# Who Brews Their Own Beer? Looking For Tips.



## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I've always been interested in learning how to brew my own beer. Just curious if anyone here does it and if you do what are your tips/tricks!


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

I haven't in quite some time, but... I have it all still, and used to brew all grain. Bought all my grain in sacks, milled it, water salts adjustments, pH adjustments, 40 pounds of various hops, pumps, yeast harvesting, bourbon and wine barrels to age in, my own kegs and 4 tap kegerator!

If you are just starting, or have some basic gear, just let us know.

Many many styles of beer to choose to make, I'd stick personally with something basic in grist and hopping ratios and that more importantly works with a yeast you can manage. If you can't atleast help control the fermentation temp, you'll be risking some lackluster results.

Yeast is the engine for beer, not the fancy grains or hottest hop strain.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

FATC1TY said:


> If you are just starting, or have some basic gear, just let us know.


Thanks! Good info. I would be just starting. I have no gear at all. We do have a place near me, at least I think it's still in business, that sells the stuff to brew your own beer. I would definitely want something easy to start.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

You'll want to do extract brewing to start.

Skip any liquid extract. It's messy, and burns easily. It's okay in small quantities but the dry extract DME is the better stuff.

I'd suggest getting a kit, something like a blonde, saison, cream ale, or maybe a pale ale. Keep the hops low, additions are easy. Your water won't need adjusted, just use filtered water with no chlorine or chloramines. Distilled/RO or a spring water will be fine.

You'll need a burner that can boil 5-7 gallons of water. A turkey fryer is ideal. Indoor is fine for gas stove, it can get messy so warning! Or you can brew smaller 2-3 gallon batches but the time to finished product ratio is not good.

You'll need a large pot 8 gal min for 5 gallon batch.

Then a brewing kit, I would suggest plastic carboys or buckets. You'll get some cleaner, and all the stuff needed to brew and ferment. Get some sanitizer as well. You must have clean equipment, or you will get infected beer.

You'll need bottles and caps and a capper. Once you brew, it'll be 7-14 days ususlly before it's fermented. You'll need to measure the gravity of it to confirm it's done, bottle with additional yeast, cap and store warm to carbonate and then chill them before drinking. It's probably an easy 3-4 weeks from brew day to drinking when going that route, FYI.

A starter kit from somewhere like Midwest or something online wouldn't be too much. If you have a local shop they can be a ton of help going forward.

Let me know if you have questions about equipment, what's needed and not until you decide to continue with it.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Thanks FATC1TY! That's a lot to absorb. I'll keep reading and maybe stop by that shop. I'll post back here when I do. Thanks again.


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## SeanT17 (Aug 8, 2017)

Your profile says western PA, so if you're in the Pittsburgh area there is an excellent brew shop in Green Tree called South Hills Brewing Supply. Been going there for the last 10 years. Staff there is very knowledgeable and they have a great selection of equipment and ingredients to get you started in the hobby.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

I found it a value added to buy local when brewing if you could. The better shops will be able to talk to you more, help out with parts or allow you to borrow things too. Recipe building as you branch out on your own is way easier when you know the store and owners to get things for you.

Check out brew days too. Sometimes there are clubs locally that will show you the process and help when you start up on your own.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

Tried a few beer kits and they never turned out or the flavor just wasn't great so I switched to wine and haven't looked back.

Ive done wine for almost 4 years now and it's super easy with the correct equipment. Mainly make cider's for the holidays at around 8% abv.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

SeanT17 said:


> Your profile says western PA, so if you're in the Pittsburgh area there is an excellent brew shop in Green Tree called South Hills Brewing Supply. Been going there for the last 10 years. Staff there is very knowledgeable and they have a great selection of equipment and ingredients to get you started in the hobby.


Thanks for the tip. I'm thinking finding a local store like this one will be the way to go.



FATC1TY said:


> I found it a value added to buy local when brewing if you could. The better shops will be able to talk to you more, help out with parts or allow you to borrow things too. Recipe building as you branch out on your own is way easier when you know the store and owners to get things for you.
> 
> Check out brew days too. Sometimes there are clubs locally that will show you the process and help when you start up on your own.


Good ideas. Our local shop, which is still open, will be of great help I believe. Haven't started anything yet, still researching. More involved than I initially considered.


