Beer! Glorious Beer Thread!

**Salodin** · 2012-03-12 19:13

Now, what about that carbonation? You obviously don't get that with the home brew kit, unless im confusing carbination for something else?

**Pirian** · 2012-03-12 19:46

Basic brewing is pretty easy to set up

As far as hardware goes, what you need:

Spoiler: show

Fill the jug with the boil and let one end of the tube hang in the air, NOT in the liquid. Make sure the seal is airtight. Fill the bucket halfway with water, and secure the other end of the tube IN the water.

And that's it! Just remember, oxygen and light ruin beer, so make sure everything is air tight, and store it in a cool/dark place.

Total price (minus duct tape and pot, because if you don't already have these then you suck): $32+shipping

As for bottling, that is super easy. Just go out and get some beer that comes in dark bottles and save the bottles. We save the bottles from our favorite craft brews, just make sure you clean the insides very well. Avoid beers with twist caps because the seal isn't that great without machine intervention, but if you don't want to $1.67 caps are, then it's acceptable (more so if you plan on drinking them very quickly, but I would go ahead and splurge on caps), and you can usually reuse them.

Originally Posted by Salodin

Now, what about that carbonation? You obviously don't get that with the home brew kit, unless im confusing carbination for something else?

That's what yeast is for. If you're kegging then you will want to get a CO2 tank, but that's obviously going to add a lot to your expenses. The plus side to having a CO2 tank is you can get rid of the latent oxygen in other steps of the process (the space in the fermenter, and the small space in the bottles)

**Salodin** · 2012-03-12 20:08

forgive my ignorance, I thought yeast was for the alcohol, not carbonation. Please explain more :3

**Pirian** · 2012-03-12 20:13

Originally Posted by Salodin

forgive my ignorance, I thought yeast was for the alcohol, not carbonation. Please explain more :3

Don't be afraid to be wrong or not know

Nobody automatically knows everything. The yeast also adds the alcohol. Two byproducts of yeast is CO2 and alcohol.

**Vandole** · 2012-03-12 20:30

Originally Posted by Salodin

Now, what about that carbonation? You obviously don't get that with the home brew kit, unless im confusing carbination for something else?

it brews into alcohol in the keg, then you add sugar to each bottle before you bottle the beer in order to carbonate.

Originally Posted by Pirian

If you're wanting more of the apple and less of the bitter, then add the apples later in the fermentation. Hops are added during 3 stages of the brewing process (and a 4th for most micro brews) to get that richness of flavor, and because the taste/smell degrade. Adding fresh apple mash for the last few days before bottling should give you a good nose and crisp apple taste.

that wouldnt spoil the batch opening my keg? i'd love to try making strawberry ale next.

**Pirian** · 2012-03-12 21:03

Originally Posted by Vandole

that wouldnt spoil the batch opening my keg? i'd love to try making strawberry ale next.

Unless you're flushing out the air with CO2, then you're already going to have exposed it to an amount of oxygen when you first added everything to the fermenter and sealed it. I would microwave the apples for 30 seconds or so to kill any microorganisms that happen to be in the apples.

Looked up MrBeer's stuff to see what you're working with, and I'm not sure how easy it is going to be for you to add things during the fermentation. That IS how you get more robust flavors, and a better nose, though. It seems like they're more worried about adding a rogue bacteria than they are about oxygen, which if you keep a sterile environment, you should be OK about.

Originally Posted by Vandole

it brews into alcohol in the keg, then you add sugar to each bottle in order to carbonate.

This seems redundant? The point of the boil is to break down the complex sugars of the barley (or wheat for your wit beers) and malts into simpler sugars for the yeast to chow down on.

**Vandole** · 2012-03-12 21:36

Originally Posted by Pirian

This seems redundant? The point of the boil is to break down the complex sugars of the barley (or wheat for your wit beers) and malts into simpler sugars for the yeast to chow down on.

well, there's a big difference between sugar itself and complex sugars inside of barley. i tried by beer out of the keg, was flat. after adding sugar to it in bottle its now fizzy as fuck :O

**Pirian** · 2012-03-12 21:41

Originally Posted by Vandole

well, there's a big difference between sugar itself and complex sugars inside of barley. i tried by beer out of the keg, was flat. after adding sugar to it in bottle its now fizzy as fuck :O

I don't think you understand. Complex sugars are carbohydrates, and the boiling process breaks some of those down into simple sugars the yeast can use. Belgium brews do add candied sugars, but they also use a different kind of yeast, and it's a whole other kind of beer.

