Austere Location Brew Day!

As many of you already know, I'm currently in Korea, in a very small town. Homebrewing is about as foreign as I am here, but I couldn't make this trip without brewing at least one batch. I brought a 3 gallon stock pot with me along with all of the ingredients I needed for a single batch of porter (grain pre-crushed, everything vacuum sealed...Customs, I have NOTHING to declare...). I also brought a bottle capper and caps. After a lengthy wait, my bucket-style fermenter arrived in the mail, so it was time to brew TODAY!

I rented a turkey fryer for $30 (yeah...rented...), bought some of the better imported beers I could find (bottled Guinness Extra and Beck's Dark), gathered a few friends, and commenced brewing on the second story balcony of my dorm building. The first picture shows the view looking north from the balcony. The second picture shows the maid's cart I "borrowed" for a wind break. All in all, everything went well, and (with a bit of luck), the brew should be fermenting away in the building where I work (in a closet that maintains 60-65 all on its own) right now. The recipe follows in the next post.

Nice.

Are the water bottles for the water only or for fermenters?

orfy said:

Are the water bottles for the water only or for fermenters?

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The water bottles are just my water supply. You can see the fermenter in the second picture (white bucket full of BLEACH(!) solution with an airlock on top).

Yuri, you rock.

That is dedication!!!!!

You should send a bottle over to my brother-in-law at Red Cloud. He'd shoot sparks out of his ass.

Can't wait to hear if you and your bros like the finished product!!!

Wow! That's great! I have half a mind(But that's another story)to brew this myself, just because you're doing it over there. Way d go, sir!

So how's this puppy going?

It's gonna be a good one! I really needed a blow off tube, but I don't have anything to use for one. I narrowly avoided disaster by checking on it twice a day and cleaning the krausen and beer out of the airlock. It's settling down now, and initial samples taste REALLY good!

Congrats Yuri! That's amazing! A true brewer! Keep us posted.

Are you enjoying yourself? Where in Korea are you?

Have you noticed the Starbucks invasion over there?

I'm in Kunsan on the west coast in the southern part of the country. I wouldn't exactly say that I'm enjoying myself, but I'm making the best of it. Had a good weekend with the boys - we had a big party last night then went out on the town for dinner and drinks. Today was spent recovering from a hangover and having a friendly bowling competition.

I have noticed the Starbucks invasion, along with Outback Steakhouse, all the major US fast food chains, and Baskin Robbins (although the latter few have been cropping up here for several years).

Yuri_Rage said:

I have noticed the Starbucks invasion, along with Outback Steakhouse, all the major US fast food chains, and Baskin Robbins (although the latter few have been cropping up here for several years).

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I was in Seoul a couple years ago downtown, there seemed to be a Starbucks on every corner. I counted 11 of them one morning just going to work.

Bottling tomorrow! This one had to be a bit rushed due to our constantly fluctuating departure plans. I'm sampling a bit now, and it's AWESOME. It is VERY reminiscent of Anchor Porter, which was my intent. I'm brewing this one again! Perhaps a larger AG batch will be my first brew when I arrive back in the land of hamburgers and baseball.

Congrats on the good brew. I now feel like a wimp giving up brewing for a year while away. I think I'll take your example, buck up, and figure out how to make it happen. Have a safe journey home to where I hope a big juicy burger awaits.

Based on my experiences, I'm wagering your beer will be among the best ever brewed in Asia.

We need to keep this going: brewing in strange/interesting places.

I've never had a beer clear and carbonate so quickly! We've been drinking it since yesterday (only 3 days after bottling). I wish I had a few more weeks to let it mellow, but it's not going to last that long. We're leaving soon so the conditioning time had to be minimal, and this beer tastes FANTASTIC...it'll be gone before the end of the week at this rate! I'm DEFINITELY brewing this one again!

...note the classy hotel bathroom counter pic...

It looks like you're brewing in the latrine...

'99',

Korea ...
Isn't that really a little 'too'...
austere!

Knife

For those following this thread, the beer was a great success. It was gone within three days of declaring it fit to drink (though it was still a bit green!).

I'm back home in New Mexico now, and all is well. I haven't had the chance to tap a keg yet, but I had over 20 gallons conditioning while I was gone. I hope it aged well!

More brew pics/projects to follow! Thanks for all the great support!

EDIT: It's 7 AM, but I couldn't help it...I just tapped a keg of Floor Kill Ale, brewed the first week in December 06. It's clear, crisp, and TASTY! I love homebrewing!

Welcome Home! I'm glad you made it back OK and your beer is good.

20 gallons conditioning eh? Sounds like you have your work cut out for you this weekend.

Hey, welcome back!!!!!!!!!!!

What/when is the first brew?

welcome home

Welcome home indeed! I was thrilled by this thread to the point that I'm ready to brew this porter of yours! I might wait a little more than 3 days after bottling to guzzle it though...

Welcome home, Yuri.

Thanks, fellas! My first "home" brew of the year will probably be in about 3 weeks or so, when I've restocked my supplies. I'm thinking it'll either be an AG version of the porter recipe above or the Budvar clone I've been thinking about trying.

I'm also itching to get my hands on an Arduino board, some thermocouples, and some relays to try my hand at automating my brew rig!