Lets send CRAIGTUBE some beer!

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HalfPint

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I've been subscribed to this guy for years and today I got an e-mail with a subscription update. He made a video where some people had sent him some gifts and he was basically giving them some recognition. I thought one of the gifts in particular was awesome. Someone sent him a PM kit from morebeer.com which I hope will slowly convert him into at minimum a PM brewer.

Anyways, I want to send him some of my best AG brews I've saved over the past year. I think I may send him a sixer with 6 different styles. I've got a porter, cream ale, APA, IPA, Stout, Brown, and a wheat that I've had in my beer closet for months now. All are good AG beers made by me.

I'm going to send him a message and hopefully he will send me his address.

Lets send this guy some beer,
J


P.S.
Here's the video I'm speaking of
 
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Yeah, the guy really loves making those videos, and I must admit, I enjoy watching the guy. I think the real reason why he tends to lean towards extract is because he hasn't tasted a great (cheap than extract) AG brew. With that said, I'd love to see him taste my beer.
 
I watched some of his movies when I first wanted to get into homebrewing. While he may not present an array of great information, he at least showed how to make beer. It is so much easier to learn by watching someone else do it.
 
I watched some of his movies when I first wanted to get into homebrewing. While he may not present an array of great information, he at least showed how to make beer. It is so much easier to learn by watching someone else do it.

Absolutely. I'm sure tons of people have gotten into brewing because he's made it seem so easy.
 
Yeah, when I first looked on the Internet on how to make some beers, I stumbled into his videos and damn... it looked easy. That's one reason why I got into this hobby.

And he already talked about going to AG and stuff, on one of his videos. But he said the only reason he brews is because beers in Canada are way too expensive (25$ for a 24). He brews because he can save some money, and it doesn't take too much time. Some people here might need to put through their head that we're not all looking for the same thing, we brew for different reasons and we have a different amount of time & involvement to put into homebrewing. It's not like going into AG is the ultimate goal and the only way to make good beer.
 
Yeah, when I first looked on the Internet on how to make some beers, I stumbled into his videos and damn... it looked easy. That's one reason why I got into this hobby.

And he already talked about going to AG and stuff, on one of his videos. But he said the only reason he brews is because beers in Canada are way too expensive (25$ for a 24). He brews because he can save some money, and it doesn't take too much time. Some people here might need to put through their head that we're not all looking for the same thing, we brew for different reasons and we have a different amount of time & involvement to put into homebrewing. It's not like going into AG is the ultimate goal and the only way to make good beer.

I completely agree. I've seen his "argument" videos, and I know that he went into Homebrewing b/c it's more economical. With that said, and with as much as he brews, AG is the most economical choice.
 
I completely agree. I've seen his "argument" videos, and I know that he went into Homebrewing b/c it's more economical. With that said, and with as much as he brews, AG is the most economical choice.

AG is more economical if you consider your time free.....

Not everyone wants to spend 4-5 hours brewing a batch or to have the extra equipment and investments into the hobby.
 
Yeah, the guy really loves making those videos, and I must admit, I enjoy watching the guy. I think the real reason why he tends to lean towards extract is because he hasn't tasted a great (cheap than extract) AG brew. With that said, I'd love to see him taste my beer.

He's not a beer tasting person. He told me himself that he's very 'meh' when it comes to beer. He litterally can't tell the difference between good and bad that's why it's almost a waste trying to give him craft.

He likes to drink, but I don't think he's interested in or would recognize a good craft.
 
i like watching his videos but i think sending him anything is a waste
 
AG is more economical if you consider your time free.....

Not everyone wants to spend 4-5 hours brewing a batch or to have the extra equipment and investments into the hobby.

Agreed.

For argument sake, how much time do you think he spends making those videos?

I bet if he dropped 2 videos/video editing time a week + the time he spends brewing an extract batch, he could brew an AG batch.

Just for argument sake lol.

