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Homebrew-Era, does it exist?

UnpopularBlargh

UnpopularBlargh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,206
I just finished my third batch of beer, and started my second batch of cider.

I started off using the Brooklyn BrewShop one gallon kits for the first two. Now I'm primarily using various online sources like the homebrewing subreddit for recipes and tips to create from scratch.

Anyone else partake in this hobby? How do you brew? What do you brew? How much do you brew?

Some random links:
Homebrewing on Reddit
Clawhammer Supply
Brooklyn BrewShop
Homebrew Talk

The Wirecutter's homebrewing recommendations can be found here.
 
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The Albatross

The Albatross

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,985
Used to have an active one in the old community but it died down. I'm a relapsed home brewer mostly because amazing beer is available everywhere these days and it's usually cheaper and a hell of a lot better than what I make.

Lots of fun but haven't done a batch in ... 8 years. I remember the batch I did was the week GTAV originally came out.
 
PSOreo

PSOreo

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,260
I think it would taste so amazing making your own alcohol. My ex's father use to do it. I think for me I would wait until retirement when I had a lot more time and potentially space in a bigger house.
 
Kendrid

Kendrid

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,127
Chicago, IL
Yes for about 8 years now. If you really get into this I highly recommend an electric brewer like the Mash and Boil. Also kegging makes the entire process so much better although that is a bit of money.
When I got into it I bought kits from the major online vendors and saved the recipes in Beersmith.. Now I buy a 50 lbs bag of 2-row from my local brew store and get the rest of the ingredients needed. I just did two IPAs in one day, they are just finishing up fermenting.
Don't be discouraged if you have a bad batch or two, it happens. Brewing is easy to mess up.
 
scurker

scurker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
657
I've been doing it for several years now, and usually do a black cherry cider every year, although due to the pandemic I've skipped this year. I still have a lot left over from last year anyway.
 
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UnpopularBlargh

UnpopularBlargh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,206
Kendrid said:
Yes for about 8 years now. If you really get into this I highly recommend an electric brewer like the Mash and Boil. Also kegging makes the entire process so much better although that is a bit of money.
When I got into it I bought kits from the major online vendors and saved the recipes in Beersmith.. Now I buy a 50 lbs bag of 2-row from my local brew store and get the rest of the ingredients needed. I just did two IPAs in one day, they are just finishing up fermenting.
Don't be discouraged if you have a bad batch or two, it happens. Brewing is easy to mess up.
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I have been looking at the Anvil Foundry but for now I'm good with the stove top/BIAB method. Maybe when I move into a bigger place. Also I don't drink much so anything above a gallon is overkill for me.

I am thinking of getting an induction plate for better temperature control while mashing.
 
Belvedere

Belvedere

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,683
The Albatross said:
Used to have an active one in the old community but it died down. I'm a relapsed home brewer mostly because amazing beer is available everywhere these days and it's usually cheaper and a hell of a lot better than what I make.

Lots of fun but haven't done a batch in ... 8 years. I remember the batch I did was the week GTAV originally came out.
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This is me pretty much. With two little ones running around those long brew days just became a bit too hard to accommodate.

My kids are old enough to entertain themselves now though and a co-worker started brewing so I may dust off the equipment and do a SMASH for spring.
 
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UnpopularBlargh

UnpopularBlargh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,206
PSOreo said:
I think it would taste so amazing making your own alcohol. My ex's father use to do it. I think for me I would wait until retirement when I had a lot more time and potentially space in a bigger house.
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Get some apple cider and yeast. You got a brew going.

th
 
SteveWinwood

SteveWinwood

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,676
USA USA USA
all the people i know who actively homebrew are older and go to conventions and meetings with clubs and groups so the whole internet part of it seems to be pretty bare compared to other hobbies

i also think some of the more experienced people dont actively share "secrets" because theyre trying to get jobs as brewers in whatever new brewery pops up in town every few weeks (this might not be true anymore, but a few years ago...)
 
angelgrievous

angelgrievous

Middle fingers up
Member
Nov 8, 2017
9,136
Ohio
I used to do 5 gallon partial mash. I did a rose ipa, a blacktop brown ale, and a chocolate raspberry milk stout. Blacktop brown came out the best. Stopped years ago. Might start making punk rock wine again tho.
 
Bumrush

Bumrush

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,770
One of my closest friend makes his own and he's really good at it. If you want it to taste really good, you have to invest the time and a little more money for sure.
 
Arrogant PsycHOPathy

Arrogant PsycHOPathy

Banned
Sep 20, 2020
380
Did a homebrew topic a couple months ago , too.

My two most recent are a kettle soured sour cherry. Basically a modified Berliner Weisse. PH of about 3.1 and 8% abv. The other is an Imperial Red @ about 9.5%abv.

If you are not aware of its existence, check out homebrewtalk.com :)
 
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UnpopularBlargh

UnpopularBlargh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,206
Arrogant PsycHOPathy said:
Did a homebrew topic a couple months ago , too.

My two most recent are a kettle soured sour cherry. Basically a modified Berliner Weisse. PH of about 3.1 and 8% abv. The other is an Imperial Red @ about 9.5%abv.

