Posted on 02/22/2013 3:33:05 PM PST by Red_Devil 232
I would like to be on the homebrewers ping list. I have been lurking of the Free Republic for years and have diceded to come out of the shadows to help us form our consertive future.
I have been brewing for years. I encourage everyone to go all grain, to convert a sankey keg to a brew pot with bulkhead fitting. That everyone should mash in a 10 gallon cooler at least! and frement in kegs with a #2 stopper. That everyone should fire their batch over a turkey cooker. The reason for this is because:
1.)Extract brewing is too expensive. All grain is cheap and and adjunt grain can be toasted to desired lovebond number.
2.)5 gallon batches are too small, when you and a friend sit down and drink your brew your batch is almost gone in one sitting and for sure gone if 3 drink for two. The costs to buy this 6.5 glass this and 5 gallon glass that. Brew in converted kegs for next to nothing and frement in them for again next to nothing and yeald 3 Xs of 15 gallons.
3.) force carbonation is the only way to go, bottle conditioning is hit or miss and doesnt yield steady results. Force carb the whole keg and if you still care to bottle use a counter pressure conditioner and fill til your hearts content.
4.) life is too short and we in life only have some many batches in us... for very few dollars more than an initinal home brew set up you can be mashing whole kegs.
Other things... Buy whole sacks of grain in 50# or 60# this drops prices to around a buck a pound. Buy your hops on line from tons of hops in 1# bulk bags drops hop prices to below a dollar and ounce. If you live in the north plant a hops ribzone and in 3 seasons you will have crazy hops! Make a counter flow chiller, you will never get a bad batch. Recapture your yeast and wash it after your fist rack and you can reuse it many times again. Buy a 20# co2 tank or bigger and never worry about refilling it as you do with little ones. IF you get to this point and havent lagered, start lagering because only lagers are shelf stable, all ales will go bad after months. Once you got a keg set up drop two batches in a day, every brew day.
You can do all this for the cost of a mid priced pistol and get much more enjoyment out of it.
Brew on Brew up!
I am happy I am here friends!
You are added to the ping list.
So, you use raisins instead of sugar?
I will be using cider, BTW, and not apple juice.
...hold on to your chair, and don’t try to stand up.
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:)
Thank you.
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My recipe has 1 cup/gallon. Have you always used 1/2 pound, or is that based on experimentation?
Strike my last question about the quantity of sugar, as I realized after I posted that we are not talking about a significant difference.
Thanks again.
1 cup/gallon is just what I’d recommend for a first batch.
I was thinking that weighed 1/2 pound but I see it weighs .44 pounds. No problem, us noobs don’t have to worry about being off by 10%!
I use about a cup and a half depending on my mood.
What yeast are you using, are you using a carboy, and how big a batch are you making?
Of course when warm weather and fruit flies come back my system won't work anymore. I'll try oversweetening an ale yeast then. Hope it works. At worst I'll just get stoppers and airlocks for the bottles and drink it a little tart and flat!
"adding sugar to a certain specific gravity or degrees brix"
Of course I can't argue against doing things right, but a noob really doesn't know what he wants! I'm just at the point now that I can use that information intelligently.
No The raisins are a nutrient for the yeast. Most apple ciders do not have enough nutrients for the yeast to survive very long. There are commercial nutrients you can buy at Brew stores. The commercial brand I have used is Wyeast’s Yeast Nutrient. It is blend of vitamins, nitrogen compounds, minerals, zinc and amino acids to help you ensure that fermentation starts quickly and ferments completely. Results in a reduced lag time, more consistent attenuation, and better yeast germination.
Yeah, I’m plenty ready for an hydrometer now and will get one my next trip to the homebrew store.
Probably should have before, but I was using the same juice brands and could judt follow the recipe I liked.
It’ll come in handy force-carbing,that’s another thing I’ll try after I lose my free outdoor refrigerator.
Actually I’d profess an hydrometer is useful after one has done just a very few batches, just as soon as one has gotten the ‘hang’ of it.
I have a 5-gallon plastic carboy, so I am making 5 gallons. The yeast is Wyeast for cider and mead.
Okay, thanks.
I want to try to make wines out of the two of the three foods that are considered not to pair well with wine - asparagus and Brussels sprouts.
As you said, some day...
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