I completely agree that you can make great, easy, fast extract brews, and if that's what your into, more power to you.
 
Yes, but he's passionate about making videos and posting them online on YouTube. It is his hobby. It's like if I said "HalfPint. Quit homebrewing and go write some poems. I bet you came make some very good poems if you take all that time spent on homebrewing and spend it on poetry".

He just isn't a beer passionate and thus, it's understandable that he doesn't make that step to AG.

P.S. I assume you're not poem-passionated.
 
Yes, but he's passionate about making videos and posting them online on YouTube. It is his hobby. It's like if I said "HalfPint. Quit homebrewing and go write some poems. I bet you came make some very good poems if you take all that time spent on homebrewing and spend it on poetry".

He just isn't a beer passionate and thus, it's understandable that he doesn't make that step to AG.

P.S. I assume you're not poem-passionated.

Actually, I have a masters in Creative Writing.

I understand what you're saying completely. It's like telling someone to stop doing something they enjoy very much. It just doesn't make sense.


P.S.

I don't have a masters in creative writing.

J
 
I've watched several of his videos and he mentions that one of the reasons why he doesn't do all grain is because he lives far from any hbs and shipping grain is really expensive in Canada. I think at one point he said that shipping enough grain for one batch would be almost 40 bucks in shipping expense. He seems to really like his Coopers anyway though and good for him.

One thing I don't understand is that he is always making the Coopers lager but he puts a heat belt on the bucket and only lets it set for 2 weeks. He uses the yeast pack thats taped to the top of the can so I assume he's using lager yeast. I wonder what those taste like? :drunk:
 
Agreed.

For argument sake, how much time do you think he spends making those videos?

I bet if he dropped 2 videos/video editing time a week + the time he spends brewing an extract batch, he could brew an AG batch.

Just for argument sake lol.

I completely agree that you can make great, easy, fast extract brews, and if that's what your into, more power to you.

True point. Video editing does take time but he posts many different types of videos such as his musical talents. So like others have said his videos are a hobby as well. That's what I like about homebrew is that you can go as little or as deep as you want to into the hobby.

I myself love AG..... ;)
 
The thing is that some AG guy's have been mean in their comments about his methods, they really shouldn't do that. Love and peace, love and peace. Let the dude do his thing, I do AG but I still learn from him.
 
...One thing I don't understand is that he is always making the Coopers lager but he puts a heat belt on the bucket and only lets it set for 2 weeks. He uses the yeast pack thats taped to the top of the can so I assume he's using lager yeast. I wonder what those taste like? :drunk:

It is my understanding that most kit "lagers" are not really lagers or use lager yeast. They are ales that will taste similar to lager. At least this is how it was explained to me somewhere by someone...
 
It is my understanding that most kit "lagers" are not really lagers or use lager yeast. They are ales that will taste similar to lager. At least this is how it was explained to me somewhere by someone...

Yeah that is my understanding as well, the standard coopers lager has an ale yeast included. I heard that the special (European & Mexican) lagers have a yeast included that is a mix of both ale and lager, go figure!
 
I'm not so sure there's a lot of truth in brewing AG being economical. Sure, it's cheaper to buy the ingredients, but it takes a while to offset mash tuns, big kettle, patio burner, propane, whirlfloc, hell, even time.

Someone posted on here once: Saving money on beer by brewing your own is like saving money on fish by buying a boat.
 
Yeah that is my understanding as well, the standard coopers lager has an ale yeast included. I heard that the special (European & Mexican) lagers have a yeast included that is a mix of both ale and lager, go figure!

Doesn't that just make perfect sense though? You buy these kits that allow you to mix syrup with water, pour yeast in, and then bottle a couple of weeks later. It really is brewing for 1) people who don't give a crap or 2) people who don't give a crap.

It almost seems like hooch to me.

With that said, I know that there are a ton of great brewers out there who are passionate about not only the drinking, but also the brewing process and the science behind it, who started by using those kits.

