Hello from Seattle!

Hey all,

My name is Chris and my girlfriend and I just moved here to Seattle this past summer from central NY.

Back in NY I brewed with a friend a few times: We started with an American Pale Ale, then a Raison D'Etre clone (which came out way better than we expected), then an IPA that came out a little off. I also brewed a Kolsch with my Dad in May before I moved.

Unfortunately my friend owned all the equipment so I had to buy new stuff out here, but I just started another IPA which is in the carboy now.

I've found answers to a lot of my questions in these forums, and I hope that as I gain experience I can contribute too.

Thanks everyone!

Welcome, Man there have been alot washington brewer's on the forums. I brew out in Lacey.

welcome! ephrata wa brewer here there has been allot in washington joining lately

Welcome

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Welcome from Gig Harbor area.

Welcome from the WA coast.

Great thing about living up here, you don't NEED to brew to enjoy great beer. We have an amazing selection of micros to choose from.

Drink up!

Welcome from Lynnwood, WA!

Thanks for the welcome!

Hello and welcome from Southlake/Cascade neighborhood. Are you doing AG brewing or extract stuff?

america said:

Hello and welcome from Southlake/Cascade neighborhood. Are you doing AG brewing or extract stuff?

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Extract for now. I'll probably keep this up for 20-30 batches before going AG.

Welcome! Don't hesitate to ask anything on here.

beerman315 said:

Extract for now. I'll probably keep this up for 20-30 batches before going AG.

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Nice, that was my plan too but I only made it 8 or 9 before I went out and bought the stuff for a MLT, welcome to your new addiction.

Welcome!

I made the switch after only 3 batches of extract. It was after my first partial mash brew when I decided to make the switch. AG is super easy and cheaper for me to make over extract.

I am a part of Homebrewers of Puget Sound which is a Homebrew Club based out of The Beer Essentials in Lakewood if you guys are interested in beer clubs check us out at www.hopsclub.com. For anyone in the Thurston County I also know of a club the meets every second tuesday at a place near the olympia mall area.

RandomBeerGuy said:

I made the switch after only 3 batches of extract. It was after my first partial mash brew when I decided to make the switch. AG is super easy and cheaper for me to make over extract.

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How much space does it take brewing AG vs partial mash / all extract? I'm in an apartment now with a small patio- that's where I boil- then I carry the hot wort in to the kitchen so I can run my chiller off the sink. When I get a house or a place with a garage I'll definitely upgrade the equipment but do you think it would be possible before then?

Oh yeah, I have a 50qt cooler which I can place on my table in the house or outside. All you really need is 2 big pots due to needing around 7+ gal for a full wort boil. I found one of those turkey fryer which comes with a 8 gallon pot and a burner. Or if you want to go even more space saving do a little thread digging on people who do a "Brew in a Bag" method thats still a all grain method kinda like a partial mash without extract.

My set up is:

50 qt cooler with tubing and pvc false bottom, 5 gallon pot for heating water to sparge with, and 8 gallon pot for a full wort boil.

RandomBeerGuy said:

Oh yeah, I have a 50qt cooler which I can place on my table in the house or outside. All you really need is 2 big pots due to needing around 7+ gal for a full wort boil. I found one of those turkey fryer which comes with a 8 gallon pot and a burner. Or if you want to go even more space saving do a little thread digging on people who do a "Brew in a Bag" method thats still a all grain method kinda like a partial mash without extract.

My set up is:

50 qt cooler with tubing and pvc false bottom, 5 gallon pot for heating water to sparge with, and 8 gallon pot for a full wort boil.

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I too have done a few BIAB and they come out good but it is easier to do your mash in a cooler and if you do batch sparging you only need one cooler instead of the 2 cooler sets like on Midwest web site. I just bought the 10 gallon cooler with everything included for 119.00 plus 35.00 for shipping. I can not wait to try it.

Good luck and happy brewing....

Bookem15 said:

I too have done a few BIAB and they come out good but it is easier to do your mash in a cooler and if you do batch sparging you only need one cooler instead of the 2 cooler sets like on Midwest web site. I just bought the 10 gallon cooler with everything included for 119.00 plus 35.00 for shipping. I can not wait to try it.

Good luck and happy brewing....

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Dang, sadly you overpaid. You can sadly buy everything you'll need for under 80 bucks if you did some good scouting. It only takes 2-5 bucks for pvc & fittings for the false bottom, maybe 20-30 for a good cooler, 5-10 bucks here and there for the hoses and little parts. The biggest expense are the pots. YouTube was my biggest friend when converting the cooler. Its super easy.

Well I already have the 8 gallon pot and usually I start boiling with 6-6.5 gallons so it sounds like I don't need too much else to get started.

Is it necessary to heat the water 5 gallons at a time? I do have a small turkey fryer pot that came with the burner I bought on craigslist (in Lacey incidentally), but I would guess it's around 3-4 gal. If I could use that all I would need is the cooler and tubing.

