Homebrewing

Ok, I am just starting to homebrew and I was wondering if there was anybody else on here that homebrews.

I though I’d specify that I’m making wine right now and looking to make wheat beer in the immediate future (as soon as wheat harvest is over).

In high school I made my own mead.

I ended up in bed with a fat crazy black chick. Then my parents came home.

So be careful! :wink:

[quote]ToShinDo wrote:
In high school I made my own mead.

I ended up in bed with a fat crazy black chick. Then my parents came home.

So be careful! ;-)[/quote]

I’m sure she was a beautiful on the inside.

Having sex with a fat chick is like riding a scooter, it’s fun but you don’t want you friends to know you do it.

how was it? The mead, not the fat chick.

I’m actually looking for recipes for single malt wheat beer. It’s kinda tough to find any that don’t call for all kinds of stuff in addition to the malted wheat.

Hic! Wha ya wanna know?

[quote]vroom wrote:
Hic! Wha ya wanna know?[/quote]

Ok, where to start?
First off, whats the alcohol content we can expect if sugar isn’t a limiting factor? We are using saccharomyces cerevisiae.

How much should we prime with after we rack it into bottles? And are the Grolsh wire tops good to rack into if we don’t have a bottler? I’m wondering if they will withstand the pressure from the carbonation. Also how much room should we leave in the top of the bottle for the carbonation?

I was also wondering if anybody knew of any plans to make your own pressure relief valve. We are planning on trying to stick a pressure relief valve onto a 50 gallon drum. Would a lid from a pressure cooker work?

Is Camden and tannin nessecary for the brew, and what do they do? For that matter does anybody know where there is a link to show what different ingredients are responsible for. I’ve tried googling a lot of stuff, but everybody just wants to sell it.

I have some other questions but i can’t think of them, I’ll post them as I remember.

Don't want to hi jack the thread but anyone got any good tips for brewing apple cider as well, ingredients and such like ?

I’ve always wanted to try homebrewing, too young atm though.

POst how well it goes, if it does go well…

Oh yeh, what type of wine? white, rose or red?
You can only go up to 15% for a single fertilisation process, because thats when the yeast dies. If you want to get even more % you will need to distil it more. If you do, you may end up with a spirit (simular to martini if you are making wine) or something that can strip paint. i think a spirit is classified as >40%, not sure. I like spirits :smiley:

ima golook how to make spirits now, thanks.

I can help but I need to know a little more.
First, are you planning to brew with just the freshly harvested wheat?
Second, what type of equipment you have or will be using?
And third, what type of finished product will you be looking for?

Either, post here or PM me when you can and be happy to help.

[quote]RichM wrote:
I can help but I need to know a little more.
First, are you planning to brew with just the freshly harvested wheat?
Second, what type of equipment you have or will be using?
And third, what type of finished product will you be looking for?

Either, post here or PM me when you can and be happy to help.[/quote]

yes, we were plannin on brewing the wheat right after harvest, but we were planning on malting it first. We were hoping that somebody knew some recipes or sites with easy recipes on them.

Right now our setup isn’t very advanced. We’re waiting until we find a recipe or two that we like before investing very much time and money into building our own equipment. Right now we are fermenting everything in one gallon glass jugs with a balloon on top for a pressure release valve.

As far as finished product we just want a dark wheat ale. thats about all that I know about it. We were plannin on priming with honey to give the honey wheat flavor. Will this work, or do we need to add honey to the wort to get the flavor.

Also we have been innoculating our wine with the yeast from the previous batch (a la sour mash) is this a good idea?

This was my bible when i started

“The complete joy of homebrewing”

Worth every penny.

[quote]tveddy wrote:
Ok, I am just starting to homebrew and I was wondering if there was anybody else on here that homebrews.
[/quote]
Heck yes!

This is a great site to start at…

Secondly, I would read the classic, The New Complete Joy of Brewing by Charlie Papazian and How to Brew by John J. Palmer. Both are excellent sources. The latter book is a bit more in depth but still a great beginner book. The former is a bit more outdated but is geared for the absolute beginner.

If you have experience with wine kits, brewing beer from extract is nothing harder than that; in fact, it’s probably easier. The key is just to follow process and once you master that and learn proper sanitation (which you know from wine making) it is a breeze. I still haven’t done a full mash becasue I just don’t have the time or storage for it yet, plus I’d like to have an extra set of hands that has done it before.

