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Altrez
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Thats a good idea. I might try that when I go big batch outdoor's this fall.
My wife is from DFW she bugs me daily about wanting to move back lol.
-Altrez
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More to it than I thought.
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Thats a good idea. I might try that when I go big batch outdoor's this fall.
My wife is from DFW she bugs me daily about wanting to move back lol.
-Altrez
@Altraz I believe the legal limit for homebrew is 200 gallons per year for a household with 2 or more adults. I don't think the men in black are going to knock down your door for going a few gallons over, but it might be a mistake to publicly announce plans to "break the law".
You sound pretty excited to get going and this can be a fun hobby. Patience is a key ingredient and vital in some parts of the process. Welcome and do have fun.
You sound pretty excited to get going and this can be a fun hobby. Patience is a key ingredient and vital in some parts of the process. Welcome and do have fun.
They've got to *catch* you over the limit. As long as you're rotating the stock like you should be, it would be really hard to have 200 gallons of homebrew on hand (good on you if you can though).
This thread is great! I love the creativity!
My hat is off to you, Op.
My hat is off to you, Op.
hockeyrounds
Active Member
rlmiller10
Well-Known Member
I second what Grrickar said. Instead of the towel I fill the tub higher and put in a couple of ice bottles. Change them every 12 hours or so. By having a relatively large volume it is easy to moderate temperature swings.
But a fridge and temp controller is hard to beat. I have one of those as well when my wife doesn't have food in it.
The more I look at your requirements, the more I think a large volume manual or slightly automated eBiaB system would be an eventual goal. If you have two 20 amp 110V circuits in the same room (your office?) you can build a 10 gallon finished-product system for about $250. My 9 gallon system was a little cheaper because I already had some of the parts.
You still have to buy all the fermentation and sanitation gear but if you really want to make 10 gallons a week, this is the least involved (money and your time) method. It is basically 20 gallon pot, two 2000W elements, outdoor switch enclosures a weldless ball valve and bag (hoist STRONGLY reccomended).
You also have to realistically have a chiller or go no chill...both have their compromises. No chill, takes a day to cool to pitching temps even in a fridge fermentation chamber. Chiller requires a water source and drain or lots of ice.
10 gallons in about 4 hours of which only maybe an hour is active work by you. Get a mill, buy bulk grains and hops, recycle yeast, etc., and you can get to a very low price per pint but when you do all those things at once you have a large up front cost. With a similar setup my low'ish alcohol (3.8-4.2%), not super hoppy house beers run about $0.38 a US pint. An SNPA clone type beer runs about $0.42 a US pint. I did the math once and I think a Zombie Dust clone would be about $0.53 each and we pay about $12 a sixer of 12 ounce bottles or about $2.70 per pint. So lets just say compare to $14/12-pack beer like SNPA you save about a $1 per pint. For 520 gallons in a year that is about $4160 in savings so even if you spend $1000 of gear, you are ahead (assume you time has no value) in the first year.
Bottling that much will be a huge pain but is doable so consider kegging in the cost comparison, too.
You still have to buy all the fermentation and sanitation gear but if you really want to make 10 gallons a week, this is the least involved (money and your time) method. It is basically 20 gallon pot, two 2000W elements, outdoor switch enclosures a weldless ball valve and bag (hoist STRONGLY reccomended).
You also have to realistically have a chiller or go no chill...both have their compromises. No chill, takes a day to cool to pitching temps even in a fridge fermentation chamber. Chiller requires a water source and drain or lots of ice.
10 gallons in about 4 hours of which only maybe an hour is active work by you. Get a mill, buy bulk grains and hops, recycle yeast, etc., and you can get to a very low price per pint but when you do all those things at once you have a large up front cost. With a similar setup my low'ish alcohol (3.8-4.2%), not super hoppy house beers run about $0.38 a US pint. An SNPA clone type beer runs about $0.42 a US pint. I did the math once and I think a Zombie Dust clone would be about $0.53 each and we pay about $12 a sixer of 12 ounce bottles or about $2.70 per pint. So lets just say compare to $14/12-pack beer like SNPA you save about a $1 per pint. For 520 gallons in a year that is about $4160 in savings so even if you spend $1000 of gear, you are ahead (assume you time has no value) in the first year.