I just don't quite understand the guys who stick with it.

Once again, I'm not trying to convert anyone, I just don't personally understand it.

<----ranting,
J
 
Doesn't that just make perfect sense though? You buy these kits that allow you to mix syrup with water, pour yeast in, and then bottle a couple of weeks later. It really is brewing for 1) people who don't give a crap or 2) people who don't give a crap.

It almost seems like hooch to me.

With that said, I know that there are a ton of great brewers out there who are passionate about not only the drinking, but also the brewing process and the science behind it, who started by using those kits.

I just don't quite understand the guys who stick with it.

I think there is catagory 3) People who can't give a crap, which is the catagory I fall into. At the moment I don't have the time or money (just ignore those kegs over there) to invest in more equipment. I am looking at how I can get into AG the cheapest, easiest and most cost effective (in terms of reusability when I upgrade eventually). At the moment my plan is to make a electric keggle with a 3kW element for BIAB setup, then extend this to a 2 keggle RIMS setup. You never know I might be up a running with AG by the end of the year.........hopefully!
 
I was able to go to all grain by buying some copper pipe and using an old cooler. I didn't even cut a hole in the cooler. The propane burner I borrow from my Aunt and Uncle, but even if I had to buy that, you can get one very cheap. AG is not expensive to get into. If you get mixed up in all the equipment builds then yes it gets expensive. Sometimes people seem to be more into making beer stuff than beer. Which is fine, everyone has their own reasons for being in this or other hobbies. So do not be afraid to go AG before you can build a fully automatic polished SS system.

All you really need is something to soak grain in and something to boil wort in. It may not be perfect, but it will be delicious.
 
AG is not expensive to get into.

Agreed.



I think there is catagory 3) People who can't give a crap, which is the catagory I fall into. At the moment I don't have the time or money (just ignore those kegs over there) to invest in more equipment. I am looking at how I can get into AG the cheapest, easiest and most cost effective (in terms of reusability when I upgrade eventually). At the moment my plan is to make a electric keggle with a 3kW element for BIAB setup, then extend this to a 2 keggle RIMS setup. You never know I might be up a running with AG by the end of the year.........hopefully!


I completely understand people who don't have the space to do AG batches, but I think you're thinking of a system a bit more "grand" than most of us use. I don't have some fancy RIMS system. I have a kettle, propane burner, and a cooler with a manifold inside of it. Works great and have been using it for years. I'd say total it's around a $100-$200 investment depending on which type of cooler, propane burner, and kettle you decide to go with.
 
I'm not so sure there's a lot of truth in brewing AG being economical. Sure, it's cheaper to buy the ingredients, but it takes a while to offset mash tuns, big kettle, patio burner, propane, whirlfloc, hell, even time.

Someone posted on here once: Saving money on beer by brewing your own is like saving money on fish by buying a boat.

This is an absolute myth. The only thing you need in AG that you don't need in Extract is a mash tun and a grain mill, and a mash tun that can do 5g of 1.060 can be done for under $35, and a Corona is $20.

At the $8-10 a batch it costs me, the $55 was paid back in the 2nd batch.
 
This is an absolute myth. The only thing you need in AG that you don't need in Extract is a mash tun and a grain mill, and a mash tun that can do 5g of 1.060 can be done for under $35, and a Corona is $20.

At the $8-10 a batch it costs me, the $55 was paid back in the 2nd batch.

You don't need a grain mill either, if you don't mind letting your HBS grind it (I buy online, and get good crush from them), though with a mill you can bulk-buy grain.

I think the thing to keep in mind is that not everyone wants to make "craft beer." There's nothing wrong with the Cooper's kits. Of course going PM or AG gives you more flexibility and the ability to control more variables, but if he loves the homebrew he makes with Cooper's kits, bully for him. As an AG beer geek, I have to remind myself that I brew like that as a hobby, not as an ethical imperative. For the record, I'm never going back.:mug:
 
Let's just leave Craig alone. Some of our members here have been pretty nasty and rude to him in the past, not just on here, but on his channel.

