From Central IL - Getting back to brewing after 10 yrs

Hey all,

I have been gleaning some valuable info from this board for a few months and figured it was time to introduce myself as I am planning to do my 1st batch after a 10+ year brewing hiatus.

For the time being I am going to continue with extract brewing, but will begin kegging my beer as I distinctly remember not appreciating the bottling process.

I also plan to start experimenting with cider this year as I have about 45 apple trees on my property (some cider specific) that will come into bearing in a few years.

I am glad to see such an active online homebrew community to continue to advance the art and science of brewing on a small scale.

Thanks,

Sean

Welcome, Sean! Lots of brewers from IL here and lot's of good info, too.

Yep, central, IL here too.
Welcome back to brewing!

Welcome

Welcome from I-80, exit 27...

Brewing 1st beer in 10 years tomorrow - a Liberty Cream Ale from Midwest - very fitting for the 4th. Then I need to get started putting together a kegging system.

Cheers, Sean

welcome to the forum!

Where abouts are you in Central IL?

Oh Welcome!

welcome back to all the fun!

I'm also from Central Ill!

I'm in Gridley which is about 15 miles north of Normal. I work over in East Peoria. Anyone here part of the Abnormal Brewers? I was a member for a year or two when I first moved to the area.

i've heard about their (abnormal's) get togethers and they have started putting up flyers in the friar tuck home-brew section, but I have never been.

I've heard mix reviews of how active / snobby they are, so I have taken the time to go check it out. Any other abnormal brewers out there?

Hi There, I'm also from Central IL (Decatur). I'm spending some time reading and learning before I get started brewing in the next couple months. Anyone know any good brew stores in Decatur?

Your best bet might be at Friar Tuck's in Bloomington or Springfield.

Frenchy said:

Hi There, I'm also from Central IL (Decatur). I'm spending some time reading and learning before I get started brewing in the next couple months. Anyone know any good brew stores in Decatur?

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I like Friar Tuck's in Savoy for local, but they don't really have too much. Online is pretty much the way to go here.

I'm over on the West End. If you are nice I'll cut you in on my next NORTHERN BREWER order, let you use my propane burner (if you want), and introduce you the "double wide".

Welcome from Chicago! For any people in and around the Chicago area, there is an AleFest at Soldier Field this next weekend. I will be going myself, and am greatly looking forward to it. Welcome to AleFest

Sorry to HiJack your welcome thread, but to answer the question about Decatur....

I haven't been/seen any brewstores in D-town.
As for my Grain supply, I goto Illinois Brew Company (a microbrew in bloomington) to get my base malt. You can get a 55# bag for $45. Granted, the owner is kind of a ****** bag... but the price is worth the trouble.

I get my specialty grains and/or hops from Friar Tuck or
Home wine making supply and home brew supply available on-line at Midwest Homebrewing Supplies. Search for wine recipes and beer recipes
depending on how long I give myself to get supplies.

If you need anything or need any resources, just hit me up via PM.

Welcome back! I was born and raised in Crete, IL (south of Chicago Heights). You'll certainly be surprised at the changes in the hobby in ten years. Dozens of new or newly available hops, ditto for liquid yeast and there's even dry lager and wheat yeasts.

I'm very glad I am not trying to brew in Illinois. It rarely gets over 90F or below freezing here. And I really don't miss the bugs (except fireflys).

Welcome back. Like you, I took a decade off and recently came back to it. There are so many great resources now, for information (like HBT), equipment, and ingredients.

Frenchy said:

Hi There, I'm also from Central IL (Decatur). I'm spending some time reading and learning before I get started brewing in the next couple months. Anyone know any good brew stores in Decatur?

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Frenchy, I'm from D-Town too and, near as I can tell, there ain't nothin' here in terms of home brewing supplies. He**, ain't nothin' here even for bottling, unless you can settle for Mason jars from Wal Mart. I'd sure as heck like for someone to point me to some local stores.

If not, maybe carpooling is in the future. I've never tried homebrewing beer. I'm taking my baby steps into it with a simple mead recipe (hence the mason jar. Apparently, plain ole yeast isn't all that picky about light).

I know it a drive but there is a good homebrew store in galasburg. its called sothingsbrewin.

Well, thanks everyone for the info on Decatur. I even called the local wine store to see if they new of a place and he said the same thing. Best bet is 'Tuks. So Michael68, maybe someday we can pool up there. i'm not looking to do anything for a while though.

Hey, My name is Michael Littrell and just got HBT recently to see if I could find other brewers in Decatur. Turns out there are several of us here in town. I am hoping to get a club started. I've posted messages on several forums and have got a few replies already from people interested. Let me know if you would like to participate in a club, and if so, I would love suggestions on places we could potentially meet for club meetings. And if you know of any other people in town that may be interested, well... the more the merrier! Please feel free to contact me here or my email @ [email protected]. Hopefully with enough people and support we can make this happen! Thanks and Cheers.