Show your homebrew beer and wine

[garnede]

So I see a lot of hobbies and crafts on this forum, but no home brew threads. So what are you guys making, racking, or drinking?

I want to start making both beer and wine, but I don't have the equipment yet. What do you suggest for supplies for a beginner? What are some sources for supplies, local and online?

Yea Beer!

 

[wranglerjoe1968]

I have to bottle up my batch of wine soon. Hope it is good. It was my first time trying it.

 

[garnede]

What did you use? Grapes, berries, fruit, flowers, or something else?

 

[wranglerjoe1968]

Muscadines

 

[CreekChub]

I started 2 years ago with a Mr Beer kit. Brewed up several
batches using various extract recipes.
I would suggest that and learn as you go. It would be really
expensive to go all out and buy everything new to start
brewing all grain. With the M.B. you can brew small test
batches on the cheap and slowly build up what you need
to brew larger batches and all grain. I still have 5 of the
M.B. fermenters and use them for wine and cider. Mr Beer
has a sale going on this weekend and you can also buy
their kits at K mart or Bed Bath and Beyond.
http://www.mrbeer.com/category-exec/category_id/139

This is a great forum for beginners: http://www.mrbeerfans.com/ubbthreads/
and where I hang out.

Also, http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/
is a great brew supply store in Marietta.

 

[garnede]

Thanks CC

 

[Jeff1969]

I wanna get into brewing and wine making one of these days. If you're close to Lilburn check out http://homebrewingsupplies.org/

Home Brewing Supplies on Indian Trail Rd at I-29. It's my aunt and uncle and they are very knowledgeable and are willing to help out with info and such. Tell em Jeff referred ya.

 

[dwhee87]

So I see a lot of hobbies and crafts on this forum, but no home brew threads. So what are you guys making, racking, or drinking?

I want to start making both beer and wine, but I don't have the equipment yet. What do you suggest for supplies for a beginner? What are some sources for supplies, local and online?

Yea Beer!

I started almost 20 years ago, and still brew 2 or 3 times a year. I get most of my supplies online from www.austinhomebrew.com.

You can buy the basic "kit" for around $100. It'll include a fermenting bucket, all your siphons, airlocks, capping equipment (manual) and usually a book. The location listed above is good. Another good place is Winecraft in Sandy Springs (just north of 285 on Roswell Rd.). The benefit to going into a storefront is that the people there are usually very knowledgeable and helpful.

I've currently got an Irish Red in bottles and a lemon wheat. I just picked up 20 pounds of honey at Costco yesterday to do my annual Spiced Mead (a real family favorite).

I will caution you....Homebrewing can become addictive. Once you start, you may never be able to stop.

Good luck, and "Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew".

 

[garnede]

I will caution you....Homebrewing can become addictive. Once you start, you may never be able to stop.

Good luck, and "Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew".

That is what I'm hoping. I do a lot of scratch cooking and even make cheese and lard my self. I like knowing where my food comes from. As much as I like beer and to a lesser extent wine, why shouldn't I make my own. I have about two dozen types fruit and berries growing so it won't be long till I have an excess that needs long term storage. What better way than a good home brew wine or hard cider.

 

[cch0830]

Brewmaster's Warehouse out of Marietta, GA will help you get started.

 

[marktaylor99]

I got a Cooper's kit several months ago and have done 4 batches so far. I have already added some extra equipment and switched to using 12oz glass bottles instead of the plastic bottles the kit came with.
It's tons of fun. I would suggest starting with extract kits first. I've yet to try it 'from scratch' yet but plan on it soon.

 

[CreekChub]

+1 on the Coopers, I made some really good beer back in
2010 splitting the cans in half or thirds into the Mr Beer
fermenters along with DME, steeping grains and added
hops.
I am going to buy some more of the Coopers cans soon
just so I can brew more often. With all grain, I need about
6 hours. With the Coopers I can be done in an hour or so.
It's been hard to find 6 hours lately.

 

[Fishin & Hunting]

I started brewing about 20 years ago. Haven't made a batch in over three years. Thought about selling my equipment once or twice, but still haven't done it. I enjoy doing it, just so many other things that need to be done. And I have made my share of beer. But with no brew stores around here, its hard to get a new batch started.

 

[BriarPatch99]

Maybe you missed this one....

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=638938

 

[dwhee87]

With all grain, I need about
6 hours. With the Coopers I can be done in an hour or so.
It's been hard to find 6 hours lately.

That's why I've never gotten into the all-grain. Too much time. I've gotten the extract brewing down to a science. I can sanitize, brew 2 batches and get to the fermenter, and clean up in right at 2 hours.

One of the best tools I've found to speed the process is a copper wort chiller. You can find them online for about $50. I can cool a 1.5 gallon pot of wort from boiling to 80 degrees in about 7 minutes with mine. It basically works as a heat exchanger, flowing cold water through a copper coil immersed in your brew pot of hot wort, and discharges the heated water outside of the pot. One of man's greatest inventions.

 

[CreekChub]

I built my own chiller, a 50ft'r from a roll of 3/8 copper
purchased at Lowes. That helps a bunch and if I am
really pressed for time I top up with a gallon of cold
bottled water. Distilled for extract or spring for all grain.
I have also just put the brew pot of boiling wort into a
bathtub of cold water. Ran some errands into town and
returned an hour or two later and pitched my yeast.

As attractive and easy as the hopped malt extract is, it's
so much cheaper with all grain. Both methods has it's
pros and cons but they both make beer in the end.

 

[CreekChub]

Just ran some numbers for a pilsner/ saaz "smash"
I can make 10 gallons of a 4.0 abv basic all grain pilsner beer that
is much more flavorful than Bud or Miller for about 26
bucks including the yeast and hops.

 

[garnede]

Just ran some numbers for a pilsner/ saaz "smash"
I can make 10 gallons of a 4.0 abv basic all grain pilsner beer that
is much more flavorful than Bud or Miller for about 26
bucks including the yeast and hops.

Care to share any recipes? Or any for dark beer (brown or red)? I like recipes that are inexpensive but take time. I tend to have more time than money these days. That and I won't buy a cook book unless it has at least 1 recipe that takes more than 4 hours. It means cooking from scratch instead of out of a box or can.

 

[CreekChub]

Well you sound a lot like me. I grew up smoking meat and
cooking while never using a recipe and that has carried
over into my brewing. I brew mostly "wildcat recipes" that
are not to style. People have been brewing for thousands
of years all over the world and certain traits and styles
have formed from the different regions due to the types
of water, hops, yeast and grains from the specific areas.
Styles:
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/catdex.php

But, styles and recipes are not so important in the begining.
There is a lot that can and will go wrong on your first few
batches unless you study up and observe some other brewers
in action. You have time and patience it sounds like so you
have half the battle won already.
The number one thing new brewers get wrong is fermentation
temperatures. Think of yeast like say tropical fish? maybe?
Each strain prefers a certain temperature and swings low
or high will have foul effects on the beer.
I would recommend reading all you can ahead of your first
batch and learn from others mistakes.
Sign up over at: http://www.mrbeerfans.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/activetopics/7/1.html
and tell them HatchetJack sent you or not LoL.
We will get flooded soon with new brewers who received
the MB kit for Christmas and lots of questions. There are
some really great brewers there who have made it "home"
like I have.
A more advanced site is:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/
Most people start out by reading this online book:
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
Some recipes by one of the better brewers in the country:
http://beerdujour.com/jamilsrecipes.htm

 

[garnede]

CreekChub Thanks for the info.