He is perfectly happy doing doing it the way he does. He's not dumb and not unaware of Ag, extract with grains, reading a hydrometer, etc. In fact some of you have pretty trollishly informed him of "the right way of doing things."

Enough already. :rolleyes: It's like every few months a bunch of noobs on here "discovers" him, and delights in this kind of stuff.

Craig is purely brewing his beer because it is cheaper to make those kits than it is to buy the quantity of beer he consumes at the LCBO's in his part of Canada. And he's not into the craft side of this hobby to do it any differently....

He simply doesn't want to work that hard. Can't you understand that?

So instead of acting like a bunch of 15 year old twits, and trolling him, or picking on him, why the heck don't you just let him brew the beer the way HE wants to, and YOU ALL Go AND DO THE SAME?

There's enough room in this amazingly great hobby for EVERYONE, no matter at what level they are at, or why they chose to do it the way they do.

He's fully content with where he's at, and amazingly has managed to keep his chin up and keep youtubing despite what some of OUR OWN MEMBERS, have done to him. Sometimes it makes me embarrased to say I'm a part of Homebrewtalk.

You know, there are enough "battles" in brewing and beer culture as it is, including trying to lose the stigma that all beer is BMC, and all drinkers of it, as well as brewers are just a bunch of drunks, and rednecks and frat boys....and Trolling a fellow brewer doesn't elevate us in most folks eyes.

We need to be good Ambassadors of Brewing and Beer Culture, and instead of expending the energy you do on picking on him, and trolling him, you could be present a positive light on the hobby.

/rant
 
Let's just leave Craig alone. Some of our members here have been pretty nasty and rude to him in the past, not just on here, but on his channel.

He is perfectly happy doing doing it the way he does. He's not dumb and not unaware of Ag, extract with grains, reading a hydrometer, etc. In fact some of you have pretty trollishly informed him of "the right way of doing things."

Enough already. :rolleyes: It's like every few months a bunch of noobs on here "discovers" him, and delights in this kind of stuff.

Craig is purely brewing his beer because it is cheaper to make those kits than it is to buy the quantity of beer he consumes at the LCBO's in his part of Canada. And he's not into the craft side of this hobby to do it any differently....

He simply doesn't want to work that hard. Can't you understand that?

So instead of acting like a bunch of 15 year old twits, and trolling him, or picking on him, why the heck don't you just let him brew the beer the way HE wants to, and YOU ALL Go AND DO THE SAME?

There's enough room in this amazingly great hobby for EVERYONE, no matter at what level they are at, or why they chose to do it the way they do.

He's fully content with where he's at, and amazingly has managed to keep his chin up and keep youtubing despite what some of OUR OWN MEMBERS, have done to him. Sometimes it makes me embarrased to say I'm a part of Homebrewtalk.

You know, there are enough "battles" in brewing and beer culture as it is, including trying to lose the stigma that all beer is BMC, and all drinkers of it, as well as brewers are just a bunch of drunks, and rednecks and frat boys....and Trolling a fellow brewer doesn't elevate us in most folks eyes.

We need to be good Ambassadors of Brewing and Beer Culture, and instead of expending the energy you do on picking on him, and trolling him, you could be present a positive light on the hobby.

/rant

True, but I'm doing no such thing Revvy. I simply wanted to send the guy some brew and the whole conversations went off on a tangent. I've actually talked to him about sending him some of my homebrew and he says that him and his wife have decided that they will not receive any homemade products due to the fact that some nasty person may try to hurt him. But he did say that if I'm ever in his neck of the woods, he would have me over and I told him the same. I think he's a real stand up guy and that he's done nothing but help spread the hobby.

