Introduction

[kkroger]

Hi erry and I am an alcoholic.... DOH! wrong meeting!
OK My Name is Kerry I purchased some second hand gear a couple years ago from a coworker wose first brew (Amber Ale) did not turn out wel at all bottled, over foamy, Pop the top and the beer just crawls out as foam and never stops... He thought he used too much priming sugar so it seems he fermented in the bottles too... In any case I got a Carboy, a bucket a broken racking cane two cases of bottles caps capper a broken airlock, a book, some sanitizing powder, and a bunch of questions for the princely sum of 39 dollars, I plan to brew up a couple recipes soon probably from Malt Extract kits, to celebrate completing Chemotherapy on the first step to winning my own personal war! Will be soon so I know I need to get some more gear and I plan to love this hobby and may branch out to wine making aome day...
Well thanks for having me! Expect a million questions!

 

[sudsmonkey]

Welcome , and congratulations on the chemo. Hope that's behind you soon. If you can get through that, learnind to brew will be a snap, just use that same determination. There's lots of great people here to answer question and share their experiences. Remember, there's no such thing as bad homebrew, there's just some ( good and not so ) that you don't tell your friends about. It all works.


Good luck,
Sudsmonkey

 

[AlaskaAl(e)]

... did not turn out wel at all bottled, over foamy, Pop the top and the beer just crawls out as foam and never stops... QUOTE]

But the real question remains--What did the foam TASTE like?

 

[kkroger]

But the real question remains--What did the foam TASTE like?

Very strong and spiritous not pleasat at all really...
Extremely yeasty no matter how you pour! as soon as you pop the top it just starts crawling out of the bottle no matter how cold....

 

[AlaskaAl(e)]

Bummer. A complete loss then. If it were not so foul-tasting I would say all was not lost. As Dad used to say, "Foam is beer too, it just takes longer to drink."

 

[Sir Sudster]

Kkroger, God Speed on your recovery !
Welcome to the hobby, it can be consuming.

 

[kkroger]

Sudster!
Thanks for the kind words! It is pretty bad right now I am feeling worse than I ever have I only have one treatment to go and that will be on Monday...
Follow up scan on the 8th of August then the long road to recovery....
It is a tough war I have been fighting and I plan to continue the battle!
These damned cells will LEARN!

 

[Sir Sudster]

Keep the faith Brother. You can do it! God Bless you. I admire your courage.
This is a good place to come. Beer making is a brotherhood and we take care of our own. I know all the folks here are hoping for the best in your recovery.

Where are you in your beer making? Start planning now. It will help you take your mind off it for awhile. When you feel up to it give it a go. Let us know how you are doing. OK?

 

[kkroger]

Got an american Pilsner in the Secondary and a Weizen in the primary as of this evening but even brewing takes a lot out of me... But at least it is something I can do without leaving the house... and since I can't have alcohol for a few weeks now I have something to look forward to.
I am planning a homebrew BBq when I get my beers done! I am kegging straight instead of bottling...

 

[Sir Sudster]

I'm 50 and it takes a lot out of me also!
Yeah, I agree on the kegging. Especially for a gathering.
What's kewl about beer making is the anticipation. Then you finally get to taste that beast of your burden. Awe, sooo sweet it is!

What's your next beer going to be? Have you thought about the "All Grain"
approach? It is awesome. I mean awesome. It is well worth striving for.
It is like the Brass Ring of Homebrewing. When you get there it is sooooo Coool!

 

[kkroger]

Next is going to be a Partial Grain Irish Red Ale... Again from an Extract Kit...
I thought about All Grain but I have neither the space or funds right now to get it going.. I just started with Extracts so taking that leap is a bit daunting.. Seems the nicer all grain rigs cost a fortune and I would need to build a barn to house it!

Right now I am just doing some kitchen brewing... May try my hand at mead later in the year... Gotta find a source for some good honey!

