I think he did that as a first time sort of thing just to try it out.
His more advanced videos use malt extract.
RADU
there is a Coopers distributor here.
They sell the canned Coopers extract alone plus complete packages that includes dry malt extract (or something like that).
They also sell the Coopers brew kit which comes with a complete Lagers brew ingredient pack. I'm not too fond of Lagers though. I prefer Ales for some reason; especially either very dark ales like Stouts and Porters or highly hopped Ales.
Of course Coopers comes in just about any variety you like.
Dave
>I'm not too fond of Lagers though. I prefer Ales for some reason; especially either very dark ales like Stouts and Porters or highly hopped Ales.
There are some darker lagers:
RADU coopers make a great stout.
RADU
Do a search for Mr. Beer - easy kits for starters.
and very good too!
I've been brewing for years and am fortunate to be part of a local homebrew club. We get together once a month to sample the brews of the members and talk about beer and our brewing experiences. The three most significant suggestions I learned early-on are/were:
- Sanitization is critical, sterilization is not
- Once the fermentation process is complete, mix in 1 cup of powdered malt extract or corn sugar per 5 gallons of beer before starting the bottling process (all that is really needed for carbonization)
- "Relax and have a home-brew!"
Above all else, have fun with it and start off by only trying to impress yourself with the outcome of your recipe(s). 🙂
Ladd Nelson
Beer in Utah
Barleypop beats sodapop anyday IMHO!
;-)
CV
Here's a link that will get you started in a lot of homemade ventures...including beer.
Beer in Utah
Great shot, CV!
3.2 Beer... Kinda like having sex in a boat...
;o)
JBS
My Grandad was a homebrewer, my Dad was a homebrewer. When I was a toehead, every grocery store sold malt.
I brew because you can brew the type you like for the cost of the commercial horsepiss, Bud etal.
Sanitation requires only dilute bleach.
You need to collect bottles designed for real caps, no twistoffs.
I like beer heavy on malt and hops. My love is San Miguel Dark. I experimented with a few batchs and got very close to that. Entered it in the Co. Fair. Got beat by similar dark with BERRIES in it. Good God, that is NOT beer, not to this German anyway. Violates the German Purity Law.
All you need to get started is a big pot for the boiling of the wort. A carboy and air lock which can be made with a clear vinyl tube, bottles, caps, siphon for bottle filling, capper. That's about it.
A 5 gal batch needs about 9- 6 packs of 12oz bottles.
That's for ales. If you want to try lager, you need a fridge for the carboy.
If you want to get started, lots of books give fine details on this ancient art.
Question for anyone
I have no experience or knowledge whatsoever about this fascinating subject. I would love to attempt my own beer, but one nagging fear remains from the time long ago when I was very young and my father made his own: EXPLODING BOTTLES!
Can that be prevented? How?
Thanks
Don
Question for anyone
Exploding bottles are a thing of the past, really.
The bottles are better, today, for a start.
The explosions came from buildup of pressure from CO2 during the carbonation phase of bottling. In order to create CO2 in the beer, additional fermentable sugars are added to the beer after fermentation. This sugar kicks in the yeast again and carbonates the beer. With the bottle capped, the excess CO2 has nowhere to go except into solution.
By making sure you use malt extract as the carbonation sugar and NOT corn sugar or, heaven forbid, table sugar, and making sure that the “dosage” is kept properly low, the risk of explosions is minimized.
Of course, you could go the route I used to and ferment in 10 gallon Corny Kegs. I used a CO2 cylinder to carbonate my beers in 5 gallon Pepsi kegs. I bottled using a counter-pressure bottle filler, which moved beer from the kegs into the bottles under CO2. I didn’t have to use the extra sugar dose to get my beers carbonated.
OK. Screw this. I’m going back to brewing.
Anyone got an extra fridge I can have to control the fermentation temperatures?
Question for anyone
" I didn’t have to use the extra sugar dose to get my beers carbonated."
And so there was no incremental increase in pressure. I see. And better bottles, also a good point. I'm starting to feel good about this home brew thing.
Thanks, Ian.
Don
fQuestion for anyone
If you catch the fermentation as it slows down and bottle a day or two before the final bubbles, there is still sugar unused. You don't need to add any when bottling.
Skill helps here to prevent blowing bottles.
No skill tech. Let the ferment run unto no more bubbles=no more sugar left. Then add the correction required of malt. Frutose works very nice for this as well. I use my malt in the boil.
Go to a used book store. Find a brewing manual pre WWII. 10 page pamphlet. No one needs more than that to start brewing. We been doing this since we was apes. Take command of an army of billions and billions of yeasty's. It is fun, both when you brew it and when you drink it.
Can you think of a better gift? Homebrew.
One more thing, if you forget the rattlesnake gizzard, it just won't have that spezial magic.
fQuestion for anyone
one of the first things settlers of the original 13 did was set up the brewery because generally water was unsafe to drink. Homebrewing was common and widespread because commercial product was unavailable especially in remote locations. Wives baked the bread and brewed the ale.
I have 6 cases of (12) 22oz bottles. Just need caps but they are cheap.
Ian-
The only brewing misadventure I personally experienced was a co-worker handed out 12 oz bottles of his product. They didn't explode but when the bottle was opened it just continually foamed until there was nothing left. I could chug it but I don't think the flavor was good or bad, just so-so.
I just want to do the simplest thing possible to get started. Super great quality isn't the initial goal. But I would be glad to be volunteer labor. A mechanical engineer at work is very involved in Gold Country Brewers; he's really into the chemistry. I went to their open house event with my daughter; they let us take home some bottles of a baltic stout which turned out really good.
Homebrew
If you are in any metro area, expect you will find groups for brewers. Someone knows someone who knows where a commercial kitchen is available, Elk's lodge, stuff like that. They all get together for boiling and bottling sessions. Would be nice when starting to see the process by those who have done it many times.
But you can do it all your own at home. Most brewer suppliers have beginners kits with everything you need. Many have generic malts in barrels and portion it out in containers for small batches. It is twice as much for half the price as the brand labled malts.
Just ask the supplier which malts/hops will make the type of beer you like.
If your first batch tastes "off", you got a bit sloppy somewhere and contaminated with something. You do not need sterile conditions, just sanitary, like any kitchen just wiped down. Keep the windows closed, fans off during the cooling and transfer of the wort to the carboy. Do not use wood utensiles.
Yards sales will find you things like, carboys, big stainless spoon, a hunk of clear vinyl hose, big stainless pot. Thrift stores will have goodies for brewing use. You can get your cost of setup down to cost of gas to find stuff + $10.
You can store malt sealed on the shelf for years. Not so hops, always get fresh for each batch.
There are lots of farkles to make things easier. A bottle washer, bottle racks, wort coolers, mash tuns, WIZBANG cappers, lots of stuff to speed up the process. Not necessary, just convienent.
Once you have the essential items in hand, reuseable over and over for ever. Just add malt hops yeast water for each batch.
You can have a bottle of homebrew for $0.50 that is just as good as any microbrew you can buy for $2.00 a bottle.
Frankly, it's one of the lowest cost hobbies you can get into. A DELUXE homebrew setup, at retail priceing, is not more than $300.
