5 gallons. That's a lot!

[Parilla]

I love good beer - but I don't drink much. And neither do my roommates; thanks to school and work and teaching, our days are pretty well filled from morning until bed time. The only time we can really enjoy a beer is on the weekends....and one beer is really about all that's needed for each of us. I got us a case of Arrogant B*****d Ale, and three of us were a bit overwhelmed by just two bottles. Delighted, but overwhelmed.

So, I'm a bit worried about how long five gallons of homebrew is going to last us. I can't see us drinking more than an average of a half pint a week, and since there's only three of us, that means a batch of beer is going to last close to seven weeks, if not significantly longer. Can it sit around that long without going foul? Should I set aside some and not prime it? I won't have any problem keeping it in the dark (that's why there's space under beds!), but exploding bottles are going to be a bit hard on the carpet. I can deal with noncarbonated beer if that means no booming in the night.

If it's a horrible idea to have homebrew around for six weeks after it's ready, what about cutting the recipe in half? There's going to be a higher proportion of surface exposed to the air - is oxidation going to be a problem? Does the boil time for the wort depend on the amount of wort there is, or is it absolute?

Maybe I should just make friends with a frat...

 

[Parilla]

Also. What the heck is a charismatic spoon? I checked the wiki and all the glossaries, but I can't find a definition anywhere. All I know is that it's oddly named and made of wood.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

Half a pint a week...and you call yourself a student!! I used to go through a case of beer and a few gallons of cheap jug wine while cramming for mid-terms! Donating blood in the afternoon and binge drinking that evening was also a favorite extracurricular activity. Kids these days...they just don't make any effort!

Don't sweat it, 5 gallons is not nearly as much as you think. Once you get in the groove of brewing, you'll find yourself enjoying beer on a more regular basis. Once your friends catch wind of it, you'll be wishing you'd made 10 gallons.

Your bottled, primed beer will continue to condition and improve over the coming weeks and months. Just wait, the last beer from your batch will be the best one. Aging is not an issue.

So long as you've let fermentation complete, and haven't over-primed, bottle bombs are very unlikely. If you're still worried about your carpet, set your cases in a bus tub or other plastic container.

 

[paulthenurse]

Trolls!

They're not just for under bridges anymore.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I'd say you're better off than the rest of us! Brew some beer...then brew some more.....then continue to forget about it under your bed! If you only drink a half a pint a week, you will have some of the most developed, flavorful beer in a radius of 50 miles!

 

[zoebisch01]

Well I'd say RDWHAHB!

In all honesty, you'll have unforseen things like....giving away a bottle or two, bringing a 6-er to a social gathering, etc. As for the concerns on it going bad, this can indeed happen and is rather recipe specific, and also depends on how the beer is processed and stored. Even then you'll easily get a few months of storage with just about any recipe without trouble as long as you don't screw up the process and keep it stored cool and out of the light.. Yeah 5 gallons seems like a lot. Actually you may find yourself drinking a little more lol. *shrug*

 

[thomcat333]

So since I was curious about this too, I am taking a shot at the spoon question:

My guess is that it's one of two things...
1) (probably not, but anyway...) Charismatic is defined in some dictionaries as having the power to attract. In that sense, it might mean that it extracts some thing from the liquid it stirs.

2) (the one I prefer) Charismatic is also defined as pertaining to divine power given to a group of early Christians, resulting in the 'Charismatic' following. In this sense it could reference ancient brewing techniques by which a wooden brewing spoon or stick was passed down from generation to generation because it caused a successful brew. The success was undoubtedly due to the yeast contained in the wooden spoon or stick's porous body. (Yeast was still magic).

Feel free to shoot this straight down, but I'm going to believe number two until I hear otherwise. Any other guesses??? Or better yet facts?

 

[Loweface]

2) (the one I prefer) Charismatic is also defined as pertaining to divine power given to a group of early Christians, resulting in the 'Charismatic' following. In this sense it could reference ancient brewing techniques by which a wooden brewing spoon or stick was passed down from generation to generation because it caused a successful brew. The success was undoubtedly due to the yeast contained in the wooden spoon or stick's porous body. (Yeast was still magic).