To Mr. Tube,
J
 
I' I thought one of the gifts in particular was awesome. Someone sent him a PM kit from morebeer.com which I hope will slowly convert him into at minimum a PM brewer.

But this is the point, why do you feel the need to "convert" him? Who elected you the penultimate decider of what the "right way" to brew is? Or that Pm or AG is the "better" route for him.

Brewing is not his hobby, it's a means to an end for him. Making videos is his hobby, as is playing music, and DRINKING BEER. Brewing Cooper's kits, or whatever they are, works for him. He doesn't need to be preached to, he doesn't need to be converted, he doesn't need someone sending him an AG kit, after how many years of posting videos, don't you think that if he really wanted to go that route, he already would have?

He's obviously computer savvy enough to make videos and post on the internetz, I'm sure he can google "homebrewing" like all of us did, and discovered this place and "How to Brew."

He's doing what he's content with. So I think we should just let him.

I mean I know your hearts in the right place, but still that can't necessarily be said about everyone who posts in this thread.
 
But this is the point, why do you feel the need to "convert" him? Who elected you the penultimate decider of what the "right way" to brew is? Or that Pm or AG is the "better" route for him.

Brewing is not his hobby, it's a means to an end for him. Making videos is his hobby, as is playing music, and DRINKING BEER. Brewing Cooper's kits, or whatever they are, works for him. He doesn't need to be preached to, he doesn't need to be converted, he doesn't need someone sending him an AG kit, after how many years of posting videos, don't you think that if he really wanted to go that route, he already would have?

He's obviously computer savvy enough to make videos and post on the internetz, I'm sure he can google "homebrewing" like all of us did, and discovered this place and "How to Brew."

He's doing what he's content with. So I think we should just let him.

I mean I know your hearts in the right place, but still that can't necessarily be said about everyone who posts in this thread.

Well I suppose I should have explained myself there. My point is that I do know that he started brewing because commercial brews in Canada are a bit pricy. With that said, Ag without question and PM to an extent is more affordable than all extract in a lot of cases. I never questioned the mans intelligence nor did I try to preach to him. Too many folks have done that in the past. So for the reasons I've heard of why he began brewing, I believe PM or AG would be more suitable for him.

:mug:,
J
 
Well I suppose I should have explained myself there. My point is that I do know that he started brewing because commercial brews in Canada are a bit pricy. With that said, Ag without question and PM to an extent is more affordable than all extract in a lot of cases. I never questioned the mans intelligence nor did I try to preach to him. Too many folks have done that in the past. So for the reasons I've heard of why he began brewing, I believe PM or AG would be more suitable for him.

:mug:,
J

But he's pretty much stated ad nauseum in his videos, that he really has little interest in over-complicating things, by going ag or pm. He is perfectly content mixing his extracts together, and that's really all that matters. (He'd be more content if folks let him be, of course.)

To imply that "we know better," or that one way of brewing is "better" bespeaks elitism, and to me is against what Charlie Papazian and RDWHAHB is. There is no better in brewing, only what we prefer. Or what works best for US, and it might not be the best for anyone else.

That's what I wrote about in this blog... AG is NOT the magic bullet of brewing....It's just another way. http://blogs.homebrewtalk.com/Revvy/Why_cant_we_all_get_along/

:mug:
 
I think Revvy has nailed it in his blog, the man is happy with how he does things and how it turns out. He is also educating a lot of people it seems that homebrewing is not really that hard to start in. If these people want to take it a step further then they will do their own research and find out about extract kits and AG and if it is right for them. In regards to the original post if I was this Craigtube guy and some guy offered to send me some of his homebrew I wouldn't be saying no :mug:
I completely understand people who don't have the space to do AG batches, but I think you're thinking of a system a bit more "grand" than most of us use. I don't have some fancy RIMS system. I have a kettle, propane burner, and a cooler with a manifold inside of it. Works great and have been using it for years. I'd say total it's around a $100-$200 investment depending on which type of cooler, propane burner, and kettle you decide to go with.

