Howdy

[Sharkness]

Hi there,

I've been lurking for a long time, and figured it's time to introduce myself. My name's Sam, and I've been brewing for about a year. 29, California-born, settled in NW Montana. I first got an invite to brew with a buddy who was just making his second extract batch with the most basic follow-the-steps Brewcraft (I think) kit we got from the hardware store. I was casually interested, but put off by the fact that our product just wasn't that good. Fine generic Sierra Nevada-ish taste, but watery and flat. Not so turned off that when I stumbled across a Craigslist ad for all the basics (spoon, hydrometer, brush, Charlie Papazian's book etc) as well as a kettle, carboy, copper chiller AND 4 kegs and CO2 for $100 I wasn't all over it like flies on the proverbial ****, though.

Since then I've brewed 4 or 5 batches of extract ales from Northern Brewer, with substantial improvement each step of the way. I have learned to use good yeast, be extremely rigorous in my sanitation, full volume boils, make starters in a big glass jug (no stir plate), control fermentation temp as best I can, and use a 2-stage fermentation. These things seemed like the best bang-for-your-buck improvements to me. An O2 wand will probably be next, but I'm waiting till I'm very confident in my extract quality/consistency to further complicate things with all grain. I'd love any input on other cheap ways to improve extract brewing.

I'm also mid-way through building a coffin style keezer with 3 taps and room for a cold fermentor in carboy or corny keg. It seems like a big step for a novice brewer, but given that I started out with kegs, and bottling seems like a time-consuming PITA I'm just diving into the deep end. I'll start a separate thread on that to show y'all what I'm up to there.

Edit:https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/new-coffin-keezer-build-494222/

My favorite beers are mostly IPAs and pale ales-- Sierra, Ninkasi Total Domination, Deschutes River Ale, Mirror Pond, Fresh Squeezed, Chainbreaker, Inversion, Bud from bottle or draught (no apologies) Pilsner Urquel, and a bunch of Montana micros. Not into beers with fruit or spices. At all. Ever.

This forum has been invaluable to me, so I figured it was time to join the fray since I've actually got something to contribute with the keezer project.

 

[unionrdr]

Finally a noob after my own heart! I love the beers you mentioned. Plus brewing extinct or antiquated styles. Somebody on here did a coffin keezer as well. Maybe search that one for ideas? Having an SNPA & vodka now. Rheumatiz meds at my age. Nostrovia!

 

[Cyclman]

Welcome to the group. After "basic" brewing (including chilling quickly, full batch boils), IMO next is yeast propagation (stirplate) / wort aeration, then temperature controlled fermentation. A stirplate quickly pays for itself in ease of growing your yeast, an oxygen stone makes for much better fermentations, especially with high gravity beers or lagers. After that, I would go BIAB. Cheap upgrade that gives you an AG option. I just did a BIAB Surly Smoke clone last weekend on the stovetop (2.5G batch), it was easy / fun.

 

[Sharkness]

Thanks for the advice. Like I said, I think O2 will be my next investment, in time to try my first lager, after the zillion dollars I'm sinking into my keezer (see edit). Of course the keezer also lends itself to temp-controlled lagering. I haven't really had a proper cycle going, in terms of having something on tap and brewing before I'm dry, so I'm also needing to brew 3-4 5-gal batches in the next few weeks.

I use the mr malty brew calculator, DME or LME to get the gravity right, and make a starter that I agitate by hand for 36-48 hours. Obviously a stir plate is better, but I recently became a homeowner, so there are a million places my money goes before it trickles to brew equipment.