First home brew- Cheapest, easiest, and fastest beer- Tips & Tricks welcome- O2 CO2

Hi:
I've been lurking around, and reading information on this site, as well as watching home brew videos on youtube. I'm in college rockin: ) and want to create the cheapest, easiest and fastest brewing beer possible. I know this is blasphemy for you guys, because you guys know how to make and drink the best. I, on the other hand, classify Busch as good beer, Bud as better, and Newcastle as top level.

With that being said, I propose the question of what would be the cheapest, easiest and fastest beer to produce? I've read about beers that have a turn-around time and ready to drink in a week, and some months. I'd greatly sacrifice taste, for a fast turn around, as long as I don't have a mouth full of yeast. :cross: I'm looking for something that would be completely done in a week or so. Is that possible?

I've seen the price for malt extract, and it costs as much as just buying a dirty-30 of Busch. Is there a place where I can get the malt extract for cheap? Is there any place where I can buy malt extract so the beer would taste similar to commercially sold beer (i.e. Bud). Any recipes for commercial-like beer?

I might also try oxygen injection, just because I am able to get the equipment. On that note, how much faster would it be if I were to use oxygen injection, versus not using it.

The following are the most important questions:
I will be kegging this, and NOT bottling this. I found a small cheap kegerator, and figured I'd rather have it on tap, instead of 100 bottles. Can someone please explain the procedure on kegging? From what I've gathered, after you are done fermenting, you siphon the keg, add sugar, and then seal it. How do you seal a keg? What tools/equipment would I need? I plan on using a Cornelius (Cornie) keg.

As far as the definition of sealing, what does that mean?
**Does it mean to completely seal it off, as in its air-tight, and nothing can go in and out?
**Or just putting a cap (?) over the outlet, but having a hole in the cap for the liquid to come out of?

As far as forced-carbonation, this is just forcing CO2 into the keg at a certain pressure, depending on the temperature, correct? When would you do this? After you sealed (see above question) the keg? What is the time differential with forced-carbonation vs non-forced carbonation? If I force-carbonate it, would I need to add the sugar in the keg (as asked above)?

Thanks a lot. And I'm sorry for the n00b questions, just trying to clarify things so I don't buy/waste more than I have to.

-Tahleel

In my opinion if you want 'cheap, easy and fast' go to the store and buy another case of busch. Homebrewing, for me anyway, is foremost about making a good beer. There is great satisfaction in having a beer that tastes as good as (or better than) the premium beers and high-end microbrews. Buying good ingredients, having the right equipment and being patient are all factors in getting a good beer. The fact that it costs about the price of Bud or Miller is a bonus - for me that's not a huge factor but it may be for others, and yes I do remember being a broke college student.

I don't know about you guys but this first 5 ga. of brew has cost me about $400. I can by a lot of store beer for that price.

To me, homebrewing is not about saving money, it's about making something myself that I enjoy. No mater the cost.

Making any of the lagers you mentioned, Busch or Bud clones would cost more than buying (if you try using extracts) and since they are lagers, would have to sit in a temp controlled environment for a couple months. Lagers are very tough beers to make and they're not for beginner brewers.

It sounds like you're really psyched about brewing your own, and that great as long as your enthusiasm is NOT about making Bud on the cheap... AB already has the monopoly on that one. Home brewing is actually about making beers you can't buy (or buy easily).

Timelines for brews to be drinkable (minimums and certainly debatable):
Wheats - 4 weeks
Light Ales 6 weeks
Heavy Ales 8 weeks
Lagers 12 weeks

Well, you could probably drink a wheat in 3 weeks (actually I usually do), but as others have mentioned, the quickest, easiest way to get some brew is to go to the store and buy some. Especially is you are trying to make beer that tastes like Busch. Eventually, you can save money on homebrew...however, the initial expense is quite a lot...several hundred dollars. And the ONLY way you are going to save money is all grain. I dont see how it would be possible to save money using extract..that stuff is expensive.

cubbies said:

And the ONLY way you are going to save money is all grain. I dont see how it would be possible to save money using extract..that stuff is expensive.

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Expensive is a relative term. I can brew a very good all extract ale for $30-35. This will yield around 2 cases of beer. The premium beers run in excess of $20 a case, so I consider this to be a savings.

agreed. i can make some quality beer and end up paying less than i would buying six packs of craft brew.

if you're just trying to make beer to save money and you don't care if it tastes like busch...i'd say you've come to the wrong place. as for all your other questions, you may want to search the forums a little more...all the information is here.

Thanks a lot guys for the positive feedback! I was expecting a lot of bashing, but I didn't get it. :rockin: I thought there might've been a cheaper way to go, but it seems like I have to brew a more premium style beer, which I still wouldn't mind.

Buying all the equipment is not a problem. My dad has a restaurant and he already has the majority of the stuff, and from what I see, the only things I need would be a syphon, carboy, and hydrometer.