Halfpint my point wasn't that I want to jump staight into a super trick RIMS system, but that I don't want to spend that $100-$200 only to, in a few years, have a cooler, burner, etc. sitting in the corner of my garage if I bust out an electric rims system (which is my eventual plan)
I would rather spend $150-$250 on setting up a electric keggle for the brew in a bag method that I could then reuse in a more complex system, long term cost effectiveness is a goal of mine.
I am still brewing coopers kits as this lets me nail down one thing first, fermetation. I know my beers won't be the best they can be with up to a kg of sugar in there but you can still tell off flavours due to high fermentation temps, etc and I can work on getting that right before other things get thrown in the mix. It also lets me have the most time coming on here and soaking up as much knowledge as possible so that (as in Revvy's blog) I won't need to come on here and start a thread as to why my efficiency sucked when I mashed at 130.
Each to their own I say, but if anyone wants to try and "convert" me to AG be sending me some homebrew I am not saying no:mug:
 
I agree with Revvy. I just got into homebrewing and I am proud to say that Craigtube encuraged me. I did not however do a coopers for my first. I did 3 batches of extract with specialty grains. Im going to wait and play with this method and see how I like it before I decide where to go next, if anywhear at all. Extract w specialty might be it or me. :mug:
 
To imply that "we know better," or that one way of brewing is "better" bespeaks elitism, and to me is against what Charlie Papazian and RDWHAHB is. There is no better in brewing, only what we prefer. Or what works best for US, and it might not be the best for anyone else.

I could not disagree more. Just because you want everyone to get along doesn't mean that there's not a way that will produce better, more consistent beer every time. I could care less about personal preference, as that's up to each person, but what is ACTUALLY better is not really even debatable.
 
I could not disagree more. Just because you want everyone to get along doesn't mean that there's not a way that will produce better, more consistent beer every time. I could care less about personal preference, as that's up to each person, but what is ACTUALLY better is not really even debatable.

... I loathe being drawn into internet arguments, and usually get bored 1/3 of the way through writing a response, so this will be short and civil:

Just as different people like different types of beer (IIPA vs RIS vs BMC and everything in between), people are allowed to like different methods. what you consider "better" they might consider "more time consuming, more difficult, and therefore much worse". They might view consistency as a drawback, as it removes character from what might otherwise become a boring series of identical brews.

I just broke an empty growler by tripping over it. i should store them elsewhere not the middle of my floor.
 
... I loathe being drawn into internet arguments, and usually get bored 1/3 of the way through writing a response, so this will be short and civil:

Just as different people like different types of beer (IIPA vs RIS vs BMC and everything in between), people are allowed to like different methods. what you consider "better" they might consider "more time consuming, more difficult, and therefore much worse". They might view consistency as a drawback, as it removes character from what might otherwise become a boring series of identical brews.

I just broke an empty growler by tripping over it. i should store them elsewhere not the middle of my floor.

I would have agreed with whoever you were addressing and then you wrote this.

Well said.

I suppose we've all been there when we started brewing. "Lets see what happens with that next batch!" I can get behind that....

...but then again, my tune may change when I try my first AG batch here in a couple weeks.

Bottom line is, we're all brewers. And in true HBT spirit, we help each other. AG, Extract, or PM, my experience is your experience.

Its all about the love of the brew.

Prost :mug:
 
I watch CraigTube religiously. He seems like a good guy. I enjoyed his AG rant a few weeks back and Bobby M's response to it.

He does seem a little frustrated at times with the way people attack him. I know he's in a YouTube battle with TakeSomeAdvice. Of course, that guy was on here for a bit....before he got banned. If anyone needed to "take some advice" it was that guy!

EDIT: Plus the guy isn't a half bad musician. He's better than me, but, let's face it, I kind of suck!
 
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