Making a mead is vastly simpler than brewing even a extract kit. Warm up the honey to get it to melt in the water, maybe some chemical balance to the water. Pitch the yeast, ferment and rack once. Add fruit if you desire, rack again after a while. Then let it sit in a carboy for for 2-5 years and wait it out.
Goes faster if you use an aquarium stone and get a bottle of oxygen and deliver the oxygen into the honey water solution prior to pitching the yeast.
I'd kinda like to brew a pilsner or two but am clueless on how to do it myself. My brother used to brew beer that you could eat with a spoon… I prefer watered down, lighter brews.
Get your feet wet with brewing extract kits http://us.diybeer.com/ for example (lets you practice patience and sanitation) as you master those and drink your results get a book on brewing such as How to Brew http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Ever...1888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382707075&sr=8-1 then a book or other source for recipes Google is your buddy https://www.google.com/search?q=beer recipies &ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t this is followed by experimenting and more libation. Now ya done went and done it I've got to empty three bottles in order to have enough bottles to brew up the last of the ingredients I have. I feel the urge to make beer.
My wife and I made 18 batches of extract beer. We liked it, but the extract brew has a sort of twang to it. We haven't brewed in over a year and she keeps bugging me to brew again, but I told her I won't do it until we can go all grain. The main thing that's holding me back is having a big enough brewing pot. I'm a cheap bastage and keep looking for one at auctions and yard sales, but haven't found one yet.
Cheapest way to go is probably to get an old keg and cut the top off and put a valve in on the bottom. Couple buddies of mine use one as a mash tun and one as a boil kettle, that eventually what I'd like to do.
I'll be right there to help finish them and a few more too! This is a hobby I'd love to get into. Thanks for the tips!
I'd like to have a 7 gallon, to avoid boil overs,(you all know about those). The cut off keg sounds like a good idea, I need to keep an eye out for one. We're not big on the craft beers, love lagers of all kinds though. I have a root cellar that I converted from a cistern and in the winter it's just about the right temps to ferment lager. Would love to be able to make a clone of Hofbrau lager. We have a Hofbrauhaus nearby and every time we go there to have one on tap, I dream of making a beer like that for myself. Another one I'd like to copy or come close to is Weihenstephaner.
Kegs are 15.5 gal and probably the perfect size, I currently use a 8.5 gal pot and it's great for everything except the big beers (most anything that would finish around 8-11%) is doable but boil overs can happen. You would be boiling over in a 7 gal going all grain.
Going to bring this back to the top. Been reading more. I'd like to hear more tips and pointers from you guys and maybe some pictures. I remember Pallet Pete had a real nice set up posted at one time, I think it was when the temporary website was set up originally. Just trying to see what I all is actually is involved, as they say the first time is the hardest. Thanks, plus this should be a good thread.
I've got a collection of beer bottles, that I was going to send to the glass recycler that our Micro brewer and Trash company set up through out the city. But if I can use them why not? They are mostly all the the nontwist tops, so I know that is what I need.
You could start doing extract kits to get used to the sanitizing requirements and fermentation and yeast casting temperature requirements. The extract kits do not require boiling big containers of grain and adjuncts and following an involved time table.. Sanitizing the items used in brewing and bottling seems to be a problem for some reason, and that is even using no rinse sanitizers.
Well I think I'm going to try my first batch this weekend. I stopped and talked the local home brew store owner. It was nice to talk to him and discuss the process. All the variety of the extracts available.... Oh my.... This is the kit that my better half got me about 9 years ago. I got beer bottles and a extract kit to go with it. Do extract kits get old?
Always use fresh ingredients unless you are doing a true old fashioned porter. That one is special as it started with old flat beer as an ingredient unlike to current stuff that gets labeled as porter.
Personally I use tap water without issue but this could vary depending mainly on your pluming and the chemicals used by the city. If you boil it first for 15 minutes hard boil the chemicals will boil out and you get good clean brew water. Trust me the bottled jug thing gets really old fast!
I use well water (no chems) or bottled spring water. If you use distilled water you need to oxygenate it or the yeast will not be able to work very well. One of the more common methods of oxygenating the brew is a sterilized aquarium stone,sanitized plastic tubing and a bottle of oxygen. Undistiled water only requires that you really mix up the wort by vigorous shaking before casting the yeast.
