Home brewing in Japan

[JiBiru8]

I don't know, I sent Chuwy a message to see if he knows. A few of the people I met last time are busy and wont be there. Even then, with an event on Monday for me I can't let myself get too messy. I am thinking maybe I will pass this one up and we could try to get a small meetup together from the HBT group at a later date?

Just checked the mailing list, there are 61 people that are going.

I think I'll pass on tomorrow, though I've never been to Popeye's and have been meaning to go.

I am all for getting together with the HBT group at a later date!

 

[OppamaBrendan]

Guess I'll sleep on it see how I feel in the morning.

I started getting a bit concerned about my beers freezing in the crawlspace under the house, pulled them out this afternoon. I forgot I had so many down there, summer beers cleaned up their flavors significantly

 

[tektonjp]

By the way I have a friend who wants me to make a yuengling clone. I check around but it doesn't seem that I can get ahold of the ingredients needed for it here. Namely crystal malt 10. Anyone ever tried this? Or any suggestions? Thanks

You can get C15 from Advanced Brewing.

 

[tektonjp]

I looked this up on ebay and, wow they are cheap. Have you used one before? I need something that will turn on and off my heater while I am asleep or at work, can this do that?

They work great. With a basic knowledge of DIY skills, you can make a box and connections for it. I have two freezers for fermentation and each is hooked up to a controller.

 

[OppamaBrendan]

Wow, i have never had an ebay account but for 15 USD free int shipping i can afford that temp controller, and maybe pick up the refractometer i was eyeing. I wish I had space for 2 freezers though! Ill be lucky if swmbo lets me buy one and keep it outside

 

[mpearce]

They work great. With a basic knowledge of DIY skills, you can make a box and connections for it. I have two freezers for fermentation and each is hooked up to a controller.

Well I haven't played with this kind of thing can someone who has wired one tell us what they did? Would save me a lot of time.

 

[mpearce]

Wow, i have never had an ebay account but for 15 USD free int shipping i can afford that temp controller, and maybe pick up the refractometer i was eyeing. I wish I had space for 2 freezers though! Ill be lucky if swmbo lets me buy one and keep it outside

Haven't been married that long have you? You have to line up friends that will cover for you. Example: honey look what Jim gave me! He doesn't need a small freezer/fridge and wanted to get rid of it. I told him I would give him 12 bottles of beer for it.

This will let her see that your brewing pays off too. Call Jim and say cover for me. And it is all good.

 

[tektonjp]

Well I haven't played with this kind of thing can someone who has wired one tell us what they did? Would save me a lot of time.

I won't go into details on this thread as there is a great thread covering this here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/
this:
http://myrtlebeachbeerlovers.com/stc-1000-ebay-temperature-controller/

If you have any questions, let me know. You need a box, receptacle set (one "plate" with two plugins if you want to heat and cool). Some 1.6 mm house wire and some type of power cord to supply the power.

 

[tektonjp]

This controls two chambers.

 

[OppamaBrendan]

Haven't been married that long have you? You have to line up friends that will cover for you. Example: honey look what Jim gave me! He doesn't need a small freezer/fridge and wanted to get rid of it. I told him I would give him 12 bottles of beer for it.

This will let her see that your brewing pays off too. Call Jim and say cover for me. And it is all good.

Not married at all, 6 years of dating her I know I got to take one thing at a time, this years plan is a cooling unit of some kind 3 types of hops and a propane burner outside. Her obsessions take space too, right now we have a dozen bottle gourd lamps in the next room and she has a workshop set up in the genkan to build/carve them.

tektonjp thats a nice setup, I will def build one when I get a fridge or freezer. I watched a vid on youtube that pointed out something important about the stc1000; they had a different connection setup on theirs than a common diagram found on the net, we need to check the diagram on the device when wiring it to be sure.

 

[Ogri]

Not married at all, 6 years of dating her

Six years!!!!!! Oh, you are well and truly married, you just don't know it, yet:fro:

 

[mpearce]

Six years!!!!!! Oh, you are well and truly married, you just don't know it, yet:fro:

I agree. Poor soul.

