new and was wondering

hey, i just joined cause i deiced i want to try out brewing my own beer.. now i dont know anything about it so im going to start doing a bunch of research but i was just wondering about something.

im a fan of the blue man beer and was wondering was it possible to make something that is like it but a little different ... a little stronger in the orange/citrus flavor.. and a tad bit sweeter but also a thicker in the liquid (heavier body if thats what its called)

so i figured i would ask so if it is possible i would have a idea of were to start looking and doing my research on...

and if u any advice on to were to start reading up on this woudl be great too.

thanks

welcome to the forum.

I have to ask, what is blue man beer?

I'm new too so don't quote me. I'm not familiar with blue man, but it sounds like a Blue Moon beer to me. I believe the belgian witbier is along the citrus/orange flavor. Here's a bunch of recipes to check out: http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipes

As far as starting out, I just did a google search for home brewing, etc.., and saved a bunch of the websites in a folder that I now have for reference. This site will be of great assistance as well. Enjoy!

Clann said:

welcome to the forum.

I have to ask, what is blue man beer?

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opps.. lol that was a typo..it was suppose to say bluemoon beer

I'd look into buying a Belgian Wit kit. Austin Homebrew Supply has a Blue Moon clone kit (never tried it so I'm not promising anything). That'll make ingredient selection easy, so you can just learn the process (and folks here can answer any questions you might have in that regard).

Welcome!

well i did see that site and that kit does seam like a really good way to start off, but the thing is i do like blue moon but the reason i want to try and brew is to make a few changes.... i really want to give it a stronger flavor in the orange/citrus /sweeter flavor........ and want to make it thicker or fuller body (what ever the right term is) so its a little less watery... and also want to make it stronger in the alcohol% want a good beer with a good kick.

i might be jumping way ahead of my self here ..so if i am please tell me.. but can those things be done?


oh and thanks for the welcome guys

They can all most certainly be done and without much difficulty. Add a little extra extract (or grains if you're ballsy enough to jump into all-grain headfirst), a bit of corn sugar, and a touch more of the spices (emphasis on touch, they pack more punch than you'd think and it's easy to go overboard) would take care of it.

Qhrumphf said:

They can all most certainly be done and without much difficulty. Add a little extra extract (or grains if you're ballsy enough to jump into all-grain headfirst), a bit of corn sugar, and a touch more of the spices (emphasis on touch, they pack more punch than you'd think and it's easy to go overboard) would take care of it.

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i guess this is were my noobnish will shine out ..but what do you mean by that if im ballsy enough to jump into a all grain headfirst?

first time i tasted blue moon, i had a wit on tap. i tasted mine, i tasted the blue moon, i poured the blue moon out and gave the rest to a friend

With this kit you'd be using malt extract as your source of fermentable sugar. The grains included would be for added flavor, and wouldn't add a whole lot of fermentables.

When you brew all-grain, you need to enable the grains to activate enzymes needed to convert starches into fermentable sugars. This requires mashing, where you have to start worrying about mash temps, sparging, pH, your water chemistry, and a multitude of other factors that, while giving you a massive amount of your control over your beer, make it a lot more complicated.

Some folks jump into this from the start, but for most people it's better to start with extract (the mashing has already been done for you, you're just buying pre-concentrated fermentables whether in dry or liquid form). That way you can get the hang of the general process of boiling, hop additions, cooling your wort, fermentation, etc. The addition of steeping grains like many kits have add an additional step, but it's really not that complicated.

In addition to the more complicated process, it's worth mentioning all-grain requires a fair amount of extra equipment that can get rather pricey. But if you enjoy brewing, you'll likely end up doing it eventually.

An ever popular place to start reading up is John Palmers How to Brew online. Just google it and start reading

Bad,

Check out http://www.howtobrew.com/ and read the free version. It got me going originally. If you like what you read, consider purchasing the newer edition and ask some questions on here-- there are so many knowledgable brewers here ready to help.

Cheers!

