Deja Vu All Over Again

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Gytaryst

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2017
Messages
314
Reaction score
100
Location
Phoenix
It's been awhile. I wasn't sure which forum to post this in. If it fits better somewhere else move it.

I had a (mild) interest in trying to brew beer back in 2014-2015, so over the next few months I made a couple Brewers Best kits with about $100 worth of miscellaneous equipment I bought, most on Offer Up. By 2018 my garage was pretty much a full-fledged brewery. My brew day went from a couple of hours in the kitchen to all weekend in several areas of the house, from magnetic stir plates and yeast starters in the kitchen, adjusting water chemistry and milling grains on Friday nights, firing up the system first thing Saturday morning, cleaning up, hosing down and putting stuff away (dead tired) at 7pm on Saturday evening, and pitching yeast after the temp had stabilized Sunday mornings. When I wasn't brewing, I was on Beersmith creating, or reading the latest books and articles on Water Chemistry, hops, yeast... When my wife wanted to take a break we'd get in the car and just drive . . . to breweries I hadn't visited yet throughout Arizona and southern California. At that point I probably had $6,000 to $7,000 invested in equipment, and it had gone from a (mild) interest, to a hobby, to an obsession.

I was 58 in 2018. Those brew day(s) were hard on me. Monday mornings were tough... and sore. The interest in everything about brewing was still very much alive and well, but the ambition to actually (do it) was fading fast. It was getting harder and harder to talk myself into brewing a batch. After my equipment sat for 6 months unused, without even an inkling of firing it up, I decided to sell it all off at probably 1/4 of what I paid and clear out the garage.

That was the end of 2018. Hard to believe it's been over 3 years.

I absolutely loved everything about brewing EXCEPT the heavy lifting. I loved the science, the history, the art, the creativity, the experimentation. I absolutely LOVE a well crafted beer. In the 3 to 4 years I spent brewing, I came close a few times. There was always that ONE THING I should have done differently. Every brew was a learning experience, and the magnet was that I was (in theory) getting one step closer with each brew. But I never brewed the same beer twice - so I really wasn't zeroing in on anything.

Fast forward to today. My favorite style has slowly evolved into bourbon (or whiskey) barrel-aged Imperial Stouts. Black Friday, and the release of Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout has become the highlight of the Holiday season for me.

And out of nowhere - the brew bug has bitten me again.

I want to brew a big barrel-aged RIS. I don't have a garage full of brewing equipment anymore, and I don't want to spend an entire weekend of hard, heavy lifting, labor intensive work. My (off-the-top-of-my-head) idea is to brew two, 5 gallon batches; extract, partial boil, BIAB... idk. And from there I'm not sure if I want to ferment them with bourbon soaked charred white oak chunks, or barrel staves, or actually invest in a 10 gallon freshly dumped bourbon barrel.

I don't want to get back into brewing as a hobby. I really just want to brew this one 10 to 15 gallon batch for as cheap as possible.

I llok forward to any advice or suggestions.
 
It's been awhile. I wasn't sure which forum to post this in. If it fits better somewhere else move it.

I had a (mild) interest in trying to brew beer back in 2014-2015, so over the next few months I made a couple Brewers Best kits with about $100 worth of miscellaneous equipment I bought, most on Offer Up. By 2018 my garage was pretty much a full-fledged brewery. My brew day went from a couple of hours in the kitchen to all weekend in several areas of the house, from magnetic stir plates and yeast starters in the kitchen, adjusting water chemistry and milling grains on Friday nights, firing up the system first thing Saturday morning, cleaning up, hosing down and putting stuff away (dead tired) at 7pm on Saturday evening, and pitching yeast after the temp had stabilized Sunday mornings. When I wasn't brewing, I was on Beersmith creating, or reading the latest books and articles on Water Chemistry, hops, yeast... When my wife wanted to take a break we'd get in the car and just drive . . . to breweries I hadn't visited yet throughout Arizona and southern California. At that point I probably had $6,000 to $7,000 invested in equipment, and it had gone from a (mild) interest, to a hobby, to an obsession.