 

[tektonjp]

6 years of dating her

Bout time you gave her a ring and asked her.....to go steady!

 

[OppamaBrendan]

Bout time you gave her a ring and asked her.....to go steady!

Ah, happens to be in the works, staying in Japan long term its the simplest way to ensure I have a visa. Neither of us cares much for the institution of it though.

Monday night did I meet any Tokyo/Yokohama peeps from HBT out in Yokohama? Organized by Chuwy, it was a pub crawl through Bashamichi, Full Monty and Thrash Zone. There were some people I met at beerfest and some I didn't know. Nightmare Rye IPA of Baird's was great!

 

[JiBiru8]

Ah, happens to be in the works, staying in Japan long term its the simplest way to ensure I have a visa. Neither of us cares much for the institution of it though.

Monday night did I meet any Tokyo/Yokohama peeps from HBT out in Yokohama? Organized by Chuwy, it was a pub crawl through Bashamichi, Full Monty and Thrash Zone. There were some people I met at beerfest and some I didn't know. Nightmare Rye IPA of Baird's was great!

I would've been so down for that. I've been wanting to go to the Yokohama Baird for a while now.

 

[mpearce]

santa was kind. got three extract kits for Christmas. A porter, ale, and lager. Now have to get more bottle to keep it all. Will be brewing this week looks like.

 

[OppamaBrendan]

Nice!
Merry Christmas! Looking forward to 3 days off at the beginning of January so I can brew too. My last brew was on the 3rd of December and it feels like forever since I did anything!

 

[WhoZiT]

No kidding!!! 2 sacks of malt arriving this Friday... I'm hoping to use up one over the break... Busy break! A little exciting, though. Perfect weather for cold crashing, eh?

 

[surume]

Haven't been checking the forums lately because I've been working part time at the SOGO department store at Yokohama Station recently. And guess what, I was assigned to the alcoholic beverages section



Just got myself a can of Suiyoubi no Neko (a whitbier by the company that makes Yona yona Ale) and Apple cinnamon ale by SanktGallen. Both shipments arrived today. A convenient place to work, because I can get craft and import beer on my way home

 

[OppamaBrendan]

SanktGallen really loves to make fruit beers huh? Orange, Pineapple, and Apple. Does anyone have any tips on buying fruit cheap in Japan? I wouldn't mind making a country wine or fruit beer if the price is right! Grapes are crazy expensive when I see them at the super, as are berries (blackberry, raspberry, currents...). Apples seem to be cheaper at the moment, maybe a cider would be cheap enough if I buy a case of them? Does anyone know of a farmers market type place to purchase bulk fruit? Is there somewhere that the "ugly" fruit gets sold? At the supermarket every fruit seems to be hand polished with not a speck of scab or blemish, so they must be sorting them for use in bakeries/processing somewhere right? When I have looked online at Advanced Brewing, their wine kits are always sold out so I don't know what to do for a "base" wine even if I do get some fruits...

 

[WhoZiT]

SanktGallen really loves to make fruit beers huh? Orange, Pineapple, and Apple. Does anyone have any tips on buying fruit cheap in Japan? I wouldn't mind making a country wine or fruit beer if the price is right! Grapes are crazy expensive when I see them at the super, as are berries (blackberry, raspberry, currents...). Apples seem to be cheaper at the moment, maybe a cider would be cheap enough if I buy a case of them? Does anyone know of a farmers market type place to purchase bulk fruit? Is there somewhere that the "ugly" fruit gets sold? At the supermarket every fruit seems to be hand polished with not a speck of scab or blemish, so they must be sorting them for use in bakeries/processing somewhere right? When I have looked online at Advanced Brewing, their wine kits are always sold out so I don't know what to do for a "base" wine even if I do get some fruits...