Bottling that much will be a huge pain but is doable so consider kegging in the cost comparison, too.
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
This sounds really good actually. I do have 2 different 110 connections but was thinking about installing a sub panel in the upstairs closet.
I think this looks perfect http://www.brew-boss.com/
has everything ready to go tested and seems easy to use.
Thanks for the help!
-Altrez
I just keep running across more and more things I need before I feel like I can get started.
Just getting all the things needed for my first brew is crazy! I am up to around $700 in supplies and have not started my first batch!
-Altrez
What you need and what you think you need are two different things.
You should try making a batch or two and see what you really need. I've got quite a few items that I thought I would need when I started, some I've never touched, and some I've used once and found a better way.I think this looks perfect http://www.brew-boss.com/
has everything ready to go tested and seems easy to use.
Thanks for the help!
-Altrez
Buying CotS...I am out. Half the fun of this is the build for me.
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
What you need and what you think you need are two different things.
Hello,
I plan on brewing several different recipes. I really like the 1 gallon all grain idea. The Mr.Beer's seem like a good way to get started with extract.
Everything I have purchased so far if I find I do not like home brewing I can give away to someone who does so I am not really going to be out anything.
-Altrez
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
I do not think I have the time to build one right now. I have all the tools and engineering background but just coding the software would take a long time.
-Altrez
Your over thinking it. Two 2000w elements. Two switches. Software coding is for wusses.
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
I could put that setup together in 5 minutes. Now coding a cross platform app that will monitor every aspect of the brew write it all to a database and have a neural network analyze it would be pretty 31337.
I dream in C#
-Altrez
I could put that setup together in 5 minutes. Now coding a cross platform app that will monitor every aspect of the brew write it all to a database and have a neural network analyze it would be pretty 31337.
I dream in C#
-Altrez
I code SQL all day long and VBA when forces. Coding is still for wusses when brute force can be used instead. My toolbox is full of hammers...each larger than the next.
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Altrez
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molson1993
Active Member
I just started brewing as well and if I made a suggestion that I wish i'd of known first off, get a way to control your temp, I just picked up a chest freezer off OfferUp for $40 (a steal imo) for my second batch, also you could use the voss water if you'd like, but distilled water will work just as well, I believe when I sent my girlfriend to the store to buy some she came back saying it was about $5 for 5 gallons. Cheers and welcome to a wonderful obsession...I mean hobby..
I thought the same way, till I realized all the work that goes into even 1 gallon batches. 5 weeks later and all you got is 8 or 9 bottles of beer and you'll be going bigger.
ChelisHubby
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Honestly 8 bottles might be enough to tell you if you like a style. But if you enjoy it 8 bottles is just a tease, not even a good night kiss on the porch. most beers change some from the second week in the bottle to the 5th week and this is talking about pale ales and light colored beer not a porter or a stout that truly comes together after a couple of months. you would be as well off to go to a liquer store and buy some of the style you are interested in it is much cheaper and faster. This said if you think that the one gallon batches are good for you go for it. But a five gallon batch of what you like is more practical. There is a reason guys brew bigger batches, so they don't brew as often and can share more of what they brew.
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
I just started brewing as well and if I made a suggestion that I wish i'd of known first off, get a way to control your temp, I just picked up a chest freezer off OfferUp for $40 (a steal imo) for my second batch, also you could use the voss water if you'd like, but distilled water will work just as well, I believe when I sent my girlfriend to the store to buy some she came back saying it was about $5 for 5 gallons. Cheers and welcome to a wonderful obsession...I mean hobby..
Hi molson1993,
Thank you for the post. I picked up a a small refrigerator to keep my temps consent I am just waiting on the temp controller. It is turning into an obsession big time
-Altrez
MaryB
Well-Known Member
I currently have 5 beer styes from 1 gallon batches in the fridge. Had 6 but the Caribou Slobber was a hit with my neighbor and she asked for a 6 pack... Plus 2 5 gallon batches fermenting, Phat Tire and Block Party Ale that will be good come in from the garden or mowing beers.
