So I'm about to start brewers puberty.

Thats right. I'm having emotional swings and growing hair in funny places. Well maybe not all that but I'm moving on from brewing kits. I've brewed 5 LME kits from Midwest and Austin and I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things. I don't have room for all grain yet as I'm a student on rotations in various places, but I'm going to start with dme extract recipes I suppose and buy in bulk. I might research mini mash some as I'm not sure what it entails. I'm a big fan of IPAs and I bottled one today from a kit that I altered by dry hopping with an ounce of Amarillo. It smelled and tasted (leftovers in the bottling bucket) wonderful. I'm really looking for tips on how to make my transition smoother and most importantly, cheaper. I'm down for whatever to keep my time/space/money requirements down. I want to buy in bulk but I really don't know what to buy. I'd also like to get another bucket fermenter to add to my bucket and 2 carboys. Surely I can find a bucket that will work for less than 25 bucks. I actually like the bucket better than the carboys so I'd like to have like 4. Soon I'll need a walk in fridge for all my beer. And, before you suggest kegging, I kind of like bottles so I can share my beer with friends.

PS I just found a pizza joint that lets me have their numerous bottles from the recycling bin. I got 20 pint bottles today not to mention 10 24oz and a ridiculous number of fancy and regular 12 oz bottles. The place sells some of the beers for 14 bucks a pop... and business is good. :rockin:

To save money you could cultivate your girlfriends yeast....

whoa now

I hit "puberty" not so long ago myself. check into mini mash for a way to save (besides making better beer!). If you can steep grains you can do a mash. Check out the sticky by Deathbrewer, in the beginner section I think. As far as buckets I bought mine from Lowe's for $5 a piece. You will probably hear some "but they aren't food grade!", well maybe not, but they are HDPE and neither I nor the people in multiple threads on the subject have had a problem. Also, if you have a Sam's/Costco membership you can ask for icing buckets from the bakery. Some people use pickle buckets from a deli too. Consider buying hops in bulk as well, especially since the harvest is here. I had a good experience with farmhousebrewingsupply.com, but you can get them in bulk a number of places. FHBS has them in 4oz packs though, not just pounds, so you can get a variety and experiment for only a little more money. It seemed like the ticket for me anyway. Lastly, check out the yeast washing sticky in the yeast and fermentation section. It will save you around 6-8 bucks a batch if you use liquid yeast. Good luck!

Oddball said:

To save money you could cultivate your girlfriends yeast....

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LOL!!!!!! :rockin: That was some funny sh*t.

ozzy1038 said:

LOL!!!!!! :rockin: That was some funny sh*t.

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It's been done, I read an article in a magazine by a women who did it.

You can also get into all grain by doing BIAB (brew in a bag), I use my existing 8 gallon pot, a bag, and if I have a large grain bill, I just sparge to bring to a full boil.
I used to pay around $30-35 for kits, now I just try recipes from here. I buy my grains crushed from the local HBS or online, whichever is cheaper. (my cost is now down to $20-25 per batch,sometimes less if I can repitch on a yeast cake)
The bottles sound like a great score! If I were you I save $$ on BIAB & would invest into better temp control, (wort chiller, ferm chamber, good thermometers, etc.) I think that is money best spent, it seem the better I control my temp, the better my beer. (and more consistent between batches)

Either way,I am sure you will make great beer! Good luck!

Sent from my iPad using HB Talk

Just remember your "gravity" going high, and low with no rhyme or reason is just part of the process. So is your "hydrometer" riding high at the mere thought of beer.

Revvy said:

Just remember your "gravity" going high, and low with no rhyme or reason is just part of the process. So is your "hydrometer" riding high at the mere thought of beer.

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I just want to get my hydrometer wet.

Yeah I think I'll get into washing my yeast. I have a garden with potatoes tomatoes corn and the like so I may have to consider growing hops too.

Washing yeast will bring costs down when you figure a $7 vial can be washed to make at least 5 batches. Bulk DME, I'm not sold on that,, the cost savings isn't worth the hassle Imo. Now, going partial mash makes sense if you buy your 2 row in bulk and use it in place of half the extract in the recipe. Washing yeast and doing partial mash can cut about 1/3rd of the costs out without a bunch of extra equipment and not even buying bulk grains.

I probably should have mentioned that I don't have any hbs close enough to drive to so I have to order and have things shipped. I live in central WV. How much better is beer that is say ag vs brew in a bag vs partial mash vs extract. I'm sure it's hard to quantify but an analogy would suffice. An what is the time requirement for a brew day?

Oddball said:

To save money you could cultivate your girlfriends yeast....

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Totally unnecessary.....but funny nonetheless. Theres supposedly a thread on HBT about someone trying that. Havent been able to locate it thougn

mikeysab said:

Totally unnecessary.....but funny nonetheless. Theres supposedly a thread on HBT about someone trying that. Havent been able to locate it thougn

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Pretty sure it was a sarcastic comment haha.

Someone in the "pee to sanitize" thread mentioned the "ladys yeast to ferment" thread. I'm not saying it really exists, but someone mentioned it.

You're talking about the urban legend about the artist and OPB beer.



Most of us think it's BS anyway, later she claimed to have baked bread with it too. It's an art instillation and not a real thing.

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=23562

Ok, now is a good time for science to kick in... Definatly a good novely to make a bunch of dudes drink beer,definatly kinda makes you think though. The stranger is a great paper i use to live in WA and read it all the time back in 2000 B.C. Ha just made myself laugh cuz B.ritish C.olumbia was bordering Bellinghaam where i use to live near seattle.Thanks to beer wits, it wasnt Before Christ.

flyfisherwes said:

I don't have room for all grain yet...

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flyfisherwes said:

Yeah I think I'll get into washing my yeast. I have a garden with potatoes tomatoes corn and the like so I may have to consider growing hops too.

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You've got room for all grain. Last weekend I fit my all grain brewery and camping equipment in a 2 door Toyota. Keggle rode shotgun because I wanted to see out the back window.

2 kettles, 1 burner, and a 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler, and you're all grain.

I still want to see the thread where someone explored the "crotch yeast for beer" experiment. if nothing else, it will provide good reading for my drowned, dead, floating brain

the equipment for my AG setup is very minimal to my extract setup. As long as you have adequate room for a propane burner, i say move to AG straight away you won't be disappointed.

as far as vag yeast, i'd say no. yeast washing a $6 white labs vial is a much better option.

Revvy said:

Just remember your "gravity" going high, and low with no rhyme or reason is just part of the process. So is your "hydrometer" riding high at the mere thought of beer.

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thanks revvy

flyfisherwes said:

I just want to get my hydrometer wet.

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thanks guy

now i'm cleaning beer off my screen.

Revvy said:

You're talking about the urban legend about the artist and OPB beer.

Most of us think it's BS anyway, later she claimed to have baked bread with it too. It's an art instillation and not a real thing.

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=23562

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honestly i'm not so sure its fake. people have done wierder things. i saw a bunch of poop and urine art. and one thing where this guy made plaster molds of like a thousand vaginas. i think this chick may have really made p***y beer.

(also: talk about sour dough bread)
(also: if she has a yeast infection it could be cheese bread)
(also: sorry. i've been drinking)

I was thinking maybe i could save a few bucks and turn a condom inside out to make a starter.Oh my what? i did nt huh?

Talk about a wild species. Haha. My mom used to keep a sour dough starter in the fridge and feed it from time to time. If I got a vial of white labs and made a starter could I pitch half then add half of what I used for the first starter minus the yeast? And keep it going? Like say pull off some yeast every few days?