Hello from Iran

[Zilyzal]

hi everyone, i just started brewing last week and found out about this place. still finding tons of useful information it's been very helpful so far
just bottled my first batch of beer and my strawberry wine is still fermenting i'm going to make sour cherry next. just waiting for sour cherry prices to go a bit lower (0.5$ per kilo right know in our city but will go lower in a few weeks) so i can make a very big batch and age them. i've heard it's very good but never tried one tho (actually never tried any other wine beside grape wine. most people mostly brew shiraz wine here so would be appreciated if you guys have any suggestions)
i'm also very interested in makgeolli but sadly can't find nuruk here i'll try making nuruk by myself and see if it works
and here's a fun fact: most people in iran don't brew beer directly from grains i was very confused at first when tried to watch a tutorial about beer brewing on youtube and seeing all those equipments. we just buy non alcoholic beer and put them in a bucket add sugar and yeast and bottle them after fermentation is done. the reason is probably because non alcoholic beer is too cheap (2$ for 6Litre) and most people don't bother going thru all of those troubles. Sanitation is also very different from what i've read on the internet. i was so anxious about Sanitation (like how everyone suggest using starsan and things like that) then asked locals and all of them told me they just wash their bucket and equipments with water, not even hot water just water! did my first batch like how they told me and was successful.

 

[Protos]

Hello and welcome!
There's another guy here that comes from Iran, he brews a real beer and seems to be a knowledgeable person in biology and in where to get beer ingredients in Iran. Here's his welcoming thread.

 

[IslandLizard]

Welcome to HBT!

most people in iran don't brew beer directly from grains [...] we just buy non alcoholic beer and put them in a bucket add sugar and yeast and bottle them after fermentation is done. [...] non alcoholic beer is too cheap (2$ for 6Litre) [...]

Never thought of that being a viable option, but sounds like a good base to start at.

 

[Zilyzal]

Hello and welcome!
There's another guy here that comes from Iran, he brews a real beer and seems to be a knowledgeable person in biology and in where to get beer ingredients in Iran. Here's his welcoming thread.

Oh thanks for the link
Getting ingredients isn’t that hard i’m going to make beer from grains later so i can find a recipe to my taste

Welcome to HBT!


Never thought of that being a viable option, but sounds like a good base to start at.

I think it’s the best option for people who want to start brewing. you can understand the basics and then move on to grains with minimun equipments. i’ve heard some people don’t even bother pouring them into a bucket for fermentation they just add sugar and a pinch of yeast to bottles and wait a few weeks (it’s a very hazy beer and i don’t like how it tastes tho but still a good starting point)
I’m aiming to make something similar to heineken which was my favorite when i was in other countries and then make it crystal clear

 

[Abhishek Dewan]

Iran was once famous for its wines. Welcome to the group, hope you get to learn and enjoy a lot.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Welcome to the site. Homemade beer from grain is delicious. The best beers I’ve had are my homebrews.

 

[Zilyzal]

Welcome to HBT!


Never thought of that being a viable option, but sounds like a good base to start at.

Here’s the final results if anyone is interested.
This method Takes two week (one week for primary fermentation and one week after bottling) to turn non alchohic beer into beer (photos are on day 12 tho since i couldn’t resist and opened a few bottles)
It was waaaay better than what i expected

 

[Gilbert Spinning Horse]

Hello mate and welcome. Regarding sanitizing, I can't get starsan where I live either, Brazil. I use a spray filled with 70% alcohol and cover everything in that prior to use. Seems to do the job.

 

[IslandLizard]

Hello mate and welcome. Regarding sanitizing, I can't get starsan where I live either, Brazil. I use a spray filled with 70% alcohol and cover everything in that prior to use. Seems to do the job.

How about obtaining Iodine based sanitizers? They're widely used in the food industry.

 

[Nate R]

What does Charlie Papzain say in joy of homebrewing? A little bleach (1 tsp) in a gallon of water?
(I probably have it wrong, and i might even have the author/book/title wrong. I get Charie and Palmer mixed up all the time.)
Point is... in a pinch, basic bleach can work too. Bleach is also usually cheap.
I would rather use anything (like bleach) than nothing for sanitizing. Then again... if beer was illegal... i would drink the occasionial skunky infected batch, too....

(Edited for spelling & grammer mistakes.)

 

[Gilbert Spinning Horse]

How about obtaining Iodine based sanitizers? They're widely used in the food industry.

Possibly an alternative, though I'd worry, maybe necessarily, about colour changes.
Bleach would have me worried about taste issues too.
70% alcohol is easy to obtain anywhere, cheap and works perfectly.

 

[IslandLizard]

Possibly an alternative, though I'd worry, maybe necessarily, about colour changes.

No, you don't use the red/brown Iodine concentrate straight up.
It's diluted to a working solution first, before use, and becomes a pale yellow solution. It's safe to be used to sanitize brewing equipment and highly effective, even more so than Starsan. Both are non-rinse. Now Iodine degrades slowly, so a working solution would need to be made each time you need it. You don't need buckets full either, small washcloths (for mopping vertical surfaces) and spray bottles are handy tools to cover every inch of surface to be sanitized.

