Confession Time

[paperairplane]

I use an IC and stir and splash hot wort constantly. Hot side aeration my ass.

I only chill to under 100*F and then let it sit for 6-8 hours or overnight to hit pitch temp.

I use tap water and have never checked any chemistry. I have never considered pH of mash.

 

[MEPNew2Brew]

This is my favorite thread ever on HBT. There is a lot of very careful folks on HBT. It is nice to hear from some that are not and just like to make a good ale from time to time.

 

[Kampenken]

... I've never noticed a difference in the 1500+ batches I've made. I've won countless medals, too many to list, and my friends all love my beers. .

Wow! How long have you been brewing? That's a lot of brews! Or is this a profession, not a hobby for you?


back to thread,
I don't check FG before bottling, I wait at least 2 weeks, sometimes 3 and bottle, I take FG if I have enough left over, but not to decide when to bottle.

 

[Nagorg]

A fly once landed in my wort during the chill. I didn't notice it until it wound up in my filter as I pumped from kettle to carboy; the trip through the pump was not friendly to the fly... It kinda grossed me out but fermentation happened and so on... The beer was good but I couldn't help thinking about that fly as a special ingredient. No I didn't tell anyone; y'all are the first to hear this! I've no plans to recreate that specific brew!

 

[1977Brewer]

I am literally trying to brew as cheaply as I possibly can. Water bottle fermenters, borrowed pots for kettles, meat thermometer, postage scale. Basically building a found brewery.

I have the money to buy everything, I just don't wanna. If I suck at brewing, I'm out the cost of ingredients, and I literally only bought a hydrometer for equipment.

 

[homebrewdr]

If I'm low on homebrew, I often bottle after only 7-10 days, then crack one open 2-3 days later. At about the 4th-5th day, most of my beers are moderately to fully carbonated. With some yeast strains, I've found full carbonation after 3 days. I think it has to do with the yeast not having much time to settle out.

Oh and also, I have a background in Biochemistry and do not use starters for 5 gallon batches. Never once in 2+ years. Do not believe in them (currently).

 

[Black_Sails]

My name is not really Black Sails, but I am an alcoholic......

 

[hunter_le five]

I'm going camping tomorrow, and I'm bringing a case of Coors Light.

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

The voices tell me to burn things...
Oh and one time I nearly passed out while cleaning my ferm chamber (Active fermentation == CO2)

 

[1977Brewer]

I'm going camping tomorrow, and I'm bringing a case of Coors Light.

You're covered for water. What kind of beer are you bringing?

 

[AdamBomb]

I dry my sanitized stopper with an unsanitized paper towel so it doesn't squirt back out of the carboy.

Sorry, thats about the worst thing I do. Im really OCD. You could use my brewing equipment to perform surgery. Lol

 

[ghohn]

I don't use an airlock or blow off tube. My fermenter is some sort of juice/kimchi making jug with a threaded top. Anyways, I tighten the top down and then back it off a little bit to allow Co2 out.

Man, I feel better.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

A fly once landed in my wort during the chill. I didn't notice it until it wound up in my filter as I pumped from kettle to carboy; the trip through the pump was not friendly to the fly... It kinda grossed me out but fermentation happened and so on... The beer was good but I couldn't help thinking about that fly as a special ingredient. No I didn't tell anyone; y'all are the first to hear this! I've no plans to recreate that specific brew!

And this is why I will NEVER judge at a homebrew competition.

 

[kickflip_mj]

I make up recipes on the fly while the mash water is heating.
SWMBO: "What are you making today?"
Me: "I don't know yet."

Haha every weekend

 

[Nagorg]

And this is why I will NEVER judge at a homebrew competition.

That's funny... I kept trying to tell myself that this sort of thing probably happens in commercial brewery's all the time. I think there is at least some level of tolerance for undesirable elements making it into consumables. I've heard stories about that anyway...

Oh well, the keg floated and I moved on!

 

[Kirkwooder]

I purposely eat kielbasa, beans and drink home brew, all in the same sitting, so that my farts smell worse than normal. Sometimes they are so bad I have to get up and leave the room!

 

[Onkel_Udo]

That's funny... I kept trying to tell myself that this sort of thing probably happens in commercial brewery's all the time. I think there is at least some level of tolerance for undesirable elements making it into consumables. I've heard stories about that anyway...

Oh well, the keg floated and I moved on!

Trust me, you will find those pieces and parts in your raw ingredients all the time...and the food you eat be it at home or in restaurants, etc, etc.

 

[AerationStation]

Ive drunk half of a 5 gal mead that was sitting in secondary (1 month old) because I ran out of HB...over the course of five days

 

[smizak]

Ive drunk half of a 5 gal mead that was sitting in secondary (1 month old) because I ran out of HB...over the course of five days

LOL, I do that all the time. Thief out a glass of applewine almost every batch..

 

[Darwin18]

I don't use my hydrometer and refractometer. I don't do any gravity readings at all. I have a wall of ribbons.

 

[burninator]

I once punched a bum....

Don't worry about it. There are a lot of people who like getting punched there.

 

[RandallFlag]

I must confess..Sometimes I just over think things... KISS

dude....THIS!!!!

