Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

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HornedMessiah
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Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by HornedMessiah »

Since this sub-forum is "The Viking Bar" I thought it would make sense to have a beer topic. I'm talking about GOOD beer, not Bud/Miller/Coors swill. That stuff is fine for hot summer days when you're playing softball or having a backyard grilling party, but I'm talking about quality craft/microbrew.

I just recently got together with a friend and started homebrewing. So far we've done an IPA, Dry Stout, Smoked Porter, ESB, and just last weekend we brewed a RyePA that we're gonna dry-hop. It's only been a few months but I can already tell that this hobby can/will become an obsession. The possibilities are endless, and surprisingly it's not that difficult and doesn't require a bunch of expensive equipment to get good results. Anyone else here homebrew?

Lately I've been buying a lot of Boulder and Flying Dog beer, but I also enjoy stuff from Redhook, Summit, and Sierra Nevada. I'm really jealous of you Minnesotans who can get Surly Brewing Co. beer. I've heard/read nothing but good stuff about them. Plus, the stuff comes in a can which is cool. The only microbrew I've seen in a can is from Tallgrass and it's pretty good stuff (except for their Buffalo Sweat Sweet Stout, yuck).
hibbingviking
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Re: Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by hibbingviking »

HornedMessiah wrote:Since this sub-forum is "The Viking Bar" I thought it would make sense to have a beer topic. I'm talking about GOOD beer, not Bud/Miller/Coors swill. That stuff is fine for hot summer days when you're playing softball or having a backyard grilling party, but I'm talking about quality craft/microbrew.

I just recently got together with a friend and started homebrewing. So far we've done an IPA, Dry Stout, Smoked Porter, ESB, and just last weekend we brewed a RyePA that we're gonna dry-hop. It's only been a few months but I can already tell that this hobby can/will become an obsession. The possibilities are endless, and surprisingly it's not that difficult and doesn't require a bunch of expensive equipment to get good results. Anyone else here homebrew?

Lately I've been buying a lot of Boulder and Flying Dog beer, but I also enjoy stuff from Redhook, Summit, and Sierra Nevada. I'm really jealous of you Minnesotans who can get Surly Brewing Co. beer. I've heard/read nothing but good stuff about them. Plus, the stuff comes in a can which is cool. The only microbrew I've seen in a can is from Tallgrass and it's pretty good stuff (except for their Buffalo Sweat Sweet Stout, yuck).
No moonshine ? :burp:
HornedMessiah
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Re: Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by HornedMessiah »

hibbingviking wrote:No moonshine ? :burp:
Heh, nope....someday maybe...

Enjoying a homebrew Smoked Porter right now...this stuff is a meal. Black as night, light won't go through it. Good stuff for cold winter nights *looks outside and sees no snow, checks forecast and sees 50 degree temps for the next few days*...oh well I'll still drink it.
S197
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Re: Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by S197 »

I'd like to try homebrewing one of these days but I heard you need to get a decent kit. Those "starter" kits supposedly make some pretty nasty stuff.

Dogfish Head, Firestone Walker, Deschuttes, Fat Tire, Speight, Rogue, all good stuff. Not a micro but I also like the seasonal stuff Sam Adams puts out. They sell variety packs at Costco.
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Re: Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by Thaumaturgist »

Starter kits are fine, as long as you're not talking Mr. Beer.

I guess even that's fine if you use real ingredients, and skip some of the Mr. Beer ingredients. You can make smaller sample type batches in a Mr. Beer Keg.
HornedMessiah
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Re: Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by HornedMessiah »

S197 wrote:I'd like to try homebrewing one of these days but I heard you need to get a decent kit. Those "starter" kits supposedly make some pretty nasty stuff.
A good place to start would be this book: http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everythi ... 418&sr=8-1

As far as a kit, this is what I've been using:

- Black & white speckled stock pot
- 5 gallon plastic bucket with hole cut in lid for air lock (primary fermenter)
- 5 gallon glass carboy (secondary fermenter)
- Air locks/bubblers and drilled rubber stoppers
- Auto-siphon and plastic tubing
- Wire strainer
- Bottling wand + capper
- various kitchen stuff you probably already have like a scale, long handled spoon, timer, thermometer, etc...

There's other stuff too of course, like ingredients (malted barley, hops, yeast) and bottles + caps, but all together it really isn't a lot of equipment. Once you do it a few times it's not a very complex process either, it's just important to watch the temperatures and time.

Two website that I've been buying most of my stuff from are http://www.northernbrewer.com and http://www.midwestsupplies.com, both based out of the Twin Cities. I'm positive you can find a good supplier on the west coast though, since you're in Hawaii.

And I'm very jealous that you can get Dog Fish Head in Hawaii...that's just not fair. Can't find that anywhere where I live.
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Re: Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by S197 »

Yuengling is a great beer, my roommates from PA turned me on to it while I was living in Orlando.
HornedMessiah
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Re: Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by HornedMessiah »

Valhalla wrote:Bud took over Rolling Rock from what I understand, Rolling Rock brewed from Rice,
I think Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors, etc...are all brewed with rice.

I've never had a Yuengling brew. I imagine it's better than the stuff that I mentioned above?

Was out at a pub the other night and had a Bell's Hopslam Ale on-tap. Holy crap...easily some of the best beer I've ever had. If you're a fan of hops and IPAs, seek that stuff out. Also had some Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar which was damn tasty as well.

Starting to alter my homebrew method. So far I've been doing 5 gallon batches where I boil 3-3.5 gallons on the stovetop and then top off with water when I transfer to the fermenter to get up to 5 gallons. Now I'm doing 2-2.5 gallon batches where the full batch volume is boiled in the brewpot. Also using only grains, no malt extracts.
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Re: Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by beardedterror »

I got into brewing about 2 years ago. I've done about 40 batches, and have had some damned good beer from it. It's an addicting hobby.
HornedMessiah
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Re: Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by HornedMessiah »

beardedterror wrote:I got into brewing about 2 years ago. I've done about 40 batches, and have had some damned good beer from it. It's an addicting hobby.
Are you bottling or kegging? I've been doing the bottles and looking forward to moving on to kegging but it's an investment of at least a few hundred dollars from what I've seen. Some day.

For sure it's an addicting hobby. Soooo many possibilities. This weekend I've been putting together recipes in Beersmith for my next two batches (Dry Irish Stout and Belgian Witbier) and the more research I do the more I can't make up my mind so I keep adjusting ingredients (like hops).
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Re: Homebrewing, Craft Beer, etc...

Post by beardedterror »

I'm bottling for now. If I had the space and the money, I would switch to kegging in a heartbeat. I really hate bottling day haha. I've got an English Barleywine that should be fantastic in about a year and a half. I'm always tweaking my recipes and trying out new things. If only it wasn't so hard on my bank account... :beerock:
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