Feel free to shoot this straight down, but I'm going to believe number two until I hear otherwise. Any other guesses??? Or better yet facts?

I seem to have heard this one before so it gets my vote but again no fact...

 

[libs]

Letting beer sit that long is defiantly a problem!! In the interest of not letting it go to waste, you can pm me and I will help you dispose of it

Just kidding. Letting it develop that long is a luxury that many of us do not get the chance to take. Take a couple of notes on the taste and body of the beer as you drink it and you will see what a couple of months can do.

Cheers

 

[ScubaSteve]

"Charismatic" can also mean "Unique" when pertaining to crafts,heirlooms, etc. A 2 foot long spoon is definitely unusual and unique....

 

[OblivionsGate]

Here is a question....

Why would you want to homebrew if you are one step away from not drinking at all?

If i have one cigarette a week, i'm probably not going to learn how to roll my own, i'm just going to buy a pack.

I lol at some of the posts on here, i couldn't help but think that 4 friends and i will drop a couple cases in a night and most of us aren't even really buzzed

 

[Cregar]

Parilla... you could do half batches, thats what I do. Mainly because I live i a small apartment and 1/2 batches make it easy for my to do full boil all grain recipes. I might have a beer or 2 during the week with dinner and 3 or 4 during the weekend. I don't drink much either, yea I could go just buy a six pack every week and it would last me, but I really enjoy the process of just brewing the beer.

 

[mawa]

Damn! I think I'll be drinking more tonight than you in a whole year!

 

[the_bird]

A "charismatic spoon" is a Charlie Papazian thing, he talks about using a big wooden spoon when stirring the mash and boiling because it's old-school and cool, no other reason that I'm aware of. Just Papa Charlie being an odd duck, as usual. Don't use it once the boil is done, it's essentially impossible to sanitize.

 

[Parilla]

Here is a question....

Why would you want to homebrew if you are one step away from not drinking at all?

Because if I'm going to drink at all, it's going to be the best beer I can get my hands on!

It's like people who don't eat cheese except for the really good, authentic stuff. Or only have a single truffle from a chocolate boutique. Or women who spend all day in business clothes and jeans, and then put on the best lingerei they can find for their anniversary. If you don't enjoy it all that often, it should be special and great - who wants a crap birthday cake, after all? If it's worth enjoying, it's worth enjoying the best.

Besides. Grandma brewed during Prohibition. I have a tradition to uphold.

 

[OblivionsGate]

Damn! I think I'll be drinking more tonight than you in a whole year!

Amen to that! On Saturday I'm brewing another batch, then we are going to a local brewery's Oktoberfest.

 

[zoebisch01]

Because if I'm going to drink at all, it's going to be the best beer I can get my hands on!

It's like people who don't eat cheese except for the really good, authentic stuff. Or only have a single truffle from a chocolate boutique. Or women who spend all day in business clothes and jeans, and then put on the best lingerei they can find for their anniversary. If you don't enjoy it all that often, it should be special and great - who wants a crap birthday cake, after all? If it's worth enjoying, it's worth enjoying the best.

Besides. Grandma brewed during Prohibition. I have a tradition to uphold.

Here's the catch.......most likely once you begin brewing you'll find that is not hard to make really good beer (as long as you follow the rules when you are starting out and have good ingredients).

Personally, there are very few commercial selections anymore that I can actually feel good about buying because I know that I can brew on par with much of what is out there (I don't say that pompously or lightly, I think many brewers here find this to be true with thier own products). If I do buy commercial it is usually just for a break from something I haven't brewed, or have run out of that I really want the experience of.

 

[OblivionsGate]

Because if I'm going to drink at all, it's going to be the best beer I can get my hands on!