 

[BigPerm]

I don't follow recipes either. I just pick up whatever the homebrew store has in that day. I also never measure ingredients. Usually I just open the fridge with my eyes closed and grab whatever my hand touches first. I just throw ingredients in until it "feels" right.

I never cool my wort. I just pitch yeast at some point and walk away. I usually don't bother with an airlock since we all know the c02 blanket protects the beer.

Measuring Gravity is for newbs. It's just beer. Sometimes I don't even pitch yeast and it turns out ok. Making yeast starters is for idiots. Total waste of time. I've never noticed a difference in the 1500+ batches I've made. I've won countless medals, too many to list, and my friends all love my beers.

Don't worry, have a homebrew and do what ever feels right: DWHAHADWFR.

Here's my porter recipe: whatever feels right. I'm sure it'll be spot on.

 

[smizak]

I don't use my hydrometer and refractometer. I don't do any gravity readings at all. I have a wall of ribbons.

Me too. But I take gravity readings and record every batch I brew.

Sometimes I get a little irked by "I don't do this and succeed, everyone who does is stupid" attitude. There is nothing wrong with being a little more aware of your process.

 

[Darwin18]

Good for you?

 

[RandallFlag]

This one time, at band camp....

 

[smizak]

This one time, at band camp....

...I didn't make a yeast starter and won a medal.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

That's funny... I kept trying to tell myself that this sort of thing probably happens in commercial brewery's all the time. I think there is at least some level of tolerance for undesirable elements making it into consumables. I've heard stories about that anyway...

Oh well, the keg floated and I moved on!

LOL! Most of my bugs get taken care of on the hot side. Lots of bugs in malt, I'm sure there are lots of parts in hops and pellets. And your fly ain't even that bad. And even though I'm not phobic, I think about what people are willing to admit to, and how bad some of the things must be that they won't admit to, and suddenly I have no desire to be a homebrew judge...

 

[kombat]

• I don't "wash" my yeast, I just collect the entire yeast cake in 4 Mason jars. As long as it's less than 2 months old, I just decant and pour the yeast from one jar directly into the wort of a fresh batch. I've never made a starter with "washed" yeast. Jars more than 2 months old just get dumped down the drain.
• I never boil/cool my yeast rehydration water. I just take it straight from the tap.
• I don't know what I'm doing with water additions. For IPAs, I add a teaspoon of gypsum. For lagers, I use distilled water with 1/2 teaspoon of yeast nutrient. Everything else is just straight tap water, with a little crushed-up Camden tablet to eliminate chloramines.
• In almost 100 batches, I've never once checked S.G., then checked again 3 days later to ensure it's "done." I just let all my fermentations go for 3 weeks, then move on to the next step. I take S.G. at kegging time to determine ABV, but I never do the "3 day" comparison.

 

[binabik]

I am a perfectionist. I can't stop upgraing my setup. Temp controlled Fermentation Chamber,
building an Electric brew setup so I know all the settings

I do have a great wife.

 

[BierGut]

I hardly ever bath or shave anymore and I have yet to infect a batch of beer. I'm a pig, capiche?

 

[elsphinc]

I inadvertently did a 15 min bee addition once. It was a fresh squeezed ipa thou.

 

[WI_Wino]

Thought of another one, if fermenting in a bucket I drop the (sanitized) hydrometer right in the bucket to measure gravity. If I thief a sample from a carboy and use a hydrometer jar, I pour the sample back in after (usually wine or sour beers only though).

 

[1977Brewer]

Thought of another one, if fermenting in a bucket I drop the (sanitized) hydrometer right in the bucket to measure gravity. If I thief a sample from a carboy and use a hydrometer jar, I pour the sample back in after (usually wine or sour beers only though).

I watched a video by the owner and founder of my LHBS in which he did the exact same thing. I'm not even certain he sanitized it.

 

[The_Glue]

15 batches in and i still have not brewed a single beer I liked. All while i mess with temp control, mash ph, cell count, water chemistry etc.
Can bottle carbed homebrew reach commercial microbrew quality?

 

[smizak]

Can bottle carbed homebrew reach commercial microbrew quality?

Absolutely. Some of the best beer I've had were at homebrew comps or tastings.

 

[singybrue]

Wow! How long have you been brewing? That's a lot of brews! Or is this a profession, not a hobby for you?

6 months

 

[yewtah-brewha]

I dream about starting a 15 bbl batch brewery, One of my lines of beer would be Hot chick Ale and of coarse every batch would have one to three chicks in bathing suits sitting in the wort just before pitching giving it that perfect amount of lactose for souring! haha!

 

[The_Glue]

Absolutely. Some of the best beer I've had were at homebrew comps or tastings.

Then I still have work to do. I still have something in the bitterness or aftertaste of my beers I don't like. My last straws are going full RO water or maybe I freezer burn my hops.

 

[Frame125]

This thread makes me feel so much better. I feel like less of a turd.
My issue is I'm cheap. My kettle is a 54 quart aluminum tamale steamer 30 bucks. Glass car boys at pottery barn. 14 each . I don't own a gravity reader ,refractomiter etc I'm cash poor and have to justify to the wife