If you are not aware of its existence, check out homebrewtalk.com :)
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I do. I linked it in the OP. That and the subreddit are my go to if I have any questions though I mostly lurk in both.

Is measuring the PH necessary? I haven't done it for any of my batches so far.
 
Arrogant PsycHOPathy

Arrogant PsycHOPathy

Banned
Sep 20, 2020
380
UnpopularBlargh said:
I do. I linked it in the OP. That and the subreddit are my go to if I have any questions though I mostly lurk in both.

Is measuring the PH necessary? I haven't done it for any of my batches so far.
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That's what I get for giddily not paying attention. Love HBT!

I see you BIAB. In general measuring the mash ph to ensure you are hitting the ~5.4 is helpful but not required. If you can give a good approximation of your source water ph and use a calculator like brun water, you should be fine more often than not. That is how I started and never ran into problems.

Knowing ph is basically required if you are brewing sours as the acidity/sourness of it is ph dependent.
 
brotherbean

brotherbean

Member
Oct 26, 2017
232
I've always, always wanted to try it but I've never gotten around to it. I don't know why but I've always been sort of afraid of messing up the sanitizing process and brewing funky beer.

Those 1 gallon kits from Brooklyn Brew Shop look really tempting though...
 
Ghostbiscuit

Ghostbiscuit

Member
Jan 11, 2019
47
Yeah, I've been brewing since I was fresh out of uni, skint, living in London and found those "makes 40 pints" tins of extract in Morrisons at 3 for Ā£10 (was about 15 years ago...). Made them for a few years, then graduated to all-grain using a load of shonky home-made equipment. Moved to the middle of nowhere a couple of years ago with extremely limited beer options so upgraded myself to a Grainfather and built a dedicated little shed in the garden to brew in. Love it.
 
nekkid

nekkid

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,823
Yeah I brew my own. I have a work colleague who grows his own hops which I've used before, but that's an awful lot of work so I tend to just brew with ingredients.
 
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UnpopularBlargh

UnpopularBlargh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,206
Arrogant PsycHOPathy said:
That's what I get for giddily not paying attention. Love HBT!

I see you BIAB. In general measuring the mash ph to ensure you are hitting the ~5.4 is helpful but not required. If you can give a good approximation of your source water ph and use a calculator like brun water, you should be fine more often than not. That is how I started and never ran into problems.

Knowing ph is basically required if you are brewing sours as the acidity/sourness of it is ph dependent.
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Neat. I'm planning on making a grapefruit sour next from a recipe book I have. I'll keep that in mind.

brotherbean said:
I've always, always wanted to try it but I've never gotten around to it. I don't know why but I've always been sort of afraid of messing up the sanitizing process and brewing funky beer.

Those 1 gallon kits from Brooklyn Brew Shop look really tempting though...
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They're a very good starting place. I'm still using much of the same items that came with the original kit (carboy/tubing/airlock) while also upgrading other things for an easier process (auto siphon/bottling wand).

Then bought a second carboy so I can have two brews going at different stages.

Fair warning you will need some things that aren't in the kit.

Also sanitizing is way less scary than it seems. I keep a spray bottle of diluted Starsan ready to go on my kitchen counter.
 
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UnpopularBlargh

UnpopularBlargh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,206
Kendrid said:
Nice. Is it possible to homebrew all the crazy flavors of cider that are in stores now? I know nothing about cider brewing.
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I just did standard apple but yeah. It's a lot of trial and error to know which flavours go well together and how they respond to fermentation. You can usually find helpful sources online that can give you more info(some of them are listed in OP).

Midramble said:
Thought this was a DnD thread
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I'm sorry!
 
Jamesways

Jamesways

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,240
Minneapolis
I was brewing a batch every two weeks there for a while, slowed down the past few weeks.


Still drinking a
Red IPA
Blackberry Milkshake IPA
Coffee Milk Stout
Brunch Stout

And brewing a Black IPA this weekend.

Love this hobby.

My two regular go-tos are a Citra Red IPA and a West Coast Black IPA.
I've brewed probably 70 batches or so since I started.

Always wanted to try a carbonated mead, but I don't keg so I never figured out how with bottling.
 
shnurgleton

shnurgleton

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,864
Boston
I have been brewing jun kombucha near continuously for the last few months. it's incredible, especially dry hopped with citra or sorachi ace whole cone hops
 
Priapus

Priapus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,150
UnpopularBlargh said:
Awesome! I'm thinking of starting a mead this summer. Any tips for a first-timer?

Also what's in the Melomel?
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The video is of my first batch and it was a very high abv. It did not taste very nice.guidance. High alcohol content does usually mean low sugar and a dry mead as a result. The advantage is that you can sweeten it afterwards, resulting in a mead with the sweetness that you like.

Iirc I used the https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/joes-ancient-orange-mead-joam.45152/https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/joes-ancient-orange-mead-joam.45152/ recipe with yeast that was a bit too strong. Following the instructions should result in a nice drinkable mead.

The melomel was made with blackberries. I currently don't have the recipe as it is was hand written written and currently not within my reach.

I can also recommend this channel For your first mead adventures.
 
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