BTW, Austin Homebrew Supply offers an alcohol boost as an option on all of their kits. No affiliation, just a loyal customer.

well i started to read that free version of how to brew and all i can say is dang.. there is a lot to then i thought... now i think im getting a little over whelmed with all the info...

so with what i read i got a few questions can u guys explain a few things to me ?

when u get the measurements of gravity of the brew now how does that affect the alcohol content? and the bitterness of the beer? and the carbonation of the beer? or did i just confuse my self and miss read and the gravity have nothing to do with thoes things?

now also when looking at a blue moon were it is a wheat beer now with is saying that it is a wheat beer does that mean it has no hops in the brew?

and i read up to the part about the dry v.s liquid yeast i know the dry yeast has more cells in volume v.s the liquid.... but i thought i read that the liquid is better because it has more different strands of yeast cells that benefit the beer better in flavor.. how does that work.. or did i miss read it?

There's a lot of info to take in, but starting with extract is easier than it seems. The most important thing to keep in mind is rigorous sanitation. As long as everything that comes in contact after the wort is boiled until the beer is poured out of the bottle (or keg) is clean and sanitary, everything else is pretty straightforward. I knew next to nothing prior to my first batch, and was amazed how well it turned out.

Gravity readings will tell you the density of your beer as compared to water. For homebrewers, alcohol content is calculated by comparing the starting gravity with ending gravity (change in density from sugars that have been converted into alcohol and C02). The bigger the difference between original and final gravity, the more alcoholic the beer. Gravity readings should have no effect on bitterness. I've never taken a gravity reading of a carbonated beer (outside of whatever residual C02 is left in solution after fermentation) so I don't know if that'll have an effect. But generally, the stronger or heavier a beer the more time it'll need to carbonate.

Wheat beers certainly have hops in them. Just less than many other styles.

As far as yeasts, I typically use liquid yeast (typically 1 pack with a 1 liter starter, but more if needed), but I've had great success with dry yeast as well, although I've only used it a few times. I'm sure someone a bit more knowlegedable about the specifics of yeast can explain that a bit better than I can.

baddagger said:

well i started to read that free version of how to brew and all i can say is dang.. there is a lot to then i thought... now i think im getting a little over whelmed with all the info...

so with what i read i got a few questions can u guys explain a few things to me ?

when u get the measurements of gravity of the brew now how does that affect the alcohol content? and the bitterness of the beer? and the carbonation of the beer? or did i just confuse my self and miss read and the gravity have nothing to do with thoes things?

now also when looking at a blue moon were it is a wheat beer now with is saying that it is a wheat beer does that mean it has no hops in the brew?

and i read up to the part about the dry v.s liquid yeast i know the dry yeast has more cells in volume v.s the liquid.... but i thought i read that the liquid is better because it has more different strands of yeast cells that benefit the beer better in flavor.. how does that work.. or did i miss read it?

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Gravity refers to how much sugar is dissolved in the wort (beer). Before fermentation, the gravity (called original gravity) is how much sugar the yeast could potentially eat. Yeasts eat sugar and output CO2 and alcohol. When fermentation is finished, the measured gravity (final gravity) is how much sugar is left. The difference between original and final gravity tells you how much sugar was eaten and thus how much alcohol was produced.

As for Blue Moon, it's a Witbier. Beer styles are general categories for beers with certain attributes, in this case some wheat, typical spiced line corriander, and particular yeast characteristics. They still have hops though, they're just not overly hop focused.

As for the dry/liquid yeast question- I think you're getting lost in the weeds. Both liquid and dry will work and you should generally make a starter.

ok i got another question

i am planning on putting my beer in kegs sense i already have a Kegerator.. now when i was reading the book it said something along the lines of about forcing carbonation in the beer ..or go with natural carbonation ....now from what i been reading shouldnt the beer make its own when u bottle/keg it when u add extra sugar? what is the point of force carbonating the beer? would that make it have twice the carbonation?