I recommend the American Pale Ale extract kit for your first batch from the above listed link. It is both easy and tasty and only takes three weeks–kinda like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale with an explosive Cascade hops note.

[quote]tveddy wrote:
Ok, where to start?
First off, whats the alcohol content we can expect if sugar isn’t a limiting factor? We are using saccharomyces cerevisiae.
[/quote]
This depends on the gravity of your batch. You can add certain surgars to your batch to increae this but there are only certain yeasts that can handle it–specifically Belgian and/or Chamgaigne yeast.

DO not prime in the bottle. Prime in the fermentor right before you bottle. About a half to a quarter cup of corn sugar works well depending on the ending gravity of your batch. The Grolsch bottle caps should be fine for the amout of pressure you see from bottled carbonation. Leave about 1 1/2 inch space in the bottel tops.

I don’t believe these are necessary finings or additives for beer. Usally the only reason one adds these subtances is for clarity of the finished product. I am not certain what the two you listed are used for. I know tanin is naturally occuring in grape skins and adds to the tactile mouth feel of wine; also supposedly the reason wine is considered good for your heart.

just brewed my first batch of beer this weekend actually. made an achor steam copy and it was suprisingly easy. cant wait to sample it in a couple of weeks!

[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
tveddy wrote:

Secondly, I would read the classic, The New Complete Joy of Brewing by Charlie Papazian and How to Brew by John J. Palmer. Both are excellent sources. The latter book is a bit more in depth but still a great beginner book. The former is a bit more outdated but is geared for the absolute beginner.

[/quote]

I checked out the John Palmer book and found this link to read it free in html I’m reading it right now, and its helping a lot.

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

With using whole grains to brew there are a lot more steps and special equipment needed to get started.

my advise would be to malt and roast some of fresh wheat. When you are ready to brew, boil about 2 gallons of water and steep the grains for about an hour. fortify the batch with about 2-3 pounds of light crystal malt extract (dry type) and boil it for about an hour, adding hops every thirty minutes(preferably cascade-as they are lightly bittering). The extract will give you all of the natural sugars you need to start fermenting plus the honey you will be adding. Let all of this cool to room temp and add enough cool water to make 5 gallons before adding the yeast. Use a good quality ale yeast(preferably a liquid).

Your starting gravity should start around 1.070 and drop down to 1.018-1.020. when fermentation is complete. After fermentation, prime with 3/4 cup of corn sugar and bottle. Allow 2-4 weeks for beer to condition before drinking. You may want to invest in a 6-1/2 gallon fermentation bucket with lid and an airlock for beer as the balloons may explode or fly off during the process, making a mess.
Good luck

OK. I found a way to make a homemade airlock using pvc tubing and oil. Preferable an oil that won’t sustain bacterial growth such as Motor oil, not vegetable.

[quote]aussie486 wrote:
Don’t want to hi jack the thread but anyone got any good tips for brewing apple cider as well, ingredients and such like ?[/quote]

My Dad used to take a handful of raisins drop them into a gallon of Cider, and keep it in a cool place, not cold. It was not strong but it was the best Cider I ever had.

ok, I had a question about the amount of grain to use. The book says 1 pound of grain per quart of water.

[quote]RichM wrote:
With using whole grains to brew there are a lot more steps and special equipment needed to get started.

my advise would be to malt and roast some of fresh wheat. When you are ready to brew, boil about 2 gallons of water and steep the grains for about an hour. fortify the batch with about 2-3 pounds of light crystal malt extract (dry type) and boil it for about an hour, adding hops every thirty minutes(preferably cascade-as they are lightly bittering). The extract will give you all of the natural sugars you need to start fermenting plus the honey you will be adding. Let all of this cool to room temp and add enough cool water to make 5 gallons before adding the yeast. Use a good quality ale yeast(preferably a liquid).

Your starting gravity should start around 1.070 and drop down to 1.018-1.020. when fermentation is complete. After fermentation, prime with 3/4 cup of corn sugar and bottle. Allow 2-4 weeks for beer to condition before drinking. You may want to invest in a 6-1/2 gallon fermentation bucket with lid and an airlock for beer as the balloons may explode or fly off during the process, making a mess.
Good luck [/quote]