making homebrew anybody?

[nobody]

i've made my own beer at home for years now. started out with mr.beer like most homebrewers. i have 4 6.5 gallon fermenters and had been bottling about 12 gallons a month.

i was wondering if anybody else in the state is doing the same? i'm sure there should be 1000's of home brewers out there. i was just wondering if there are any on here?

[Dotsun]

I just brewed my first batch yesterday. My friend started a couple of months ago and he showed me the ropes. I had a lot of fun and can't wait to try it.

[nobody]

dude,

a fellow brewer i work with told me to let it sit in the primary for 30 days before bottling. no secondary needed. the last few batches i have made i have done this and it has been the best beer i have ever made.

i make alot of wheat beers and alot of light beers myself. i don't really care for the dark beers. i did make a oktoberfest that was amazing. i loved it and seems everybody at the party did as well. i made five cases and let it set a month after bottling before i tried it. i started out with over 5 cases of it. by time we had the halloween party i was down to just 2 cases. by the end of the night we had none of the oktoberfest left at all.

if you drink it to soon it could have a cidery taste to it. i let mine sit a month at least in the primary then bottle. i let it sit at least a month in the bottle before putting it in the frig. i let it sit at least 48 hours in the frig before i crack the lid on one.

i'm making my summer pipeline right now. i have several wheat beers and a light beer in the pipeline at the moment. i have 4 fermenters and two bottling buckets. right now i have a wheat beer and a light beer fermenting. i started them last night and this morning they are kicking ass!!! i'm aiming for a higher abv on these two. the wheat should be around 7% and the light should be around 9%. i'm going to make a barley wine and let it sit till thanksgiving next year in about a week.

this is the best hobby next to shooting in matches and hunting i have found!!!

[5L1mm]

sitting for 30 in the primary sounds like a good idea for a wheat beer.
you may also want to look into aeration, getting some oxygen to the yeast will make it stronger so it can last longer in higher alcohol contents.
the longer they live, the more alcohol you will have. and the longer it can sit in the fermenter

[nobody]

i've let more than wheat beers sit for 30 days in the primary. so far it has worked on every beer i have made so far since i have been doing this. they all seem to benefit from the longer fermentation. i no longer even rack to a secondary at all. the trub in the bottum seems to be harder also for some reason. i don't understand but it does.

[Dotsun]

That sounds great, but I only have one carboy and very little patience.

[nobody]

patience is one thing you will have to have. i have made fermenters before from buckets at ace hardware and the lids. thier lids have a gasket seal on them. i made a small hole in the lid for the airlock. if you can find a larger bucket like a 7 gallon one i would use one of them. it leaves enough headspace for when fermentation takes off. i have a light beer that is bubbling like crazy through the blow off tube right now!!!!

i also have better bottles and thier waterless air locks. they are great. i love hem myself.

[UK_Midwest]

Anyone planning on a Christmas/holiday batch, or have something in the carboy already?

I'm doing a pale ale with a little Christmas twist, Saturday is brew day

[Dotsun]

Originally Posted by nobody

patience is one thing you will have to have. i have made fermenters before from buckets at ace hardware and the lids. thier lids have a gasket seal on them. i made a small hole in the lid for the airlock. if you can find a larger bucket like a 7 gallon one i would use one of them. it leaves enough headspace for when fermentation takes off. i have a light beer that is bubbling like crazy through the blow off tube right now!!!!

i also have better bottles and thier waterless air locks. they are great. i love hem myself.

Hmmm, I do have the brewing bucket that came with my beginners kit. I think I'll wait and see how my porter turns out before I start another batch, though.

[nobody]

Originally Posted by UK_Midwest

Anyone planning on a Christmas/holiday batch, or have something in the carboy already?

I'm doing a pale ale with a little Christmas twist, Saturday is brew day

i don't do the seasonal twist's to my brews. i like to keep them simple. i follow the normal directions and stay pretty much like that. i'll try to post a picture of what i have working right now. it isn't a week old yet in the primary so it is still dark.