KTNbrew wrote:First forum for me. Started brewing five years ago with a Mr. Beer kit, and have been using it up until a couple of months ago when I bought the 3 gallon conical. Loving this thing, bought a second, and now picking up one of the little one gallon fermenters. Southeast Alaska here, small town without a brewshop, so everything is online orders. I primarily use DME because it is easy. I brewed up some of the kits from various places, and although they can be done well, I now prefer coming up with my own brand of poison. Of particular note is one I call my "Rooftop Ale". We are not on a water system here, so we use a cistern (Big tank of water outside the house, it collects rainwater from the roof of the house), ours is "open", meaning it is topless and open to whatever might fall, fly drop or jump into it. My rooftop ale turned out great, I'm afraid however that it is because of all the gunk in the cistern, pine needles, cedar cones, bird****, no critters though. I recently hooked up a new 4500 gallon water tank, all nice and clean inside, closed and more like something the civilized drink. Now I just need to figure out the right ratio of water to gunk, and I'll be set.
One thing I have noticed over the few years I have been mixing my own brews, there are a lot of people out there that are very particular about their home brew, all the respect and appreciation to them for their knowledge, experience and hard work in perfecting their craft. However, I have been told that I wasn't making "real" beer because I was using the kits, or extract. I looked at what I was doing, looked at the results of my efforts. My taste buds are just not sophisticated enough to get into water profiles and such, but what I make looks like beer, smells and taste like beer, and I get tipsy or better, must be real beer. Humans have been doing this for a very long time, best to keep it simple. Thanks to all here for your thoughtful advice and recommendations.
It seems like you already know this, but don't listen to the naysayers. I've been brewing for more than 10 years. I've made good batches that were based on prehopped extracts. I've also made good batches using only extracts, water, yeast, hops.
I'm now doing all grain batches, due to covid and the mash and boil.
Don't let anybody tell you that what you're doing isn't brewing.
I went from all grain to a 10 year hiatus then back to Mr. Beer hopped extracts for a couple of years, to extract + steep and some partial mashes for some years, and now am back to all grain. And like BP said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using the extracts. I made plenty of beer I liked with them. I'd still be using extracts if the Mash & Boil didn't make all grain brewing as easy as it does. The only thing that matters is that you make beer you like (and your friends like if you are nice and share it with them lol). And I'm always happy to help no matter how you brew.
The whole "real beer" thing is snobbery. The extracts are made from exactly the same stuff we are using in AG brewing. It's just concentrated and packaged to make it more convenient. You won't find any of us here that will tell you that you aren't making real beer.
Oh and Nordic farmhouse brewers filter their beer through Juniper fronds, so if your water supply gets filtered through pine and whatnot and it adds character, just call yourself a North America (far north!) farmhouse brewer
I hope getting the stuff shipped to you doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
Welcome aboard KTN!
I've been brewing for about 7 years. Like you, I started with MrBeer. I brew mostly grain batches, but if I find a deal or I'm in a hurry, I use extract or partial mash. Those beers are perfectly good, and when I make one I sometimes wonder why I bother with mashing grain. I certainly wouldn't pay to have sacks of grain shipped very far.
I kind of like your rainwater Roof Top Ale. Maybe I need a rain bucket!
Making beer and stew for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Never mind, there it is.
Welcome to the Borg. Who cares if you make it from a kit, or write tour own recipes using extract, or are an all grain brewer. They all make beer. And they can all make tasty beer, they all can make crappy beer too.
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ANTLER BREWING Drinking
#93 - Gerst Amber Ale Conditioning and Carbing
I'm new to brew demon brewing. I'm into my 4th batch and am very happy with the beer.
I di have a couple of questions:
Should I stir the yeast in or just sprinkle it on top?
I've only been waiting 1 week to 10 days before bottling, is that to soon?
I'm using the pellets when bottling is that advised?
Hello Joandy, welcome aboard!
I just sprinkle the yeast on top, it will find it's way through the wort.
I generally wait three weeks before bottling. When I was using MrBeer and BrewDemon fermenters, I would shine a flashlight through the side and bottle when the beer cleared.
Carbonation pellets are just sugar, I've used them too.
Good luck, have fun, keep us posted!
Making beer and stew for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Never mind, there it is.
Sprinkle yeast on top of the wort once it's in the fermentor.
Let it rest no more than 15'.
Stir quietly to mix.
You'll find there's a general consensus to ferment for at least two weeks then bottle. No harm letting it go even a week or two longer.
Bottling will pellets (? carbonation tabs ?) is fine although they cost more than sugar cubes and work just as well. Use two cubes / 1L PET.
Homebrew will get you through times of no money
Better than money will get you through times of no homebrew
- apologies to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
Welcome a Borg Joandy alway nice to see new people here in the forum. There's a lot of good info here about timing of fermentation, conditioning, and cold crashing. What works for me is 2 weeks fermentation, 2 weeks bottle conditioning and 1 week cold crashing in the fridge before drinking it, That last bit will help to clear the beer and make sure all the trub in the bottle is packed in the bottom of the bottle.
Worrying can spoil the taste of beer more then anything else! ~ Charles Papazian
Hey guys! I’m am newbie here. Not really a pandemic brewer but maybe since I am getting started into this realm during the pandemic.
My girlfriend bought this kit for me for Father’s Day and just now slowing down enough to give it a shot. Never realized what a huge amount of things actually went into the beer we drink. Not only the time it takes to make beer but the craftsmanship of it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My ultimate goal is a nice peanut buttery stout. But I know I need to figure out a lot of other things first. So links, tips, general knowledge will always be appreciated!
Welcome to the Borg TwoBy!
For right now, I would just say to take it all in slowly. Read, watch videos and ask questions. There is a tremendous amount of info on the interweb, most of it accurate and helpful but nothing beats getting your hands dirty and brewing.
PABs Brewing
Planning Brew good beer and live a hoppy life Fermenting
Drinking
Disfucted
Smelly Hops
(split batch) A Many Stringed Bow Up Next
Men In Black
Keys to learning how to homebrew:
- Follow directions closely (except the part about ferment one week ... then bottle. More better: ferment two weeks ... then bottle.)
- Cleanliness and Sanitation
- Patience
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Homebrew will get you through times of no money
Better than money will get you through times of no homebrew
- apologies to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
Thx Guys I appreciate the encouragement! I have been reading a lot of this stuff. I saw that fermentation should be 2 weeks and then in the bottle for two weeks prior to the cold shock. Why is that?
And also do different kinds of sugar give different flavors? IE brown sugar, cane sugar...
Also I have seen Sanitizing is huge. Any suggestions on what to use and how to do it?
As of right now I am in the mix for my first batch. One week of fermentation. So I will let her rest another week before the bottle.