I don't keg (no space or money for the equipment or a kegerator), so I naturally bottle condition, and have no idea of keg workings outside of attaching a party tap (and it's been a while since I've done so), so can't help you out much, outside of that I'm pretty sure you only want to do one or the other. From what I understand, force carbing is much, much faster, but will not age or store like natural carbonation will. In either case, you'd need C02 to keep the pressure up.

Force carbing is when you keg your beer no priming turn regulator up to 30 psi I shake mine 2 or 3 times then leave it on co2 for 24 hours Basic idea is you don't wait for beer to carb itself it's "Forced Carbed"

beaksnbeer said:

Force carbing is when you keg your beer no priming turn regulator up to 30 psi I shake mine 2 or 3 times then leave it on co2 for 24 hours Basic idea is you don't wait for beer to carb itself it's "Forced Carbed"

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Well, that's not really correct. I would NEVER shake my beer at 30 psi, but I force carb all of my beers.

Force carbing simply means that you are "forcing" co2 into the beer. If you're not using "natural" carb methods, you are force carbing.

I set my beer into my kegerator at the same pressure as all of my other kegs and wait about 10 days. This is also "force carbing".

I'd suggest getting a kit from austinhomebrew, especially since you like Blue Moon, and just following the directions. They have very good directions on the kit, and that will make it easy. Get an "extract kit" and you'll be all set.

When it's time to keg the beer, most of us homebrewers use cornelius kegs, the kind that Pepsi used to come in for soda fountain machines. If you have a couple of those, that would work great. If you are using sanke kegs for your kegerator, you might need a few other items.

Just get the Blue Moon Clone extract kit from AHS, and sweeten it up with honey, also add some fresh orange zest at 15 min left in the boil to bring out the citrusy notes your going for.

Yooper said:

Well, that's not really correct. I would NEVER shake my beer at 30 psi, but I force carb all of my beers.

Force carbing simply means that you are "forcing" co2 into the beer. If you're not using "natural" carb methods, you are force carbing.

I set my beer into my kegerator at the same pressure as all of my other kegs and wait about 10 days. This is also "force carbing".

I'd suggest getting a kit from austinhomebrew, especially since you like Blue Moon, and just following the directions. They have very good directions on the kit, and that will make it easy. Get an "extract kit" and you'll be all set.

When it's time to keg the beer, most of us homebrewers use cornelius kegs, the kind that Pepsi used to come in for soda fountain machines. If you have a couple of those, that would work great. If you are using sanke kegs for your kegerator, you might need a few other items.

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well i have a kegerator that i been using 15.5 gal kegs that i get form the store which i been liek blue moon... dose equise .... now i know the connector that i has is round and i put it in the middle of the keg then push down and twist.... now is that different from what you are talking about for the 5 gal? if so what woudl i have to do so i can make a 5 gal keg work with mine? or can i buy a 5 gal keg that has a the connector that will work with my keg?

baddagger said:

well i have a kegerator that i been using 15.5 gal kegs that i get form the store which i been liek blue moon... dose equise .... now i know the connector that i has is round and i put it in the middle of the keg then push down and twist.... now is that different from what you are talking about for the 5 gal? if so what woudl i have to do so i can make a 5 gal keg work with mine? or can i buy a 5 gal keg that has a the connector that will work with my keg?

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Yes, those are totally different.

You can buy a ball lock corney keg, and the correct connectors, without any issue at all. I just thought I'd mention that it's different so you can purchase the correct connectors, and then put a WYE (Y) fitting on the gas so you have both ready to use.

Yooper said:

Yes, those are totally different.

You can buy a ball lock corney keg, and the correct connectors, without any issue at all. I just thought I'd mention that it's different so you can purchase the correct connectors, and then put a WYE (Y) fitting on the gas so you have both ready to use.

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well my kegerator had a dual tap on it... and the gas line from the co2 tank has a splitter so i can run co2 to two differnt kegs at once ..or i can shut one line off or both if i want.. now what type of connectors will i need for this? and what is a wye(y) fitting?

even thoe i have a kegerator im not really 100% up on all these things.. i just ordered a already made one ..and pop the keg in and poor the beer..