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Post by Jack on Feb 13, 2009 21:50:31 GMT -5
The techniques, equipment and supplies involved in brewing your own beer have changed quite a bit in the last 8 years. It's now easier than ever and the quality of the equipment and raw materials continues to improve. I've enjoyed this hobby for quite some time and have made over 100 batches (5 gal.) of amazingly tasty beer. My first surprise when I started brewing beer was the other home brewers that I encountered. They are a wonderful mix of folks from all backgrounds and the common thread is helping each other make good beer. Anyone interested in this rewarding (your get to drink the results) endeavor can find all the help, supplies and support you need at these two local shops. One is Home Brew Mart which is next to Ballast Point Brewery. www.homebrewmart.com/The other, and my personal favorite, is American Home Brewing. www.redkart.com/ahbs/
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Post by Jack on Feb 14, 2009 20:27:16 GMT -5
Home brewing is not without some hazards. Some women refuse to let their husbands use the kitchen and they are banished to the garage or outdoors to cook their beer. I've always been very careful and can still use the kitchen cook top to boil up my beer. My wife likes all the cleaning (sanitizing) I do around the kitchen counter tops prior to making the beer. The biggest cause of a bad batch of beer is not meticulously cleaning all the equipment and keeping everything sanitized while you work. I've also been very careful to avoid a very messy "boil over" that almost always happens to home brewers who don't constantly monitor their brew pot. (Imagine a few quarts of hot, sticky, sugary, syrupy goop spilling all over the stove top) One other rare problem is getting an aggressive batch of yeast. Even though I use highly refined specialty yeasts they sometimes decide to over react and blow out of the fermentation carboy. It comes out frothy and dries like foam insulation. The good news is that the batch of beer in this picture was salvaged after a quick clean up and replacement of the air lock.
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Post by Jack on Feb 15, 2009 19:43:38 GMT -5
OK, here it is, the simplest, no-brainer, home brewing kit. It's really not brewing because all you do is drop a yeast pellet into the bottle of prepared wort and switch the bottle caps, but it does go through the fermentation and carbonation processes. I gave these out as Christmas gifts and my step son really liked the red lager. Here's a link to an article that gives details on these simple beer kits. www.fermentarium.com/content/view/258/54/They are available from online sources and also locally.
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Post by johng on Oct 6, 2009 13:40:35 GMT -5
Jack my estimator is a Big Time Beer brewer and judges at many of the beer brewer championships. He should be as interested in his work and I would be wealthier for it, but hey at least he has a pension for sharing.
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