swmbo requires obedience!!

hello all

So long story short, swmbo got me a brew kit for christmas. Since i've gotten the fever she has concluded that the house will have a max 10 gallon brew limit. However, all is not lost i have an ace in the pocket she who controls swmbo (swcswmbo) aka mother in law enjoys beer, particularly wheat beer, and she cant wait to taste some of my home brew.

So the next brew is a coopers extract wheat beer. This way i can put pressure on swmbo to allow me to brew more than 10 gallons. The directions indicate that i need 500g of dry malt extract, and 300g of dex so almost 2lbs worth off fermentables. Instead of of using 300g of dex can i substitute the rest of the dry malt extract? being a n00b i have no idea what will this do to the taste and aroma? Good or Bad?
sorry for the long post, but brewing is in jeopardy

tia

I would go with the DME only. I'm not a fan of dumping sugar in brews unless the style calls for it.

You need to get you wife involved with brewing so she will push you into brewing more often like I do with my hubby.

Does the wife like cookies or bread?

cut off swmbo.... I mean on the beer of course untill swmbo comes around.

Dude, your man card is hereby revoked.

Well she likes cookies however she is doing this diet thing! She really doesnt like beer, and i dont really know who she could get involved.

Make cookies from spent grains. You can make them a pretty healthy snack if you do it right

McKBrew said:

Dude, your man card is hereby revoked.

Click to expand...

I checked profile, I do that now that I found yoop does not have a set. You might want to check too.

mckbrew dont get me wrong there are other ways around the ten gallon rule. But i would rather not go down that road.

I don't see any problem here...the way I see it is you can have 10 gallons bottled or kegged beer on-hand/drink ready, right?

I heard nothing about having a mixture of 15 primaries and carboys in the pipeline ready for bottling/kegging at any time after one of the kegs go dry...:rockin:

damn thats a great point. Thanks !!!

slomo said:

damn thats a great point. Thanks !!!

Click to expand...

No problem, anything to help. :rockin:

Just don't contact me after the divorce papers are served...I don't know you...hehe!!

How about taking this attitude..."Yes dear, there's only ten gallons (in a mumble) that you know of!" Works for me.

slomo said:

Well she likes cookies however she is doing this diet thing! She really doesnt like beer, and i dont really know who she could get involved.

Click to expand...

Mead, wine, cider. Use them to justify further beer forays!

It's so much easier in Canada! You simply point out how the beer you make is costing around 1/4 the price of store-bought beer and she quickly concedes!

It also seems to help when you make sure to brew a beer or two that she'll enjoy (which is why I'm also making wine )

To the question of the beer itself: I brewed a Cooper's wheat a while back, using their suppied sugars, and kind of wish I hadn't. That batch had a kind of "hollow" taste to it. I don't have the vocabulary to really describe it, but it was more watery than it had a right to be. Or I screwed something else up - who knows?

Anyway, I say use the malt. That's what God made it for.

Isn't anyone here a HWMBO?

nakros said:

It's so much easier in Canada! You simply point out how the beer you make is costing around 1/4 the price of store-bought beer and she quickly concedes!

It also seems to help when you make sure to brew a beer or two that she'll enjoy (which is why I'm also making wine )

Click to expand...

Yeah, but that only works until wifey adds up all the money you spent on coolers, and fittings, and pots, and pumps, and carboys, and sanitizers, and all the other things that make brewing an expensive hobby. I always remind myself that my last AG batch cost less to make than a six-pack of good craft beer, but that's just to make me feel better for obsessively spending $$$ on the next, greatest piece of brewing equipment that I am certain is going to finally equip me the perfect batch of beer!

If you are in to homebrewing to save money, prepare for fail. :cross:

My swmbo doesnt like beer, so whenever I hear a complaint about my brew habits I throw a wine bottle at her and tell her to make me a pie. No seriously, get you a nice man cave, mine consists of my closet, all my ale pales are tucked away behind my hang up cloths. Therefore, swmbo never sees whats on deck. As far as shes concerned I only have 5 gal. going right now, when its actually 15. I guess thats what she gets for leaving me alone for a weekend Some men doe strip clubs, some men brew beer :rockin:

FlyGuy said:

If you are in to homebrewing to save money, prepare for fail. :cross:

Click to expand...

I second that motion... It gets especially expensive when you factor in the fact that your pipeline is incomplete and you are forced to spend close to $40 in beer just to get you through the weekend. (And thats drinking 1-2 beers a night) Makes me cry at the fact that I can brew close to 10 gallons at that cost.
-Me

I don't ever have to justify any purchases I make to my wife.

Of course, we're older and don't go overboard spending on our hobbies. Most of my larger purchases are between $300-400 every 6-9 months or so.

I guess it's easier for me just to not have one

Carboys take up the same amount of space whether they're full or not. Get some covers for em and there you go!


<--- is an enabler.

homebrewer_99 said:

I don't ever have to justify any purchases I make to my wife.

Click to expand...

Agreed. My solution to all of these sort of problems: Just get drunk and beat her. (I keed, I keed)

Seriously though, try to get her involved in your hobby. There are several SWMBO-targetted recipies around here. SWMBO Slayer, EdWort's Haus Pale, even EdWort's Apfelwine, which is one of the most simple recipes you'll ever brew. If she's not down with any of these, she's not going to support your brewing hobby. Personally, my wife hates the fact that I brew, and she won't drink anything I come up with. I don't let it bother me since I'm currently the sole source of income in our household, but everyone's situation is different.

Just man up. Stop being a

well technically its not beer until its completely fermented, so you could have 10 gallons of beer and 10 gallons of fermenting wort.

McKBrew said:

Dude, your man card is hereby revoked.

Click to expand...

It's funny how, more often than not, the guys talking smack about 'man-cards' are the single guys.......no women in sight anywhere!

Does that man-card taste a little like tv dinner and twin bed? :cross: