Whoops I posted in the beer drinking thread. So labor day weekend I start my schooling on how to make bud beer. My first batch will be an IPA. 
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Homebrewers: What's brewing/fermenting/bottle conditioning?
- Thread starter spade2you
- Start date
Speaking of starters, I've been fine without them, but mine are generally pretty new/fresh. My imperial stout has turned out fine and I think I had an OG of 1.09 or so (I'd check, but I'm at work).
Make the best starters, use a stir plate...
Homebrew Stir Plate
(the little teflon-coated magnets that go inside the flask can be picked up on ebay pretty cheaply)
Homebrew Stir Plate
(the little teflon-coated magnets that go inside the flask can be picked up on ebay pretty cheaply)
No. No he doesn't. I still want the basic process Maki!
I've been into braggot lately. Honey, malty, goodness.
I also have a stout that's coming along nicely.
UncleFluffy said:
You are correct sir. This elixir of the gods I refer to as 'Juan Brew' (that's my buddies name but it has also become a local commodity by the same name in my circle of fellow derelicts) is amazing stuff. It's the perfect blend of two of my favorite vices. He'll have a stout ready for consumption when we start the IPA too. Gonna be a good labor day weekend to say the least
800 mL water,a cup to cup and a half of light dme, and a little yeast nutrient. Boil for about 15 min, cool, pitch, and stir regularly until the brew is done.
It always works well as i think the yeast are still multiplying by the time the starter gets pitched. I get no lag time and usually drop out to 1.010 to 1.014. Pitching dry works fine but i have had up to a day delay and its usually not as vigorous.
My DIPA is at about 68 degrees and chugging away so this one is all good.
Hey any of you guys that want to make an IPA let me know if you need ideas for a hop bill. I have made many and have lots of examples. Imo most IPA recipes are woefully underhopped.
I generally use dry yeast, and just rehydrate with water before pitching.
I have used Malta (Available at Hispanic markets) for starter before. It's basically carbonated unfermented wort. Pour it in a pan, heat to a boil (Drives off the carbonation) cool and you're ready to rock & roll! Yeah, I'm lazy.
I only brew in the fall since I'm an ale guy. I have 2 kegs and about 8 cases worth of bottles. Not sure what all I'll make this year. By popular request, might make a batch of pumpkin porter or two. I'd like to also make some sort of Christmas beer. I typically need a Belgian beer of some sort. Thinking about some sort of double IPA, too.
My imp stout is nice and ready, just waiting for the temp to drop to make it really hit the spot.
My imp stout is nice and ready, just waiting for the temp to drop to make it really hit the spot.
Homebrewing is perfectly legal. Moonshine is distilling, which is not currently legal without permits. Before anyone gets all anti-government, it's because distilling can be explosive during some steps as well as possibly producing toxic levels of methanol.
spade2you said:
Yeah, I hope this doesn't degrade into a government flame war; that wasn't my intent and I would be sad if I got this thread closed :'(
But is there no distillation process in home brewing? Is it the scale of the project that makes it less dangerous? Just curious, not trying to be inflammatory..
Nope no distillation. You are basically just yeast ranching. Yeast are kind of like sea monkeys except the eat sugar and pee alcohol.
Distillation requires a heat source to boil off the alcohol and leave the water behind. I work with a guy that is perfecting the process for making gin, and it sounds like a very time consuming process. You have to hold the product from the yeast fermentation (beer) at a specific temperature (Below the boiling point of water, but above the evaporating point of alcohol) until you get most of the alcohol out of the liquid. At ~15% ABV, a gallon of the fermented stuff get's him maybe a pint of high test hooch.
I've seen and heard debates that smell of government conspiracy, but it really is a safety issue. A bad batch of beer might taste funky or the overcarbonation can cause the caps to pop off and make one heck of a mess, but mistakes while distilling are a lot more dangerous. I'm sure there could be more reasons, but it's just not something that the average joe should be doing.
I agree. Nothing pathogenic can grow in beer. (Probably added to it's popularity when drinking water was dicey)
Home distillation would be as explosive as a meth lab, and as flammable as a turkey fryer.
I may try it out in the back yard away from the house and nice shrubbery, but I anticipate the only way I'd get caught is if something went boom......
Holy crap, I can't believe I didn't search for other homebrewers (and threads) on TB before!
Great to know there are others here!
Here's some pics of my last custom setup. We remodeled our kitchen and when doing so we planned for a kegerator. When it was all said and done I had two lines coming up and out of the wall (that's the kegerator underneath the taps - held two 5l soda kegs).
It blew people's minds when they came over and saw it..
Eventually the tap mount was covered up, but I took this pic after I had just installed it, so it's still the exposed wood.
Great to know there are others here!
Here's some pics of my last custom setup. We remodeled our kitchen and when doing so we planned for a kegerator. When it was all said and done I had two lines coming up and out of the wall (that's the kegerator underneath the taps - held two 5l soda kegs).
It blew people's minds when they came over and saw it..
Eventually the tap mount was covered up, but I took this pic after I had just installed it, so it's still the exposed wood.
kdiggity - I love your set up!
I just had a batch of Scottish Ale completed and I have a carboy with an Imperial Blonde Ale that should be ready for bottling next week. I have yet to move up to kegging, but I hope to do so soon. Bottling is a pain!
I just had a batch of Scottish Ale completed and I have a carboy with an Imperial Blonde Ale that should be ready for bottling next week. I have yet to move up to kegging, but I hope to do so soon. Bottling is a pain!
Thanks!! It was enjoyed by many people for many years...
Yeah, bottling suuuucks. Kegging is an initial investment, it's true, but once you do it you'll wonder how you ever suffered through bottling.
-K
Yeah, bottling suuuucks. Kegging is an initial investment, it's true, but once you do it you'll wonder how you ever suffered through bottling.
-K