Now, can someone answer those questions about O2 injection, force-carbing, and especially kegging?

Thanks again guys, and rock on. :rockin:

-Tahleel

there is a reson that the first beer taste different than the last beer. time is eveything. the labor, the cost, the drunk are all 2nd. being in college eveything is fast the women, the cars, the money spent. look more in to it, dont rush. TIME IS EVETHING. enjoy

Brewing beer fast and cheap isn't really going to be better than buying the "dirty 30." Do yourself a favor and get some patience...just a little...like a month's worth of it.

Oxygen injection as a means of aeration is certainly a viable means of improving yeast performance, but it's not going to make your beer "faster" by more than a few hours. The idea of aerating cooled wort is to provide the required oxygen for the yeast's initial reproduction phase. The more oxygen that's available, the easier the yeast will reproduce, and the better it will perform (less off flavors associated with poor yeast health). It doesn't appreciably speed up the time it takes to get good beer.

Kegging is simple - get yourself a 5 gallon cornelius keg. Clean and sanitize it. Remove the lid, siphon the beer in (avoiding any splashing/aeration this time), and put the lid back on.

Force carbonation can be done any of several ways. All of them include applying CO2 pressure to a chilled keg. The easiest method is to simply put the keg in the kegerator, hook it up to CO2 at serving pressure (8-12 psi), and wait a week.

Ok, not sure about kegging, I bottle.

A dirt cheap set-up:
Buy a 6 gallon plastic bucket with lid( i think you can find these for about 5 bucks), 4 feet of clear plastic hose (1" od or 3/4") $2. I assume you have a 2-3 gallon pot to boil in.

3.3# can of hopped-extract about $10
3# of corn sugar $4
dry yeast $1.5

I think that's about as cheap as you can make beer. Beer should be better than busch light, but it won't be anything award winning. If you want to "splurge" you can get some specialty grains at $2/lbs, or get unhopped extract and get real hops. Should make you about 2 cases of 12oz.

My first set up was what I listed above, only I used a 5Gal water cooler bottle as a secondary(free "borrowed" from the office). I used all extract, 2 specialty grains, and real hops. Cost was $30 bucks, beer came out great.

Hmm.. 2 cases of beer? from 5 gallons?? That should be 6 dozen bottles so.. 6 cases.

You can brew a "quick" beer by using a simple recipe. Use a fast attentive CLEAN yeast like nottingham dry yeast. ANd you can do a lger recipe with an ale yeast.

You really should let it go at least 3 weeks though. I once kegged at 2 weeks for an outdoor camping party, but I filtered it.

Check out: http://byo.com/feature/1476.html

Now I really suggest doing the above if in a hurry a specific reason. But you should really start brewing beers with QUALITY in mind. With the gear you sound like you are planning to use you might as well do it right.

BruDaddy said:

Expensive is a relative term. I can brew a very good all extract ale for $30-35. This will yield around 2 cases of beer. The premium beers run in excess of $20 a case, so I consider this to be a savings.

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Maybe I didnt word my statement properly. What I meant was there is virtually no way to make the beer he is trying to make, cheaper than just going out and buying it, unless he did it all grain. I didnt mean extract beer in general. The most expensive extract I did was a big, hoppy pale ale that cost me a little over $50. No way I could have got two cases of a similar beer for $50.

Denny's Evil Concotions said:

Hmm.. 2 cases of beer? from 5 gallons?? That should be 6 dozen bottles so.. 6 cases.

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5 gallons at 128oz per gallon = 640 oz./12 oz=53 bottles... 1 case = 24 beers...
i was mistaken, he would get 2 cases and 5 beers... That's like $9 bucks a thirty.

Check out the you tube video, of the canadian guy brewing(white hair, lazy eye), I think thats the cheapest possible way to brew beer.

A case is 12 beer, a flat is 24.

And if he was in BC that 30 would cost about $30. Be thankful you don't have to deal with BC's f'd up liqour laws and taxes.

where i be from, we've always considered a case to = 24 as well. and 12 cans = a twelver or straight up called a 12 pack. Namings always diff between generations and regions.

Maybe it's a Canadian thing. Ontario 24 is called a "two-four", oout west it's a "flat". And a case is 12.

BUT back in my Dad's time.. a case was 24. I beleive where beer is cheap a case tends to be 24. Damn government. Not only have they made the beer expensive here, they've ****ed over the english language!

In the states, I think everyones calls 24 a case. Canada is funny.

My bottles are 0,5 liters so there's 20 to a case.

1 batch will yield 37 bottles.

I pay about $15 for 6 lbs DME (buy in bulk), washed yeast...$0.26, cost about $15.26.

37 - 0,5 l bottles of Hefe Weizen @ $2/2.50. each = $74/92.50.

