Hey I am looking at getting into home brewing as a hobby and would love to hear about it from some experienced home brewers before I spend a bunch of money to make malt extract beer.
I want to know about the hobby in general (skip the how-to’s I know generally how to do it, but tips would be nice), challenges first starting out, best equipment for a beginner (do I go full boar into expensive stuff or start cheap?) and what do you wish you knew when you started that you know now!
It only took me a batch or two to figure out what I wanted to get out of homebrewing and I started to focus on that right away. I switched to smaller batches and learned how to experiment with recipe design and hop varieties right away. I jumped into all-grain brewing as soon as i learned about BIAB (brew-in-a-bag). There are a lot of different aspects to this hobby, you don’t have to follow a specific tract just because everyone else does.
As long as you’re having fun, you’re doing it right. And you’ve come across a great community here on this forum. If you decide to jump into the hobby, this is a great place to learn for both the new brewer and veteran alike.
To tackle the easier one of your queries, I think if your waffling about getting into the hobby you should make a small batch or three just using stuff you already have and see if you like brewing. There are plenty of articles on minimalist brewing out there. or you can go the Mr. beer route. For real brewing equipment its real easy to drop $200 bucks at the start, though you can do if for significantly less if your thrifty/resourceful.
Tip, keep sanitizer on the counter or floor in the room on brew day and every other beer handling day.
Tip, use recipes from solid sources till you know what your looking at.
Tip, make sure you have a place in your house that will stay within your fermentation temp range for your yeast BEFORE you brew.
What is this $20 you say? I definitely want to get into it, and have 0 equipment. Do you guys have some good links for brewing with stuff found at home? I figure I’ve always got Oatmeal, Yeast, Sugar and Water… Just need a little hop and something for it to sit in with an air-lock right?
If you have a whole foods near you, they sell kits from Brooklyn brew shop for 1 gallon batches. I think they run $40-50 and include most of what you would need minus the kettle.
You cant make beer with oatmeal and yeast that you have around the house. Read the online version of Palmer’s “How to Brew” and invest in a basic starter kit. If you have a local homebrew shop they may have a decent kit, or there are several good online suppliers. This is a great hobby and I would hate to see a new brewer discouraged from continuing because of taking short-cuts and having a bad first batch. Good luck and have fun!
A great resource would be a local home brew shop or club. Many of these offer brewing days where people interested in starting can come watch, learn and ask questions. It’s a great way to meet brewers with tons of knowledge and experience.
Loving everyone’s suggestions. I live in KC and locally (within 45 minutes) there aren’t a ton of clubs from what I am seeing. I may go the kit route to start and get my feet wet. I’m also going to buy a thermometer to put in my basement and keep track of the temp down there since that is probably the best and only place I have to let it ferment in my house (stays warm all year round and is super, super dry).
Again, I am beyond novice but I think this will be really fun! I enjoy cooking on multiple levels and I think this is right up my alley and scratches the same itch.
Equipment wise, I suggest not dropping too much on things you might outgrow after a month. For example if you are choosing between a 5 gallon kettle for $50 or a 8 gallon for $70 or a 14 gallon for $100, get the 14.
Also, I have a floating thermometer I was told that I needed. I used it for my first batch and bought a digital for $5 on eBay.
I think a big reason that homebrewing appealed to me - besides the good beer - is its similarity to cooking. If you don’t like cooking, I would be surprised if you liked homebrewing.
You are in KC - calling Amanda! She is a great brewer and is in a good club! I had her beer at NHC with the KC Beermeisters (or something like that) and they are solid. A great resource! I am sure she can point you in the right direction for KC home brewing. Really, starting out is a big pot and some buckets and lids. Nothing like rocket science…
For 6 bucks you can get a couple lbs of DME, for 2 bucks you can get an ounce of good hops. for 8 bucks you can get a pack of us-05, for 2 bucks you can get a gallon glass jug and another 2 bucks for a couple gallons of distilled water. where are the corners cut?
I’m just saying if the guy wants to try making beer it doesn’t cost a fortune.
Never did I indicate that he could use oatmeal and bread yeast.
erictheviking,
As I listed above, if you have a good sized pasta pot at home with the stuff I listed above yo uare good to go. find your local homebrew shop, attend a meeting with a local club, come here for advice. and have a good time. it’s only beer.
Raw materials and production are covered above. The packaging?
Some beer bottles that have been saved and cleaned are zero $ in most states. Some caps for those bottles are $3-5 for a gross. The capper is the pricey item, $15-20. Carbonation? Table sugar works fine.
If that is too much money, I know guys who have bottled in 2 plastic 2 liter soft drink bottles, rinsed and sanitized before filling.
Give it a try. I started brewing in the depths of this last winter. There is so much to learn about the process and ingredients. As a side effect everyone you know will spend more time at your house , especially around the taps.
Some tubing to siphon into your bottles is also needed. While a racking cane and bottling wand aren’t strictly necessary, they will make bottling a hell of a lot easier as well. If you don’t have swing-tops (i.e., Grolsch-style bottles), then caps and a capper are needed as well. Bleach could be used for sanitization the first time around, but something like Star San or Iodophor is well worth the investment.
Other than that, what Mort lists above is pretty much all you need to put out a batch or two on the real cheap. You can even jury-rig an airlock by placing a balloon or condom (unlubricated - ribbing optional ) over the opening of the jug and prick a very small pinhole in it. If the balloon gets too full, the hole will open enough to let some gas out.
Here’s a really simple recipe for a 6-pack batch of American Pale Ale to get you started that doesn’t even require a scale:
Shopping list:
1 lb Light Dried Malt Extract (DME) (I’d go with Light over “Extra Light” for this recipe, but either would work)
1 oz Centennial Hops
1 packet US-05 yeast
1 gallon Reverse Osmosis or Distilled water
Add 1 gallon of water to your kettle. As the water is heating, add 1 pound of extract and stir constantly until it is all dissolved. Once the water hits a boil add 1/4 of your hops (if you don’t have a scale that can weigh hundredths of an ounce, you can just count the number of pellets and divide it that way). Set a timer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the kettle from the burner. Once all signs of boiling have stopped, add the remaining 3/4 ounce of hops. Stir well until all hops are mixed into the wort (wort = unfermented beer). Let it sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes, chill the kettle in an ice bath until it hits the low 60’s (Farenheit). Carefully pour into your sanitized fermenter through a sanitized funnel. Sprinkle 1/4 packet of yeast (you can store the rest in the fridge - just tape it shut and put it in a ziploc baggie) on top and let it ferment in the low/mid 60’s for two weeks. Transfer to bottles and add 1/2 tsp of table sugar to each. Cap and let sit warm for another 2-3 weeks for carbonation. Then enjoy the fruits of your labor.
) over the opening of the jug and prick a very small pinhole in it. If the balloon gets too full, the hole will open enough to let some gas out.