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
Hello,
The plan is to get to 10 gallons. I just want to get my feet wet with a few small batches first. I know what type of beer I like "All
" but I am not sure how different the flavors will be with homebrew.My first run I am making 5 gallons of 3 different styles of beers. A light beer that's from Mr.Beer, a two hearted ale clone that is all grain from NB and also an Oktoberfest from Mr. Beer.
-Altrez
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
That's cool. I am looking to brew a good easy drinking beer for days when I am out working in the yard. Where did you get your recipes?
-Altrez
The more I read this thread, the more confused I get. On the one hand, VOSS water ("cheep at only $12/gallon" - meaning your brewing water alone would cost $20+ per gallon of finished beer), an IR camera, and 500 gallons of beer a year plus a bottle of vodka a day screams troll, but on the other hand you've paid for a membership and most of the other stuff you're saying is fairly typical of a new brewer, albeit one who's diving in headfirst. I have no idea whether you're just having a laugh at everyone who's taking you seriously in spite of some of those off the wall statements or if you're for real.
If you're for real, after the toe-dipping phase of doing a few 1-5 gallon kit brews, you might want to look into building or buying a highly-automated 1 barrel system or even bigger. If you're drinking 500 gallons of beer a year, being able to pump out 25 gallons or more in one brewday will represent a major savings of time and effort long-term. At that level, the money invested in a big system like that would recoup itself fairly quickly. If you're going big, why not go BIG?
If you're for real, after the toe-dipping phase of doing a few 1-5 gallon kit brews, you might want to look into building or buying a highly-automated 1 barrel system or even bigger. If you're drinking 500 gallons of beer a year, being able to pump out 25 gallons or more in one brewday will represent a major savings of time and effort long-term. At that level, the money invested in a big system like that would recoup itself fairly quickly. If you're going big, why not go BIG?
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
Troll? I mean really? I have spent over a grand so far to get into homebrew. The 1 BBL system will come I could buy it right now. I am just stating out and starting slow.
I have been drinking a bottle of vodka a day for 20 plus years how does that make me a troll. The cheap bourbon is what kills people.
I have bought a domain name. I have started a blog and I also have a 10K budget for my homebrew.
-Altrez
McKnuckle
Well-Known Member
The cool thing about homebrewing is that it doesn't require custom coding, websites, and a couple years worth of IRA contributions to do it well. If those things are gratifying for you, then you'll apply them to your new hobby - and why not? I've been involved in other hobbies and online forums and the big spenders are always represented. Sometimes they're good at the pursuit itself, sometimes very much not. What one spends is never equated with ability or knowledge. It's just a separate factor altogether.
Just understand that the "culture" of homebrewing generally comes from a different ethos. It's occupied by creative types, most of whom derive enjoyment from the science and art of crafting beer - often with very modest but completely functional equipment. In fact, learning to master simple equipment and relying on knowledge is considered a Zen approach to brewing and is highly respected. It all depends what makes you tick.
A perfect example is Charlie Papazian's famous "Zapap" mash tun. It's two plastic buckets nested inside each other, one of which has holes in the bottom to facilitate draining when lifted. He proudly put that in his famous book - probably because the focus was on encouraging people to learn about the process of brewing, not to intimidate them with the perception that it requires a high price of entry.
Just understand that the "culture" of homebrewing generally comes from a different ethos. It's occupied by creative types, most of whom derive enjoyment from the science and art of crafting beer - often with very modest but completely functional equipment. In fact, learning to master simple equipment and relying on knowledge is considered a Zen approach to brewing and is highly respected. It all depends what makes you tick.
A perfect example is Charlie Papazian's famous "Zapap" mash tun. It's two plastic buckets nested inside each other, one of which has holes in the bottom to facilitate draining when lifted. He proudly put that in his famous book - probably because the focus was on encouraging people to learn about the process of brewing, not to intimidate them with the perception that it requires a high price of entry.
This is the internet. We can't verify anything you say. Sometimes, for kicks and giggles, people on the internet spout the most audacious nonsense in order to mess with people. This and other kinds of intentional baiting behavior is called trolling, and the people who do it are called trolls.
