Beer-Homebrewing/drinking

Very cool @Beet Stix look like a mad scientist.

Just signed up for a beginners class next week!! Should be fun... Beer school.

 

My latest Bohemian Pilsner. 100% Weyermann Bohemian Pils malt, Magnum and Saaz Hops and Wyeast 2124.

 

Mmmm....now that makes me want to have another beer!!! I love the Leinenkugel glass too!!!

 

Very clear Todd. Light too. So many homebrews are that same brown/Orange murky. I may have to try a lager when temps cool down.

 

I find brewing a good Pils pretty challenging. You can't hide many flaws.

 

Beer school was great. She took a solid 2 hours and with just me and my 2 "business" partners in the class we got to ask plenty of questions.

The owner of the place was great, very helpful and down to earth. Made the process seems fun and not so difficult (the Palmer book was making me sweat a book with information overload.)

We purchased our starter kit and then one of the Homebrew store's kits for an Amber Ale.

The problem of brewing with 2 others is aligning calendars, so it will be 3 weeks before brew day. We figure once out of the primary we will start the second batch.

Now.... do y'all use a secondary fermenter? We are holding off on it for now.

 

I use a secondary or more depending upon what I'm making.

Currently my batch is a mead (honey wine) and it is due to be racked tomorrow (three weeks in primary). I will rack it and let it sit for awhile, rack it again, let it sit a bit and bottle it.

 

Bingo. I have done several batches of beer and have used a carboy for secondary. They have all turned out really well. I have done 1 batch that I let sit in primary for ~4 weeks and it has an off flavor.

I think if you are going to be doing extract brewing the secondary is not as important because you shouldnt have too much trub in the bottom of the primary. I find that moving my fermenter to a counter top the day before I plan to bottle and then moving it to a bottling bucket will help keep solids out of your bottles.
If you start to add grains, other ingredients, or want to dry hop anything, the secondary is great. There are certain beverages that generate A LOT of trub. Ciders, meads, and wine need racked several times.

 

The off taste is from dead yeast husks which settles to the bottom of the container, the longer the stuff being fermented takes, the more times you need to rack.

Clarification is a slightly different process but also involves a racking after it takes place.

 

Excellent feedback, my buddy highly recommended secondary for clarification, but we figured when we get around towards caring about aesthetics we can always add on. Also, things like dry hopping will come in much later batches, we are just rookies.

With the partnership, we're each in $60 and that includes our 2 hour class, starter kit, and first beer kit. So far it is an easy on the wallet hobby. Not like firewood, doesn't pay me back, but should be enjoyable. I'm a CL shopper, so if I find we need to add on, we can hopefully find good deals when they arise and not solely when we want them.

 

I never use a secondary fermenter. If you pitch the proper amount of yeast your beer should be done in less than 2 weeks. You also have more risk in contamination by racking from primary to secondary.

 

In the fridge currently,

5 Gallons of a Belgian Quad(Unibroue's La Fin Du Mond Clone) I made for the birth of my brothers first Child, using the Caniadian/Belgian Yeast(Unibroue yeast) from Wyeast. I'm calling it "Simba" as his name is Leon and everyone is already calling him Leo.

2 Gallons of a Summer Shandy that I brewed to learn about using Corn as an adjunct in amounts greater than 50% of my bash bill. Turned out Great, and is a pleasant Lawnmower beer. Calling that one "Poco loves Cream Ale"

3 Gallons of a Coffee Blond Styled after Odd Sides "Bean Flicker" One of my better brews to date. Started with my usual American Wheat and added cold brewed Coffee to the primary same day as I cold crashed it. Calling that one "little man in the Canoe"

Sitting ready to be bottled

5 Gallons of a Belgian (Unibroue's blanche de Chambly Clone), using the Caniadian/Belgian Yeast(Unibroue yeast) from Wyeast. No Name yet

5 Gallons of an American Wheat(Bell's Oberon Clone) This is one I have brewed over and over, still love it as do my friends.

 

Awesome photos, sounds like a great day. All in the quest for homemade brew. What a good cause! My sister got me a home brewing kit for my birthday which I have yet to use - you guys are inspiring me to give it a shot.

 

I brew mostly pale ales these days from extract. Just brewed yesterday in fact. I started out 100 gallons ago or so fermenting in a glass6.5 and then a week later siphoning over into a glass 5 gallon carboy for secondary, and then bottling in 12 ouncers. What a pita.

First smart thing I started doing was bottling in 22 ounce bottles. Second was knock out the secondary phase, nothing happens after the first ten days anyways and who needs clear beer? Final smart move was dropping bottles and using corny kegs instead. Now it's brew to belly in 7-10 days.

Oh and don't buy glass carboys. I had that 6.5 fall apart in my hands full of water. Blood was squirting all over and I nearly lost a finger. Just buy the clear plastic carboys. They are cheaper, lighter, and safer.

 

So we have one brew day under our belts. Screwed up a few things, hopefully nothing fatal.

One thing is evident, we need a better thermometer. What are you guys using? Anyone use a smoker thermometer in the brew water? I have one of those with digital readout like the Maverick ET series.

 

I have one that hangs on the edge of my brew pot, it is a deep fry thermometer