Homebrew vs Brew On Premises

Hello All,
I just recently completed a batch of Festabrew Pale Ale at home, dry hopped with 2 oz cascades. I also made a batch at the BOP and the homebrew was much better, and only got better with time as it aged. Both batches were stored at about 54F, 12 C after bottle fermentation was complete (for the homebrew) and the BOP batch was filtered / carbonated then stored at 54F, 12 C.

The BOP batch became sour, and some cloudiness developed. Is this a sure sign of infection? The owner claimed that since it was a natural product, it had to be stored near refrigerated temperatures (40F, 4C). I am skeptical, but I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone had a similar experience. I just bottled another batch of Red Ale at the BOP and I don't want it to spoil if I store it at the wrong temperature.

Thanks for any help / guidance on this. If it does require lower temps, I'll have to resort to home brewing only.

-you can store at room temp while conditioning
-your sour beer was probably infected
-brew at home > brew on premises

The BOP guy is full of crap....
Infection is not the end result of a 'natural product' and you can condition in the bottle at room temp for months without ill effect...
I have found that my long term bottled home brew developed a 'sherry like' flavor as a result of oxidation.. but never souring.

Infection is the result of poor sanitary conditions. I would avoid his place and continue to brew at home.

I keep all my homebrew in my basement, which is in the low 60's (when it's not in the fridge awaiting me to drink it). I've had beers sit as long as 6 months and tasted fine.

Why even do BOP when you can homebrew? Anything they can do, you can do better. You can do anything better than they.

Yes you can, yes you can, yes you can!

DonMagee said:

I keep all my homebrew in my basement, which is in the low 60's (when it's not in the fridge awaiting me to drink it). I've had beers sit as long as 6 months and tasted fine.

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This. I did several batches of BOP before I got into homebrewing and I always stored my BOP bottles in my basement (fruit cellar) to store them when they were not in my fridge and I never had a problem.

That said, since I started brewing at home, I would never go back to BOP...

Thanks Everyone, you confirmed my thoughts as well. I liked the idea of having portable brew for the summer months vs worrying about stirring up the yeast in my homebrew, so I threw a couple batches on at BOP. I'll stick to homebrewing, much better flavour with predictable results. I still wonder why, with good quality equipment & care, the BOP cannot rival homebrew with the added convenience of filtered beer?

Joppy said:

Thanks Everyone, you confirmed my thoughts as well. I liked the idea of having portable brew for the summer months vs worrying about stirring up the yeast in my homebrew, so I threw a couple batches on at BOP. I'll stick to homebrewing, much better flavour with predictable results. I still wonder why, with good quality equipment & care, the BOP cannot rival homebrew with the added convenience of filtered beer?

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Sanitation is everything when it comes to brewing beer. You could have the most sophisticated equipment available and still turn out crappy beer if your sanitation practices aren't adequate. The fact that your BOP beer soured and that the owner responded by saying it's a natural product says to me he either doesn't know what he's doing, doesn't care, or both. I would stop going there entirely.

Joppy said:

Thanks Everyone, you confirmed my thoughts as well. I liked the idea of having portable brew for the summer months vs worrying about stirring up the yeast in my homebrew, so I threw a couple batches on at BOP. I'll stick to homebrewing, much better flavour with predictable results. I still wonder why, with good quality equipment & care, the BOP cannot rival homebrew with the added convenience of filtered beer?

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Have you thought about kegging and force carbing, then bottling from the keg?

I'm building a keezer for kegging, I figure that when I need to take beer 'to go' I can either fill a growler or use a BMBF to fill up bottles for longer outings.

I have thought about it, I'm contemplating a similar setup instead of bottling the homebrew. I did not think of using growlers to transport though, that is a good idea. I just need to make some space for the setup and convince my wife. I'm hoping in a couple years I'll have a two or three tap setup in what is currently our spa room.

Joppy said:

Thanks Everyone, you confirmed my thoughts as well. I liked the idea of having portable brew for the summer months vs worrying about stirring up the yeast in my homebrew, so I threw a couple batches on at BOP. I'll stick to homebrewing, much better flavour with predictable results. I still wonder why, with good quality equipment & care, the BOP cannot rival homebrew with the added convenience of filtered beer?

