Homebrew noob.
- Thread starter I Are Baboon
- Start date
-
- Tags
- beer
Anyone have any other good websites for buying extract kits? I like the Northern Brewer stuff but I want to see what else is out there. Sure I can Google, but suggestions for places people here have actually used would be nicer.
I've had better luck finding fun things at a local homebrew store. I go to two, one down in Woonsocket RI and another in Marlboro MA, unfortunately I don't know of any near you but a quick google search should fix that problem.
There are a couple in Hartford. One is huge and has lots of equipment, the other is small but has lots of True Brew kits.
I would avoid any prepackaged kits unless the shop put them together. If the kit comes prepackaged, like the True Brew stuff or Mr. Beer, you really have no idea how old the ingredients are. At least if the shop is packaging the kit you can be reasonably confident that the ingredients are fairly fresh.
I agree. Make your own kits...
I buy from http://www.cellar-homebrew.com/
it's my local shop. They have bulk items and fresh hops/grains. you simply go through the giant list of beers you'd like to make, select one and then pick out the needed ingrediants.
They do have, on their site, kits that they put together of the same quality ingrediant. If you google beer recipes, you'll find a bunch of info. Then simply order the stuff and brew away....
I buy from http://www.cellar-homebrew.com/
it's my local shop. They have bulk items and fresh hops/grains. you simply go through the giant list of beers you'd like to make, select one and then pick out the needed ingrediants.
They do have, on their site, kits that they put together of the same quality ingrediant. If you google beer recipes, you'll find a bunch of info. Then simply order the stuff and brew away....
Of course if you're really feeling adventurous, you can always devise your own recipes. I've started doing this recently. The Pilsener I had at MF2007 was one of my own creations, I don't know if you got to try that though. I've got a smoked porter I designed and a bourbon porter that's based on a kit but with a few changes. Those two will be at MF2009 (assuming we get dates I can make it to).
But I've been buying the prepackaged kits from Northern Brewer.
I've been brewing for all of a month now. I'd rather stick to the basics until I know wtf I'm doing.
I've been brewing for all of a month now. I'd rather stick to the basics until I know wtf I'm doing.
A kit from NB is not the same as True Brew or others, they package from stock with a very high turnover rate, the stuff you're getting from them is fresh. They are a brick and mortar primarily but they have a large web presence. I haven't shopped from them myself but you could look at http://www.williamsbrewing.com/ I've gotten their catalog before and it looks like a decent enough place.But I've been buying the prepackaged kits from Northern Brewer.
I've been brewing for all of a month now. I'd rather stick to the basics until I know wtf I'm doing.
I was poking around Austin Homebrew Supply too. People on teh WEBS forums speak highly of them. Lots of clone recipes!
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/
Looks good IAB.
$112 for a Pliny the Elder clone! 
So my DIPA has been dry hopping for a week. I'm thinking of bottling Sunday. That'll put the dry hop at 10 days.
BTW, the DIPA in the secondary fermenter has about an inch of trub on the bottom. Is that normal? I didn't expect to see that much trub in the secondary.
BTW, the DIPA in the secondary fermenter has about an inch of trub on the bottom. Is that normal? I didn't expect to see that much trub in the secondary.
That's fine Phil, really, drink more, worry less.
Dammit, I am not worrying! 
Really, I am just trying to understand everything as I go. 
Starting to wish you didn't help MBC pick out a kit?
Really, I am just trying to understand everything as I go. Starting to wish you didn't help MBC pick out a kit?
Nope, I hope you realize though that you've just become an official beer supplier for Monkeyfest. Better make it good.
I'm bottling this weekend - let the games begin!
I am having a hard time grasping the concept of "double pitching." From what I have read, this means using two packets of yeast instead of one, and is recommended for beers with an OG greater than 1.060. Well both my batches were in the 1.083 range but the Northern Brewer instructions don't say anything about double pitching.
If one were to double pitch, would you do that when you first pitch the yeast, or do you wait until the initial fermentation settles or wait until secondary fermenting?
If one were to double pitch, would you do that when you first pitch the yeast, or do you wait until the initial fermentation settles or wait until secondary fermenting?
With the liquid activator packs you're using you really don't need to double pitch. That's usually done when pitching dry yeast without making a starter.
I use a lot of White Labs yeast vials because that's what my LHBS carries and I prefer to make a 1/2L starter and pitch that.
I use a lot of White Labs yeast vials because that's what my LHBS carries and I prefer to make a 1/2L starter and pitch that.
So what you are saying is RDWHAHB.
God dammit, I was just looking at the North Brewer instructions again and they do say to make a yeast starter for anything with an OG greater than 1.060, and that includes when you use the Activator pack.
*sigh*
All lagers and any beer with an OG greater than 1.060 will achieve the best results with a yeast starter.
http://docs.northernbrewer.com/yeast_starter_kit.html
*sigh*
All lagers and any beer with an OG greater than 1.060 will achieve the best results with a yeast starter.
http://docs.northernbrewer.com/yeast_starter_kit.html
You know what I'm going to say here...
That. You'll be fine. Treat it more like an art, not a science. There's a LOT of wiggle room to play in when you're brewing beer.
Is it too much to ask for perfection my first time through?