I dont heat 5 gallons of water at a time. I use 3.5 for the mash, 4 gal in sparge. 7+ full wort boil give or take. Sounds like you just need acooler mash tun and nic naks for it and your AG my friend.

Hello from Ravenna/Wedgewood neighborhood. You don't need much more storage space to go AG. Really just enough to store the mash tun. When not in use you can keep a lot of your stuff in the cooler too. You have a few great options for a LHBS depending on what part of the city you're in.

chemicalcraig said:

You have a few great options for a LHBS depending on what part of the city you're in.

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I've been to The Cellar Homebrew and Homebrew Heaven up in Everett (which is actually closer to me) and so far I am very happy with both. They each had a great stock and very knowledgeable employees.

But I've never been to a homebrew shop I didn't like...

beerman315 said:

I've been to The Cellar Homebrew and Homebrew Heaven up in Everett (which is actually closer to me) and so far I am very happy with both. They each had a great stock and very knowledgeable employees.

But I've never been to a homebrew shop I didn't like...

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I have been to Rocky Top in Olympia it is very lame. Very small place and not a huge selection.

There is also HealthCrafts in Oly. Selection is worse, but they have grains, hops, extracts, and some equipment, plus they are open 7 days a week and open later than Rocky Top.

I still hit Rocky Top usually, but if I can't make it in time, or I'm up there on Sunday, HealthCrafts gets the business.

The Beer Essentials is by far the best store I've been to, but I have not been to all of them.

Welcome from the Kent, WA area here!

Mountain Homebrew & Wine Supply in Kirkland isn't bad for yeast, hops, primer, bungs... small stuff.

Larry's Brewing Supply in Kent doesn't have a good equipment selection but their grain prices are 20$ lower than online and kirkland (45$ vs 65$ for briess). They don't have a very good website but at least it has prices heh.

I agree Larry's doesn't have a GREAT selection, but they have a lot of the basics to get you going and their prices are extremely competitive...if you ask me. I can't find much cheaper online if you include shipping charges. Plus, the people there are very friendly and willing to answer all of your questions. If they don't know something, they look it up and get you an answer. I'd rather support my LHBS than online if I can help it and it makes money sense.

There are a lot of people on here from Western Washington. I don't think I see any other region with close to the same kind of representation.

Dang its good to see so many Washington folks on here! Welcome to the West Coast, is our laid back pace driving you absolutley bonkers? The frustration really should have some kind of fancy acronym, we see it a lot out here. But if we do that, someone will come up with a pill for it. Forget I said anything.

SteveHoward said:

There are a lot of people on here from Western Washington. I don't think I see any other region with close to the same kind of representation.

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I don't think most areas have so many microbreweries in such a small area or so many LHBS choices either.


+1 for homebrew heaven. They are great. Don't buy more than a pound or 2 of grains from mountain homebrew. They only charge by the ounce or sack. Their mill is also NEVER at the same setting and there are no markings on the dial.

I also do AG in an apartment. I use the stove top and a heat stick. I've done BIAB and a few cooler mashtun batches. It's definitely doable in a small kitchen.

Hey! Welcome. I am new here too. I now live in the Sun Valley area, but am a Tacoma/Gig Harbor area native. Used to home brew there, and here, but gave it up a few years due to being busy with kids, etc.

AkwardTurtle said:

Dang its good to see so many Washington folks on here! Welcome to the West Coast, is our laid back pace driving you absolutley bonkers? The frustration really should have some kind of fancy acronym, we see it a lot out here. But if we do that, someone will come up with a pill for it. Forget I said anything.

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Laid back doesn't bother me except when I'm trying to get somewhere on I-5. I know the speed limit is 60 but there's no reason everyone can't do 75!

That is why I moved to the east side of the state.lol

Yeah, I always say that back in the mid 90s, the californication of the state forced me to move to Idaho to be come part of their expansion problems. I did not mind the urban cores becoming more crowded so much, as the endless sprawl out toward the ocean, across the narrows bridge onto the peninsula and the mountains, making the long, crowded drive out to nature almost not worth the experience once you got there.

I blame it pretty much on Ken Berhing, and on the Nordstrom's for selling the seahawks.

Now I like living out here in the country, and visiting my native home.

South Seattleite here, welcome!

It's important to realize that you've just moved into one of the most pumpkin-beer-obsessed parts of the country--probably the world. If you don't keep your fermenter full of something else, the pumpkin beer will actually break into your house in the dead of night and hide in there.

ABrewingApe said:

South Seattleite here, welcome!

It's important to realize that you've just moved into one of the most pumpkin-beer-obsessed parts of the country--probably the world. If you don't keep your fermenter full of something else, the pumpkin beer will actually break into your house in the dead of night and hide in there.

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I had no idea we liked the pumpkin beer so much. I was skeptical at first but now I do quite like the few I've tried. Made the Thunderstruck Pumpkin ale this year and it turned out great. Do you have any others that stand out in your mind?

Welcome from Graham!

Thanks

Welcome- always happy to have more locals!

Moved to Hampton Roads,VA from Lacey a few months ago and the shops here are abysmal compared to the ones in WA.