Some of the things you've said in this thread certainly qualify as audacious. You mentioned wanting to use VOSS water for your brewing and wanting to brew 500 gallons a year, which at your $12/gallon figure for VOSS water would make your brewing water bill anywhere from $6k-$12k a year (dependent on your brewing method and how you calculate production). That's audacious. If you really drink 500 gallons of beer a year and a bottle of vodka a day (and you're functional) you're an outlier among the outliers among the outliers when it comes to alcohol tolerance - one in a million would be an extremely mild estimate. Your purported daily intake of alcohol is greater than the vast majority of humans' daily intake of fluids in general and if everyone tried keeping up with your drinking habits we'd probably lose 10% of the world's population to alcohol poisoning by the end of the first day. That's audacious.
Some audacious claims are totally true. Most of what you've said in this thread comes off as genuine so it's hard to write you off as a troll, but those things that are out there are WAY out there, so it's also hard to believe you're for real. I've stayed out of the thread for that reason, but the lack of "you must be trolling" and "you need to go bigger than 10 gallons/batch if you want to make 500 gallons a year and your time is valuable" comments got to me so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. Maybe you're for real and good luck to you; maybe you're trolling and well done keeping it going so long; it doesn't matter all that much to me, I just couldn't respond to the one possibility without responding to the other.
Edit: Another genuine suggestion: I may have missed it, but the water discussion seems to focus on buying water and how this or that option is cheaper than VOSS. If you're brewing 500 gallons a year and don't want to brew with untreated tap water, a home RO filtration system with some brewing salts for water chemistry is probably your best bet long term - you'll be able to get the best results from doctoring RO water and the home filtration system will pay for itself in both time and money saved compared with going to the store to buy water.
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Interesting - I've heard the term "Zapap" mash tun before but didn't know what it was. I do BIAB but I use the same setup for sparging my bag after mashing in my kettle. It's a great time saver, and I could see how it would work out as a decent mash tun, though I'd be worried about maintaining mash temps as well as the significant deadspace beneath the drilled bucket (in my 25L buckets the deadspace is about five liters, leaving about 19 liters for the mash after losing space to the actual physical form of the drilled bucket).
I like the idea of using the simplest tools for the most elegant product, but we shouldn't forget that there's a large contingent here (and among homebrewers in general) who love to geek out on highly-complex, highly-customized, automated systems as well. Everyone from the Mr. Beer newbies to the gadget heads to the minimalists to the science geeks to the fat cats and even the caveman primitivists is welcome here, and HBT is a lot of fun thanks to all of them.
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
You make some good points and I understand what you are saying. I posted a link to a water filter I was looking at because I started to understand that it would cost a bunch of money to brew with VOSS. However I will brew a few 1 gallon brews with VOSS just to test.
I am not done with my website or blog in anyway. I am still looking for a good web designer but to offer up some proof I will post it. Please understand I have no skills in design.
http://www.eviljaybrew.com
More pics to come.
-Altrez
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
I drink around 2 gallons of vodka a week and at least 4 cases of beer. That is a fact and if anyone would like to put up some money to say I do not they will lose.
True I miss work but that is what PTO is for.
I am not "Trolling" here I am just sharing. I dont post lies or anything to get people angry.
No one questions the stoner who smokes 30 bowls a day or the pill head who pops 10 oxy's but everyone is like there is no way that dude drinks that much! Ask my friends I do drink that much sometimes more.
-Altrez
McKnuckle
Well-Known Member
How much do you weigh?
Seriously - let's round up your 4 weekly cases to 100 bottles, or 1200 ounces, divided by seven days equals 171 ounces of beer per day. One ounce of beer contains about 13 calories. So you are consuming over 2200 calories every day in beer. That's 50% more than many people eat and drink in regular meals.
There are 64 calories in an ounce of vodka. Multiplied by 2 gallons (256 oz) yields 16,384 calories in a week. That's 2340 a day.
Are you able to drink 4500+ calories in alcohol per day and still be both alive and ambulatory?