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## monty (Jul 25, 2017)

Wine maker here! I have a 1 gallon beer kit I got as a gift but haven't had a chance to try it out.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

ABC123 said:


> Tried a few beer kits and they never turned out or the flavor just wasn't great so I switched to wine and haven't looked back.
> 
> Ive done wine for almost 4 years now and it's super easy with the correct equipment. Mainly make cider's for the holidays at around 8% abv.





monty said:


> Wine maker here! I have a 1 gallon beer kit I got as a gift but haven't had a chance to try it out.


Not a big fan of wine. I've thought about experimenting with a beer kit before. I'm not sure how close the kit is to actually brewing beer, I mean as far as steps in the process. Obviously it's supposed to make it easier.


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## RockyMtnLawnNut (Jun 23, 2017)

I've brewed beer for awhile now. Most recently other hobbies and family stuff have taken up more time though. I used to work part time at a homebrewing store attached to a brewery out here in Colorado. If you have any questions let me know. I'd be happy to help.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

RockyMtnLawnNut said:


> I've brewed beer for awhile now. Most recently other hobbies and family stuff have taken up more time though. I used to work part time at a homebrewing store attached to a brewery out here in Colorado. If you have any questions let me know. I'd be happy to help.


Thanks for the offer! Between lawn care and smoking I'm wondering if I should even attempt beer making.


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## RockyMtnLawnNut (Jun 23, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> RockyMtnLawnNut said:
> 
> 
> > I've brewed beer for awhile now. Most recently other hobbies and family stuff have taken up more time though. I used to work part time at a homebrewing store attached to a brewery out here in Colorado. If you have any questions let me know. I'd be happy to help.
> ...


I'd say go for it if it's something you're really interested in. You can really make excellent beer at home...just as good as some of your favorite craft stuff. What I always tell people though is that you're definitely not going to "save" money by brewing your own beer. It has to be something you're just into doing.


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## monty (Jul 25, 2017)

RockyMtnLawnNut said:


> I'd say go for it if it's something you're really interested in. You can really make excellent beer at home...just as good as some of your favorite craft stuff. What I always tell people though is that you're definitely not going to "save" money by brewing your own beer. It has to be something you're just into doing.


Wow that is crazy different from wine making. With 6 gallons of grape juice I can make and bottle wine for about $3-5 a bottle.


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## RockyMtnLawnNut (Jun 23, 2017)

monty said:


> RockyMtnLawnNut said:
> 
> 
> > I'd say go for it if it's something you're really interested in. You can really make excellent beer at home...just as good as some of your favorite craft stuff. What I always tell people though is that you're definitely not going to "save" money by brewing your own beer. It has to be something you're just into doing.
> ...


I think it really all depends on what you choose to make. I guess what I really mean by that is that for a lot of people brewing beer becomes almost an obsession (similar to lawn care) that evolves into more and more equipment purchases, etc. You know, you start off thinking you'll be good with a push reel mower you found on Criagslist, and then all of the sudden you're looking at greens mowers  Factor in the cost of your time, and you'll probably break about even when all is said and done. As far as ingredients go, you can certainly save money over buying expensive craft stuff. I should've clarified that previously.

EDIT: for a good and cheap system to start all-grain brewing, you can check out this website

http://www.dennybrew.com/

All grain brewing is really not all that hard to do compared to extract brewing, plus grain is much cheaper than malt extract is.


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## monty (Jul 25, 2017)

RockyMtnLawnNut said:


> I think it really all depends on what you choose to make. I guess what I really mean by that is that for a lot of people brewing beer becomes almost an obsession (similar to lawn care) that evolves into more and more equipment purchases, etc. You know, you start off thinking you'll be good with a push reel mower you found on Criagslist, and then all of the sudden you're looking at greens mowers  Factor in the cost of your time, and you'll probably break about even when all is said and done. As far as ingredients go, you can certainly save money over buying expensive craft stuff. I should've clarified that previously.


Aaaa yes I see what you mean, and that makes total sense. I have a list of wine equipment I'd like to get to upgrade my setup!


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

RockyMtnLawnNut said:


> pennstater2005 said:
> 
> 
> > RockyMtnLawnNut said:
> ...


Indeed. You won't "save" but you can maybe moderate it. Once you get into the hobby it's not cheap to start. You can spend till your heart is content!!