OH! my Weizen did an old faithful this morning... had to wade in and hook up a makeshift Blowoff hose... only half inch I am dispatching someone to the store to get a bigger hose this AM... it was just fizzing through the airlock then POP the stopper shot off an old faithful spilled... Smells nice in here though very Sweet and Wheaty...

 

[Sir Sudster]

Well, either way you can still make really good beer.

Nothing wrong with sweet and wheaty.

 

[kkroger]

Got a fatter Blow Off tube she is still bubbling a bit, I think I can put the Airlock back in there this evening maybe we will see... Otherwise it will just sit for a while... Guess I will brew up the Irish Red sometime next week...

This Chemo Crap is really kicking my butt this week... Monday should be the last treatment I am so looking forward to that!

 

[Sir Sudster]

Any chance for a little smoke to help with the pain? My uncle said it really helped the nausea. He couldn't remember why though

 

[SwAMi75]

Got an american Pilsner in the Secondary and a Weizen in the primary as of this evening but even brewing takes a lot out of me... But at least it is something I can do without leaving the house... and since I can't have alcohol for a few weeks now I have something to look forward to.
I am planning a homebrew BBq when I get my beers done! I am kegging straight instead of bottling...

And here I was a couple days ago, bitching about the heat....and you've got two batches in the bag.

Good for you man, I want you to kick it's ass. Let us know how the BBQ goes!

 

[kkroger]

And here I was a couple days ago, bitching about the heat....and you've got two batches in the bag.

Good for you man, I want you to kick it's ass. Let us know how the BBQ goes!

You bet I will! Today I have to go to the hospital to get a transfusion my blood counts are down so far I got an infection in my mouth...
VEry sore difficult to swallow... But I am sure looking forward to the BBQ
Planning to have
Burgers
Brats
Smoked Brisket
Crawfish Boil

three home brews on tap as well as a barrel of home made rootbeer...

Some of these folks have never tried a home brew (myself included if you don't count the stuff the guy made who sold me my kit...)

 

[Sir Sudster]

How did that root beer turn out. I gave a nephew a kit to make some and he said his wasn't very good. If yours turned out good I'd like the recipe if you don't mind giving it away. I will forward it on to my nephew for another try.

 

[kkroger]

The rootbeer I did in bottles left a bit to be desired, too yeasty and there was only a 1/4 teaspoon of yeast in it left it to carbonate for a week before refrigerating it and it i snot very sweet anymore... Though the next batch will use no yeast.. Basically you need a gallon of water 1 cup white sugar, 1.5 Cups Dark Brown sugar 2 tablespoons of Malto dextrin and a tablespoon of Root beer Extract, I used Mc Cormicks from the Grocery it tastes pretty good like commercial RB I use a tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon in mine...

Below is the recipe I started with... Like I say the next batch will not use yeast or be bottled...

"Recipe for one gallon. Please read instructions before starting. Equipment Mixing Spoon
6-8 Quart Sauce Pan
Kitchen Funnel
Measuring spoons
Measuring Cup
2-3 gallon Pail
Unscented Bleach
A clean one gallon plastic milk jug
8-16 oz. PET Beer bottles

Ingredients 1 Cup White Table Sugar
1-1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Malto Dextrin
1 tablespoon Root Beer Extract
1/4 teaspoon Champagne Yeast
1 Gallon of Cold Water


