Introduction

I have been brewing beer since 1990 or thereabouts, starting with a typical homebrew kit and ingredients. I am an extract brewer, with the goal of a permanent all grain setup someday.

Homebrewing is a very rewarding hobby. All that is required is attention to detail, a few pieces of equipment and ingredients. The homebrewer can easily make beer just as good or better than the micro brews in the store, at about half the price. What is difficult for the homebrewer to accomplish is an exact "clone" of a given beer given the many variables involved.

The purpose of this blog is to share my brewing experiences and discuss various recipies. Hopefully others will find some of the information here useful.

Equipment and Procedures

I started with a pre-assembled kit, with a plastic bucket fermentor, collapsable bottling container, "Emily" capper, hydrometer, thermometer, stirring paddle and ingredients. I used a ceramic coated steel canner as the boiling pot. Since then, I have gradually added equipment and gadgets and will discuss the merits of each:

7.5 gallon stainless steel pot and outdoor propane burner

I would suggest this be the first major addition for the homebrewer. A "full wort" boil will maximize hop utilization and ensure wort sterilization. It also takes the brewing operation and aromas out of the kitchen. Consider having a spigot installed on the brewpot for convenience. 7 gallons is about the minimum volume to accomodate foaming and evaporative loss. For a one hour boil, I start with 6 gallons of wort.

Wort chiller

Cooling a full wort boil quickly requires a wort chiller.
(Except for those in snow country, who can just stick the pot in a snowbank) It takes around 20 - 30 minutes to cool 5 gallons of wort to pitching temperature. Pitching yeast quickly is important to avoid contamination, and a wort chiller reduces worry.

7 gallon glass carboy

I still use my original bucket fermentor as my bottling bucket, although I have added another spigot as low as possible in the bucket to reduce waste and make bottling easier. Fermenting in glass eliminates concern that leftover flavors absorbed by plastic will affect the beer. Plus, it's fun to see how fermentation is coming along.

5 gallon glass carboy

"Secondary fermentation" is optional for most beers, but I find that transferring my fermented beer to a 5 gallon carboy and letting it sit for a couple weeks to a couple months greatly reduces the amount of sediment in the bottles and increases flexibility in bottling time.

Beer refrigerator with external thermostat

Having a dedicated beer refrigerator gives precise control over fermentation temperature. Warm fermentation temperatures will produce unwanted flavors and "fermentation byproducts" in the beer. A beer fridge also allows for lager brewing in warm weather. Temperature control over fermentation and storage has resulted in the most significant improvement in my homebrew.

Kegging

I have experimented with 5 gallon stainless steel soda syrup kegs and a CO2 dispensing system. Carbonation is a bit tricky and I have had problems getting the kegs to seal properly, but it certainly saves time compared to bottling. Right now I am no longer kegging because that would require another refrigerator to achieve carbonation and drinking temperature, which is lower than fermentation temperature.

Ingredients

Some thoughts on ingredients:

Yeast

Most of the time, I prefer to use dried yeast. Dried yeast is very forgiving and starts fermentation quickly. I rehydrate the yeast by sprinkling it into 90 degree water and letting it sit for about 15 minutes. This results in an even quicker start to fermentation.

I have made many batches with liquid yeast cultures, both from White Labs and Wyeast. Unless I am trying to duplicate a specific beer style, I prefer the convenience of dried yeast. Right now I am getting very good results with Fermentis Labs Safale S-05, S-04, and am also impressed with Saflager S-23.

I have had to dump only two batches of beer in over 15 years of brewing. In both cases, the fault was inactive or weak liquid yeast. The harsh lesson learned is to ALWAYS make a starter when using liquid yeast, both to proof test the yeast and to ensure a quick start to fermentation. I have never had any problems using dried yeast.

Water

My water source is a well, delivering very hard water high in iron..
I use well water for my beer, but only after it has gone through a water softener followed by a reverse osmosis system. Then, I treat the water with water salts as per style according to the information found in "Brewing Quality Beers" by Byron Burch

Recipies

Some thoughts on specific recipies:

I enjoy reading over recipies and brewing what "sounds good". Charlie Papazian's books "The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing" and "The Home Brewer's Companion" contain many intriguing recipies, many of which I have done. Papazian recipies tend to be strong on hops. I have been cautioned against adding the large amounts of gypsum in some of his recipies by my local homebrew shop.