Pouring a beer for a neighbor or friends while you stand in the yard is a damn good feeling though.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Also will add- kits are great to get your feet wet, but most have older ingredients, sub par instructions and will not be as good as they could be with fresher stuff and sound ingredients.

All grain is the way to go, but again- more equipment needed, and a different level of detail. That said- I could crank out a moderately hopped, basic lawnmower beer like a blonde in under 2 weeks from grain bag to keg, and it cost me maybe 10-15 bucks in ingredients at best.

The same kit with extract would be close to double that!


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

Been brewing for several years now. Its a dangerous hobby in that there is always an upgrade path. Its a very fun hobby that i enjoy a lot.

I'm now up to this









Three 20 Gallon pots set up in a E-HERM's configuration for those that know/care what that is. Usually just do 10 gallon batches and split with a buddy and make an afternoon of it.

In the house is a 5 tap Kegerator, only 4 are beer..one is carbonated water for Sodastream syrup drinks for those that dont drink alcohol.

If you have any questions, ask away. I'd consider myself a fairly advanced brewer. In all honesty i'd probably brew as a job if the market wasnt so saturated in Oregon. Not about to take a million+ dollar loan out to start a brew pub when there's one on every other corner it seems. Yes i think my beer is better than many of them, but your average consumer probably wont know the difference . :?


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

FuzzeWuzze said:


> Been brewing for several years now. Its a dangerous hobby in that there is always an upgrade path. Its a very fun hobby that i enjoy a lot.
> 
> I'm now up to this
> 
> ...


Whoa!! That's a heck of a setup. I got a little sidetracked after starting the renovation. I still do want to try and brew but will want to start out small. Thanks


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> FuzzeWuzze said:
> 
> 
> > Been brewing for several years now. Its a dangerous hobby in that there is always an upgrade path. Its a very fun hobby that i enjoy a lot.
> ...


The nice thing is it takes awhile. I mean the brewing portion only takes 3-4 hours + cleanup, but fermenting usually will take 2-3 weeks at a minimum, then another 4 weeks in a bottle to carbonate. So dont put it off too long, since your probably 2 months from actually drinking something you make 

Now is the perfect time to start because its cooling down, and realistically you want your fermenting wort to be in the mid/upper 60's, which means ambient room temp of like 60(fermenting puts off a lot of heat). Maintaining lower temps like that is much easier now than in summer where you have to keep it cool with big water bath's filled with frozen bottles and such.

A lot of new brewers start in Summer and wonder why their beer tastes like rubbing alcohol...because they stuck it in their 80F closet and the beer gets ruined.


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## chrismar (May 25, 2017)

Former and recent homebrewer here. I first started brewing back in 2008 or 2009. I stopped in 2010 when my kids were born and I just started again a few weeks ago. I had an old extract IPA kit lying around that I brewed up for giggles. Date on the box was December 2015! It's waaaay darker than it should be, but it's certainly drinkable!

I told myself if I ever started brewing again I'm going to start kegging, so I bought some kegs and converted a chest freezer into a kegerator/keezer. I kegged the batch above last Tuesday and took the first pour out of the keg last night. I have a batch of cider in the fermenter right now just waiting to be kegged next weekend.





... more kegerator and homebrew pics here.


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## Alan (Apr 23, 2017)

My old setup when I brewed in the past. Bottling sucks!!


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

@Alan

Thanks for the pictures. I like that set up. This is still on my radar to do, time wise just not there yet. What is Xmas beer?


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## Alan (Apr 23, 2017)

@pennstater2005

Here you go:

https://byo.com/article/winter-seasonal-beers/

http://beersmith.com/blog/2015/12/04/brewing-a-christmas-holiday-or-winter-seasonal-beer/


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## PHXCobra (Mar 20, 2018)

I did a while back. Got started with a kit I got for Christmas and it spiraled out of control quickly. It's pribably been a year and a half but I would like to again. With 2 young ones running around it's hard to find the time sometimes


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

PHXCobra said:


> I did a while back. Got started with a kit I got for Christmas and it spiraled out of control quickly. It's pribably been a year and a half but I would like to again. With 2 young ones running around it's hard to find the time sometimes


What spiraled out of control? Did you finish it?


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## PHXCobra (Mar 20, 2018)

I went from a one gallon it's to all grain biab 5 gallons immediately. Brewed probably 20-30 batches of all sorts of stuff. Now I barely drink (I still have an 18 pack from January) and don't have the time


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