I'm using the EZcaps now and I love them. Cleaning still sucks. Vinator + double washer + bottle tree helps a ton though.
I think I ruined my first brew because it was too cold for the yeast. Sucks. I'm going to have to crank up the heat in the house for the next batch.
If everything is sterile/clean, it's pretty hard to mess up. I'd be suprised if you can't slowly increase the temp and still get good beer. Don't throw it out!
I had the same problem with temps being too low during december thanks to record amounts of snow fall. (and not wanting to pay for a high ass heating bill). That batch of beer turned out to be one of my better ones (out of probably 20 or so , over the years..)
well, we transferred it to the bottling bucket and took a reading and tasted it. It has good flavor and color, it's just REEEEEEEEEALY low in alcohol...worse than Utah beer.If everything is sterile/clean, it's pretty hard to mess up. I'd be suprised if you can't slowly increase the temp and still get good beer. Don't throw it out!
I had the same problem with temps being too low during december thanks to record amounts of snow fall. (and not wanting to pay for a high ass heating bill). That batch of beer turned out to be one of my better ones (out of probably 20 or so , over the years..)
I'd recommend making a starter for every beer you brew. The advertised cell count of both Wyeast and White Labs "pitchable" yeasts is the cell count at packaging in lab conditions. Consider shipping in unknown conditions and you usually end up with a lot less than "100 billion cells." Our microbiologist has counted cells in relatively fresh (<2 weeks out of the lab) vials and found up to half of the cells were dead.
So for a 1.083 OG beer, should I buy TWO "smack packs" and make one starter out of them both?
Somehow, the 1.083 DIPA seems to have survived my under-yeasting. I bottled it tonight and it tastes great.
Also, why is FG taken prior to secondary fermentation rather than immediately before bottling? My FG reading after primary fermentation was 1.022. Prior to bottling though it was 1.012, which is a difference of 1% alcohol.
PICS!
My first batch bottled!
Bottling fail.
I took my first barleywine reading tonight. 1.010. Frikkin NICE! Assuming the OG was 1.083 and not the 1.070 I got due to not mixing the wort well, my abv is at 10% right now.
:beerjam:
But most importantly, it TASTES like barleywine!
HOORAY BEER!
:beerjam:
But most importantly, it TASTES like barleywine!
HOORAY BEER!
Well....n00b error?So Phil...what exactly happened here?
I tried to attach the bottling tube to the bottling bucket spigot. That worked for about two minutes until the tube popped off the spigot and sent beer flying everywhere, and at a fast rate. Apparently you are supposed to attach that tube and bottle filler to the siphoning hose? I just said **** it and filled the bottles directly from the bucket spigot.
What you don't see in the pic is that my slippers and pants from the shin down were also covered in beer.
I like beer.
Nice. Good recovery and the timing couldn't be better, with Randee in Chelmsford this week and all.Well....n00b error?
I tried to attach the bottling tube to the bottling bucket spigot. That worked for about two minutes until the tube popped off the spigot and sent beer flying everywhere, and at a fast rate. Apparently you are supposed to attach that tube and bottle filler to the siphoning hose? I just said **** it and filled the bottles directly from the bucket spigot.
What you don't see in the pic is that my slippers and pants from the shin down were also covered in beer.
I like beer.
She's probably happy she wasn't here to hear me yelling and cussing.
She dined at the Beerworks in Lowell last night, which I am jealous about.
Last night I ordered a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale clone from Austin Homebrew Supply. They are having a sale each day for a different state and yesterday was Connecticut (10% off). I figured I'd give them a try.
I want to make the Young's Double Chocolae Stout. NOW!
Do you buy a kit for that or are you planning to?
MBC has demanded a coffee porter. This one is now in the queue:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/docs/kis-html/1821.html
So queue is as follows:
Bottled: DIPA
In primary: Barleywine
On deck: Bourbon porter
On deck 2 (in the mail): Celebration Ale clone
On deck 3: Coffee porter
At which point I will pause to gather myself.
last night I drank a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. Two, actually.....
If you're going to do a starter, just get one. A couple of days before you brew, boil up about a quart of water with 4 or 5 oz of light dry malt extract. Boil for about 10 minutes, then cool to room temp, pour into a sanitized glass 1/2 gallon cider bottle, and pitch your yeast. Cover the mouth of the bottle with foil and let the yeast work, swirling the bottle every so often. If you time it right, you'll have a quart of very active yeast to pitch on brew day.
Good to hear. Starters aren't technically necessary, but I've always had better results with them. At home I usually see fermentation start within 8 to 10 hours of pitching. I used to wait upwards of 24 hours when I was only pitching smack-packs or vials.
Industry standard pitch rates are around 750k to 1 mil yeast cells per ml of wort per degree Plato. For a 5 gallon batch of 12.5P (1.050) wort, that would be 177 to 236 billion cells, well over the advertised "100 billion cells" of your typical pack of homebrew yeast.
Then again, the industry is going for consistent results from every batch.
If you're happy with the beer you're making, then RDWDAHB.
I'm looking forward to trying some barleywine.
:huh: FG is the final gravity. I'm not sure why someone would suggest that your pre-secondary gravity is your FG