It's like people who don't eat cheese except for the really good, authentic stuff. Or only have a single truffle from a chocolate boutique. Or women who spend all day in business clothes and jeans, and then put on the best lingerei they can find for their anniversary. If you don't enjoy it all that often, it should be special and great - who wants a crap birthday cake, after all? If it's worth enjoying, it's worth enjoying the best.

Besides. Grandma brewed during Prohibition. I have a tradition to uphold.

Well, whatever floats your boat, I just don't think people who only enjoy the best at rare times would put that effort forth. (I rarely drink wine, so I may buy the best stuff, but I'm not going to make my own)

Cheers to your Grandma though!

 

[Parilla]

There's also the sheer satisfaction of making it yourself. I really love doing things on my own.

 

[cweston]

Perhaps you might want to consider brewing styles that improve with age: many Belgian ales, barley wines, etc.

They are trickier styles to master, though.

 

[Danek]

I don't think this is a problem. You estimate it'll take you seven weeks to get through a five gallon batch, and that's about the same length of time it takes to brew a batch of beer (one week in primary, two in secondary and four in bottles). Just make your second batch as soon as your first batch is ready to drink. Seven weeks later your first batch will be all finished, and your second batch will be good to go.

Good luck with it!

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Sounds to me like you and your roomates are a bunch of beer drinking slackers!

For some reason I think that all 3 of you will increase your beer comsumption once you've tasted some beer that you made yourself.

 

[iamjonsharp]

yeah its one thing to turn down going down the road and buying beer, but when you've got a couple of cases of homebrew in the fridge....

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Because if I'm going to drink at all, it's going to be the best beer I can get my hands on!

I can certainly understand that, but you also have to remember that you're probably not going to be making world-class beer when you're just getting started. I've never had a batch come out bad, but there are certainly batches that are less impressive than others, and for most people it's going to take a bunch of batches to really get it together. If it takes you an extremely long time to go through a single batch, your learning process might take forever.

Personally, even though my roommates and I easily go through several gallons of beer a week, I sometimes STILL feel like we don't drink enough to give me enough brewing opportunities to keep practicing. (yeah yeah, I just need more fermenters/kegs/bottles, but I can already ferment 5, keg 3, and bottle 2 batches at a time)

Of course, that's not to say you shouldn't try brewing, and many people might agree that you could very well consider your own beer to be the "best beer" largely because it's the one you made yourself, which is awesome. And, of course, the process is really cool, and can make it worthwhile on its own. It sounds like you'd be quite happy with much smaller batches, in which case the low volume of beer you guys consume isn't a handicap.

I don't know if it's been suggested, but BYO magazine had a recent article on brewing mini batches (something like 1-gallon batches I think?) that seems pretty popular.

 

[Petunia]

To tell you the truth I voiced the same concerns about making so much beer at one time. My husband only drank about a sixpack a year. Now that my first batch of Irish Stout is done he's drinking one to three a night!

I've created a monster!

At least he's enjoying it.

Jennifer

 

[kingjam]

4 hours brewing and sanitizing
1 week in the primary
2 weeks in the secondary
3 hours cleaning and filling bottles
3 weeks in the bottle
........10 friends and 45 minitues later..... no more home brew

 

[Steiner]

I wouldn't worry about the time issue. While moving out of my apartment from school I rediscovered some of my old brews in the back of the pantry and they were better than I remembered. So even if you don't drink much, you'll always have it around. I wish I could be patient enough to wait or just forget about them in the pantry again. Besides, you'd be surprised how fast your beers can disappear. All my friends were a little curious to try some homebrew and before you know it, they'll be eating you out of your supply.

 

[Bearcat Brewmeister]

As long as you practice good sanitation, it should still be good. You will find that highly hopped beers will lose a bit of their hoppiness over time, but in 2 months they should still be fairly good. I drink one beer per night, so 5 gallons lasts me about 7 weeks. Now that I have 3 kegs on tap and can rotate, the beers will last 3 times longer. I have had beers from my keg after 9 months and still taste fine.

Pint a week for a student? You must have very good grades. I slowed down after my college years (hard to maintain 3 cases per week for too long), but hopefully you won't now that you will have great quality homebrewed beer to enjoy.

