Back to Brewing after 26 years

[sspilecki]

Hi all!

I used to brew a good amount in the late 80's through the 90's. I brewed with a couple of friends and my dad on occasion. Divorce and life interceded and I got away from it but with the hope of getting going again "someday". Well, some day finally came. My dad dies in March and it made me think about a lot of things especially his joy of life and a good beer. I had kept all my stuff though all that time. Four moves, getting remarried, changing jobs many times but I still had both my and my dad's equipment so I got a fresh bucket and started up again.

I'm a extract with grain adjunct kind of guy. I tend towards stouts and porters that you can't see through. I am not a heavy hopper especially now that I'm older the bitter gets to me too much. I am looking to expand my horizons and found this group looking for a recipe for elderberry beer though just as a random thought. I live in Maine and, years ago, started working on a maple lager using maple syrup and maple sap instead of water. Only go part way there and intend to keep going as I have trees I can tap on my property.

Looking forward to exploring the site and thanks for the add!

 

[2hennepin6]

Glad you're getting back into brewing. Welcome On the maple sap front, I brewed a maple sap tripel a few years ago. I tapped a couple of trees in my so. VT yard. It was good but kind of sweet. Probably not the fault of the sap as it wouldn't add that much sugar. I think using sap sounds excellent! Maple Porter?

 

[Velnerj]

Welcome back! I'm sure things have changed drastically since you were last in the homebrew scene (the Internet being a huge game changer). You'll find homebrewing is practically mainstream now. Because of this there are a lot of options and nearly everything is available from equipment to ingredients to recipes. You'll find a lot of useful info here but you can also check out the latest publications or podcasts (or don't). The world is your oyster.

Big changes in the homebrew scene since the 90s? Secondaries are rarely used; Brew in a bag; kveik yeast; sours; recipe calculators etc etc.

Enjoy the ride!

 

[Transamguy77]

Welcome back from Pa! Things are so different now, strap in because it’s going to be a different ride.

 

[Wables]

Welcome back! I recently came back to the brewing section of the internet. I basically “brewed in a bubble” since 2009. The biggest changes I’ve seen are:

No more secondaries.
Affordable electric brewing systems.
More attention to fermentation temp control.
More attention to water composition.
More attention to cold side O2 contact.
Awesome and affordable fermenter options.
The magic of Fermcap.
Pressurized fermentation.
Extreme amounts of dry hops in IPAs.

I’m glad I got a bonus last month. I’ve easily spent a grand on new equipment - electric brew system and 2 fermenters. As soon as my unused metal lathe gets picked up and paid for I’m adding 2 chest freezers for fermenting.

 

[sspilecki]

Glad you're getting back into brewing. Welcome On the maple sap front, I brewed a maple sap tripel a few years ago. I tapped a couple of trees in my so. VT yard. It was good but kind of sweet. Probably not the fault of the sap as it wouldn't add that much sugar. I think using sap sounds excellent! Maple Porter?

Hmmmm....Maple porter? that sounds like something to try.

 

[sspilecki]

Welcome back from Pa! Things are so different now, strap in because it’s going to be a different ride.

I am seeing that though I don't think it will prevent me from doing what I know how to do. I'm kind of in a remote area so the internet helps for getting materials. Where in PA? One of my old brewing buddies is in Pittsburg now.

 

[Transamguy77]

I am seeing that though I don't think it will prevent me from doing what I know how to do. I'm kind of in a remote area so the internet helps for getting materials. Where in PA? One of my old brewing buddies is in Pittsburg now.

I don’t think it will just so much has changed in the last 10 years so 26 has to be like culture shock! I’m an hour north of Philly so a bit further away than your buddy, but I’d be open for a road trip for a brew day.

 

[dwhite60]

Welcome back.

I stated brewing in 1989. For the most part I'm doing things now much like I did then except...

I BIAB. I've got better things to do with my time than lauter.
No more five gallon batches. Three suits my needs and lets me brew more often.
More yeast selection makes it more interesting.
More variety of malts.

