HomeBrewers

[Anonymous No.15286]

DIY or diers, what's in your carboy?
I've got a single hop Special Bitters single hop Christmas ale for the company christmas party.
Hopefully the Chinook hops pineyness will go well with the ginger clove and cinnamon I added during the last 15 minutes of the boil.

[Anonymous No.15317]

I have 6 gallons of traditional mead going that should be done just before the new year. It's my first homebrew so I just hope that it doesn't go bad, although if it tasted good I would drink and be merry on into the night.

[Anonymous No.15321]

nothing in my big carboy. :(

I've got a gallon of spiced apfelwien ready to bottle though. Let a buddy of mine try it and he keeps talking about it so I reckon it's good.

[Anonymous No.15325]

>>15317
get ready to wait until 2013 for it to be worth drinking.

[Anonymous No.15336]

>>15317
mead gets better the longer you leave it bottled, so don't be surprised if it tastes like shit if you don't wait.

[Anonymous No.15351]

I'm making some booze from tamarind, mango and agave. Hopefully they'll be ready in mid november.

[Anonymous No.15398]

Anyone got any instructions for making vodka ?

[Anonymous No.15404]

I'm gonna be making an English ale this friday, and have been drawing up plans for a barely wine. Any tips?

[Anonymous No.15415]

>>15398
Infact, what's the easiest or cheapest thing to brew at home ?
I've not got much space and a limited budget, but I'd love to try brewing something.

[Anonymous No.15422]

>>15415
buy a jug of apple juice and a packet of baker's yeast. (non auto rising), make sure the juice doesn't have preservatives.
drink a glass of the juice, and fill up the space with sugar.
add yeast, wait a month, drink.

[Anonymous No.15427]

have cran-apple and peach wine brewing right now, the peach tastes like shit so i plan on distilling it down into moonshine.

[Anonymous No.15447]

>>15422
any reccomened temperature to keep it at ?

I've got a wardrobe I was thinking of keeping it in, but it gets kind of warm in there because the heating pipes run through the back of it.

[<=\=\}¦{¦}:o:o¿ No.15460]

Is that a bong hookah thing wtf

[Anonymous No.15469]

>>15447
baker's yeast does best at ale temps, 72-74 F.

also when you're going to bottle it, pull the jug out and let it sit for a day in the spot you're going to bottle at. The bread yeast doesn't like to flocculate and gets stirred up really easily.

[Anonymous No.15467]

>>15447
Not sure of bakers yeast but typical cider yeast works at optimum levels at a Temperature range of: 60-75 F

[Anonymous No.15476]

[smib No.15503]

>>15447
Slower fermentation can limit esters and off-flavors. Wiki says 40 to 60 degrees F but it'll depend on the yeast you're using. Too cold and some yeast will go dormant. You definitely don't want it to be any warmer than about 65 to 70 where you're fermenting.

[Chaste Boy !Vo5/nO.KeY No.15533]

>>15503
that really depends on the yeast. Most yeasts that your regular joe is using (ale) aren't going to do well at 40-60. That's for lagers.

[Anonymous No.15557]

>>15422
>>15503
>>15469
>>15467

OK so let me get this straight. I need :
Apple juice (no preservatives)
Bakers yeast
Sugar
Air tight jar to put it in
Around 60F
Leave it for a month.

Anything else ?

[Anonymous No.15574]

Thinking about making an oatmeal stout next. I was going for a pumpkin porter on my last beer and it ended up tasting like Guinness, oddly enough. I think it may have been the Irish moss I used.

[Anonymous No.15595]

>>15557
not an airtight jar. My mistake, I didn't explain.

You need some sort or airlock, the yeast produce CO2 when they make alcohol and you need something that lets the CO2 out without letting oxygen and other pathogens in. You can by a simple airlock for two or three bucks at a homebrew shop or you can just take a balloon and poke a few pinholes in it.

You're just making sure nothing nasty gets it. If you left it airtight it would probably explode.

[Anonymous No.15601]

>>15574
>Irish Moss
>Guinness
your joking right?

[smib No.15615]

>>15557
>Apple juice (no preservatives)
Try to avoid artificial coloring and artificial sweeteners as well. The coloring is sometimes bad for the yeast and the sweeteners don't always ferment.

>Bakers yeast
Or look online for proper yeast. A 5 gram packet of Montrachet costs about $0.50 USD.

>Sugar
There isn't a lot of sugar in apple juice to begin with so, while it isn't required, adding some will give the yeast more sugar to eat which means they will produce more alcohol.

>Air tight jar to put it in
Only if you want it to explode. You'll need an airlock that will let the CO2 out but not let outside air in. An easy option might be to get some tubing that fits snugly into the mouth of your jar/jug. Clean the tubing and run it from the top of your jug/jar into a bucket of water. Pic related. Blowoff tube style airlock. If the krausen (the foam the yeast produces) gets too high it gets blown out through the tube into the bucket but air and nasties can't get up the tube and into you brew.

>Around 60F
Should be fine.

>Leave it for a month
Roughly, yes. When it stops blowing CO2 out the tube and bubbling away fermentation should have stopped. At this point you can bottle it. You want to contain the finished product in something airtight with minimal headspace (oxygen would spoil the finished product).

[Anonymous No.15628]

>>15601
It's the first time I used it, and it's got this absolutely distinct Guinness taste. I don't know if they use Irish Moss or not. Get off my nuts.

