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Old 12-06-2010, 03:42 PM  
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Boston, Ma
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Have you started doing all-grain yet?
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Old 12-06-2010, 03:56 PM  
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Originally Posted by metaltim View Post

Also, my pay it forward to you guys: www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com
if you haven't heard of these guys, bookmark it right now. they sell 4 oz. packages of hops, all below $1/oz. many are down to $.50 and $.60 an ounce. actually saw their lowest yet, willamette was $.40/oz last week when I bought some. they have about 35-40 varieties.


Never again from me.
Well I certainly appreciate that!! A majourity of my cash was goin' to hops, since I wash yeast. And it was getting really annoying. That looks very promising! You've dealt with them, and know that they're reliable, as well? Good lookin' out. And I'm actually near galleria, so no not too close to tomball. heh. Thanks again!
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Old 12-06-2010, 06:36 PM  
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I'm a Houstonian homebrewer thinking about getting into all-grain ...But been doing beer for ~3 years and meads ~10 years.... My next batch of beer is going to be a Double Chocolate Stout
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Old 12-06-2010, 07:27 PM  
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Originally Posted by drake371 View Post
I'm a Houstonian homebrewer thinking about getting into all-grain ...But been doing beer for ~3 years and meads ~10 years.... My next batch of beer is going to be a Double Chocolate Stout

Try ChshreCats Double Chocolate Oatmeal Snout. It's very good, and strong. . .
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Old 12-07-2010, 09:45 AM  
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Houston, TX
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Just joined up here and was recommended by HBT too. I've been lurking over there for a while and hope to brew my first after Santa brings some supplies
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Old 12-07-2010, 10:26 AM  
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San Antonio, Texas
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I have a feeling there will be a lot of beer threads thanks to HBT
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Old 12-07-2010, 12:40 PM  
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Houston, Texas
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Originally Posted by 6August6Derleth6 View Post
Awesome! It's a great hobby, as I'm sure you're finding out. And it's more fun if you can brew with a group of good people so, good for you! Keep at it! And make sure you condition your beers for at least 3 weeks before you start popping tops! Most people run on 1 week in primary, 2 in secondary, and 3 in bottles to achieve the best flavour. You caaan open them a lil bit earlier but it won't have reached full maturity and may have some green flavours. (In case ya didn't know, if ya did; my bad! heh.)
Thanks for starting this thread. I've made two batches with a friend, one a year ago and one last week. I'm always reading on HBT, but my buddy has all the equipment and he is in control. I can't get him out of his rut. He does all his beers EXACTLY one week in primary, then into the bottles. I can't convince him to considering racking to a secondary and giving them a little more time. I want to try something a little more adventurous, like an imperial IPA, but I think it would be a waste if we bottled after just one week. Kind of a quandry. Guess I need to start buying my own equipment or find a new brewing partner.
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Old 12-07-2010, 12:53 PM  
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Houston, Texas
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Originally Posted by metaltim View Post
brewer here for about 1.5 years. just brewed my first batch right before thanksgiving that was completely my own, not a kit. it was a black IPA. had my first pint last night.. my best beer (out of about 20) hands down. it's perfect. I just cloned the BJ's Jeremiah red yesterday, hopefully it turns out OK. and this weekend I'm cloning the abita SOS (wife loves it).
plan to take all 3 kegs with me to our new years eve destination, camping with 10 friends out south of fredericksburg.


I'm in tomball, anybody else close?

Also, my pay it forward to you guys: www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com
if you haven't heard of these guys, bookmark it right now. they sell 4 oz. packages of hops, all below $1/oz. many are down to $.50 and $.60 an ounce. actually saw their lowest yet, willamette was $.40/oz last week when I bought some. they have about 35-40 varieties.

In all, I've bought about 4 pounds of hops from them over the last month or so, total, shipped, was ~$50. defalcos and austinhomebrew.com are still selling only 1 oz packages, at $3.
Never again from me.
Thanks much. I will definitely try them out for hops. Are they cheaper on yeast too? I assume due to shipping that it's still better to get grain from DeFalcos.

BTW, I'm in NE Houston, near Humble. Not close to Tomball, but not too far either.
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Old 12-07-2010, 01:47 PM  
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Originally Posted by dnett View Post
Thanks for starting this thread. I've made two batches with a friend, one a year ago and one last week. I'm always reading on HBT, but my buddy has all the equipment and he is in control. I can't get him out of his rut. He does all his beers EXACTLY one week in primary, then into the bottles. I can't convince him to considering racking to a secondary and giving them a little more time. I want to try something a little more adventurous, like an imperial IPA, but I think it would be a waste if we bottled after just one week. Kind of a quandry. Guess I need to start buying my own equipment or find a new brewing partner.
Wow! Really?? How did that turn out? And possibly having him read more experienced brewers techniques and opinions on forums or at the LHBS, it could help him contemplate following a more commonly used aging. I imagine your beers came out VERY opaque with large amounts of sediment on the bottom of each bottle. How long was he leaving them in bottles before drinking? And yeahhh if he is refusing to budge off of that time schedule, you should probably begin brewing yourself. For smaller batches, it's not too expensive. Get a steel kettle ($12), a 1 gallon fermenter ($5), a spoon, a straining bag ($3.99), floating thermometer ($6-8.99) and a hydrometer ($6-8.99). Combined this all adds up to be a bit of money (around $39 +tax), almost forgot the racking cane you'll need and other small things (airlock, grommet). I would suggest you buy an auto-syphon rather than a normal rack cane. This all adds up but with the 11 beers you make off just the first batch you've saved a handful of money, and simply buying another 1 gal fermenter allows you to do it all again (or obviously you can cut that extra $5 out by waiting 2 weeks in between batches and just re-using your first fermenter!) Also if you go to LHBS, you can actually buy a "beginner brewer's kit" for about $40. At DeFalco's you get a hydrometer, a small cane, a fermenter, some nutrient, a bucket, a few other small things. Go check it out, let 'em know you're thinking about beginning and they'll help you out! Good luck man!
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Old 12-07-2010, 02:21 PM  
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Houston, Texas
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Originally Posted by 6August6Derleth6 View Post
Wow! Really?? How did that turn out? And possibly having him read more experienced brewers techniques and opinions on forums or at the LHBS, it could help him contemplate following a more commonly used aging. I imagine your beers came out VERY opaque with large amounts of sediment on the bottom of each bottle. How long was he leaving them in bottles before drinking? And yeahhh if he is refusing to budge off of that time schedule, you should probably begin brewing yourself...
The first batch we did together last year was a Bells two hearted clone, and to be honest, it turned out fantastic. I've tasted some of his others and they are hit and miss. The hoppy beers are usually pretty good. Last Saturday we bottled our second batch - a Green Flash Hop Head Red clone. We shoot for 10 gallons but have only ended up with about 8 each time. Not sure why we can't hit the volume correct - may be a flaw in our technique, or a leak somewhere during the cooling stage. On this last beer, he said the activity in the carboy stopped after only 4 days, so what's the use in fermenting any longer? I didn't have an answer for him.

As far as sediment, the first batch didn't have much, but this second one is bad already. After just two days in the bottle, every bottle has 1/2 to an inch of sediment. Yeah, I agree, time to get started on my own. Thing is I don't want to mess with small batches and I don't want to do extract. Wife is not going to go for $500-1000 plus in all grain equipment to do it right, so I think my best bet is to find a new partner - one who is more in line with my OCD personality. And to start accumulating quality equipment one piece at a time.
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