Northern Illinois brewer here...

Hey gang .... Started brewing in 1994 for a few years then quit. Friend asked me if I new anything about brewing in 2004 and we've been going strong since. Lately Ive been really submersing myself in researching brewing and seem to get linked to this site all the time. Great site and it seems like great people.

Nice videos Yuri_Rage .... the welding the coupling video came in very handy ... although when I went to Airco to buy SolarFlux ... they told me they didnt think I needed flux. I go somewhere else now

RiverSwillBeer said:

Hey gang .... Started brewing in 1994 for a few years then quit. Friend asked me if I new anything about brewing in 2004 and we've been going strong since. Lately Ive been really submersing myself in researching brewing and seem to get linked to this site all the time. Great site and it seems like great people.

Nice videos Yuri_Rage .... the welding the coupling video came in very handy ... although when I went to Airco to buy SolarFlux ... they told me they didnt think I needed flux. I go somewhere else now

Click to expand...

Welcome. After a ten year break you picked up your hobby again, great!

Yea ... when I left the brewing scene in 96 I wasnt making very good beers and I was experimenting way too much .... needed to get the basics down. My brewing partner now has modivated me to do it right and methodical. It was his idea to All Grain and Im glad we made the jump. I really enjoy reading the replys to the questions asked here... it fuels the passion. Thanks for all the great reads !!

Hey RiverSwill-

I'm right in your neck of the woods myself, about one town over actually. Glad to have you here, I've learned a lot of stuff myself just from this site alone.

Thats awesome dude .... How long have you been brewing ??
My partner and I are building a new brewery complete with sloped concrete floor and steel walls for spray hose cleaning Id like to hook up with local brewers and maybe eventually start a homebrew club. We are also building a "Bar" to dispense what we make. When finished ... we will have 16 faucets. How often do you brew ?

The new brewery setup sounds pretty sweet! Just started brewing at the beginning of this year and still doing extract/grain batches but I'm wanting to step up to all grain sometime soon. I do brew quite often though, about twice a month. I'd be interested in a local homebrew club as well, I think the other closest one is in Peoria somewhere.

Big10Seaner, Actually when Two Bros didnt have what I needed I spun through Fox Valley Homebrew in Aurora and apparently the HeadHunters Club is still around. The are meeting at the store in Aurora. The next meeting is the first Friday in Aug if you wanna car pool. I would however love to get a club local cause there are a lot of people down here that like good beer. Building that "dispensery" in the basement of the building in Marseilles will help with showing people what beer can taste like and with a beer club and 16 taps .. alot of people can have their beer on tap there. You should check it out .

My brewing partner is a Lawyer in Ottawa and Im an IT guy in Oakbrook so we dont have a ton of time to work on the brewery but when its operational you should pop over and give us your input.

I've been to Fox Valley Homebrew in Aurora a few times, it's a pretty good little store. The prices are a little on the high side, but they do have what I need for the most part. I mostly just order all of my stuff online. Having a club that close would be great, especially if we had 16 beers on tap at once! I would be excited to come check it out once it's operational. By the way, is there someone local you use to fill your CO2 tanks? I have a 10 lb tank and took it to a paintball shop here in Ottawa but he could only fill it half way.
Also, we're starting to grow hops this year. We have 4 cascades, 2 nugget, 2 ek goldings and 2 sterling planted and they all seem to be doing pretty well. If we harvest enough this year (even just for a batch or two), I want to try to use them to see how it comes out.

Just and FYI, I live in Lombard and work here in Aurora. The Brothers has all their hops priced at $2.49 / oz for now. The guy that works in the HBS is a good dude. I also think their grain prices are pretty good as well.

Big10Seaner said:

I've been to Fox Valley Homebrew in Aurora a few times, it's a pretty good little store. The prices are a little on the high side, but they do have what I need for the most part. I mostly just order all of my stuff online. Having a club that close would be great, especially if we had 16 beers on tap at once! I would be excited to come check it out once it's operational. By the way, is there someone local you use to fill your CO2 tanks? I have a 10 lb tank and took it to a paintball shop here in Ottawa but he could only fill it half way.
Also, we're starting to grow hops this year. We have 4 cascades, 2 nugget, 2 ek goldings and 2 sterling planted and they all seem to be doing pretty well. If we harvest enough this year (even just for a batch or two), I want to try to use them to see how it comes out.

Click to expand...

I really like http://www.williamsbrewing.com/ .... When I was pricing keg stuff ... they seemed to be the best price and Vie always had good luck with them.
We will have a ton of cascades this yea if you want them.... I know we didn't get hardly any hops the first year.

I just goto airco in Joliet on my way to work and swap out the tank. I think the #20's we have cost like 25 bucks to swap. Don't have to worry bout hydro testing or anything. My partner fills his oxygen tank at a place he calls Hess's ... I think he is in Ottawa somewhere ... he may do CO2. That place by Menards in Peru will fill/trade too ... dunno how much they cost. If your interested ... My mom use to sell medical supplies and I have a couple extra medical grade O2 tanks full. If/when you oxygenate your wort prior to fermenting .. these are nice. Cant seem to find a place to fill them though. You will need a regulator. Luckily my brother is a
respiratory therapist at Ottawa Hospital ... we may be able to acquire another

Choguy03 said:

Just and FYI, I live in Lombard and work here in Aurora. The Brothers has all their hops priced at $2.49 / oz for now. The guy that works in the HBS is a good dude. I also think their grain prices are pretty good as well.

Click to expand...

I met Jason ... he seems like a good guy. Is that who you are talking about?
He told me they are increasing their kegging inventory and he said they would sell 50 lb bags of just about any grain ... although The brothers 50 lb bag of 2row is like 20 bucks cheaper. There was a thread .. I think it was on this site that a bunch of guys got together and ordered a pallet of different kinds of grain and got an awesome deal. That could be an idea !! We have a big truck

Welcome...exit 27, Atkinson, on I-80 here...(throwback from being from Jersey...what exit are you from?)

homebrewer_99 said:

Welcome...exit 27, Atkinson, on I-80 here...(throwback from being from Jersey...what exit are you from?)

Click to expand...

Exit 97 for me .... any clubs or lhbs out by you??

Big10Seaner said:

Hey RiverSwill-

I'm right in your neck of the woods myself, about one town over actually. Glad to have you here, I've learned a lot of stuff myself just from this site alone.

Click to expand...

Ottawa?

Welcome guys ... I live in Naperville, work in Aurora and grew up right near Marsailles.

RiverSwillBeer said:

There was a thread .. I think it was on this site that a bunch of guys got together and ordered a pallet of different kinds of grain and got an awesome deal. That could be an idea !! We have a big truck

Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't know if that's going to happen anytime soon again. But, if you're willing to make the drive I'd buy a bag of marris otter.

I'm out in Maple Park.. near Sycamore... okay near DeKalb.

srm, yeah I'm in Ottawa

RiverSwill,

I would be interested in the oxygen tanks for aeration. I have been wanting to get an oxygenation system as I constantly try to add the things that help the overall process.