Any homebrewers in the Kaiserslautern/Ramstein, Germany area?

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Hey bud.. don't give up on bottles :)

Kegging has advantages.. but, you have to have a place to put the keg.. If you have a space.. great. You've seen my dorm refrigerator.. it'll hold two kegs.. or one keg and a CO2 bottle.. or creatively, 2 kegs and a small 5# cylinder.

I have put out a feeler to a supplier I work with to see if he has adaptors.. I doubt it.. but, ya never know.

I can think of a couple of options.. get an exchange from a gas company.. there must be a number of them, at least in the larger towns. You pay for the gas and put a deposit on the tank.. They simply exchange it when you need a new one. A 5# tank will last for about 4-5 kegs as I remember. You'll still need a regulator and hoses.. a party tap suffices until you want to convert the fridge to a kegerator. Or if you can find a dorm refrigerator.. there are many DIY's to convert it to a kegerator.. As you say EZPZ.

The other thought is to purchase a US type tank and have an European valve put in it.. However, that may/may not be an issue if the threads are metric.
Another is to look on Craigslist. I see them often here... especially the larger 20#. I've had mine forever and still has gas... or simply buy a used one at the gas place and sell it when you are ready to move. Should be easy, especially if you have a base newspaper.

I'll let you know what I find out. I'd ask around the base where they do welding, etc.. to see where they get their gasses.. and go there.

EDIT: In the meantime, I found THIS.. they are in England and use the same nuts, as I understand it, as the rest of Europe.. This may be by far, the simplest answer... All you'd have to do when you got home is to change the nut.
 
I am glad to see this thread is helping out guys in Germany! I was supposed to PCS there, but BIG ARMY thought differnet, guess putting the qualified guy in the position is a bit over rated......

So I am now in Kandahar by way of FT Carson.

If any of you get together and make a raod trip, there is great home brew store in Beverloo Belgium, should be about 3-4 hours I think from KMCC.

Brouwland

Tim
 
My dad was posted to Ramstein from 1983 to 1988. I seriously enjoyed living there. I recommend discovering Dortmonders & Kolsches.

When I pub crawled, I used to drink a lot of BBK and Bitberger-EX.

BTW, I was 14 when I was pub crawling there. So if you have kids, be on the lookout for that sort of behavior.
 
Well I'm here now. Finally found a place and set to be moving in on the 9th.

Looking for some equipment I couldn't take with me now. So where can I find a CO2 bottle? I guess I will buy a metric regulator from the online homebrew but they only have .5 kilo tanks and that just seems to small. I had a 20lb tank back in the states. What are my options here?
 
Well I'm here now. Finally found a place and set to be moving in on the 9th.

Looking for some equipment I couldn't take with me now. So where can I find a CO2 bottle? I guess I will buy a metric regulator from the online homebrew but they only have .5 kilo tanks and that just seems to small. I had a 20lb tank back in the states. What are my options here?

CO2 tanks are the thing that has eluded me so far also. I planned to solve that issue when I got back next month. I did bring my 5 pound and 20 pound tanks with me, just not sure what to do about getting them filled or if they can be and I need to buy new ones or where to get them from.

I also want to find out where to get Weyermann malt in bulk, I assume the maltster will sell direct to the public as Best Malz does.

Broke down and ordered some 220 march pumps through morebeer despite the ridiculous shippng prices, apparently those guys havent heard of flat rate boxes. At least they ship to APO though. I hope to be up and brewing again by the middle of May. Having a bit of tough time deciphering the town water report too but that shouldnt cause too much trouble.
 
The water thing is another obstacle for me to. The water seems pretty poor here. I am debating the callagon water jugs at the shoppet or just use the local water. A all grain batch is going to run through 8g at least of water so using the jug water would get expensive quick.

I don't believe your 20&5lb tanks would be able to be filled here, everything is metric but I could be wrong.

There is a place that sells sacks of grain https://www.hobbybrauerversand.de/ it's under Malz and then sackware. Not sure what shipping would be, if you figure out how to get bulk malt from wyerman I would be in for a 5 sacks or so
 
I don't believe your 20&5lb tanks would be able to be filled here, everything is metric but I could be wrong.

Check the link in the note I sent my son in the above post #41. The nuts on the regulators can possibly be changed. I also found that there is a Linde gas supplier in the general area that might be able to help with nuts.

Should be a simple adaptation.
 
CO2 tanks are the thing that has eluded me so far also. I planned to solve that issue when I got back next month. I did bring my 5 pound and 20 pound tanks with me, just not sure what to do about getting them filled or if they can be and I need to buy new ones or where to get them from.

I also want to find out where to get Weyermann malt in bulk, I assume the maltster will sell direct to the public as Best Malz does.

Broke down and ordered some 220 march pumps through morebeer despite the ridiculous shippng prices, apparently those guys havent heard of flat rate boxes. At least they ship to APO though. I hope to be up and brewing again by the middle of May. Having a bit of tough time deciphering the town water report too but that shouldnt cause too much trouble.