Savings @ $58.74/77.24. ...per batch!

homebrewer_99 said:

My bottles are 0,5 liters so there's 20 to a case.

1 batch will yield 37 bottles.

I pay about $15 for 6 lbs DME (buy in bulk), washed yeast...$0.26, cost about $15.26.

37 - 0,5 l bottles of Hefe Weizen @ $2/2.50. each = $74/92.50.

Savings @ $58.74/77.24. ...per batch!

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The joy to your taste buds... Priceless.

carnevoodoo said:

In the states, I think everyones calls 24 a case. Canada is funny.

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Denny's Evil Concotions said:

The joy to your taste buds... Priceless.

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Dang! I could have used that...

Yuri_Rage said:

Kegging is simple - get yourself a 5 gallon cornelius keg. Clean and sanitize it. Remove the lid, siphon the beer in (avoiding any splashing/aeration this time), and put the lid back on.

Force carbonation can be done any of several ways. All of them include applying CO2 pressure to a chilled keg. The easiest method is to simply put the keg in the kegerator, hook it up to CO2 at serving pressure (8-12 psi), and wait a week.

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Thanks for the very informative post Yuri!

Before putting the lid on, would I need to add anything, such as sugar?

Also, during the 3 weeks I store it, should I run CO2 through it constantly? I was thinking I could leave it in the kegerator, and not touch it. Or should I just keep it sealed, and leave it in a cool dark place?

-Tahleel

tahleel said:

Before putting the lid on, would I need to add anything, such as sugar?

Also, during the 3 weeks I store it, should I run CO2 through it constantly? I was thinking I could leave it in the kegerator, and not touch it. Or should I just keep it sealed, and leave it in a cool dark place?

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Don't add sugar - that's not required when force carbonating.

Once it's done fermenting, and you're ready to keg it, there's no need to store the beer at room temperature. Go ahead and put it in the kegerator, hooked up to the CO2. After a week, it should be carbonated and drinkable. Let it sit for another 2-3 weeks, and it'll be cold conditioned and at its prime.

General rule of thumb: the lower the OG, the less time you have to let it mature.

Here's the best you can do while getting something worthwhile. Brew a beer an give it the normal amount of time. 1-2-3 rule maybe... Then after 1 week when you transfer to the secondary, brew another and put it in the primary. Then get another secondary. Then after 1 week in the primary of the 2nd beer, brew again (week 2) and transfer beer 2 into primary 2 and beer 3 into primary. Repeat endlessly.

This way 6 weeks from now you will have a never ending supply of beer as long as you don't drink all 5 gallons before the week is up. I know the initial time investment is 6 weeks, but after that the supply shouldn't run out.

BTW, what college... I'm curious as I'm a student to.

z987k's advice is the best. If you keep brewing constant batches, then you will never run out and you'll have high quality beer on tap all the time. Plus, since it's summer and school's out for a few months, this will be the perfect opportunity to get some kegs ready in time for school to start (and learn a little bit of patience to boot).

Are these going to be 5 gal or 15 gal batches? It sounds like you might have access to either one.

z987k said:

Here's the best you can do while getting something worthwhile. Brew a beer an give it the normal amount of time. 1-2-3 rule maybe... Then after 1 week when you transfer to the secondary, brew another and put it in the primary. Then get another secondary. Then after 1 week in the primary of the 2nd beer, brew again (week 2) and transfer beer 2 into primary 2 and beer 3 into primary. Repeat endlessly.

This way 6 weeks from now you will have a never ending supply of beer as long as you don't drink all 5 gallons before the week is up. I know the initial time investment is 6 weeks, but after that the supply shouldn't run out.

BTW, what college... I'm curious as I'm a student to.

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Thanks for the advice! I go to Wayne State, in Detroit, Michigan. :rockin: I guess.

BTW, what does OG mean?

-Tahleel

eviltwinofjoni said:

z987k's advice is the best. If you keep brewing constant batches, then you will never run out and you'll have high quality beer on tap all the time. Plus, since it's summer and school's out for a few months, this will be the perfect opportunity to get some kegs ready in time for school to start (and learn a little bit of patience to boot).

Are these going to be 5 gal or 15 gal batches? It sounds like you might have access to either one.

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I'd like to start now but, I'm in no shape to right now. I want to read more and learn as much as I can, then get the proper equipment and start. I want to start off with just 5 gallon batches, since a ****-up with a 5 gallon would be a lot cheaper than messing up a 15 gallon. LOL. I'd really like to advance to 15 gallon batches in the future though.

BTW, when people talk about 15 gallon batches, they talk about kegging it in a 1/2 barrel keg, right? From what I've read, the Cornies only come in 3, 5 and 10 gallons.

-Tahleel

OG means Original Gravity. With your hydromter you measure OG when you pitch yeast, and FG (final gravity) when beer is fermented out, to determine the Alchohol content.