Clean all equipment with soap and water. Rinse very well.
Prepare a sanitizing solution in a clean utility pail by mixing 2 teaspoons of unscented bleach with 2 gallons of cold water. Soak all equipment including bottles and caps in this solution for at least 10 minutes. Remove your equipment and rinse it well with hot water.
Fill a one gallon container with cold water. Now remove 1 cup of water from the jug and discard it. All of the water required for the recipe is now in the gallon container. Measuring the water in this way will save time and prevent you from adding to much or to little water later.
Place 4 cups of water from the container into a sauce pan and begin to heat it. It is not necessary to bring the water to a boil. Heating this small amount of water will help dissolve the sugars and will make a better soft drink.
Add the white sugar, brown sugar and malto dextrin to the sauce pan and stir until the sugars are completely dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved turn off the heat.
Add 1 tablespoon of Root Beer Extract to the sauce pan and stir it in.
Add the remaining water to the sauce pan and stir well. Check the temperature of the mixture by carefully touching the outside of the pan. It should be cool to slightly warm. It may be necessary to allow the pan to sit covered for a short time in order to cool.
Open the packet of champagne yeast by cutting off a corner. Measure out 1/4 teaspoon of yeast and add it to the sauce pan. Close the yeast packet by folding over the open corner and sealing it with tape. Store the remaining yeast in the refrigerator for the next batch.
Stir the sauce pan until the yeast is completely dissolved. You are now ready to bottle your root beer.

Bottling the Root Beer
Use a kitchen funnel to fill each of the E.Z-Cap bottles first. Pour the root beer into the bottles so that there is about 1-1/4 inch of air space left in the neck of the bottle. Leaving to little air space will cause the root beer to remain flat. Leaving to much air space will cause the root beer to over carbonate and may cause the bottles to gush when opened or even explode. Fill the used plastic soda bottle in the same manner. Seal the bottles tightly and store them for at least 2 weeks at room temperature. This will allow the yeast to eat some of the sugar and carbonate the soft drink. You can check the carbonation by squeezing the plastic soda bottle. When it is hard, the soda is done and must be refrigerated. Allow the bottles to chill for at least 1 week prior to serving. The root beer will improve in flavor with time but it must be stored in the refrigerator.
Notes About Natural Carbonation
The yeast used to carbonate your soft drinks will feed on sugars in the drink and produce carbon dioxide gas and a very small amount of alcohol. You should not be concerned about this alcohol production. There is more natural alcohol in fresh squeezed orange juice than that produced in your soft drink.
If your soft drink becomes over carbonated you can burp the bottles by carefully opening the lid and letting the gas escape. Put the lid back on and place the bottle in the refrigerator. The cold will stop further gas production. You may need to reduce the amount of yeast used in your next batch.
If your soft drink is not carbonated within 2 weeks of bottling you may have added the yeast while the soft drink was to hot. You can open each bottle and carefully add 3 or 4 grains of yeast. Close the bottle and leave them at room temperature for 1 more week. You may need to add more yeast in your next batch but never add more than 1/4 teaspoon of yeast regardless of the size of the batch being made.
You will notice that when a fully carbonates bottle is cooled in the refrigerator, the amount of carbonation is reduced. This is caused by the fact that the colder a liquid is, the more gas it can hold in suspension. Be sure that your plastic test bottle is very, very hard before refrigerating. "

 

[Sir Sudster]

Sorry but i'm a little confused here. First, thanks for posting all the instructions. (Hope you only had to cut and paste all that.) Are you saying you are going to force carbonate in a keg? Is that why "No Yeasties"

 

[kkroger]

Sorry but i'm a little confused here. First, thanks for posting all the instructions. (Hope you only had to cut and paste all that.) Are you saying you are going to force carbonate in a keg? Is that why "No Yeasties"

Yeah force in the keg so no yeasties... the stuff I bottled was a little too yeasty for my taste. so I am going to keg a batch and force carbonate it and give that a try... I know a guy who makes root beer at local fairs and his is pretty good not really much to it but he doesn't use yeast at all...

 

[kkroger]

Latest Results!

Well I spoke to my Doctor today and got the results of my PET scan from Tuesday and the results are great...

Lots of Doctorese on there but the important line says

“There is no definite evidence of active tumor”

 

[Sir Sudster]

Awesome!! Hell of a fight Man! Way to go! Just to let you know you had a few people out here praying for your recovery.

 

[kkroger]

It is always appreciated sud!

 

[Spoonta]

there right you know it always tastes good when you make it your self