jbelokur
Member
Do any of you all know of a book that would take me through the whole process of being completely self sufficient? From choosing and growing your grain and hops to malting and roasting your grains...and on and on.
The Whole Way
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I think an "all inclusive" book may be hard to come buy, due to growing regions/zones, seasons ect.
I have heard a lot of good things about "The brewers garden" as far as growing ingredients go (Many reviews claim a strong pagan/cult like undertones in the authors writing but the general info is good.
I actually think the closest thing you may actually find is here at HBT. These forums are filled with knowledge....
I do have a few questions for you, if you do not mind...
- Are you going down the "I grew this and this is the beer I can brew." or "House beer" path?
The reason I ask is it would be pretty hard to grow enough of the grains to make specific styles of beer, example: porters, stouts, pilsner, IPA to name a few and to make it be worth while. however it is much more conceivable to grow enough to make "beer" in the "I get what I get" fashion.
- Are you also going to grow/harvest wild yeast?
There is a huge section here on HBT just for that!
- Are you going to "build your water"? IE: start with distilled water and add minerals/salts to it in order to create specific profiles, as well as remove all unwanted "nasties" from the water.?
This is a popular thing to do when trying to control all the aspects of the brew.
I have heard a lot of good things about "The brewers garden" as far as growing ingredients go (Many reviews claim a strong pagan/cult like undertones in the authors writing but the general info is good.
I actually think the closest thing you may actually find is here at HBT. These forums are filled with knowledge....
I do have a few questions for you, if you do not mind...
- Are you going down the "I grew this and this is the beer I can brew." or "House beer" path?
The reason I ask is it would be pretty hard to grow enough of the grains to make specific styles of beer, example: porters, stouts, pilsner, IPA to name a few and to make it be worth while. however it is much more conceivable to grow enough to make "beer" in the "I get what I get" fashion.
- Are you also going to grow/harvest wild yeast?
There is a huge section here on HBT just for that!
- Are you going to "build your water"? IE: start with distilled water and add minerals/salts to it in order to create specific profiles, as well as remove all unwanted "nasties" from the water.?
This is a popular thing to do when trying to control all the aspects of the brew.
jbelokur
Member
Really, I have a friend who wants to sort of "go off the grid" And I was just wondering what it would take to still brew good beer.
I have the Homebrewer's Garden. It's OK but far from a definitive guide. The most useful information in the book is the section on hops growing and also on non-hops additives like spruce, etc.
So far as growing grain and malting, there's a bit in there but it's pretty sparse.
So far as growing grain and malting, there's a bit in there but it's pretty sparse.
I am all about self sustainability. I have plans on getting close to being "off the grid" myself. While I can not say I would ever be 100% off the grid I think getting into the 80% region is very do-able. :rockin:
Bartering is your best friend in this scenario unless your friend has the optimum conditions, lots of land and time, there is little to no choice...due to they are probably growing food as well as livestock on the same land.
I would grow hops and 2 row American barley. I would barter with the local bee keeper for honey (I get AWSOME deals on late in the season honey because it is darker and starting to separate but it is still great for brewing.) I would also set up to grab "wild yeast" where and when I could.
Now onto the REALLY big question are we gearing up like I mentioned above to be more "green" and earth friendly or are we trying to set up for "The ICBMs have all been launched or a new virus strain is running rampant and the last radio transmission you/your friend receive is "good luck you are on your own."? because these are 2 very different things.
jbelokur
Member
Bartering is your best friend in this scenario unless your friend has the optimum conditions, lots of land and time, there is little to no choice...due to they are probably growing food as well as livestock on the same land.
Now onto the REALLY big question are we gearing up like I mentioned above to be more "green" and earth friendly or are we trying to set up for "The ICBMs have all been launched or a new virus strain is running rampant and the last radio transmission you/your friend receive is "good luck you are on your own."? because these are 2 very different things.
This is what I was thinking. Most likely you would have to do this sort of thing in community where someone grows the grain for the brew as well as bread etc. It's hard to think %100 off the grid by yourself.
To the second question, I would say neither, really. Just want to get away from it all
As much as I hate to say this, I would look to get away from beer and start thinking about wines. They are infinity easier to make, think local fruits/flowers/roots in season and harvesting wild yeast.
Beer is great but the farther "off the grid" you get the harder it is to make by yourself. I am not saying impossible but it would be a bigger PITA and time sink than it would be worth in my opinion.
jbelokur
Member
If you have to get away from beer to get away....then I don't want to get away! Again, I'm thinking at least small community so it wouldn't be all by oneself.
The grain will be your biggest hurdle. there are tons of threads on it like this one: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/growing-barley-wheat-home-115557/
Growing hops is relatively easy, and culturing yeast is also pretty easy.
Growing hops is relatively easy, and culturing yeast is also pretty easy.