Seriously - let's round up your 4 weekly cases to 100 bottles, or 1200 ounces, divided by seven days equals 171 ounces of beer per day. One ounce of beer contains about 13 calories. So you are consuming over 2200 calories every day in beer. That's 50% more than many people eat and drink in regular meals.
There are 64 calories in an ounce of vodka. Multiplied by 2 gallons (256 oz) yields 16,384 calories in a week. That's 2340 a day.
Are you able to drink 4500+ calories in alcohol per day and still be both alive and ambulatory?
Fair enough. I will withhold any skepticism from this thread and post any further replies from the perspective that you're in earnest whether or not I maintain any skepticism in private.
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
How much do you weigh?
Seriously - let's round up your 4 weekly cases to 100 bottles, or 1200 ounces, divided by seven days equals 171 ounces of beer per day. One ounce of beer contains about 13 calories. So you are consuming over 2200 calories every day in beer. That's 50% more than many people eat and drink in regular meals.
There are 64 calories in an ounce of vodka. Multiplied by 2 gallons (256 oz) yields 16,384 calories in a week. That's 2340 a day.
Are you able to drink 4500+ calories in alcohol per day and still be both alive and ambulatory?
Six foot 280! Work out 6 days a week and run 3 miles a day!!
-Altrez
McKnuckle
Well-Known Member
Well, rock on. I'm a runner too. Three miles at your weight, let's say at an 8-10 min/mile range of paces, burns about 635 calories*. Definitely not too shabby. I'm just a bit more than half your weight, so I get screwed with half that burn rate.
But even if we grant you another 400+ for your anaerobic workouts, the math still baffles.
Maybe you are one of the lucky ones! Anyway, carry on...
*http://www.runnersworld.com/fitness-calculators/calories-burned-calculator
But even if we grant you another 400+ for your anaerobic workouts, the math still baffles.
Maybe you are one of the lucky ones! Anyway, carry on...
*http://www.runnersworld.com/fitness-calculators/calories-burned-calculator
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Altrez
Well-Known Member
Well, rock on. I'm a runner too. Three miles at your weight, let's say at an 8-10 min/mile range of paces, burns about 635 calories*. Definitely not too shabby. I'm just a bit more than half your weight, so I get screwed with half that burn rate.
But even if we grant you another 400+ for your anaerobic workouts, the math still baffles.
Maybe you are one of the lucky ones! Anyway, carry on...
*http://www.runnersworld.com/fitness-calculators/calories-burned-calculator
I am fat brother do not think I am not lol. I just workout and my runs some days are just a light Jog.
Lets get back to beer brewing!
-Altrez
McKnuckle
Well-Known Member
Actually, given the math, clearly you're kicking ass.
Brewing... back to brewing! Sorry for the diversion.
Brewing... back to brewing! Sorry for the diversion.
GHBWNY
Well-Known Member
A lot of good advice here, but you're not going to be able to put it all into practice on the first go-around. You'll develop your own strategies as time goes along, but it sounds like you're well supplied to get this first one off the ground. Been brewing over two years and my basic set-up is still quite simple:
SS brew pot and spoon
32 oz. and 64 oz. measuring cups
dial cooking thermometer
hydrometer with case
turkey baster for taking samples
Star-San
wort chiller
6.5 gal. ferm bucket, airlock
swamp cooler (if needed)
And on the other end, bottles, crowns, capper, etc.
Main things are sanitation and (brewing and ferm) temperature control. Pay attention to those and you'll increase your chances of great beer exponentially. Welcome to the obsession!!
SS brew pot and spoon
32 oz. and 64 oz. measuring cups
dial cooking thermometer
hydrometer with case
turkey baster for taking samples
Star-San
wort chiller
6.5 gal. ferm bucket, airlock
swamp cooler (if needed)
And on the other end, bottles, crowns, capper, etc.
Main things are sanitation and (brewing and ferm) temperature control. Pay attention to those and you'll increase your chances of great beer exponentially. Welcome to the obsession!!
Not exactly sure that's something to be bragging about, even on a beer forum, but hey, rock on dude! :rockin:
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