Alcohol is fine too but may not be quite as effective as Iodine-based sanitizers in killing a wide spectrum of microorganisms. The alcohol is probably denatured, otherwise people would drink it.

IIRC, it would be best to wash off bleach, so a small dedicated bucket (or spray bottle) with some pre-boiled water should suffice for dipping or quick rinsing the parts off after the (diluted bleach bath).

 

[Gilbert Spinning Horse]

No, you don't use the red/brown Iodine concentrate straight up.
It's diluted to a working solution first, before use, and becomes a pale yellow solution. It's safe to be used to sanitize brewing equipment and highly effective, even more so than Starsan. Both are non-rinse. Now Iodine degrades slowly, so a working solution would need to be made each time you need it. You don't need buckets full either, small washcloths (for mopping vertical surfaces) and spray bottles are handy tools to cover every inch of surface to be sanitized.

Alcohol is fine too but may not be quite as effective as Iodine-based sanitizers in killing a wide spectrum of microorganisms. The alcohol is probably denatured, otherwise people would drink it.

IIRC, it would be best to wash off bleach, so a small dedicated bucket (or spray bottle) with some pre-boiled water should suffice for dipping or quick rinsing the parts off after the (diluted bleach bath).

Thanks for the info mate.

I did mean to say 'I'd worry, maybe unnecessarily, about colour changes'.

 

[Zilyzal]

just wanted to update here and tell you guys i've found a way to get free beer a few days earlier when i was talking to my neighbor i've found out that wholesale shops giveaway expired non-alcoholic beers. they're safe to drink but the co2 is not stable in them after expiration so they worth nothing to them and they just give them away
made 60Litre of free beer so far

 

[bracconiere]

just wanted to update here and tell you guys i've found a way to get free beer a few days earlier when i was talking to my neighbor i've found out that wholesale shops giveaway expired non-alcoholic beers. they're safe to drink but the co2 is not stable in them after expiration so they worth nothing to them and they just give them away
made 60Litre of free beer so far

i've been fermenting sugar too, the sugar still makes a 10 gallon batch cost $6-7, and then the OJ is $5...so not quite free!

But damn it is an quick easy drink! glad you got hooked up!

 

[Zilyzal]

i've been fermenting sugar too, the sugar still makes a 10 gallon batch cost $6-7, and then the OJ is $5...so not quite free!

But damn it is an quick easy drink! glad you got hooked up!

Sugar is cheap here 1kg sugar is around 0.60$
I’ve sold some of them to my friends so not only it’s free, i’ve made some cash too lol
It’s like finding a glitch in a game

 

[bracconiere]

It’s like finding a glitch in a game

you play games there?

with this one remember real lives are involved, and livlihoods....

 

[MilesBFree]

and here's a fun fact: most people in iran don't brew beer directly from grains i was very confused at first when tried to watch a tutorial about beer brewing on youtube and seeing all those equipments. we just buy non alcoholic beer and put them in a bucket add sugar and yeast and bottle them after fermentation is done.

That's ingenious!

 

[BPenny]

hi everyone, i just started brewing last week and found out about this place. still finding tons of useful information it's been very helpful so far
just bottled my first batch of beer and my strawberry wine is still fermenting i'm going to make sour cherry next. just waiting for sour cherry prices to go a bit lower (0.5$ per kilo right know in our city but will go lower in a few weeks) so i can make a very big batch and age them. i've heard it's very good but never tried one tho (actually never tried any other wine beside grape wine. most people mostly brew shiraz wine here so would be appreciated if you guys have any suggestions)
i'm also very interested in makgeolli but sadly can't find nuruk here i'll try making nuruk by myself and see if it works
and here's a fun fact: most people in iran don't brew beer directly from grains i was very confused at first when tried to watch a tutorial about beer brewing on youtube and seeing all those equipments. we just buy non alcoholic beer and put them in a bucket add sugar and yeast and bottle them after fermentation is done. the reason is probably because non alcoholic beer is too cheap (2$ for 6Litre) and most people don't bother going thru all of those troubles. Sanitation is also very different from what i've read on the internet. i was so anxious about Sanitation (like how everyone suggest using starsan and things like that) then asked locals and all of them told me they just wash their bucket and equipments with water, not even hot water just water! did my first batch like how they told me and was successful.

Welcome!

For sanitation, I sometimes use starsan and iodophor on carboys, and 50-70% alcohol on some smaller items or surfaces that are easy to wipe down (e.g. brewbuckets, bungs, etc) because they are available. For glass bottles, I usually just sanitize them in the oven at 80-90 C. For stainless steel, and plastic, I usually just use hot or boiling water and it seems to be working fine. For items that can handle it, heat is still one of the best ways to sanitize and even sterilize things. Which is why it’s still widely used in the medical industry.