As far as gas goes, I used PrimGaz in Belgium, they could work with american tanks.

Next time you need pumps, go with Chuggeer, they ship to APO, just have to call them, toplace the order. I could not have asked for more from a company!!!

I would see if you can get out out your March order....

TIm
 
As far as gas goes, I used PrimGaz in Belgium, they could work with american tanks.

Next time you need pumps, go with Chuggeer, they ship to APO, just have to call them, toplace the order. I could not have asked for more from a company!!!

I would see if you can get out out your March order....

TIm

you drove all the way to belguim to fill your tanks? Or is there a place close by that will fill tanks?
 
I was living in Belgium, not sure if they have PrimeGaz there or not...sorry for the confusion.

I was suposed to PCS form Belgium to K-Town, and that fell through so I got stuck in Fort Carson...

Tim
 
Oh, ok, that makes sense now. Sorry about your luck on Kandahar, been there done that a bunch of times. My friends are all there (I would be to but I got my orders), hope all the rain stops soon.
 
As far as gas goes, I used PrimGaz in Belgium, they could work with american tanks.

Next time you need pumps, go with Chuggeer, they ship to APO, just have to call them, toplace the order. I could not have asked for more from a company!!!

I would see if you can get out out your March order....

TIm

I couldn't find a 220V pump on the chugger website
 
My wife is German so figuring out gas and a bulk malt buy should be relatively simple when I get back (will be easier to get her to make the calls when I am there to pester her about it :) ) should be less than a month from now. Ill let you know what I figure out.

Chris
 
Anyone up to brew this weekend? I got all my TMO stuff in so I am going to embark on my maiden Germany brew day. Once my bulk grain order from hops and more show up I am going to do a double or triple brew day.

Can't wait to get back to brewing!
 
Anyone up to brew this weekend? I got all my TMO stuff in so I am going to embark on my maiden Germany brew day. Once my bulk grain order from hops and more show up I am going to do a double or triple brew day.

Can't wait to get back to brewing!

I like that idea.
How bad did Hops and more hit you on shipping? What kind of grain prices were you able to get? If you don't mind sharing
 
The shipping was €6. The sack I ordered was €26, I got a couple other varieties also they were €1,50 a kelo I think.
I think it converted to $65-70 for one sack of two row (55lbs), 8 lbs wheat, 12lbs Munich, 10lbs pils.
 
The shipping was €6. The sack I ordered was €26, I got a couple other varieties also they were €1,50 a kelo I think.
I think it converted to $65-70 for one sack of two row (55lbs), 8 lbs wheat, 12lbs Munich, 10lbs pils.

Only 6 Euro for the shipping? Wow, I may just say screw it and order from them then, I didn't realize shipping was so cheap.
 
check out Bestmalz. they are in heidelberg, cant remember where their other 2 plants are but I think they are a lil closer to you than heidelberg. Was just looking at their website today. they will ship to you(min order 100kg) or you can direct pickup.
 
check out Bestmalz. they are in heidelberg, cant remember where their other 2 plants are but I think they are a lil closer to you than heidelberg. Was just looking at their website today. they will ship to you(min order 100kg) or you can direct pickup.

Good looking out, It seems like the big warehouse is in Wallertheim which is about a 5 minute drive from my house in Worrstadt. Ill definitely call them first. I was thinking of making the 3 hour drive to Bamberg to pick grain up...and maybe for a rauchbier or 10. Best Malz Rauch malt is better anyway though in my opinion :) Never used their 2 row before but I always used their wheat and pils malt in the states too.
 
Hey all, I will be moving to baumholder in june and will be looking for all kinds of information about brewing out there. Hopefully theres another hombrewer or two near there to hang out with.
 
Willkommen!

I'm about 30 minutes from there, I work at the military hospital in Landstuhl. It's a beautiful area, and drinking is part of the culture in these parts so there are a lot of small breweries to hang out in. Not much in the way of big cities, though Trier gets its share of punk shows if your user name is any indication as to what kind of music you like. And if you like beer fests, there's a huge one in Stuttgart in September that rivals Oktoberfest. Shoot me a PM when you get here and we'll grab a pint!
 
Right on I will hit you up when I get all settled out there. And yep I was looking forward to catching some shows out there too. I here there is a pretty big rockabilly/physcobilly scene there.
 
Good looking out, It seems like the big warehouse is in Wallertheim which is about a 5 minute drive from my house in Worrstadt. Ill definitely call them first. I was thinking of making the 3 hour drive to Bamberg to pick grain up...and maybe for a rauchbier or 10. Best Malz Rauch malt is better anyway though in my opinion :) Never used their 2 row before but I always used their wheat and pils malt in the states too.

I have used their pils malt several times(three 55lb sacks worth) in the states, I was very happy with it.
 
Glad i found this thread. I live in the Kaiserslautern/Ramstein area. I do all grain 5 gal batches here. I saw several posts about CO2 bottles. The best thing is to buy a European tank and regulator ( you can swap regulator nuts to use your US regulator). There is a bar supply store in K-town, and a welding supply shop that will refill bottles as long as they are European. I went through the US/metric thing a few months back. I just completed my keeper this weekend and have an IPA and a Belgian in it ready to go. I have an Irish red in secondary and about to do some cider soon. It would be nice for us in the K-town area to get together and brew sometime!
 