[Anonymous No.15632]

>>15615
>>15574
Thanks guys. I just realised that I actually have access to a lot of fresh apples (grandfather grows them), but thats a project for next harvest.

Just one question. Seeing as I will be doing this is my room, will smell be an issue ? I'm not the only person living in the house and I don't want to upset people with any unpleasant /overpowering smells.

[Anonymous No.15653]

>>15422
>>15415
for you my fines sirs

[Anonymous No.15654]

>>15628
Sorry, it's just that Irish moss doesn't change anything flavor wise in a beer, it's only a fining agent.
I'm sorry 4chan makes me see trolls everywhere.

[Anonymous No.15664]

>>15447
don't use bakers yeast. Brewers yeast will completely change the flavor and is less than $2 for 5 gallons worth

[smib No.15683]

>>15628
Irish moss is a type of seaweed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chondrus_crispus

As wiki will tell you it has uses from Ice Cream to a Fining agent for wine/beer (obviously) to gelatin-like desserts. It shouldn't greatly affect the flavor of your brew in any way but it does aid in the brew's final clarity.

>>15632
Pic maybe related? Nah, you conduct yourself well enough that if you're under age you'll hopefully not do anything stupid whilst inebriated and just truly enjoy the fruits of your labor. And no, your flatmates shouldn't smell it. Fermentation at too high temperatures can often produce esters which will smell fruity but the smell will be faint and won't be in a manner that indicates alcohol production except maybe to those who have also brewed for themselves.

[Anonymous No.15685]

>>15653
is this legit?

[smib No.15687]

>>15664
Troll. Brewers Yeast is used as a nutritional supplement and is not the same thing as yeast intended for Baking or Brewing.

[smib No.15695]

>>15685
If you'd read the thread you'd know the answer to this. And also to not use napkins which aren't a good barrier for preventing oxidation.

[<=\=\}¦{¦}:o:o¿ No.15714]

>>15632
YEAH KID YOU'RE PARENTS WON'T SMELL IT DON'T WORRY.

[Anonymous No.15729]

>>15714
Even if I was underage, it's not getting caught that would be a problem , it's just I don't want my house reeking of cider.

Thanks for the info guys, I'll start it up this week I think.

[Anonymous No.15748]

Hey does this happen to work well with pomegranate juice? I am in fucking love with the stuff. Sorry if stupid question.

[Anonymous No.15759]

>>15748
too much acid! it'll kill the yeast.

[Anonymous No.15765]

>>15653

Does bakers yeast seriously survive up to 14%?

[Anonymous No.15771]

>>15759
:(

okay...

[Anonymous No.15815]

>>15615

Just to add on to what this guy said, a nice seasonal variant on using apple juice is to use apple cider. Cider works really well and tastes good if you're not trying to make something too alcoholic. You can get cider that's been UV treated to kill germs (including wild yeasts) but not pasteurized, and most cider doesn't have much artificial gunk in it.

I'm using cider, honey, and Red Star champagne yeast right now to make an apple-flavored mead.

[Anonymous No.15840]

I've got 5 gallons of wheat raspberry ale that should have been bottled last week but I've been too busy.

Also, yes I realize that a fruit wheat beer is way out of season by now but I just don't give a fuck; I'm tired of pumpkin ales already.

[Anonymous No.15858]

>>15840
How do you keep foreign yeasts from the fruit from taking over fermentation, or do you just go lambic style?

[Anonymous No.15865]

>>15765

Yes, bakers yeast can survive that high. However, the results usually taste like trying to drink a loaf of bread...

[Anonymous No.15873]

nothing right now

living in a college dorm

made some cranberry wine this summer

[Anonymous No.15875]

OP here,
My bosses agreed to let me set up a 3 gallon keg of homebrew in the office refrigerator, using a picnic tap and a packet c02 charger.
I'm a luck SOB!

[Anonymous No.15882]

>>15858

For this batch, I'm just adding some raspberry extract to the whole batch during bottling. However, last year I did do a blueberry beer where I used blueberry mash as a kind of specialty grain. It worked out relatively well, the blueberry was very subtle though and I was having some clarity issues, especially considering that it was another wheat ale.

But latent yeast in the blueberry wasn't a problem as it was all sterile by the time I pitched my yeast. Also, I've found that just using a good liquid yeast starter can work wonders for out competing other microbes and gives you a little more wiggle room in what you add to your brew.

[Anonymous No.15953]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL5x9t_r7BM&feature=channel_video_title

KILL A HOMEBREWER, MALT LIQUOR

[Anonymous No.16075]

Hokay, here's the slavic classic, basically the fastest way to get a semi-homemade vodka, caramel flavoured: first you need to get lots of neutral spirit (illegal 'bathtub' stuff is adequate- I haven't lost my vision yet. Just make sure that you're not buying the tainted technical/industrial stuff) then you follow this rule: a liter of water and 4 spoons of sugar for every liter of spirit. Boil the water, caramelize the sugar, mix it with water, wait for it to cool down, add spirit, mix. Wait 12h, have fun. Cheap, simple, goes down wonderfully, minimal hangover.

[Anonymous No.16270]

Has anyone here ever distilled hard liquor? I know there are some places where it's legal.

[Anonymous No.16352]

>>16270
I have. It's not strictly legal here, but I did it small scale so there wasn't a whole lot to worry about. It's more of a pain in the ass than anything else, to be honest.