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The BOP should rival your homebrew. If the business has good equipment and sanitation practices the beer should be the same or better than the average homebrewer can produce.

I would avoid this particular BOP. He either doesn't really know what he is doing or doesn't care.

I think there are some valid reasons why a homebrewer would want to use a BOP system. Typically the BOP offers the ability to brew a bigger batch than most homebrewers are capable of. Secondly, the BOP may offer the ability to lager which the homebrewer's setup isn't configured for. Thirdly, in the summer, brewing outdoors and chilling can be a challenge. Also, the BOP should provide a temperature controlled environment for fermentation. At this time of year, my swamp cooler can't get under 72.

My wife actually just purchased a BOP session for me for my birthday because of many of the reasons I mentioned above. I was very happy because this gives me the chance to make a lager. Should I make something like Nobel Pils and have a big party, or should I make a baltic porter and let it age out for a while?

I think part of the problem may be related to the inexperienced help at this particular BOP. When I stop in, it has mostly been summer students working so the proper experience, care and attention is probably lacking. I dropped off a sample yesterday for him to try, he seems to agree that something went wrong and he is willing to give a credit. I hope this next batch doesn't suffer the same fate, I like the idea of the larger batches & shorter cycle time holding me over to allow my true home brew to age properly.

Thanks again for all the responses, much appreciated.

asidrane said:

I think there are some valid reasons why a homebrewer would want to use a BOP system. Typically the BOP offers the ability to brew a bigger batch than most homebrewers are capable of. Secondly, the BOP may offer the ability to lager which the homebrewer's setup isn't configured for. Thirdly, in the summer, brewing outdoors and chilling can be a challenge. Also, the BOP should provide a temperature controlled environment for fermentation. At this time of year, my swamp cooler can't get under 72.

My wife actually just purchased a BOP session for me for my birthday because of many of the reasons I mentioned above. I was very happy because this gives me the chance to make a lager. Should I make something like Nobel Pils and have a big party, or should I make a baltic porter and let it age out for a while?

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For a $25 temp controller and a $100 or less CL fridge anyone can lager... I'd put the extra $$ spent on BOP towards owning the equipment myself.

I've always seen the BOP as an option for people who didn't want to invest in the whole hobby, but wanted to make beer.

Homercidal said:

I've always seen the BOP as an option for people who didn't want to invest in the whole hobby, but wanted to make beer.

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I agree. BOP is the sort of thing that perhaps a group of people (non-homebrewers) might do as a fun group event, or the sort of thing that might make a good gift for a b-day or fathers day from a family. I like the concept, and I think it can be a good way for people to get "turned on" to the homebrewing hobby.

That said, as a homebrewer, it's simply not anywhere near as economical as producing your own. I.e. the BOP near me charges $250 for a 15-gallon batch ($155 for a 7.5 gal batch), and while that includes bottles, you're paying for their rent, their salaries, their overhead, etc. I don't begrudge them the cost [they're offering a service that people are more than willing to pay for], but it doesn't compete with homebrewing. The extra money spent on BOP could easily have been spent improving ones own homebrewing equipment/processes, which will save much more money and produce better beer in the long run.

For the OP, glad to hear the owner agreed that something went wrong and is going to make it right. Good call on bringing him a bottle -- he probably didn't think it was infected based solely on description, but couldn't fool his taste buds.

Just because I"m not familiar: How does BOP usually work? I bring my bottles and ingredients, and all the other equipment is provided for me? Who does the clenaup?

Usually you give them money, they help you brew beer on their equipment and you come back and bottle and take home your beer.

You pay for it all, including the bottles. They clean up.

Homercidal said:

For a $25 temp controller and a $100 or less CL fridge anyone can lager... I'd put the extra $$ spent on BOP towards owning the equipment myself.

I've always seen the BOP as an option for people who didn't want to invest in the whole hobby, but wanted to make beer.

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My issue isn't one of finances, but rather not having the space to have a fridge dedicated to fermenting beer.