Homebrewing

[FatherTiresius]

My other great passion is homebrewing and I've been thinking lately how homebrewing and cigars go together. For example, one of my traditions is to enjoy a nice cigar during the boil - which is really the only relaxing part of making beer despite what Charlie Papazian says.

I hang out on another forum just like this one and a number of the members there are into cigars. Also I've seen several people here talk about homebrew, so there is significant crossover. So I was wondering how many of you like to make your own beer and to what level you've taken it. Incidentally, on cigar forums, the dark side is Havanas; on the beer forum it's all grain. :sneaky:

I've just started doing all grain and I'm fully converted. Next I'm going to try doing some kegging and I'm going to get some extra refrigeration for cold fermenting and lagering. After that, who knows. This is another one of those hobbies that you can take as far as you want.

 

[ParaGod]

That sounds like fun FT, I tried homebrewing along time ago(7 years) and I couldn't get it to work right, ohh well, I was thinking of trying again, but not enough money to do so.

 

[kurtcigar1]

While I haven't brewed any for a couple years, for a time this consumed me and my $$. Might be nice to fire a batch back up!

Started with extracts but quickly moved to all-grain. Used to brew a lot of traditional english pale ales using full grain. I have a pretty wild set up with temperature controlers, heaters, hard plumbed chillers, etc. I even grew my own hops at my old house! Also spent a great deal of time with a brewmeister from a local private brew-pub....would love to get that set-up if they ever go belly up! Until cigars over took me the brewing is what my wife considered to be 'crazy'. Never did any lagering or ice brewing but have wanted to try it some time.

All grain is the way to go...if I can find a recipe or two that I particularly like I'll email them to you.

Bottles are better for ageing, saving and gifting but you have got to get a kegging system - hell of a lot easier than cleaning bottles....besides you drink it faster and then you can brew some more!

Hmmm.....If I only had a good place to grow tobacco......

This is making me thirsty - Cheers!

 

[blair]

My wife and I have been talking about brewing our own brew for years and have never gotten to it.

What is the best way to get started? I think a kit must be the easiest and quickest way to learn.

Is there a kit that you (anyone) can recommend.

What is its website?

 

[FatherTiresius]

There are lots of good starter kits but this one is the best I've seen so far. It has glass primary and secondary fermenters which is something most starter kits don't have. Also I would upgrade to the auto-siphon for 5 extra clams. You'll need to add a brewpot to that kit if you don't already have one. For extract brewing you'll need 20 quarts minimum but bigger is better. You should also consider an immersion chiller. Cooling the wort down after the boil is very important and a chiller helps a lot.

That website also has ingredient kits that come with everything you need to brew a batch. I've never used one but I hear they're really excellent.

If you stop by the forum, I'm MtnBrewer over there.

 

[TheBeast]

Was a home brewing fanatic for several years. I worked at a speciality store while in college that did home brewing supplies, cigars, wine, and so on. All grain, kegging, you name it...I did it. Once the kids came along...time was wiped out and the brewing put on a long hold. I haven't brewed a batch in over 3 yrs. We're in the process of moving into a new house...and I've recently started to dig into the corner of the basement...DAMN I have alot of brewing equipment...it has so much dust on it...it could be considered dirt. It's a great hobby...goes well with smoking cigars...I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[wk-mang]

I've homebrewed 3 times in the past and pretty good results. The last time I did it must've been 4 or 5 years ago. I still have my homebrew equipment and maybe I'll brew another batch eventually... especially since all this homebrew talk has spurred my interest again... LOL!

I've always used liquid malt extracts and have also used some whole grains but mainly for additional flavoring and coloring (whole chocolate malts or crystal malt) but always the main ingredients in the wort was always liquid extracts. I've used hop pellets mainly but also tried fresh hops... the pellets turned out better for me as getting fresh hops here in Hawaii can be a challenge.

I agree with you Bruddahs that homebrewing is a great hobby! Maybe I'll get back into it sometime! Good luck with your brews!

Aloha,

Wade

 

[blair]

I've homebrewed 3 times in the past and pretty good results...

Aloha,

Wade

Send me a bottle when you brew your next! I'd love to try. I think I will in fact order the kit the FT suggested.

 

[Shadow]

Been homebrewing since 1984. I haven't brewed a batch in about six months but after I recover from getting the new knee I'm planning on doing a porter, oatmeal stout and a IPA before Christmas.

I find brewing is almost relaxing as smoking a cigar. It clears your mind of everyday problems.

 

[FatherTiresius]

I agree 100% Bill. Double that for an all grain. Even though you're working your ass off, in the few spare moments you have to reflect on it there's an immense satisfaction. I think I will always remember the feeling I had yesterday when I started the sparge and after recirculating a couple of quarts of wort it started to run clear. I sat down and thought to myself, "hey, all this crap I put together really works." Then as I was boiling and enjoying a bottle of Hazed and Infused and a 1998 Monte Especial I was truly at peace. Brewing with extract is fun and I'm not putting extract brewers down in any way but doing all grain is another level.