 

[BierMuncher]

I won't even mention how much I've brewed (and drunk) this year.

Drinking a lot of healthy beer is a learned behavior. C'mon....you're a student...learning is what you do best.

Oh...and if you can't learn how to drink more, your beer will be just fine indefinitely.

 

[javedian]

I can relate. I love to brew, and like variety. I have brewed several 5 gal batches earlier this year, along with some purchases, and had a big stash developing. I have done a few all grains now, and have decided that a 3.5-4 gallon batch is perfect for me. My kettle handles about 5 gallons of boiling wort comfortably, which just put 3.75 gal of a nice rich stout into my fermenter. I didn't have to buy a bigger pot, and can brew more frequently without running out of bottles (keg is still a while away for $ reasons) or space. Going with slightly smaller batches allows better pitching rates without a starter, which simplifies things. Not all beers get better with age - I have a nice British Pale Ale that was dry hopped, and I can notice the fresh hop aroma (and a little flavor) slowly fading after two months, but my Baltic Porter from January is still improving. Figure how much you think you will drink, plus some to give away or send to competitions, then decide how often you want to brew (or how much variety you want) then pick a batch size to match. One downside to going very small - is that measurements, especially hops, necessitates much more precision.

 

[OblivionsGate]

Pint a week for a student? You must have very good grades.

I went to W&J (a private college that loves to party) and am now finishing out my law school at WVU (which parties no less than the undergrads) and have been an A student all the way.

Over loving of beer doesnt necessarily equal bad grades.......although i am writing this in class...:cross:

 

[Parilla]

Pint a week for a student? You must have very good grades.

Man, I wish. I can't wrap my head around differential equations. This is a wee bit of a handicap for things like Calc and Physics.

Come to think of it, one of my friends told me I just need to relax while I'm studying and I'll get it. Maybe some beer would help things along.

Or at least make it more bearable.

 

[Willy Boner]

May be you need to take some of your brew to a sorority and make friends,hint( drunk chicks= more sex)! It's quite possible you may like sex more than drinking beer. And you may need to brew more!

 

[Philip1993]

Man, I wish. I can't wrap my head around differential equations. This is a wee bit of a handicap for things like Calc and Physics.

That's because DiffEq's is a totally illogical (i.e. smoke and mirrors) way to solve a math problem. Drop that on an engineering/technical type, and you've got instant confusion. Quantum Mechanics was cake compared to DiffEq's...

As for drinking; If you reach a frustration point, one beer can get you to relax a little so you can get past the emotion and get back to the material..

Philip
B.S. Physics

 

[Bearcat Brewmeister]

That's because DiffEq's is a totally illogical (i.e. smoke and mirrors) way to solve a math problem. Drop that on an engineering/technical type, and you've got instant confusion. Quantum Mechanics was cake compared to DiffEq's...

As for drinking; If you reach a frustration point, one beer can get you to relax a little so you can get past the emotion and get back to the material..

Philip
B.S. Physics

Agreed. At the time I took DiffEq's, I was a math major, and it still took about 5 weeks through the course before the light bulb turned on. Stop thinking so hard and suddenly you get it. I was quite the math demon at the time and when I told people I didn't get it at first but then suddenly figured it out, they couldn't understand why (and it is impossible to explain). I would just tell them, "You know those posters with the random looking patterns and you stare at them and there is supposed to be something there and you just can't see it, then suddenly one day you relax and look at it just right and see it and can't figure out how you didn't see it all along. Yea, ... its like that."

 

[Philip1993]

Agreed. At the time I took DiffEq's, I was a math major, and it still took about 5 weeks through the course before the light bulb turned on. Stop thinking so hard and suddenly you get it.

Yep. DiffEq's is not math, it's magic tricks. You must first stop trying to solve the problem and just accept that the solution presented works. A very tough thing for a right brain dominant to do..

It's been 20 years and while I know that it works, I still think the methods are highly unorthodox...