Greetings from Indianapolis

Hey all, I hope you are doing well, and your brews are bubbling away.

I am a beginner homebrewer who is working on the first batch of beer and first batch of wine, so I am really looking forward to tasting the fruits of the labor in the near futuer.

About my name, I am studying to be a botanist specializing in plant breeding and genetics, with one more yr to finish my B.S. If you have any questions about plants, or plant diseased/deficiencies, please don't hesistate to pm me.

Well, gonna go start my first beer thread, got some questions about raising specific gravity, so have a nice night

~B~

Welcome to HBT Botanist!
Let us know how your beer and wine turn out.

Thanks RichBrewer!

Good to meet you, and I will keep you informed. Just finished the Apfelwein and it tasted pretty sweet w/the added sugar, so I am looking forward to that one

Thanks and be safe

~B~

Hello there. I am also new to this forum and from Indy. I'm glad to see another from the area on here.

Hey Bigbadgreen, nice handle

What part of Indy are you from, I am on the southside myself. What brewstore do you go to. So far, I have been going to great fermentations on 65th st, and they are really helpful.

Be safe and good to meet you.

B

I too am new to this forum. Have brewed a few batches now and am totally hooked. Made a porter a few weeks ago that I bought at Great Fermentations in Indy (one of their specialty kits - dred brown porter I believe). It's great. Have an oatmeal stout and an ipa going now.

Good luck with the brew. I'm a chemist by trade, so brewing is just up my alley. This site is full of recipes and ideas, so enjoy

GFD622

I buy only from great fermentations. I have a friend who used to buy from wine art on keystone, but after I got him into great fermentations he hasn't been to wine art since. I think wine art is more for wine making, hence the name, and that is fine.
I'm from the far east side. I have seen at great fermentations that there are several brewing groups in the area. after I get a bit more experience i'll probably be looking into joining.
what kind of setup are you using?
so far I've done quite a few with a small mr. beer brewer, but just upgraded to the great fermentations deluxe kit. I brewed my first batch this past week and loved it.

So far I have 2 complete setups(primary and secondary) for wine and 1 setup for beer, as well as the fermemters to do up to 4 1g batches at a time to sample recipes w/o risking making 30 bottles of ****ty wine, lol.

gfd622 - Always good to meet a neighbor. Driven past greencastle on 70 plenty of times, but don't think I've ever stopped there....What type of chemist are you, btw, and what area of industry do you work in, if you don't mind me asking. I would only need to take analytical chem lec and organic chem II lec to have a minor in chem, which I am considering doing. If I go that route though, I would have to take the analytical chem lab as well as it sounds interesting and fun to me.

Are you guys aware that there is a fruit wine class at great fermentations next sunday, june 8, at 1pm. Me and my girlfriend will be attending. Cost is $15 for the first person in the group, and $10 per buddy.

Great ferm also has beer/wine socials to meet each other and sample each others wares. Here's what their newsletter said about it:

Upcoming Events
Once a month we are the gathering place for brewers and wine makers. From 5:30-7PM
we serve small samples of our own product while customers mingle and meet others
who share their interest in the hobby. Feel free to bring samples of your own fermentations
to share as well. This is just an informal event that allows customers to shop and
network while they sample. These are sampling events, not drinking events.

Beer Social: Friday, May 23rd from 5:30-7 PM
Wine Social: Friday, June 6th from 5:30-7 PM

Went to wine art once a few years back, need to stop back in now that I am a little more engaged with the hobby.

bigbadgreen - I will also probably join the brewing groups in the near future, just want to get a case or three under my belt first.

Be safe

B

Hey again,

I'm a biochemist by trade (pH.D. trade that is, though we all know what those letters stand for lol). College prof, great job. In any event, grown a lot of bacteria in my life but this is the first time I ever grew yeast. I like it - it's much more entertaining.

With gas prices being what they are, I don't get to Indy much. Great Fermentations is a good thing. They will make up a recipe for you (if you call and give them the info). Just look around, find a good recipe, and they will make it up for you. You can also buy used equipment there if they have it (sometimes they do). It's cheaper, and often just fine. The last Friday social they have is a great time, I strongly recommend it.

So, I have been reading on this forum for awhile now and it may be true that you could get some yeast cultures from local brew pubs. In fact, I found a few in other states, but haven't seen if the brew pubs in Indy will give out yeast samples or not. You don't need a starter, just tell them when you are going to brew and bring in the right container and they will give you their yeast. If you live in Indy, you may want to try it - it would be worth it I think.

Good luck with the brews. My problem with homebrews is that I don't know if I will ever get ahead, going 5 gallons at a time. My porter is very tasty, and my stout tasted good when I cooked it (before adding yeast - go figure). O'Douls has nothing on this non-alcoholic brew.

Time to get a bigger fermenter.

gfd622

gfd622 - sounds like a nice line of work. A friend recently changed his major from forensics to biochemistry, and I have to take intro biochem as well.

I hear you on the 5g thing 100%.

Be safe

B