Homebrew

[chefchris]

well i didnt feel like reading 13 pages. although what i read i probly could and will when i get the time. im in kuwait and from what i read i want to start doing this when i get home. but my question is how long does it take from time you start to the time you enjoy a fresh home brew?

All depends on style. You can drink an English Mild in 2 weeks grain to glass. But other styles like Barley Wine or Russian Imperial Stout need at least a year. I'm in the middle. I usually brew around 5% or so beers. I usually try to leave it in the primary for 3 weeks, then straight to a keg where it waits about another week. Most people don't start off kegging, though in my opinion they should. I think bottling turns people off real quick to the hobby. I know I would put it off for weeks. You can carb a beer in a keg the same day you put it in there where bottles take 3 weeks to carb up.

Some styles are perferred fresh; Pale Ales and IPAs (hops lose their bitterness over time), while others might take a couple weeks to come together. For instance, I've had Elk Sh!t kegged for a week, it's carbonated just right but it's not quite ready to drink. The keg will be gone by next month though.

Beer is a living, breathing thing. It will change on you on a day to day basis.

So the simple answer is with an average alcohol, nothing over the top beer you're looking at 6-7 weeks start to finish.

[Smoked!]

Hey, Chris! Nice labels. Beer really is a living thing. I've had brews that came together in as little as four weeks and some that took much, much longer. Do you think a complete noob may benefit from starting out with a kit?

I still think your Japanese Monster labels are the best. Can I get you to put your graphic design experience to good use and make couple non-monster labels for me?


...too malty....

[chefchris]

Hey, Chris! Nice labels. Beer really is a living thing. I've had brews that came together in as little as four weeks and some that took much, much longer. Do you think a complete noob may benefit from starting out with a kit?

I still think your Japanese Monster labels are the best. Can I get you to put your graphic design experience to good use and make couple non-monster labels for me?


...too malty....

Sure, I could whoop something up.

I think kits are the way to go for noobs. You have no idea what you're doing when you first start out, you just know that you gotta keep everything clean and follow what the directions say.

1 year later and you're debating at whether or not to mash at that temperature because you would primarily be working with your beta amalyse enzymes which could hurt attenuation though giving you more body.

[FactoredReality]

1 year later and you're debating at whether or not to mash at that temperature because you would primarily be working with your beta amalyse enzymes which could hurt attenuation though giving you more body.

Next thing you know your doing double decoctions and stressing over if you had enough of a protein rest or not.

Congratulations on the homebrew shop gig, don't spend too much abusing your discount.

[nhcigarfan]

10 years from now you will have realized that you can still make great beer from extracts and will go the easy route more often.

[chefchris]

10 years from now you will have realized that you can still make great beer from extracts and will go the easy route more often.

You know, I thought about trying another extract. It's been a long time since I've done one. Now that I have my yeast pitching rate right (I wash my yeast and use a stir plate) and my fermentation temperature controlled, I bet I could turn out a pretty good extract beer.

Though it's not as much fun as all grain. To be honest, I never felt like I was brewing untill I went all grain.

[FactoredReality]

Bottled my Bavarian Heffeweisen last night. Sampled a bit of it and it had a nice clove and banana taste but missing the citrus note I was hoping for, came in at 5.4 ABV. Might need to try a different hop from Sterling next time. Will see once its done bottle conditioning.