Socal, can you tell me where this bar supply store is? Do they sell co2 bottles there also?

I seen a couple places online here that sell co2 bottles I need to get one of them soon. I still don't have a fridge/kegorator yet so I am not in to big of a hurry though.
 
socalboarder said:
Glad i found this thread. I live in the Kaiserslautern/Ramstein area. I do all grain 5 gal batches here. I saw several posts about CO2 bottles. The best thing is to buy a European tank and regulator ( you can swap regulator nuts to use your US regulator). There is a bar supply store in K-town, and a welding supply shop that will refill bottles as long as they are European. I went through the US/metric thing a few months back. I just completed my keeper this weekend and have an IPA and a Belgian in it ready to go. I have an Irish red in secondary and about to do some cider soon. It would be nice for us in the K-town area to get together and brew sometime!

I would like to get together for a brew day. I have a few empty fermenters so maybe soon we should brew.
 
I will be on the next plane burning from Afghan back to Germany, hopefully tonight. I am looking to try and get my first Germany brew going maybe the 11th of May, although that is still very much up in the air. Ill start posting my brew days, probably will typically be Saturdays and anyone is welcome to come by and throw back some brew and laugh at me when I boil over. Worrstadt is about a half hour from Ramstein and I guess just a little closer from K'town. I will likely be brewing every couple weeks for a few months to get the pipeline going again (of course need to get an Oktoberfest going now my annual Wilkestoberfest party)
 
Dirty25, the store is called Walter Busch & Söhne. they sell CO2 bottles there as I bought my 3kg bottle from them. The bottle was about 100 euros and came filled.
 
Just got my dates and it looks like I will be in baumholder on the 3 or 4th of june and looks like I will be with out the OL for a little while so I will be looking for someone to hang out and drink with.
 
socalboarder said:
Dirty25, the store is called Walter Busch & Söhne. they sell CO2 bottles there as I bought my 3kg bottle from them. The bottle was about 100 euros and came filled.

Thanks ill check them out.
 
Im back in Germany finally and just ordered 10 pounds of hops from Nikobrew. Gonna make a best malz grain run next week and get some yeast from hopfen und mehr. Need to figure out temp control for the fermenator, may just do a couple ales first since we have a room holding right about 62 degrees right now it will be perfect. I need to get the Oktoberfest going soon though. Anyone know anyone with a full sized fridge big enough to hold a 14.5 gallon conical for sale?
 
Made a run to Best Malz in Wallertheim today...Finally almost ready to brew. Process was easy, just a phone call to arrange pickup, has to be M-F between 0700-1430 though.

image-3802549435.jpg
 
Made a run to Best Malz in Wallertheim today...Finally almost ready to brew. Process was easy, just a phone call to arrange pickup, has to be M-F between 0700-1430 though.

Nice haul! I need some more then the normal 50lbs sack. My last sack went quick. How far is best malts from Ktown?
 
Nice haul! I need some more then the normal 50lbs sack. My last sack went quick. How far is best malts from Ktown?

Its about 35 minutes, right near where A63 and A61 split. They also sell at Heidelberg I think, not sure how far that is from K-town. Prices are excellent, about 24 dollars a bag for base malts.
 
whats going on everyone. im ilan and aside from making mead im new to brewing Beer. I have a basic extract setup. I haven't delve into the all grain brewing yet or have the equipment for all grain setup... im currently deployed and will return to K-town beginning of August.. Looking forward to brew and be part of the KMCC brewing community.
 
whats going on everyone. im ilan and aside from making mead im new to brewing Beer. I have a basic extract setup. I haven't delve into the all grain brewing yet or have the equipment for all grain setup... im currently deployed and will return to K-town beginning of August.. Looking forward to brew and be part of the KMCC brewing community.

Hi. Glade you found this place. Whenever you get back, let me know when you want to brew.


How many of us is there here from the Ktown area? We should make a unofficial club up and get a Facebook group going. Anyone think that would be a good idea?
 
Sounds good. From the looks of this thread I think there should probably be enough of us to start a small club. I'll have to send you a message once i get back to start brewing.
 
Living in Wörrstadt is probably too far for you Ramstein/k-town guys to make the trip up to drink but I plan on starting Picnic table Fridays to empty my kegs as soon as the pipeline gets going. I brewed Monday and have 10 gallons of falconers flight IPA going. Still need to work out a kegerator and co2 pretty quick but will brew again as soon as the fermenator is empty. I'll start posting brew days so you guys can hang out, brew, or drink
 
And if y'all organize a little club, I'd happily come down and hang out once a month or so, bring beers to share, and of course drink all of your beers
 
Everyone join the group Ramstein fermenters on Facebook lets orginize some brew days or talk about beer or sell equipment...pretty much help each other out in the hobby of brewing
 
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