever purchase any homebrewing stuff, I'd recommend trying it out. In St. Paul, there's a place you can go and brew beer on site, Vine Park Brewing. You pay however much money and they have all the supplies and equipment and staff to help you brew a batch of beer, then you come back a couple weeks later to bottle it. It's a little expensive, but it's a good way to try it out and see if you like it before you spend a bunch of money on equipment. I think Vine Park is pretty unique, but there may be a place like it near you. Another option is to find somebody that homebrews (there are all kinds of homebrew clubs and stuff) and tag along while they brew a batch... helper monkeys are almost always welcome. At the very least, you should read up on brewing before you get into it. There's now a near-infinite amount of info online on homebrewing, and the best book on it has always been Charles Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing.
    "No matter how noble you try to make it, your good intentions will not compensate for the mistakes that people make; that want to run
    our lives and run the economy, and reject the principles of private property and making up our own decisions for ourselves." -Ron Paul



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by keh10 View Post
    I love to brew and have been doing it for over two years now with a friend of mine. We switched to all grain about 8 months ago and will never turn back. It really cuts back on your expenses because 'the extract is too damn high!' Anyways, here is the setup we will be using for quite some time

    We altered this table to support three burners that can be controlled individually through their respective regulators. We also mounted a food grade hot water pump to transfer our wort from kettle to kettle (saves a lot of lifting! ).




    We also converted three industrial size kegs to serve as our three specialized kettles.




    We stopped bottling our beer a long time ago and started kegging our beer in 15.5 gallon kegs and sometimes in the 5 gallon soda kegs.
    I strongly urge anyone who's interested to brew beer. It isn't hard to learn and doesn't cost that much to get started. Of course, if you're anything like me, you will gradually sink more and more money into the project until you end up with the results above

    If you are a do it yourselfer and like beer, I can guarantee that you will enjoy making it and enjoy drinking it even more.
    Nice kit! I'd love to have that. So, how long until you make your money back by switching to all grain?
    "No matter how noble you try to make it, your good intentions will not compensate for the mistakes that people make; that want to run
    our lives and run the economy, and reject the principles of private property and making up our own decisions for ourselves." -Ron Paul

  21. #18
    Thanks everyone for the compliments!


    Quote Originally Posted by Ninja Homer View Post
    So, how long until you make your money back by switching to all grain?
    Haha, we haven't payed for our investment yet, but we brew a 15 gallon batch about once a month and save $80-$100 each batch. I'd estimate we're on track to break even around April '11. But yes, you are correct that you will not be saving money from brewing beer until you start making large volumes. One good way to save money is to buy hops in bulk. www.hopsdirect.com is the website that we use. BUT the minimum amount of hops you can purchase is 1 lb so be aware of that.
    Liberty is for all; privileges are for none.

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Icymudpuppy View Post
    I put hops in the same category as eggplant. Fine for the hogs, or to prevent starvation, otherwise not fit for human consumption.



    Hops are one of the best tasting things in the world...
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  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by amy31416 View Post
    Oh, and this book is pretty helpful for many different types of fermented products:



    Lots of interesting recipes and tips about various setups.
    Does this book also provide a step-by-step process on how to make it? If it does, then it might be worth me buying
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  24. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Madly_Sane View Post
    Does this book also provide a step-by-step process on how to make it? If it does, then it might be worth me buying
    Let me know what, specifically, you're interested in making...I can scan in the "recipe" (if it's in there) and you can judge from there.
    Those who want liberty must organize as effectively as those who want tyranny. -- Iyad el Baghdadi

  25. #22
    When you sprout barley to make malt, what kind of barley do you use? After I master making brew with the kits, I want to make brew sprouting my own grains. I tried sprouting some millet, but it didn't sprout. The millet was hulled, and I think the grains can't be hulled, right?
    "..and on Earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out...while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited Earth." -- Jesus of Nazareth

  26. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by YumYum View Post
    When you sprout barley to make malt, what kind of barley do you use? After I master making brew with the kits, I want to make brew sprouting my own grains. I tried sprouting some millet, but it didn't sprout. The millet was hulled, and I think the grains can't be hulled, right?
    Correct, you need the hulls to be intact. You can buy unmalted barley at some feed stores for really cheap in 50 or 100 lb bags. Make sure to try and avoid barley that has a high protein level, although you may not have any control over that if you're getting it from a feed store.

