Homebrew

Tallguy88 · Aug 23, 2015

Does anyone else like to brew their own beer or wine?

Maybe this doesn't seem like a pepper topic at first, but think about it. In the Middle Ages, the drinking water could easily kill you with all the germs. And people didn't know that boiling it would make it better until Louis Pasteur discovered it (in the 1800s I think). So most people in Northern Europe drank beer instead of water. Southern Europeans drank wine instead of beer.

Now before you go thinking everyone was stumbling around drunk all the time, consider that most of the "everyday beer" was small beer (less than 3% alcohol usually) and small beer is made from reusing the grains you already used to make a batch of regular beer. So since it's the second time through, the small beer turns out considerably weaker.

I've never made a batch of small beer, but I do enjoy making regular beer as well as mead (wine made from honey 8nstead of grapes).

Does anyone else like to do this or is interested in learning more?

Tallguy88 · Aug 23, 2015

Also note, this thread is about home brewing beer and wine, NOT about home distilling spirits (aka moonshine). Home brewing is legal at the federal level and in most states. Home distilling is illegal in the USA, even for personal use.

At the federal level, you can brew up to 100 gallons of beer or wine per person, per household, up to a maximum of 200 gallons per year. State and local laws vary.

FreeinChrist · Aug 24, 2015

I don't know anything about it.

Tallguy88 · Aug 24, 2015

FreeinChrist said:
I don't know anything about it.

It's easy. You can buy a kit that has all the necessary fermenters, bottle capper, hoses, etc for about $100. That's a one time payment because you can reuse all that stuff.

Example: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/beer-equipment-starter-kits/essential-brewing-starter-kit

Beginners usually start off brewing beer from extract kits that range from about $25-50. That's a recurring cost because you have to buy a new kit each time. One kit makes about 5 gallon of beer, roughly 50 bottles worth.

Example: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits/bavarian-hefe-weizen-extract-kit

You also have to have 50ish bottles. You can buy them empty for about $25 or you can just sanitize and reuse store bought beer bottles (but not twist-off style). Which is good for cutting down on your costs.

Example (you need 2 orders of this one): http://www.midwestsupplies.com/12-oz-beer-bottles-amber-case-of-24.html

Tallguy88 · Aug 24, 2015

Here's a good step by step tutorial for the easiest kind of brewing (extract brewing):

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/beginner/how-to-make-beer/

Tallguy88 · Aug 26, 2015

I just did a batch last night. Here's a picture of the wort as it was boiling:

Now it's in the fermenter, where it will stay for 3-4 weeks until my hydrometer does not show and changes in the specific gravity over a period of a few days (which means fermentation has stopped and I don't risk my bottles exploding from continued fermentation while under pressure).

Goodbook · Aug 26, 2015

No, but mum makes soya bean milk and we juice our citrus. And also, while these days its not considered wine, we do make grape juice and preserve it in jars.

Goodbook · Aug 26, 2015

Tea is also an excellent beverage.
You can grow a tea bush or you can make herbal teas. When you brew tea as you are boiling the water the leaves give the water flavour and so, it is refreshing. If you cant live on just plain water..

If you have a lemon tree, you can always make lemonade.

Rhamiel · Aug 27, 2015

my dad makes home made wine
mostly zinfandel with a little moscato to lighten it up

Tallguy88 · Aug 27, 2015

Rhamiel said:
my dad makes home made wine
mostly zinfandel with a little moscato to lighten it up

I've never had good luck with grape wine. It's very touchy with sooooo many variables, grape type, soil, humidity, temperature, etc.

Does he grow his own grapes or buy concentrate?

Rhamiel · Aug 27, 2015

Tallguy88 said:
I've never had good luck with grape wine. It's very touchy with sooooo many variables, grape type, soil, humidity, temperature, etc.

Does he grow his own grapes or buy concentrate?

both
he grows some, but also buys some juice

the trick with wine is you HAVE to be a neat freak
sterilize, sterilize, sterilize
and then clean it again lol

Tallguy88 · Aug 27, 2015

Rhamiel said:
both
he grows some, but also buys some juice

the trick with wine is you HAVE to be a neat freak
sterilize, sterilize, sterilize
and then clean it again lol

Yeah, beer is more forgiving of mistakes.

Rachel96 · Feb 3, 2017

As a non-drinker, I wouldn't say I like brewing my own beer and wine, but I can do it. I grew up in a non-official micro-brewery/winery (which is to say, we made beer and wine and distributed it a bit) and I'm pretty sure the sole reason I don't drink is because I was exposed to too many rotting-half-fermented-alcohol smells and a child and that put me off it all...

My father still makes beer and wine (actually, there's some bubbling away in the study as I type) but I don't really have much interest in it, mostly because I wouldn't drink it, although I do get a bit excited when I see a recipe for an "exotic" or "strange" form of beer or wine. Have you ever seen the "River Cottage" series? Every now and then, Hugh makes a hedgerow wine or beer and I say, "Oh, I want to do that!"

I've always had less interest in beer than wine and I'm pretty certain my father uses "yeast extract kits" for that, but he learnt wine-making from my grandfather who always had a steady supply of - shall way say "interesting"? - wines such as nettle or elder-flower. We always had more fruity wines going throughout my childhood - I think the first wine I made by myself (when I was eight, I'll add) was kiwi-fruit. I've always got vinegar just as often as I get wine, but dad has better success with it.

Tallguy88 · Feb 19, 2017

These days I prefer beer over wine. I can pace myself better if I'm drinking socially.

As for homebrewing, beer is ready much sooner than wine.

Brent W · Mar 31, 2017

Me and a friend just bottled our Nut Brown Ale last weekend. 12 22oz Bombers and 24 12 oz Longnecks. We are going to open our first one tomorrow. This is the first time I have ever done it so I am pretty excited.

Tallguy88 · Mar 31, 2017

It's an addicting hobby, no pun intended. I've never made nut brown ale before. What's it supposed to be like? I make a lot of hefeweizens (a kind of wheat beer) and marzens (oktoberfest style).

JacquelineDeane55 · Jun 18, 2017

Not to be a stinker, but I thought that drunkards wouldn't inherit the kingdom of GOD. That verse is why no one in my family drinks, I thought it was sinful...

...but you said that no one in the middle ages really got drunk. That's good. But drinking beer can lead to someone getting drunk, and sinning, I'm just saying....

JCFantasy23 · Jul 6, 2017

JacquelineDeane55 said:
Not to be a stinker, but I thought that drunkards wouldn't inherit the kingdom of GOD. That verse is why no one in my family drinks, I thought it was sinful...

...but you said that no one in the middle ages really got drunk. That's good. But drinking beer can lead to someone getting drunk, and sinning, I'm just saying....

It wouldn't be easy to get drunk off beer - you'd have to indulge in several bottles in one sitting. The alcohol content is low.

seashale76 · Jul 8, 2017

I've been toying with the idea of brewing beer here at home for a while. Haven't done it yet though. An Ethiopian friend at work brews his own Meade (apparently- that is an Ethiopian cultural thing- especially around Pascha).

Buju · Jul 31, 2017

Just curious about what you called "small beer" here. I'm used to coffee where doing such a thing would result in bad coffee. does running it through a second time result in a bad weak beer, or just a weak beer? Thanks in advance.

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