The Homebrew Beer Thread

[eatskisleep]

Word.

I made a two batches of beer during my short homebrew career. A Sam Adams like lager and a stout. Both came out good. I found it too time consuming and cumbersome to make it worthwhile, but it was interesting. But if you have the time to do it, I'll be happy to sample a few for ya...
:beer:

How long does it usually take to brew your own stuff?

 

[BeanoNYC]

How long does it usually take to brew your own stuff?

Are you asking from brew day to drinkable beer, or time spent during brew day?

 

[ctenidae]

How long does it usually take to brew your own stuff?

Day 1: Brew. All in (boil, cool, pitch) 3-4 hours (give or take. Fluctuates based on beer intake and preparedness)
Day 2-5: sit and wait
Day 6: Bottle ~2-3 hours, again depending on level of preparedness and beer intake.
Day 7- 21: Wait Varies based on beer intake.
Day 22: Enjoy.

All times are estimates. Your mileage may vary.

 

[jaja111]

Day 1: Brew. All in (boil, cool, pitch) 3-4 hours (give or take. Fluctuates based on beer intake and preparedness)
Day 2-5: sit and wait
Day 6: Bottle ~2-3 hours, again depending on level of preparedness and beer intake.
Day 7- 21: Wait Varies based on beer intake.
Day 22: Enjoy.

All times are estimates. Your mileage may vary.

Dear god, you're joking right? 6 days and then to the bottle? Ever had any grenade?

 

[ctenidae]

Dear god, you're joking right? 6 days and then to the bottle? Ever had any grenade?

Had one from the last batch crack, not sure if it was a pressur thing, a cheap bottle, or a hit. Never had a full blowout (knock on wood)

 

[roark]

Dear god, you're joking right? 6 days and then to the bottle? Ever had any grenade?

agreed, I usually go 3 days to 1 wk primary, at least another wk secondary. But I don't make weak beer either. ;-)

 

[ctenidae]

agreed, I usually go 3 days to 1 wk primary, at least another wk secondary. But I don't make weak beer either. ;-)

6 days is between 3 and 7.
I don't currently have a secondary, either. Besides, the secondary doesn't really do anything for alcohol content, unless you're dumping a bunch of sugar in it again.

Besides, asking a question about the timeline indicates someone who has not done homebrewing, and as such is unlikely to be involved in secondary fermenting or any of teh intracacies. So, the time line I laid out is appropriate.

So there.
:beer:

 

[BeanoNYC]

Dear god, you're joking right? 6 days and then to the bottle? Ever had any grenade?

Meh...if your gravity is reading the same for three days you're out of the woods. I've been going a week in the primary, 2 in the secondary, Cold Crash overnight then keg.

 

[UnaBonger]

I've been averaging 2 - 4 weeks in primary, bottle then condition for another 2 weeks min... Patience is a virtue

 

[Marc]

I usually bottle 2 - 3 days after seeing that last bubble come through the air lock. Yeah... I sit and watch the air lock because I have nothing better to do with my time. Usually about 2 weeks.

 

[BeanoNYC]

I sit and watch the air lock because I have nothing better to do with my time. Usually about 2 weeks.

I like to watch the whole fermentation process. That's why I use a carboy for primary now. It's really the only advantage to using a carboy.

 

[UnaBonger]

I like to watch the whole fermentation process. That's why I use a carboy for primary now. It's really the only advantage to using a carboy.

It's really rather relaxing to just sit and watch the bubbles come out of the airlock and the wort (or is it beer now once fermentation begins?) swirling around...

 

[Marc]

It's really rather relaxing to just sit and watch the bubbles come out of the airlock and the wort (or is it beer now once fermentation begins?) swirling around...

If it's still too week to be considered beer, I like to call it beert.

 

[ctenidae]

I put 5 gallons of apple cider into the fermenter on New Year's Eve.
Still bubbling. About 1 a minute.


I'm a little scared. Haven't checked the gravity yet (started at 1080 or so, IIRC). It'll either be rocket fuel, or tasty rocket fuel, I think.

 

[roark]

I put 5 gallons of apple cider into the fermenter on New Year's Eve.
Still bubbling. About 1 a minute.


I'm a little scared. Haven't checked the gravity yet (started at 1080 or so, IIRC). It'll either be rocket fuel, or tasty rocket fuel, I think.

Champagne yeast? I did that once for a cyser and it finished well below 1.000. Puckeringly dry. Good for the first couple months but then the fruit faded and all that was left was alcohol.

1.080 sounds high, did you add other fermentables?

 

[ctenidae]

Champagne yeast? I did that once for a cyser and it finished well below 1.000. Puckeringly dry. Good for the first couple months but then the fruit faded and all that was left was alcohol.

1.080 sounds high, did you add other fermentables?

Champagne yeast, and about a cup of light brown sugar.
OG may be high because the cider was unfiltered, and was pretty thick and sweet. Part of the drop, if/when it occurs, from OG to FG will, undoubtedly, be from sediment settling out.

On a seperate but related note, I found a packet of gelatin left over from some kit at some point. Anyone ever use it? If so, how'd it work? I'm thinking fining the cider might make sense, since A) it had a lot of particulates, and 2) It had a lot of particulates

 

[roark]

Used isinglass a couple times, followed the directions.


That was helpful, wasn't it.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Champagne yeast, and about a cup of light brown sugar.
OG may be high because the cider was unfiltered, and was pretty thick and sweet. Part of the drop, if/when it occurs, from OG to FG will, undoubtedly, be from sediment settling out.

I ended up adding campden tablets to stop fermentation then added sugar and apple extract to taste to make it more of a cider. Many use frozen apple concentrate instead.
Careful...this stuff will mess you up!

You could throw it in a secondary for a while but if your starting with an unfiltered cider, you may never get it clear unless you pour it through a filter.

 

[Chris I]

I want to brew my own beer, looks fun. Looks very similar to growing edible mushrooms

shiitake !

 

[ctenidae]

I ended up adding campden tablets to stop fermentation then added sugar and apple extract to taste to make it more of a cider. Many use frozen apple concentrate instead.
Careful...this stuff will mess you up!

You could throw it in a secondary for a while but if your starting with an unfiltered cider, you may never get it clear unless you pour it through a filter.

Def putting it into a secondary to age a bit. Maybe I'll draw a sample to check the gravity, and give it a taste. I wonder, though, how the flavor now will relate to the flavor after bottle conditioning.