notex

anyone ever try home brewing beer... i was interested in trying it, if anyone has any tips thatd be great.. thanks

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Terry Glenn is a cowgirl

ditto... ditto... ditto... please give some tips.

That would be very generous.

notex

theres like a million different guides online but i dont know what kind of beer them make...would love a guide from anyone whose tried it...

Terry Glenn let me know if you find anything worthwhile thanks bro

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shirtsleeve

You've come to the right place. Buy a complete basic beer brewing equipment kit. Buy a big tub of C brite sterilizer, and any brushes, caps, etc. that you will need. Most of the better home brew stores will help there. You will also need at least a 3 gallon brew kettle. The initial equipment will set you back about $100. Go to a local restaraunt or bar and get 3 cases of bar bottles. They will make you pay for the deposit. And you will have to wash the hell outta them before sterilization, but it will save $$.
Then start with a pre-assembled beer "kit". It will have a can of malt extract, perhaps dry malt extract, yeast, hops, perhaps some grains. It depends on the flavor you are looking for. Two things to remember. 1. Everything MUST be sterile. 2. Patience is a virtue. You wont drink your first batch for 2 months.
A great supplier I use in central Ma. is NFG homebrew. They have a web site. Check them out. If you are looking for a greeatttt first batch to brew, try their Canadian Ale. Its a partial mash, and can be just a little more complicated than some, but boy, you wont believe the flavor.
I have been at this for a couple of years and still pretty much stick to partial mashing. The whole thought and expense of doing a full mash brew, coolers, tubs, etc is just too much work for very little extra reward. But I do now keg with a dual keg system, and I regularly experiment to find different flavors. I write everything down, so when I nail a recipe, I can duplicate it. I will be glad to help you if you want to get into it. Its fun (but fattening). And you will never want to drink anything commercial except microbrews again.

JoeSixPat

I've done it a few times in my younger days when I had the time for such projects - there are plenty of places to get the equipment - some glass carbouys etc...

You need a good full day I'd say. Cleanliness is the most important thing. Get a lot of friends to help and scrub all your equipment and bottles and carbouys as if you were going into surgery.

One little bacteria will skunk an entire batch.

Everything else is pretty straightforward and the instructions for boiling, what to do and when are easy enough. Its the prep work that gets overlooked that makes the big difference.

Bottling is good and fun to share your efforts with others. Personally I've found that using the pressurized canisters - those often used for soda syrup often conveniently "left" behind many restaurants - make great kegs.

They are much smaller than other kegs but work the same way - CO2 tank for pressure in - and a simple spigot attachment coming off the other valve. Saves a lot of time in the labor intensive and messy bottling later as you just transfer from the carboy to the keg when finally brewed.

The Pale Ales were always my favorite.... even grew my own hops for awhile - which are easy to grow though they will quickly take over an area if given a trellis or other structure to vine over.

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shirtsleeve

Hey Joe, I use those 5 gallon cornelius kegs too. I have two of them in a mini fridge, co2 canister, reg, hoses, and taps through the door. Thats typically how we do it, everyone. These kegs are 1 batch sized. Perfect.

notex

thanks alot...im ganna check that all out ill let ya know if i have some questions...need to set aside a couple of days to try to nail this thing down, im going to check that site out now...thanks again..

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shirtsleeve

I've got tomorrow off, and I'll be brewing two more batches. One is their country ale and the other is one of my recipe's. My beers all tend to be "big beers" with alcohol content over 9% and very hoppy, though I typically use low alpha acid hops. Alpha acid is a measure that you can use to figure how bitter your beer will be. The higher the alpha acid, the more bitter the beer. The higher ones are typically boiling hops, the lower ones are used as finishing hops.

Terry Glenn is a cowgirl

What does "bock" mean?

I love the darker, more choclate type beers. Porter, black ale, dopplebock, etc.

I know that they are terrible for the tummy, and terrible the next day (if you have too many)... but... the taste cannot be beat, imo.

How do you brew these types?

shirtsleeve

Historically, boch beers were brewed at the end of a brewing cycle, when the brewers would clean out their kettles. Some imports still are true boch beers. These brews really stick to your ribs. Dark as night, thick as molasses. Heavy duty stuff.

Today, bock beers are readily available. Similar to Extra Stouts in color and body, their taste can resemble import bochs pretty closely. Most home brew supply stores sell either pre-made "kits" to brew one or they can give you a recipe and you can pull the ingredients off of the shelf.