I'll admit that some people kinda look at me funny when I buy 21 1-liter packs of 100% apple juice at the local super for my Apfelwein. And I get different looks when I repack them into a box and strap it on the back of my moped.

I'd definitely welcome apple juice by the gallon at prices like what's in the states.

In response to your question, I think you'd want to go directly to the farmer. My wife's family usually sells off all the good-looking stuff and keeps the funny looking stuff (like twin carrots entwined around each other like...). I'm sure they'd be happy to sell it if there was a market. Maybe JA can find what you need... Hmmm... Food, er, drink for thought...

 

[JiBiru8]

I'll admit that some people kinda look at me funny when I buy 21 1-liter packs of 100% apple juice at the local super for my Apfelwein. And I get different looks when I repack them into a box and strap it on the back of my moped.

I'd definitely welcome apple juice by the gallon at prices like what's in the states.

Fermenting two gallons of apfelwein now.

How much are you spending for a 1 liter pack? I know there are no Costcos in Tokushima, but if you're ever in Amagasaki, they sell two one gallon packs for ~¥1,000.

 

[surume]

Brendan, the Shin-sugita costcos had, the last time I went,

Fresh raspberries, 340 grams, 628 yen
Fresh strawberries, 907 grams, 898 yen
Frozen strawerries, 2.72 kilograms, 1068 yen
Apple juice, two packs of 3.78 litres, 1088 yen
Honey, 2.26 kilograms, 1578 yen

 

[WhoZiT]

Fermenting two gallons of apfelwein now.

How much are you spending for a 1 liter pack? I know there are no Costcos in Tokushima, but if you're ever in Amagasaki, they sell two one gallon packs for ~¥1,000.

On sale, as cheap as ¥100 yen, but as much as 150 when not on sale. Usually get it for 120-130 per pack. I budget 2800-3400 per batch.

Added a mixed berry juice they had, 20% of total, for my last batch. It was pretty good.

 

[WhoZiT]

Fermenting two gallons of apfelwein now.

How much are you spending for a 1 liter pack? I know there are no Costcos in Tokushima, but if you're ever in Amagasaki, they sell two one gallon packs for ~¥1,000.

Cheapest seen was ¥100. Usually, if on sale, it's about ¥120-130. I budget 2800-3400 per batch.

Added a mixed 100% berry juice they had last time for 20 %. It is good. The previous one I tried with a mixed peach blend. It was so-so.

 

[WhoZiT]

Oops, sometimes the HBT app can be annoying...

 

[OppamaBrendan]

I will def hit up Costco near Sugita again. I am lucky my employer makes a weekly trip there so I can just tag along when we get supplies for the cafe. The frozen berries are great there for the price, I never noticed the apple juice there before I will check it out next time!

I like the idea of contacting farmers directly to get the fruit before it gets an industrial coating of wax. (I Had a beautiful giant 900gm apple sitting on the top of my fridge for 3 1/2 months; was crisp and juicy as the day it was picked when I finally scrubbed the wax off and ate it!)

 

[WhoZiT]

I like the idea of contacting farmers directly to get the fruit before it gets an industrial coating of wax. (I Had a beautiful giant 900gm apple sitting on the top of my fridge for 3 1/2 months; was crisp and juicy as the day it was picked when I finally scrubbed the wax off and ate it!)

Oh, is THAT why everyone peels everything here...?!

 

[bruhahops]

Hi guys! I'm at Incheon Airport in Seoul and heading to Tokyo tonight.

Bringing a couple pounds of hops to giveaway on behalf of bruhahops.com.

If your going to be around Tokyo or Yokohama, send me a message. Maybe we can meet at Baird, Devilcraft or something along those lines.

I'll be around until January 5th. No promise how long the hops will last.

Look forward to meeting some of you guys.

Ian
[email protected]

 

[OppamaBrendan]

I have most of those days off (I am working today though), let me know when you might head down to Yokohama and I can meet you for a pint! Right now you can still get some of the brewmasters nightmare rye IPA at Baird I think, good stuff!
Cheers,
B