Holy Cow, I'm in trouble now!

[benlivingoode]

Hello All!

I stumbled onto this lovely place reading a list of links from Wine Maker Magazine. One or two clicks and here I am. Glad I found it too.

I've been a home wine maker for years, and even tried to brew some beer from extract a few years back, with poor success. But like any good (brewer, vintner, distiller, etc..) I drank it anyway

I live in the bible belt and its kinda difficult to find a good beer, especially on tap. So I've decided I've just got to do it myself.

I'll probably begin with another extract kit, just to get things going, but I'm already lusting for one of those beautiful sculptures and trying some all grain brewing. I'm a gear and equipment junkie too.

I'm a young retiree, and I am actually starting a vineyard this year. I'll be putting in my infrastructure of trellises and doing my research on varietals to plant, with the goal of making my first vintage in about 6 years. So the way I see it, I've got six years to learn how to make good brew, in order to keep up with my wine making.

Oh, and I'm pretty good at BBQ, just in case it matters to anyone. (Swap some ribs for some AG brewing experience perhaps?)

Looking forward to getting to know all of you!

John

P.S. Is there a place to look up local members? Anybody in middle TN?

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Welcome to the forums John!

How to Brew - By John Palmer is a great resource for brewing knowledge, but feel free to ask away on here.
We're friendly.. usually.. lol

 

[DragonTail]

Welcome

 

[williec30]

welcome aboard john... this board has a sick amount of great info; i have learned more in two months than ever before. enjoy! :rockin:

 

[bendavanza]

You should post your location so people know if you're nearby.
Welcome

 

[obezyana1]

Welcome. I definitely recommend getting a good book. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian is a wealth of knowledge to get started with and this board can answer just about any other answer you might come up with.

 

[benlivingoode]

You should post your location so people know if you're nearby.
Welcome

I'm in Southern Middle TN, about 2 hours south of Nashville.

Thanks for the book recommendations everyone, that's the first thing I usually do when trying something new, go and buy a book.

What are the opinions of everyone here, begin with extracts, or jump into AG? I know AG is what I'm most interested in doing, just for the experimental factor of trying new recipes.

Thanks,

John

 

[bendavanza]

John
I would start with an extract with steeping grains for a first batch. It's relatively easy and only requires a grain bag (cheap) over a plain extract kit. The grains are more for flavor than they are for the sugars (gravity), so starch conversion is not a real issue. You will most likely get sugars out of them. But most important, you will be handling real grain and smelling the grain. That will be great for inspiration. If I had started that way instead of all dried and liquid Malt extract (DME & LME), I would have gone all grain years ago.
A couple pointers, buy some sanitizer like idophor or starsan, don't bother with bleach, it's a PITA and can ruin your clothes, is more difficult to rinse, etc.
Write down what and when you do stuff. I wish I had good notes from even the first batches I made. I made some pretty good beers and I can't begin to remember what I did.
-Ben

 

[benlivingoode]

John
I would start with an extract with steeping grains for a first batch. It's relatively easy and only requires a grain bag (cheap) over a plain extract kit. The grains are more for flavor than they are for the sugars (gravity), so starch conversion is not a real issue. You will most likely get sugars out of them. But most important, you will be handling real grain and smelling the grain. That will be great for inspiration. If I had started that way instead of all dried and liquid Malt extract (DME & LME), I would have gone all grain years ago.
A couple pointers, buy some sanitizer like idophor or starsan, don't bother with bleach, it's a PITA and can ruin your clothes, is more difficult to rinse, etc.
Write down what and when you do stuff. I wish I had good notes from even the first batches I made. I made some pretty good beers and I can't begin to remember what I did.
-Ben

Ben,

Thanks for the tips. I use sodium metabisulfite as a sanitizer in my wine making. I would have never thought of bleach. Do any brewers use sodium met for sanitizing?

I know what you mean about writing things down. I wish I had done that during all my wine making time.

John

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

I use oxy clean to clean and sanitize. (some on here might think it can' sanitize but it does). It's cheap and easy and does not ruin your cloths.

Bleach works but as BD said, it's a pain.

Sodium meta does not actually sanitize. It gets close but technically it does not kill everything. If it's working for you then go ahead.

 

[benlivingoode]

Well, I do mix it kinda strong. If 2 ounces is good, 4 ounces is better right!?

For my sake though, what does sodium met not kill? Knock on wood but I've been using it exclusively for about 6 years and haven't had a problem yet.

Thanks,

John

 

[david_42]

I might add that anywhere you can grow wine grapes, you can grow hops.

 

[JVD_X]

I might add that anywhere you can grow wine grapes, you can grow hops.

and probably some grain as well!

 

[benlivingoode]

I might add that anywhere you can grow wine grapes, you can grow hops.

I saw on here last night someone's hops trellis and was just telling my wife about it. I put in another grape trellis this afternoon, a short run next to the house that's going to have muscadines on it.

I'm really in trouble here. I've been staking out a portion of my shop for a sculpture. I have all the electricity to it I need, so I'm thinking HERMS. And the wife is plenty on board, she even said she'd drink draft if the selection was good enough.:rockin: (That means something light and low cal, but if it keeps her happy it keeps me hoppy)

Oh man, where to start?

John

 

[VABeerSnob]

Welcome to the site. And congratulations on living my dream! My family and I enjoy touring the wineries here in Northern Virginia. Having my own vineyard would be the bees' knees.

 

[benlivingoode]

Welcome to the site. And congratulations on living my dream! My family and I enjoy touring the wineries here in Northern Virginia. Having my own vineyard would be the bees' knees.

Thanks. My plan is to tour most of the local vineyards here in TN (last count I think we have 30+) and get to know what they grow, and what they'd buy. If possible I would like to sell grapes until I could determine the viability of producing wine on a production scale.

If I could sell my surplus grapes, I could produce en masse for my own consumption. That's always a good idea, right?