Don't get overwhelmed by the bling.

 

[bracconiere]

I used to brew a good amount in the late 80's through the 90's.

I stated brewing in 1989

i'm curious, how'd you get malt? i've kinda always wondered how people did it before i was born.....


Welcome!

 

[user 298779]

Welcome back.

I stated brewing in 1989. For the most part I'm doing things now much like I did then except...

I BIAB. I've got better things to do with my time than lauter.
No more five gallon batches. Three suits my needs and lets me brew more often.
More yeast selection makes it more interesting.
More variety of malts.

Don't get overwhelmed by the bling.

LOL - I hope your not still scrounging for stainless kegs, cutting the tops out, scanning McMaster Carr in hopes of finding stainless steel pipe nipples so you can look for a welder to attach fittings…and a 3 keggle system, without a stand or tree, and no way to pump liquids so it was gravity & muscle! And dang, trying to figure out a false bottom and solder a heck of a lot of copper tubing/pipe! Ahhh yes, the good ‘ol days…..NOT! I could go on and on…

BIAB is great, like keeping things simple. I know good Brewers who made fantastic beers in a single plastic bucket which fermented in their closet. Better to master the fundamentals than get caught up in the bling though…

Confession: I do have a lot of bling now and have relegated my old equipment to a personal museum.

Cheers,

KBW.

 

[user 298779]

i'm curious, how'd you get malt? i've kinda always wondered how people did it before i was born.....


Welcome!

Funny as always post Brac…

 

[bracconiere]

Funny as always post Brac…

LOL, wasn't meant to be! seriously i've always wondered before my birthday, sept 1978....how people managed to brew?

 

[user 298779]

LOL, wasn't meant to be! seriously i've always wondered before my birthday, sept 1978....how people managed to brew?

And here I thought you meant 1989 - lol! Yea I wonder about that as well. Can’t believe the home brewed beer tasted very good in the 60’s & early 70’s.….

Cheers mate

 

[bracconiere]

And here I thought you meant 1989 - lol! Yea I wonder about that as well. Can’t believe the home brewed beer tasted very good in the 60’s & early 70’s.….

Cheers mate

but it WAS cheap! if i remember one battle cry of the pioneers was "if i can brew a quart for 20 cents, i should be able to!"...and i carry their torch, because i can STILL brew a quart for 20 cents!

 

[user 298779]

Yep and just think…. your quart won’t send you to the doctors or make you hold your nose when you drink it….!

 

[bracconiere]

Yep and just think…. your quart won’t send you to the doctors or make you hold your nose when you drink it….!

it would take 5 quarts to do a proper job!

 

[user 298779]

it would take 5 quarts to do a proper job!

That would be like drinking the gallon of pre-colonoscopy liquid! Blah..

 

[sspilecki]

i'm curious, how'd you get malt? i've kinda always wondered how people did it before i was born.....


Welcome!

Weirdly enough the best brewers supply in my area is a health food store. It is highly controversial among the staff ranging from the evils of alcohol to the benefits of home brew. I still use extracts with adjuncts but may go further eventually. Maine has a lot of micro breweries and actually has a couple of places that do the malting.

 

[bracconiere]

It is highly controversial among the staff

but not the hemp seeds, i'm sure they sell?

 

[user 298779]

Weirdly enough the best brewers supply in my area is a health food store. It is highly controversial among the staff ranging from the evils of alcohol to the benefits of home brew. I still use extracts with adjuncts but may go further eventually. Maine has a lot of micro breweries and actually has a couple of places that do the malting.

That’s understandable. But hopefully they’d be ok with low alcohol session beers made from all organic, gluten free, no trans fat, no HGH, range free (the land is free) ingredients!

Maine has some fantastic micro breweries. I’ve downed more than my body weight each time I was in Portsmouth or Portland.

I‘d like to do more extract brews right now in 2.5 gals but not many local HBS’s to buy fresh ingredients.

Cheeers

KBW.