**Vandole** · 2012-03-12 21:49

also, the carbon dioxide is allowed to exit during the brewing process. in the bottling process it stays inside the bottle forcing pressure into it thus the carbonation

**Pirian** · 2012-03-12 21:59

CO2 does exit during the process, but it still saturates the liquid during the normal fermentation process. What you're doing is Priming the beer, and this is probably done because your fermenter lets out too much CO2

**Vandole** · 2012-03-15 01:48

okay, had a 2nd beer. it's reallllly carbonated now. i should have put all of them in the fridge sooner to make it less bubbly. still good though. it will at least last a long time out of the bottle since i nurse the fuck out of my beer.

**aru** · 2012-03-21 10:42

Midwest Groupon deal is back up for anybody looking to get started in homebrewing.

They seem to be running this deal more frequently than they did in the past. Like I said earlier, you'll need some additional equipment but it won't be anything too pricey (at worst you'll need a brewpot if you don't already have something in your kitchen).
To put the deal in perspective, for around $60 bucks you get a recipe kit and a $25 discount to your next recipe kit. These kits are usually around 25-30 bucks. So for 60, you're pretty much getting all the equipment listed for like 15 dollars.

**Stromgarde** · 2012-03-22 21:12

I saw this on the seasonal beer menu at my local bar and couldn't resist.

Weirdest beer I've ever had, and stranger still it tasted exactly as advertised, like a maple-frosted donut with bacon.

**Doombear** · 2012-03-23 14:25

That is one hell of a beer. It sells out so quickly here (Portland, where the fine Voodoo Donut shops are) but I think 1 or two bottles is usually good for a while. Bacon beer is just... something.

Even better is to have the actual Maple Bacon Donut from Voodoo along with it =)

**aru** · 2012-04-04 11:40

On another forum someone linked a podcast from Basic Brewing where they talk about getting the most out of Mr. Beer kits. In the beginning they talk a bit about pumpkin ales so if you aren't interested in that just skip ahead to around 11 minutes. Might prove helpful to Vandole or anyone else that is either doing or looking into doing a Mr. Beer brew.

**Flarega** · 2012-05-25 00:14

I'm drinking this as I type... I absolutely hate it. Definitely the worst IPA I have ever had.

Celeste · 2012-05-27 08:18

I know this is newb shit up in here, but for a quick good tasting beer, Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy is delicious.

**Viq** · 2012-05-27 14:43

Fluffy White Rabbits by Pretty Things Brewery

http://www.prettythingsbeertoday.com...te-rabbits.png

**Viq** · 2012-08-26 01:52

I guess bump and double post like a fucking boss.

Picked up a 4-pack of this shit and split it with an old roommate. For dudes that are into Belgian trippels, this shit is pretty good:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FjYWOEnfFO...0/cerberus.jpg

EDIT: Not gonna lie. I bought it because it's fucking Cerberus. Also, I like Belgian beer, so it seemed like a match made in heaven.

**Doombear** · 2012-10-17 18:25

Winter Brews are starting to trickle out right about now, anyone have any worth mention?

Excited that my local bottle shop just got in some Hopworks Abominable Ale (and the Brewery is like... 5 minutes away). Speaking of Hopworks, also been meaning to try me some Ace of Spades.

I have to say though that my current favorite has to be a Double IPA from Boneyard, Hop Venom. Great great great Double IPA. Very interesting reading that the Boneyard Brewmaster was inspired to create that one by Firestone Walker's double. Both great, but Hop Venom is much better imo.

Thread: Beer! Glorious Beer Thread!

Thread Tools

Similar Threads

Los Angelinos: Where to get a beer near the LA Convention Center?

Home Brewing Beer.

Nintendo Wii "Beer Pong" game causes stir

Happy Fucking Get Me a Green Beer day!

Threat down! Canadian Beer Drinkers

Formula for beer goggles is discovered

If this doesn't break your beer goggles, nothing will...

Same Boy from the funny beer sale!

Latest Threads

Up & Coming Threads

Hottest Threads