Looking to get started in Bama

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
BamaUmp said:
Yes, I want to stay away from chilled fermentation.

I've been looking at craigslist keeping an eye on turkey fryers and pots.

My question about better bottles is are they going to last long term?

A newbie question here. I do not care for bitter beer. Even a simple brown from Good People Brewing is more bitter than I prefer. Any suggestion?
Click to expand...


The better bottles will last longer than glass, because they won't break and sever your hand...or leg. It nearly happened ot me one. I got lucky. Broken Glass Carboy Horror Stories

One of my favorites is a Hefeweizen:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/hank-s-hefeweizen.html

Midwest has a scale indicating the characteristics(including bitterness) of each of their beer kits:
hefe_zps9e33bab8.png
 
BamaUmp said:
Just looking down the road about the mash tun.
Click to expand...

To answer your question about the cooler, yes it will work very well for a mash tun for average gravity beers. It just needs to be in good working condition and you'll want to get a ball valve and either a kettle screen or false bottom for it. But yea start out with extract kits and move forward from there. One of the main things with home brewing you'll learn quickly is patience. Oh and I was stationed at ft bliss in el Paso for 2 year 11 months. Shiner has several pretty good beers.
 
Know of any home brew beers that do not require cold fermentation that might get close to a shiner bock?
 
Austin homebrew supply has a shiner bock clone actually. I don't remember the temp range for fermentation off the top of my head but I don't think its too cool. The actual beer however is a lager so it'd be colder. Right now for you as you've already seen this site and google are your friends :D
 
I'd be willing to bet Alabrew has a shiner clone. Instead of prepackaged kits they have a huge book of 2-300 recipes, and they put the kit together for you on the spot, and they're reasonably priced. I may check out hop city on their anniversary.
 
Bought a 26qt turkey fryer with burner (bayou classic) brand new off Craigslist for 50 bucks yesterday. Today I'm trying to decide between the hop city and alabrew better bottle starter kit.
 
Went with the alabrew $60 two bucket set and how to brew book anything other than recipe kit and bottle that I need before I give this a go?
 
Going to spend some time reading this week. My dad is in the CICU at UAB so it will give me something to do. Anything online worth reading? I have the john Palmer how to brew book now.
 
Palmer's work is a lot like music theory textbook I had--incredibly informative and mostly accurate, but dry as a powder house and not very well organized.

I'm a hands on learner. Give me the basics, let me try it and screw it up, then let me research where I went wrong. Hasn't failed me yet.
 
Excellent points. I learn from both. I like to research then learn hands on.
 
Would a 5 gallon pin lock keg be a good primary, secondary fermenter or both? I've read they are better than glass or PET.
 
I have a fairly local source for the kegs at what appears to be a good price. Just need to make sure using these to ferment is a good idea. Seems like one but I don't have enough knowledge to know yet.
 
The question about temps is about fermentation temps. You should as best you can get your carboy/bucket into an area that will keep your wort below 70 degrees. This will minimize the off flavors from various esters and such that yeast put off when they ferment at higher temps. It is the best and cheapest change any home brewer can make to make their beers better.
 
BamaUmp said:
I have a fairly local source for the kegs at what appears to be a good price. Just need to make sure using these to ferment is a good idea. Seems like one but I don't have enough knowledge to know yet.
Click to expand...

If you're talking about the guy in Tuscaloosa, they are pin locks.
 
BamaUmp said:
Pin locks not good?
Click to expand...

Just less standard I guess. You can find stuff for both, but pin locks are generally shorter and fatter and thus don't make the most of your space in most freezers and refrigerators.
 
More or less asking if fermenting in a keg then bottling is a good idea. As of now I prefer to bottle.
 
BamaUmp said:
He is asking 35 each.
Click to expand...

It's the guy from T-town isn't it? Nice guy...I just needed ball locks. You can ferment in them, but you'll need to bleed CO2 constantly or remove a post then wrap a blowoff in sanitized plastic wrap and fit it into the hole where the post was originally installed. Their capacity is a hair over 5 gallons, so fermenting 5 gallon batches in them doesn't suit my preference (I prefer not to lose anything via the blowoff).
 
No this guy is in Madison. What about primary in a bucket then pin lock keg with an air lock? Would the keg be better than either a better bottle as secondary or 1 stage in the bucket. Read somewhere that fermenting in metal is better. Was considering it as a mead fermenter as well. Still at the hospital with dad and have plenty of time on my hands :)
 
BamaUmp said:
No this guy is in Madison. What about primary in a bucket then pin lock keg with an air lock? Would the keg be better than either a better bottle as secondary or 1 stage in the bucket. Read somewhere that fermenting in metal is better. Was considering it as a mead fermenter as well. Still at the hospital with dad and have plenty of time on my hands :)
Click to expand...

Me personally, I use glass as a secondary then keg. I like my beer to be clear, and I'd rather rack off the sediment in a carboy rather than throw out the first glass or two out of the keg.
 
My first batch is in the fermenting bucket. Went with American Cream Ale. Also trying 1 gallon if JOAM.
 
Also the guy at AlaBrew told me a lot of people are going with 1 stage fermentation.
 
Yep unless you are dry hopping, long term bulk aging, or "fruiting" a beer there's no real reason to rack to a secondary.
 
jhoneycutt said:
Yep unless you are dry hopping, long term bulk aging, or "fruiting" a beer there's no real reason to rack to a secondary.
Click to expand...

Unless you want clear beer.
 
I don't think I'm going to either. Now that I have a batch fermenting and I kinda know what I'm doing I think I'm going to buy a couple of buckets and make my own primary's. Any suggestions on the best place to buy them I like the tractor supply ones and the are food grade.
 
They need to be food grade plastic (plastic codes 2 and 4) and they really need to be about seven gallons. Five gallons is too small for a primary on a five gallon batch because it won't have enough room for fermentation.

As for secondaries, it boils down to personal preference. Since I brew darker beers, getting a couple extra points of clarity is pointless, and even that is debatable (trust me, it's been done to death). Just leave it in primary for three or four weeks and it will be great.
 
Rebel brew in Nashville has some good prices. I picked up a "malty Mississippi red ale kit" today along with a few other goodies.
 
Well if I haven't screwed anything up I have an American Cream Ale and Malty Mississippi Red Ales in fermenting buckets.
 

Similar threads

MightyMosin
Mead Class... Looking for suggestions
Replies
12
Views
745
Johnny2
J
B
Figured I would make an account
Replies
4
Views
241
cubalz
cubalz
Brit the !@#$
New Apple Orchardist Member Looking to Develop Graf Recipe Using Cider Syrup
Replies
16
Views
884
madscientist451
madscientist451
prismpeaches
Excited to finally start brewing!
Replies
2
Views
436
prismpeaches
prismpeaches
R
Hello! New to Mead-Making
Replies
9
Views
780
RainyMonday094
R
Williams Brewing 300

Latest posts

Back
Top