Get that knee better Bill and fire up the boiler. I got a pretty good collection of recipes too if you want to take a look.

I think my next one is going to be a Belgian Blonde Ale. After that maybe an IPA. When winter sets in I'm going to do some lagers.

 

[stogieman]

I have always wanted to get into home brewwing but the time was always wrong. My ole' budy Bob up in Delaware (some of you all know him as Delarob from LOTL and a few other cigar boards) tried gettin' me into home brewwing with him many a times. He always has a different type of batch going and alot of different beers in the fridge. When I move into another house and out of this nice apartment, I just might dabble in some home brewwing myself.....

 

[ALostTexan]

Way too lazy here. Just give me a Bud, or if I am in better parts of the country, a Shiner Bock, something that I cannot find in Ohio.

ALostTexan

 

[ALostTexan]

Oh, but I do want to add, I had a friend get married last summer, and the bride and groom love to home brew. They made up a bunch of bottles of their beer, and had labels printed with their name, wedding date, etc., and gave them away as party favors. I have always thought that was a great idea.

ALostTexan

 

[psyktek]

Got into home brewing in a small way a couple of years back, but since moving down to the basement to accomodate MIL upstairs have not done any. This thread reminds me of how much I enjoyed it.

Never got into the full grain method, just dry malts and flavoring grains, but I did manage to produce a few cases that got rave reviews from friends. Actually, home brew is so far superior to many commercial beers that getting rave reviews isn't hard!

FT, that's a great website, (and a great starter kit), I'd never seen that one before. And Blair, I'll add that you DO want to have the largest pot you can get for the boil. Also, a jet burner, like the ones that come with turkey frying kits is a must unless you have a commercial gas range. Home stoves just don't have the firepower to get things going and you almost always end up with some caramelizing on the bottom of the pot.

As for kits and supplies you might also look at William's Brewing, www.williamsbrewing.com, they seem to have pretty good pricing.

Time to get off my butt and get one of those burners for myself and get going, once the weather cools off and I can do this outside!

 

[LuckyDawg]

ditto the large boiling pot advice. i'd say at least 7 gallons.
the average amatuer kit comes with a 5 gallon. ??? if you boil
5 gallons of liguid in a 5 gallon pot.....well, let's just say have
plenty of spic&span on hand!

l8er

todd

 

[lucasbuck]

I must say I'm intrigued but it does sound like a lot of work. As I'm at work 80+ hours per week it's probably not feasible for me anytime soon Instead I think I'll just bum a bottle or two off of Greg next time I'm in Denver

 

[FatherTiresius]

Two reasons bigger is better when it comes to pots:

1) Boilovers are bad. You want enough head room so that when it foams up (and it will) at the hot break it doesn't end up on your floor.

2) When doing extract, there are a couple of problems. One is that since the sugars are more concentrated you get more caramelization (and therefore darkening). The other is that extract brews can produce a noticable "twang" in the finished product. Doing a full wort boil helps both these problems.

Most extract brewers when they start out only boil about 2.5 - 3 gallons of wort and then dilute it to 5 gallons in the fermenter. A full wort boil means that you start with the full batch in the boiler (6 gallons or so) and boil it down to about 5.25 gallons. This of course means you have to have a bigger pot and a propane burner and chiller are almost required at this point. Minimum size is probably 8 gallons but 10 is better (see point #1 above). My new boiler is 12 gallons with a 1/2" ball valve in the bottom of it and a screen to filter out the spent hops. When I'm done boiling and chilling, I just open the tap and drain directly into the fermenter.

This illustrates a major point about the hobby. Very little equipment is required but there are so many things that can make your life so much easier and also make a major impact in the quality of your beer. Not all of them are expensive and a lot of them you can make yourself.

 

[FatherTiresius]

I must say I'm intrigued but it does sound like a lot of work. As I'm at work 80+ hours per week it's probably not feasible for me anytime soon Instead I think I'll just bum a bottle or two off of Greg next time I'm in Denver

Extract brewing isn't all that time consuming. You can do a batch in about 3 hours including cleanup once you get the process down. I agree though that 80 hour workweeks don't leave a lot of time for brewing....or even drinking. All grain brewing, on the other hand, is an all day thing.

You need to come participate in a brewing session. Bring Havanas.

 

[lucasbuck]

Bring Havanas.

Always!

 

[boeman]

I'm planning on doing a porter, oatmeal stout and a IPA before Christmas.

Mmmmm... porter, Oatmeal stout and an IPA (Jimmy Buffet's beer of choice)

You have good taste in home brews!