This is my first batch of home brewed beer. Started it about a week ago and today I'm bottling. Just pulled to lid on my brew and I'm priming it for bottling now
Couple pics of my ~6gal batch of Pale Ale. Should be ready for a taste test mid-week.
Mixing up the brew on day 1. Fermenter. The way it stands today....just mixed in the priming sugars
Fermenting stopped yesterday, so I'm bottling today.
Going to let it settle for 30mins, then bottling begins. I didn't have bottles, so mason jars will have to do this time around....pints and quarts.
Nice. I looked into home brewing but backed down after I realized the cost. You THINK it saves you $$ but in reality it can be more expensive depending on your tastes.
However, it does give you the ability to control the amount of alcohol your final product yields. Which can be......................fun.
Well, I originally bought the fermenter to make some wine, but I couldn't get ahold of enough wild grapes (possum grapes) around the house....so I started off w/ a beer from extract.
Initial cost for the kit was ~$45.
Here it is bottled up.
Ended up a little darker than I thought is would.
I'm going to get some apples and try a cider next. Should be interesting.
Dude.......I just bought that same start up kit! I chose the American Light ale flavor. I boil and start fermenting tomorrow. My kit cost $110 and the ale kit another $40. THEN I bought a 22 quart stainless steel pot that set me back another $70.
I'm stoked. Tell me how your batch works for you. I realize the $$ savings isn't there like I said before but your control on taste and alcohol content is priceless, which is why I decided to ultimately go forth with this. More sugar=boyaaaaaaaaa. Lol.
I transferred my beer tonight into my 5 gallon glass carboy for the remainder of the fermentation process. I'm looking at Sunday/Monday for bottling. I added extra malt for more alcohol content.
This shit can be addictive. I can already smell the beer lol.
And Canaan, where did you get your kit for $45? My kit was $110. Then I had to buy the American Light ale ingredient kit which was $40. THEN my 22 quart stainless steel pot was $70.
Either way I'm anxious to taste it in a couple weeks lol.
My kit....fermenter, hydrometer, siphon, brew book...etc was ~$45 from a local wine cellar. The 'concentrate' kit was $25, all i had to do is boil w/ sugar and add yest for my first batch.
I did secondary fermentation in mason jars...and I WARN YOU NOW....DO NOT USE MASON JARS!!!! I lost a few bottles due to the lids popping off. Get beer bottles and cap them. If you can find enough Grolsh bottles w/ the flip-top, clean and use them w/ a new o-ring.
Well tomorrow or Saturday I'll be off to the farmer's mart. There's a guy there that sells home brewing and wine supplies. I'm hoping he has 22oz or larger bottles. The caps are cheap as heck so no worries there. I'm curious though cause even though it's only been 4 days since brewing my beer hasn't cleared any. It still has a cider look to it. I'm assuming it will clear in the next 3-4 days. We'll see.
As you can see in my pics, mine didn't clear up. It was a pail ale though, so it was supposed to be dark...give it at least a week to 10days for primary fermentation. Wait until you on longer see any bubbles coming from the vent and then give it another day.
Let it go thru secondary fermentation for at least a week also. Don't prime the bottles one by one. Siphon off the batch and prime the whole thing, then bottle from the primed batch.
My beer turned out ALOT like a Murphy's Red. Not as solid a head, but had I allowed it to go thru secondary longer it would have worked out better. Nice pail ale though.
You will have sediment in your bottles, just decant to a glass and leave the sediment in the bottle. Enjoy.
Canaan. Do NOT use wood for anything. You simply Can NOT sanitize it. May be OK for most of boil, but at some point, when it cools, the wood will work against you.
Please, also, get a capper and go for a dumpster dive for some Kirin warclubs.....22oz and FREE at the local Japanese restaurant.
And while you're at it, get a glass 5 gallon bottle, like Sparkletts used to have. It can be sanitized and will last forever. When, not, IF you scratch the plastic, you'll end up with 'microbe traps' which are difficult to sanitize.
Paul, you don't need a 22 quart cooker, unless you are making larger than 5 gallon batches. I boil about 2 gallons and than add water to the 5 gallon mark. The only problem I have is hops uptake, which is lower in higher gravity boils.
Well the larger pot helps with overflow of the boil. There was only a $10 difference between the 16 quart and 22 at the store so it was a no brainer for me. My beer is currently in my 5 gallon glass carboy and will be so until Sunday/Monday when I bottle. Then 2 weeks before refrigeration. As of today it still has a cider color/consistency to it. Bubbling has dropped significantly but still occurring. I still need to get another siphon system and will look into it when I get the bottles.
There's a good deal of patience needed for this hobby. You're looking at almost a month's worth of waiting, but to me should be worth it.
Better is in the eye of the beholder. You don't brew to save $$ but for other reasons.
1). Control on taste. With literally 100's of ingredients your final brew is like a painting, unique and almost different every time. Because of the vast amounts large breweries produce it's easier to mimick the same outcome on each batch in regards to flavor, body and freshness. When you brew in increments of 5 gallons at a shot there's less room for error.
2). Control on ABV. While many beers boast an alcohol content of 5%+/-, you can brew your beer to levels far higher to suite your liking.
3). Shear enjoyment Skullz. Once you find that perfect marriage of hops, malt, sugar, yeast and other agents it becomes a proud hobby. Kinda like Mom's apple pie compared to that store bought stuff in boxes on shelves. I can only imagine that store bought beer will always taste different now. Sub par if you will lol.