Avogadro's Expeditious Old Ale

This one is a quick and easy brew. I thought it was a bit harsh in flavor after about two weeks in the bottle, with an unpleasant "bite". However, after about two months in the bottle this beer has smoothed out nicely and the flavor continues to improve with aging. Plan on giving this one three months in the bottle to mellow out, then drink.

The Sun Has Left Us On Time Steam Beer

Here again is another beer that benefits from a couple months of bottle conditioning. Papazian aptly describes this as a bitter beer. After two weeks in the bottle, this beer has a very sharp hop bite and aroma. After about six weeks, the sharpness of the hops smooths out. This beer I prefer to drink at cold temperatures. Yeast used = White Labs #810 San Francisco Lager Yeast

Dithyrambic Brown Ale

This is my second favorite Papazian recipe. Very smooth and flavorful beer. I used Munton & Fison extract as called for, but would like to know if the brand of unhopped extract really makes a difference. Yeast = Safale S04

Goat Scrotum Ale

How could one not brew up a batch of beer with a name like Goat Scrotum Ale? I have made this recipe twice, the last time with all of the ingredients except for spruce essence and chile peppers. Yeast was Safale S04. This is a good recipe to use up your leftover hops from other batches. I find it delicious and smooth, and tastes as good at room temperature as chilled. When I brew this recipe again, I intend to replace the 1# of corn sugar with malt extract, reduce the chocolate from 6oz to 3oz, and increase the ginger root from 4oz to 6oz. This recipe demonstrates the fun and creative nature of homebrewing.

Rocky Raccoon's Crystal Honey Lager

This has recently been bottled, and taste tests are very positive. I lagered it for a month in the secondary. Longer lagering time would have been good, but I need the beer fridge for the next batch! Yeast used = Saflager S-23 UPDATE: Rocky Raccoon has been bottled for a month now, and is outstanding. Very impressed with Saflager yeast.

Limp Richard's Schwarzbier

Also recently bottled, tastes like another smooth good one. Yeast = Saflager S-23 UPDATE: After a month in the bottle, another vote for Saflager. This is a beer for fans of black patent malt, without the richness of a stout.

Tits Up in the Mud Pale Ale

This is my favorite Papazian recipe. It calls for dry hopping, which noticeably adds to the hop flavor and aroma. It is nearly identical to Morland Hen's Tooth English Ale.

Unspoken Passion Imperial Stout

This recipe has intrigued me for years, but I was unwilling to pay for 11 lbs of raspberries. So I reduced the recipe to 1.5 gallons, and used 2.5 lbs of raspberries. I also used generic malt extract syrup, not the Mountmellick brand specified. Taste tests at bottling time suggested an outstanding beer. Smooth and flavorful, true to Papazian's description in his text. I am exhibiting extreme discipline in letting this beer age for at least 3 months before drinking. The goal is to have it available for Christmas. I had to force myself to drink a case of Coronitas to get a supply of 7 oz bottles for this beer, but such sacrifices sometimes have to be made. Yeast = Safale S-04 UPDATE: A bottle was opened and shared with a friend who is normally a wine drinker, and WOW, we were both amazed. Now I wish I had 5 gallons. This is the best homebrew ever.

There are some posts describing this beer as being too bitter, but I did not notice that at all. Perhaps reducing the batch size has something to do with it.

Here to Heaven Snow Angel Fest Wine Ale

This is a chewable beverage. I found it too rich and powerful for my taste.

"Blueberry Hill" Blueberry Wheat Beer

This recipe is from The Beverage People homebrew supply shop,
and is bottled awaiting carbonation. 5 lbs of blueberries are called for and it tasted very good out of the primary fermentor. This is my first lavender colored beer. Yeast = Safale S-05. This recipe can be found at www.thebeveragepeople.com UPDATE: This beer took a little longer (3 weeks) to carbonate with DME instead of corn sugar. Another great beer. I am very enthusiastic about fruit beers now! Light, sparkly, hints of champagne or rose in a mix of flavors that really works.

Stay tuned for more recipe reviews as brewing continues! Ingredients are on hand for a Samuel Adams Boston Ale clone. After that, it will probably be another batch of Tits Up in the Mud, with Safale S-04 yeast.