I know that there is one other member here that makes home brew, but I figured I'd put myself out there for a little Q&A and also a general discussion about home brewing in general..
First the basics
Is it safe?
Yes, you can't go blind off of your home brew or get violently ill if you've followed the steps and dont' brew with battery acid.
What can you brew?
Any beer basically, that's why I do it I can do anything I want.. Ales/ Lagers / Hard cider etc.. I focus on Ales right now because they require a little less babysitting and equipment. If you want a Jalapano Blueberry milk stout, you can do it (I wouldn't though)
You just can't make moonshine, it's fermentation not distilling.
How long does it take
That depends on the beer you are making.. A safe estimate for fermentation / carbonation / conditioning is 6 weeks, (2 weeks for each). It may be more or less (you can use a device called a hydrometer to tell when fermemtation has finished).
6wks is a general rule though, some bigger (More ingredient) beers need to sit in a secondary fermentation vessel for a little while it finishes. (A secondary is needed because you don't want to beer to sit on dead yest too long, it'll taste funny)
How much does it cost (2 pt question)
1 Initial equipment
A traditional 5 gallon kit costs about $100 for everything you need, (Minus the bottles). Includes a fermentation bucket, bottling bucket, lid, airlock, tubing for bottling, and usually a kit for your first beer
Around x-mas $20-30 You can brew with a MR. Beer ( 2.5 gal fermemter Looked down upon by many brewers) but it's basic premise is the same as the 5 gal kits, it makes less beer.
2. Actual ingredients
Typically About 40-50 (depending on the ingredients) for 5 gallons of beer.
How hard is it?
As hard or as easy as you want. You can do everything inbetween the 2 extremes.
You can do extract brewing which basically requires you to sanatize equipment, boil water, add ingredients (Extracts, and hops, or just extracts w/ hops included), chill, and add to fermenting vessel. About 1.5HR from start to finish depending on if you are using Hopped Extract, or adding all the hops yourself)
You can do all grain, which includes sanatizing, mashing, and filtering the grain to turn it into wort, and adding the hops. and add to fermenting vessel.. This style takes up most of your day.. You should not do all grian with Mr Beer.
How much is 5 Gal of beer?
About 2 cases/
Any other questions please ask..
Or discuss your brewing.
First the basics
Is it safe?
Yes, you can't go blind off of your home brew or get violently ill if you've followed the steps and dont' brew with battery acid.
What can you brew?
Any beer basically, that's why I do it I can do anything I want.. Ales/ Lagers / Hard cider etc.. I focus on Ales right now because they require a little less babysitting and equipment. If you want a Jalapano Blueberry milk stout, you can do it (I wouldn't though)
You just can't make moonshine, it's fermentation not distilling.
How long does it take
That depends on the beer you are making.. A safe estimate for fermentation / carbonation / conditioning is 6 weeks, (2 weeks for each). It may be more or less (you can use a device called a hydrometer to tell when fermemtation has finished).
6wks is a general rule though, some bigger (More ingredient) beers need to sit in a secondary fermentation vessel for a little while it finishes. (A secondary is needed because you don't want to beer to sit on dead yest too long, it'll taste funny)
How much does it cost (2 pt question)
1 Initial equipment
A traditional 5 gallon kit costs about $100 for everything you need, (Minus the bottles). Includes a fermentation bucket, bottling bucket, lid, airlock, tubing for bottling, and usually a kit for your first beer
Around x-mas $20-30 You can brew with a MR. Beer ( 2.5 gal fermemter Looked down upon by many brewers) but it's basic premise is the same as the 5 gal kits, it makes less beer.
2. Actual ingredients
Typically About 40-50 (depending on the ingredients) for 5 gallons of beer.
How hard is it?
As hard or as easy as you want. You can do everything inbetween the 2 extremes.
You can do extract brewing which basically requires you to sanatize equipment, boil water, add ingredients (Extracts, and hops, or just extracts w/ hops included), chill, and add to fermenting vessel. About 1.5HR from start to finish depending on if you are using Hopped Extract, or adding all the hops yourself)
You can do all grain, which includes sanatizing, mashing, and filtering the grain to turn it into wort, and adding the hops. and add to fermenting vessel.. This style takes up most of your day.. You should not do all grian with Mr Beer.
How much is 5 Gal of beer?
About 2 cases/
Any other questions please ask..
Or discuss your brewing.
