Homebrew Thread

[SilvrBck]

Dear fellos LLG's-

I am an avid homebrewer as well as a knuckle dragger. Yesterday I brewed an SDPA (San Diego Pale Ale!) and I took a lot of pictures of the process to share with friends who are curious about the process. I was wondering if you guys and gals would be interested is seeing how it goes down. Let me know what you think and I will post some pics and explanations.

SB

Edit: I forgot to mention that cigars are an integral part of the process!!! ;)

[galaga]

Dear fellos LLG's-

I was wondering if you guys and gals would be interested is seeing how it goes down. Let me know what you think and I will post some pics and explanations.

SB

Do you think we would be interested in seeing your pictures of your expensive, time consuming habit --
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Well, you just might be right ... BTW are you going to bring some for Saturday -------- :)

[Jeff]

Show us the pics. I almost bought a homebrew system a few years ago. Sometimes I think it would be the only way to get a good beer in this country.

Jeff

[SilvrBck]

OK, so by an overwhelming show of support I'm gonna post it. :)

Beer 101 with your host SilvrBck:
Beer is made from barley, hops, yeast, and water. The barley is partially germinated and then kilned. This is "malted barley." As a brewer, your job is to extract the sugars contained within the malted barley, spice it with hops, and add yeast to convert those sugars to ethanol and CO2. Here's my latest brewday where I'm making an India Pale Ale with tons of very aromatic hops to get that great hop aroma. I built a lot of the equipment you'll see here for a minimal cost with the help from my good friends at The Brewboard (http://www.brewboard.com/) . Here goes:

1) Get your ingredients at a home brew mart.

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/506/10019IMG_1529-med.JPG
crushed barley malt
http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/506/10019IMG_1532-med.JPG
hops!

cont. in next post

[SilvrBck]

2) Heat up water for the mash. Mashing is the process of soaking the crushed malt in warm water to activate enzymes in the grain to convert the starches of the grain into fermentable sugars.

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/506/10019IMG_1526-med.JPG
mash tun getting heated by the propane turkey fryer burner

3) Once the water gets up to temp...

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/506/10019IMG_1533-med.JPG

you add in the grain...

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/506/10019IMG_1536.JPG
and make sure you are at the proper temp for enzymatic activity. You let this mash for 1 hour. This is when you enjoy your stogie!!! I'm the pissed one on the right since the Chargers lost...I look like a gorilla!!!
http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/500/10019IMG_1546-med.JPG

After 1 hour the starch will all be converted to sugar and you are ready to rinse all those goodies from the spent grain.

Sparge water video (http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/500/10019MVI_1553.AVI)

[SilvrBck]

4) Time for the boil. During the boil of the "wort" you add hops to impart bitterness, flavor, and aroma to the beer. Most commercially available beers are simply devoid of any hop character. Not mine!

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/500/10019IMG_15571-med.JPG
1.5 oz of hops on the scale. I added a total of six of these to the brew! Almost a half pound of hops. yeeeehaw.

5) After boiling for 1 hour and adding tons of hops, it is time to chill the beer so that you can add yeast and turn your wort into beer. Here is the wort being run through my homemade chiller. The beer runs counterflow (through a copper coil) to cool hose water and into the glass fermentor. This chills the beer as fast as I can drain it.

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/500/10019IMG_1558-med.JPG

6) I rehydrate the dry ale yeast in a little water and add it to the fermentor.

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/500/10019IMG_1562-med.JPG

cont. next post

[SilvrBck]

7) Then I put on the airlock to keep out any nasties and the yeast does all the hard work. :)

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/500/10019IMG_1564-med.JPG

8) This morning when I woke up, it was fermenting away. You'll notice all that active foam on top. The yeast is doing its job.

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/500/10019IMG_1568-med.JPG

In about 1 week the sugars will have been all eaten by the yeast. Then the beer will be transferred into a second glass fermentor to clarify and refine its flavor. After that it goes into the keg to get force carbonated with a CO2 tank. It will be ready to drink in about 1 month total. I made 5 gallons of beer for approximately $15 in ingredients. :cool:

SB

[glovepuppy]

I like the use of the keg. How long have you been using it? Have you had any problems with it? Did you make any modifications to it (besides cutting the top off)?

Thanks,
pjg

[Roger Miller"]

Nice set-up -- full mash too! I've only done stove top partial mash.
And i looks like your mashing at 124 degrees? That can't be right. Or do you phase it up to 150 - 165 area?

_____
rm

[Roger Miller"]

7)

I made 5 gallons of beer for approximately $15 in ingredients.

SB

!Whoa, and with all those hops! Man, i run about $20 bucks and only use about 6 oz of hops. I suppose full grain may bring the cost down some too though.

Anyway, sweet set-up.

_____
rm

[SilvrBck]

The kegs are the best. I have a machine shop at my work and for a couple homebrews they cut the tops off for me. Then I installed ball lock valves on them. They rule. 15.5 gallons worth of boiling capacity and stainless steel to boot. The mash temp was right around 152.

SB

[Roger Miller"]

The mash temp was right around 152. SB


Yeah, i see it now, you have two thermocouples on the meter. The first picture shows the strike temp at 165.

How easy is it for you to maintain the temp? What is your typical range? and how much do you have to fiddle with it? Would it help to insulate the keg?

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rm

[SilvrBck]

Yeah, i see it now, you have two thermocouples on the meter. The first picture shows the strike temp at 165.

How easy is it for you to maintain the temp? What is your typical range? and how much do you have to fiddle with it? Would it help to insulate the keg?

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rm

Actually, the temp on the right is a target temp that will set off an alarm on the unit when reached. The one on the left is the actual temp. The mash holds it temp really, really well. It dropped 4 degrees in 1 hour. Some people do insulate the mash tuns. I haven't found it necessary, yet. I aim for around 154 and then with the drop it is still around 150 at the end.

