biraistanbul
New Member
Hi,
I'm new to this forum and pretty new to homebrewing as well. I just made a move from beer-rich Wisconsin to Istanbul, Turkey, and the local beer available (Efes) just isn't cutting it for me. I know I can brew something better at home. I've only brewed twice before, once from a kit, and once from a recipe with malt extract and a whole home-brewing store's resources at hand.
As you can imagine, home-brewing in Turkey hasn't quite taken off yet, so I'll be doing everything from scratch -- this will be my first all-grain beer. I know I can't get malt extract, and I'm searching for hops. Right now, I'm just trying to track down the needed ingredients. This is going to be very much a DIY beer, and I'd like your help.
I know I can get barley (arpa) here, but I don't know if it's 2-row or 6-row. For germination, is it all right if I just crack the grains with a rolling pin at home, or will I need to find someone with access to some sort of grinder instead?
I'm also looking for hops (şerbetçi otu). So far, I've only found dried hops at a couple spice stores. The ones I've found are brown, very dry, and fragile. They still have some aroma, but nothing compared to the pellets I've seen before. How fresh do hops need to be? I also, of course, have no idea what sort of hops they are.
Assuming I only have access to one unidentified type of barley and one unidentified type of hops, how can I make a good beer? Any tips for recipes?
My other thought was trying to get some barley, hops, or malt extract imported from other, more home-brewing friendly, European countries (maybe Germany, Austria, or Slovenia?). Does anyone have any recommendations for companies to contact or websites to visit for international shipping?
Thanks for your help; this is going to be an interesting process for me.
I'm new to this forum and pretty new to homebrewing as well. I just made a move from beer-rich Wisconsin to Istanbul, Turkey, and the local beer available (Efes) just isn't cutting it for me. I know I can brew something better at home. I've only brewed twice before, once from a kit, and once from a recipe with malt extract and a whole home-brewing store's resources at hand.
As you can imagine, home-brewing in Turkey hasn't quite taken off yet, so I'll be doing everything from scratch -- this will be my first all-grain beer. I know I can't get malt extract, and I'm searching for hops. Right now, I'm just trying to track down the needed ingredients. This is going to be very much a DIY beer, and I'd like your help.
I know I can get barley (arpa) here, but I don't know if it's 2-row or 6-row. For germination, is it all right if I just crack the grains with a rolling pin at home, or will I need to find someone with access to some sort of grinder instead?
I'm also looking for hops (şerbetçi otu). So far, I've only found dried hops at a couple spice stores. The ones I've found are brown, very dry, and fragile. They still have some aroma, but nothing compared to the pellets I've seen before. How fresh do hops need to be? I also, of course, have no idea what sort of hops they are.
Assuming I only have access to one unidentified type of barley and one unidentified type of hops, how can I make a good beer? Any tips for recipes?
My other thought was trying to get some barley, hops, or malt extract imported from other, more home-brewing friendly, European countries (maybe Germany, Austria, or Slovenia?). Does anyone have any recommendations for companies to contact or websites to visit for international shipping?
Thanks for your help; this is going to be an interesting process for me.