I was 58 in 2018. Those brew day(s) were hard on me. Monday mornings were tough... and sore. The interest in everything about brewing was still very much alive and well, but the ambition to actually (do it) was fading fast. It was getting harder and harder to talk myself into brewing a batch. After my equipment sat for 6 months unused, without even an inkling of firing it up, I decided to sell it all off at probably 1/4 of what I paid and clear out the garage.

That was the end of 2018. Hard to believe it's been over 3 years.

I absolutely loved everything about brewing EXCEPT the heavy lifting. I loved the science, the history, the art, the creativity, the experimentation. I absolutely LOVE a well crafted beer. In the 3 to 4 years I spent brewing, I came close a few times. There was always that ONE THING I should have done differently. Every brew was a learning experience, and the magnet was that I was (in theory) getting one step closer with each brew. But I never brewed the same beer twice - so I really wasn't zeroing in on anything.

Fast forward to today. My favorite style has slowly evolved into bourbon (or whiskey) barrel-aged Imperial Stouts. Black Friday, and the release of Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout has become the highlight of the Holiday season for me.

And out of nowhere - the brew bug has bitten me again.

I want to brew a big barrel-aged RIS. I don't have a garage full of brewing equipment anymore, and I don't want to spend an entire weekend of hard, heavy lifting, labor intensive work. My (off-the-top-of-my-head) idea is to brew two, 5 gallon batches; extract, partial boil, BIAB... idk. And from there I'm not sure if I want to ferment them with bourbon soaked charred white oak chunks, or barrel staves, or actually invest in a 10 gallon freshly dumped bourbon barrel.

I don't want to get back into brewing as a hobby. I really just want to brew this one 10 to 15 gallon batch for as cheap as possible.

I llok forward to any advice or suggestions.
The creativity and knowing what you make is not just your interpretation but your style is just amazing. This “hobby” is truly art.
 
Indeed, after a several year break due to work/covid I just brewed two batches in a week. It feels good to practice this art again.
 
So..I have 0 experience with this organization but came across it within the past year and thought it was a cool concept.

Maybe reach out to them and see if they could accommodate.

http://citizenbrewers.com/
Went down a fun rabbit hole with that link! Thanks. Seems cool. Be a great bachelor/ette party or bday party.
Pricey, but if split wuth 6 people, thats a case of bombers per person for like $50. Fun.
 
Sounds like you should give smaller batches a try! I brew 2.5 gallons at a time using an electric biab setup on 120 volts. My brew day is about four hours long and sometimes I do back to back batches in the same day and it takes about seven hours. I have also played with 1 gallon batches that I mashed in the oven set to it's lowest setting.
 
Spend $7000 and brew that dang Imp Stout! It's Saturday night, and you'd be in bed already after a nice brew day! Just kidding!

Do you have any friends who brew? Brew Club? Heck, if you put together a recipe someone on here might brew it for you lol.
 
I was also going to suggest smaller batches. I’m the same age as you. I went to 3 gallon batches years ago. Especially if you want to brew strong imperial stouts.

The brewpot is smaller, all the containers are smaller and lighter. Everything is easier to handle. The downside is you get less beer for the same time effort.

I chose 3 gallons because of available container sizes. I calculate all my recipes as 3.5 gallons. Collect 4 gallons, boil down to 3.5. 3.5 goes into the fermenter so that I actually get 3 gallons of finished beer after losses. I can primary in a 5 gallon carboy and I have 3 gallon carboys for secondary / settling / oak aging, etc. I also have 3 gallon kegs.

3 gallons is right about 30 bottles, or a case plus a 6 pack.

I bought an Anvil Foundry 6.5 and I use that for most batches. It only has an 8 pound grain capacity though. So I’m not making any imperial stouts with that. I would have to use my cooler. If you don’t have enough grain capacity you can always supplement with extract.

Or for the quickest and easiest brew day possible go all extract. It costs more but compared to buying a case of imperial stout it all works out.
 
Last edited:
Oak cubes have worked the best for me. They have more exposed surface compared to chips. I soak them in something like Devils Cut which is supposed to have extra oak. But any bourbon you like will do.

A barrel is only good for a couple uses for the kind of beer you want. After 2 or 3 uses most guys use them for old ales with brett or to age sours. The barrel is also more heavy lifting and some extra maintenance.
 
Back
Top