Teach me grassroots homebrewing

alfadriver wrote: In reply to mtn: Just for fun, i craiglisted beer making- came up with people who are selling the bulk of their equipment for cheap. don't need new glass to store beer/wine.

Never even thought of that. Off to the craigslist I go!

My fraternity brothers would bottle in 2 liter soda bottles. Just wash them out well and screw the lid on tight. It's not like you're going to let them sit for a year. Especially at a frat house. You could use 1 liter or 500ml bottles as well, unless you plan on drinking 2 liters at a sitting. Just save them up until you have 5 gallons worth. 5 gal carboy at Lowes is like six bucks or something. Comes with 5 gallons of water.

I can't add anything that others already haven't said, other than it won't cost $55 to start. It'll be a little more, but once you make a few batches, you'll break even, and then it'll be cheaper, and taste better than insert yellow fizzy beer name here.

What do I need for equipment?

I have a 6 Gallon stainless stock pot. Fermenting doable (safely) in plastic?

Looking at peoples setups, I see 2-3 steel units typically.

some on the boiling pots have valves in the bottom, when/where does this come into play?

6 gallon pot is more than enough. Get some plastic tubing to siphon the wort into your fermenting container (5 gallon plastic water bottle). Buy a stopper co2 lock for a couple bucks. Priming bucket and bottles/capper/caps.

Dr. Hess wrote: 6 gallon pot is more than enough. Get some plastic tubing to siphon the wort into your fermenting container (5 gallon plastic water bottle). Buy a stopper co2 lock for a couple bucks. Priming bucket and bottles/capper/caps.

Can I at least point out to get food grade hardware?

Plenty of on line arguments about plastic/glass carboy's, but at least if a water container is used, you KNOW it's food grade.

tubing and whatnot should be food grade.

BTW, http://www.byo.com/ offers free issues, just like our favorite mag here does. Sure, don't need it. But it's FREE!

poopshovel wrote:

Surprised to say I liked the beer selection better in the states.

I've heard that a lot. BTW, I had a Barrell Aged Old Rasputin this weekend. Life will never be the same.

I love this stuff.

I will say that with extract you can make good beer, but never a great beer. Full hog is the way to go IMO if your going to do it.

Cool... I appreciate all the suggestions.

wearymicrobe wrote:

poopshovel wrote:

Surprised to say I liked the beer selection better in the states.

I've heard that a lot. BTW, I had a Barrell Aged Old Rasputin this weekend. Life will never be the same.

I love this stuff. I will say that with extract you can make good beer, but never a great beer. Full hog is the way to go IMO if your going to do it.

You would've loved Saturday night. Started with BA Rasputin, followed by Three Floyds Behemoth, then Sweetwater 15, finishing up with DFH Immort-ale and 3AM Waffle House.

Salanis wrote: Glad you like the blog. How much is Sierra Nevada out there? It is *absurdly* expensive here, 4EUR (~$5.25) per 12oz. bottle. Pale Ale is a gateway drug. Next step is Arrogant Bastard. It's all downhill from there.

Per individual bottle it's a little cheaper than that out here. However, this shop I've found (Phoenix Beers) is a wholesaler, so I can save a lot of money buying by the case. And yeah, I'm looking forward to trying some stronger Ales.

You guys are making me want to do this. A year ago, before I went to the UK, and my entire experience consisted of Corona and Bud, I hated beer. I mean hated it. How, thanks in part to that trip, to Salanis, and to my buddy who makes his own - I want in.

Grtechguy wrote: What do I need for equipment? I have a 6 Gallon stainless stock pot. Fermenting doable (safely) in plastic? Looking at peoples setups, I see 2-3 steel units typically. some on the boiling pots have valves in the bottom, when/where does this come into play?

Best bet really is to get a starter kit from a home brew supplier. Otherwise, it depends if you want to do it right, or "good enough". I advise doing it right the first time because the initial investment isn't that much more, and you'll want the better stuff at some point anyway.

For example, plastic containers are "good enough", but have a certain level of O2 permeability, and can easily become infected and ruin beer. For another $20-$30 (less if you hunt Craigslist) you can get proper equipment that is much better.

Given that, here's my list of what you should get to do it right without breaking the bank. All this should cost around $70:

Fermenter - 6gal or 5gal Carboy (looks like a big water jug), glass or "better bottle" plastic
Rubber plug and airlock for fermenter
Bottling bucket with spigot
Auto-siphon (a racking cane works, but the auto-siphon makes like easy)
3'-4' length of food grade plastic hose (for siphoning)
2' length of hose for bottling
Bottling wand (hard plastic tube with press valve on bottom)
Sampling beaker
Hydrometer
Floating dairy thermometer
Scrub brush for carboy
Bottle brush
Bottle capper
Sanitizer (I like StarSan)

Other things I've found very useful:
Cheap spray bottle for sanitizer solution
Nylon paint-strainer bags
Digital kitchen scale
Wine/beer thief (for taking samples)
Blow-off tube
Stick-on thermometers for carboys
Large plastic bucket for cooling bath

wearymicrobe wrote: I will say that with extract you can make good beer, but never a great beer. Full hog is the way to go IMO if your going to do it.

You don't need to go all the way to all-grain. You can do great beer with partial mash. I typically mashed 4-6lbs in a nylon bag. That gives you enough space to mash enough mix of base and specialty grains for good sugar conversion and some additional control of the process, but still being able to use simple equipment in a kitchen.

If you're doing it to save money, don't. If you're doing it because you like good beer and you like getting creative in the kitchen then go for it.

Find a homebrew shop and ask if they have beginners classes. If not check out www.basicbrewing.com