    I've done a little research on malting barley and it is actually a little tricky and time consuming. There's a pretty concise step by step guide here http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2009/1...grain-at-home/

    It seems like there are a lot of large time dependent steps that need to be done along with lots of floor space in a temperature controlled environment and an efficient way to remove the rootlets after you have dried the malt.

    If you have the time, space, and inclination; malting your own barley might be the way to go. Personally, I'm going to leave it to the professional malters.
    Liberty is for all; privileges are for none.

  27. #24
    Just remember, this was all done hundreds of years ago before all of this fancy tech. If they could do it, so can you!
    "Anarchists oppose the State because it has its very being in such aggression, namely, the expropriation of private property through taxation, the coercive exclusion of other providers of defense service from its territory, and all of the other depredations and coercions that are built upon these twin foci of invasions of individual rights." -Murray Rothbard



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  29. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by noxagol View Post
    Just remember, this was all done hundreds of years ago before all of this fancy tech. If they could do it, so can you!
    Noxagol, thanks for this thread. I've taken an interest in home brewing and while I'll probably never become a serious home brewer, I want to learn how to brew at home and this thread is quite informative.

    I saw a Youtube video series which uses the tools you listed on the original post. It looked very simple and easy, if somewhat labor intensive.

    Just one question ... I read that it's possible to use "recipes" that will, if properly brewed, generate a beer very close to commercially sold beers... how difficult is this? Can the extraction kit method be used for this? Because if it can be done, I'll never buy my own Bud Light, Heineken, Beck's, etc...
    Ron Paul - America, you WILL regret not voting for him!

    KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

  30. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by The Freethinker View Post
    Just one question ... I read that it's possible to use "recipes" that will, if properly brewed, generate a beer very close to commercially sold beers... how difficult is this? Can the extraction kit method be used for this? Because if it can be done, I'll never buy my own Bud Light, Heineken, Beck's, etc...
    http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index....ath=178_452_43
    This is the website that I use to order most of my ingredients. They have a large selection of their versions of commercial beers. Unfortunately, all of the beers that you described are lagers and it is difficult for a homebrewer to control the fermentation temperature of the beer accurately enough to produce the flavors of true lagers. But I wouldn't fret too much about it. It is almost impossible to make a beer that isn't delicious.
    Liberty is for all; privileges are for none.

  31. #27
    does anyone have a kegerator?

    and for all the homegrowers who feel left out, I'll leave this

    We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false. -- William Casey, CIA Director

    Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.-- Mark Twain

    When people like us-- the scum of society-- don't risk our lives when a rare chance comes our way, we become losers at that moment. So courage is the only thing we can rely on.-- Anchan
    Rick Simpson Hemp Oil

  32. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by squarepusher View Post
    and for all the homegrowers who feel left out, I'll leave this
    Funny you should mention it... I get my brew supplies from Brew & Grow... for many people, it's heaven.
    "No matter how noble you try to make it, your good intentions will not compensate for the mistakes that people make; that want to run
    our lives and run the economy, and reject the principles of private property and making up our own decisions for ourselves." -Ron Paul

  33. #29
    You guys are my heros.

    I've had the desire to learn for a while now, but I've always hesitated in the intitial investment. I think after this holiday season I'll go through with it.

    For a complete first timer (with a relatively small work area) would you suggest a compete kit, or should I shop for the items listed individually?
    In the end, it's never what you worry about that gets you.

  34. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by Dreamofunity View Post
    You guys are my heros.

    I've had the desire to learn for a while now, but I've always hesitated in the intitial investment. I think after this holiday season I'll go through with it.

    For a complete first timer (with a relatively small work area) would you suggest a compete kit, or should I shop for the items listed individually?
    What's your budget? Do you have a brew supply place nearby, or would you be shopping online?
    Those who want liberty must organize as effectively as those who want tyranny. -- Iyad el Baghdadi

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