SB

PS: Yes, all-grain brewing cuts down on ingredient costs significantly as well as buying in bulk. The hops I used cost roughly $6.50/lb!

[shelvingunit]

Great thread! Thanks for the pics.

I tried brewing my own 6 years ago and it never came out right. Must not have been clean enough. I'd like to start again...I still have all of the equipment....just would need to get a couple more items.

Just one thing.....what are you doing with that Bud in your hand? Did you lose a bet :r

Hope the brew comes out well. I just may give the homebewing another shot.

[galaga]

Hey, that looks like a lot of work and a lot of fun. Thanks for posting the pictures. What kind of hops do you use and does it make a difference. Also, have you tried the Stone IPA from Norht County and how will your beer taste compared to that.

[Nely]

I'm a beer fan too, and homebrewing sounds very appealing to me. What's the ussual start-up cost for this hobby?

[SilvrBck]

Hey, that looks like a lot of work and a lot of fun. Thanks for posting the pictures. What kind of hops do you use and does it make a difference. Also, have you tried the Stone IPA from Norht County and how will your beer taste compared to that.


All grain brewing is quite a bit of work. It takes around 6 hours from start to finish! But it's a blast. The thing is that you have total creative control over every aspect of the beer. You want it more potent? Up the malt. More hoppy? Up the hops. And then there are about 100 different types of hops! Blending hops and the times you add them to the boil give entirely different flavor profiles. Lots of trial and error but at least you can drink your errors! :) It's a journey of discovery just like cigars.

Stone Brewing is THE pinnacle of breweries. Their Stone IPA is quite possibly my favorite beer, ever. If mine tastes anything like theirs I'll be very happy. However, which hops they use and how much they use is a secret they closely guard. I'd have to steal their yeast strain and use the hops they use to replicate the beer.

For my beer I mixed together centennial, amarillo, and cascade hops in a bucket and added them at 6 different timepoints in the boil.

SB

[SilvrBck]

I'm a beer fan too, and homebrewing sounds very appealing to me. What's the ussual start-up cost for this hobby?

Nely-

This is a pretty common question and one that cannot be answered very easily. The process I showed is advanced all-grain brewing. You can buy malt extract where someone has basically mashed and extracted the sugars from the grain for you. All you have to do is boil it up in a big pot, add hops, and then chill it so you can pitch the yeast. Let me see here...

2.5 gallon pot minimum for boiling $25
big spoon $5
plastic bucket for fermenting $5?
air lock $1
sanitizer $5

I'd say you can probably start brewing beer for around $75 with a very basic setup and that includes ingredients. I'd highly recommend The BrewBoard (http://www.brewboard.com) for anyone interested. Store has good kits too.

SB

[Nely]

Great! Thanks man!

[galaga]

Blending hops and the times you add them to the boil give entirely different flavor profiles. Lots of trial and error but at least you can drink your errors! :) It's a journey of discovery just like cigars.

Stone Brewing is THE pinnacle of breweries. Their Stone IPA is quite possibly my favorite beer, ever. If mine tastes anything like theirs I'll be very happy. However, which hops they use and how much they use is a secret they closely guard. I'd have to steal their yeast strain and use the hops they use to replicate the beer.

For my beer I mixed together centennial, amarillo, and cascade hops in a bucket and added them at 6 different timepoints in the boil.

SB

You must have to keep pretty good notes as to when and how much you add. It must be fun to be able to drink your "mistakes". A buddy of mine is a beer distributor and he turned me on to IPA's. I had the Stone IPA with a Rocky Patel 1992 Toro for my Christmas Day treat and boy did they go well together... try it some time.

[Jeff]

Great pictures. Looks like you are having fun. Let us know how it tastes.

Jeff

[Roger Miller"]

I'd have to steal their yeast strain and use the hops they use to replicate the beer.

You can culture the yeast from a bottle, as long as they do not pasturize their brew. Ever try that? It's not that tough really. A few guys here in the HB community have whole frigging culture farms.

I personnaly have never tried, but i've seen it done and it doesn't seem too hard. I quess the real hitch is sterilization, and keeping everything sterile -- beyond what is required in brewing.

_____
rm

[SilvrBck]

You can culture the yeast from a bottle, as long as they do not pasturize their brew. Ever try that? It's not that tough really. A few guys here in the HB community have whole frigging culture farms.

I personnaly have never tried, but i've seen it done and it doesn't seem too hard. I quess the real hitch is sterilization, and keeping everything sterile -- beyond what is required in brewing.

_____
rm

Actually, there's a guy here at my work with around 40 pure liquid cultures in glycerol stocks in the -80C freezer. I've used a few of them, including his Stone ale yeast, but you have to make a starter and there is more room for contamination. I'm not so much interested in replicating exact brews but brewing superior quality ales of my own. The dry yeast I use is extremely pure, ready to pitch at a moments notice, starts fast, finishes quickly, flocculates well, and only costs $2/pack. I think the Stone yeast is very similar to some of the White Labs English ale strains.

SB

[galaga]

What the he!! you doing flocculating yeast! You science guys are wierd. :confused:

[SilvrBck]

What the he!! you doing flocculating yeast! You science guys are wierd. :confused:

Ha ha. Actually, I've learned those terms in brewing and not in the lab but my science background definitely helps. Flocculation is the capacity of the yeast to glom together and then drop out of the beer. A cloudy wheat beer is cloudy because they use a poorly flocculating yeast strain that stays in solution making it cloudy. A sparkling clear ale uses very flocculant yeast which results in a clear beer. See it's easy!!! :)

SB