help starting.

SwAMi75 · Sep 20, 2005

El Pistolero said:
She Who Must Be Obeyed...I think Sam coined that one.

No, I didn't coin that. It's commonly used on another forum. I'm not very witty.

SwAMi75 · Sep 20, 2005

Oh, and as for economy, it'll be a good long while before my equipment pays for itself. I gave up on the "brewing for economy" thing quite a while back. But if you're able to make it work, that's great.

Darth Konvel · Sep 20, 2005

Eskram said:
Great!

Think a case will last a few hrs, or should I bring more?
How long are those meetings anyway? I don't want them cutting into my drinking time.

How 'bout I come along and help you with a keg? I'll even help carry it

The Councilman · Sep 20, 2005

I have yet to brew my first beer, (next week) but I do have three batches of wine going right now. :drunk:

I definately got into this hobby to save money. So far my equipment outlay has been less than $20. Three airlocks, some stoppers, a floating therometer and a tube for my hydrometer.
I already had a bunch of 5 gal pails & lids. I was given a winemaking kit (pail, carboy, tubing, racking cane, bottle filler, corks, corker, hydrometer, etc.) by a co-worker. She had bought it 2 or 3 years ago, then remembered that she dosen't even like wine.
I "rescued" about 100 wine bottles and 20 beer bottles from the glass recycler.

Right now, I'm working on some soft copper to make an immersion chiller.
I guess that I'm...uh... creative. Well... maybe just cheap.

Lost · Sep 21, 2005

The cheapest store bought beer I could tolerate was yuengling.. I know I'll probably get ridiculed for not drinking guiness or anchor etc. but I'm a poor grad student. Yes, money is an issue and so is good beer. With some labor I can make beer that's far better than yuengling (though I don't make lagers) and is on par (according to my palette) with some better beers $7 or $8 a sixer. I drink one a night generally but sometimes two or three or four for football games or parties.. and two is certainly normal on those nights where I've got grading to do (what a bitch). I don't think that makes me an alcoholic. I don't drink in the morning or afternoon and I don't binge.. to me those habits are hallmarks of alcholism. But hey, to each his own.. let's just enjoy the hobby and leave it at that.

As for the cost, I can't believe all grain hasn't been mentioned. Batches are maybe $15 a pop at most (a fair amount of specialty malts, high gravity, and decent hop bill). Yeah it takes a lot of time but I generally enjoy it.. it's a hobby (only the lucky get paid for hobbies). I have a have a very minimalist setup but hey it is all grain at least and my equipment costs maybe $200 total. I don't see what I'll be breaking either.. the pot is metal, the bucket plastic, and I seriously doubt I'll break the carboys. Everything else is cheap (autosiphon, hydrometer, thermometer, etc.). I think the real costs associated with the hobby come from upgrading.. there's always something more to buy that you don't really *need* to make good beer (like a kegging setup or a lagering fridge etc.).

My $.02

edit: as for others drinking it, I have only a few friends that actually enjoy beer and want to drink my homebrew and they KNOW to keep my bottles and rinse them after use. Everyone else likes that clydesdale piss...

Shambolic · Sep 21, 2005

Hmmm, I think I've missed the boat on this thread, but anyway...

DON'T USE PLASTIC BOTTLES!
My LHBS said they did an experiment with bottling a brown ale in both glass an PET bottles. After a few months the stuff in glass was great, and the stuff in PET was almost undrinkable.

It's second-hand info, but I trust them; they're knowledgeable and helpful...