Hinez57SouthernScotsman
Member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2007
- Messages
- 16
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First I'd like to say I'm very thankful for a community like this and ANY sage wisdom y'all may impart will be very much appreciated. For the record I'm in Mississippi and don't have contact with a single homebrewer here... I've decided to take the dive anyway! Could you help me with the following questions...
1) I must say before asking this question, I'm piecing my material/kit together in parts. I have 5 gallon food grade containers (friends in the food industry). What capacity batch size can I create with 5 Gal fermentors? How many inches of space do I need between the lid and wort?
2) Would it hurt to brew a "half" batch size of 2.5 Gals in my 5 Gal fermentors? (I'm under the impression that to much "air space" is a bad thing.)
Followup questions to #2)
2A) How do I brew 4 gals? I know the simple answer is reduce everything by 1/5th moron! But!!!!!!!!!!! If I reduce the water by 1/5th and leave the other ingredients as is, will I end up with a stronger beer that's drinkable?
2B) Is it a possibility to send a batch as discribed above throught primary fermentation and add the extra gallon of sterile cooled water when transfering to secondary fermentation?
3) In an attempt to ease into the brewing disciplines I'd like to start with extract brewing. Opinions... is this the way to go?
4) I'm trying to get a natural food store here to stock/special order malt extracts for me. Am I better off to start with brewing from a premade pack? My hope is to get extracts and be left to online order the yeast and hops (or any other flavorings/special ingredients the beer I brew needs). Is this realistic?
5) Finally WHAT TO BREW!!! Without going throught the long list of what I like in a beer... I'll summarize. I'm more likely to like porters and other dark beers usually. My fav. medium/light bodied beer is Boddington's Pub Ale. A British Pub Ale, any thoughts on a recipe of what I should brew? Specific simple recipe (or link to said recipe) please. FWIW another favorite is John Courage... anyone got a simple recipe for this style beer (Scotish Amber/Dark Ale)?
What I really need here is an, "If I were you I'd start with a forgiving dark beer like such and such available as a kit at such and such".
Thanks in advance guys. I'm on an island and need some answers here... I'm sure I'll have more questions!
Phillip M
Ps Any fellow Mississippians here?
_________________
"Here's a $20, bury two". These words were uttered by Univ. of Alabama FB coach Paul Bryant when reporters were passing a hat asking for $10 donations to help bury a fellow reporter.
1) I must say before asking this question, I'm piecing my material/kit together in parts. I have 5 gallon food grade containers (friends in the food industry). What capacity batch size can I create with 5 Gal fermentors? How many inches of space do I need between the lid and wort?
2) Would it hurt to brew a "half" batch size of 2.5 Gals in my 5 Gal fermentors? (I'm under the impression that to much "air space" is a bad thing.)
Followup questions to #2)
2A) How do I brew 4 gals? I know the simple answer is reduce everything by 1/5th moron! But!!!!!!!!!!! If I reduce the water by 1/5th and leave the other ingredients as is, will I end up with a stronger beer that's drinkable?
2B) Is it a possibility to send a batch as discribed above throught primary fermentation and add the extra gallon of sterile cooled water when transfering to secondary fermentation?
3) In an attempt to ease into the brewing disciplines I'd like to start with extract brewing. Opinions... is this the way to go?
4) I'm trying to get a natural food store here to stock/special order malt extracts for me. Am I better off to start with brewing from a premade pack? My hope is to get extracts and be left to online order the yeast and hops (or any other flavorings/special ingredients the beer I brew needs). Is this realistic?
5) Finally WHAT TO BREW!!! Without going throught the long list of what I like in a beer... I'll summarize. I'm more likely to like porters and other dark beers usually. My fav. medium/light bodied beer is Boddington's Pub Ale. A British Pub Ale, any thoughts on a recipe of what I should brew? Specific simple recipe (or link to said recipe) please. FWIW another favorite is John Courage... anyone got a simple recipe for this style beer (Scotish Amber/Dark Ale)?
What I really need here is an, "If I were you I'd start with a forgiving dark beer like such and such available as a kit at such and such".
Thanks in advance guys. I'm on an island and need some answers here... I'm sure I'll have more questions!
Phillip M
Ps Any fellow Mississippians here?
_________________
"Here's a $20, bury two". These words were uttered by Univ. of Alabama FB coach Paul Bryant when reporters were passing a hat asking for $10 donations to help bury a fellow reporter.