More to it than I thought.

[rlmiller10]

Not to turn this into a bottle discussion but Angry Orchard Cider bottles are plain and the labels fall right off, leaving no residue, with oxy and water.

 

[PADave]

Agreed, however one must also consider whether or not they intend on submitting any of their beers for competition. In competitions, the bottles must not only be devoid of any labels, but of any distinctive markings whatsoever, including elements molded into the glass of the bottles themselves. Dogfish Head bottles have a little fish molded into the glass. Sam Adams bottles have a stylized signature molded into the glass.

I believe Sierra Nevada bottles are plain, but I don't know about the others. If you're not going to be submitting to competitions, it's moot, but if you think you might want to, it's something to keep in mind. I only ever keep totally plain beer bottles - anything else gets recycled.

Good point, but competition is the last thing on my brewing wish list. I'm having a hard time keeping enough empties around now that I've move up to multiple 5+ gallon fermenters. New Belgium also got their name molded into the glass. I haven't had a problem with breaking any of them yet either.

 

[Altrez]

Just picked up another pot and hot plate and feel like I am really getting close now to having everything I need. I am doing a bit more data logging and looking to add another Fermentation chamber.

The small pots are for Mr. Beer brews and I am going to order this for my other extract / partial mash brews.

http://spikebrewing.com/collections...es/products/15-gallon-brew-kettle-sight-glass

I also plan to invest in a bottling bucket and a plate wort chiller.

This is the plate chiller I am looking at.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/therminator

With all the parts and pump it's going to be around $500 looks pretty good. Is there anything I am missing?



-Altrez

 

[wysiwyg]

Check out these chillers also - http://www.dudadiesel.com/search.php?query=plate+chiller.

I personally have the B3-23A 20 Plate Beer Wort Garden Hose Chiller and love how efficient it is!

You're probably getting sick of more suggestions...just trying to help! We're all just waiting for you to make some beer already!

 

[Altrez]

Check out these chillers also - http://www.dudadiesel.com/search.php?query=plate+chiller.

I personally have the B3-23A 20 Plate Beer Wort Garden Hose Chiller and love how efficient it is!

You're probably getting sick of more suggestions...just trying to help! We're all just waiting for you to make some beer already!

Thanks for the post! Looks like a solid product. Beer is coming soon

-Altrez

 

[PADave]

What the heck are you ordering so many pots for? You'll soon move on from the small batches once you see how little the work/product ratio is. With those small batches an ice bath will work, a plate chiller is overkill. Make some beer!

 

[Altrez]

What the heck are you ordering so many pots for? You'll soon move on from the small batches once you see how little the work/product ratio is. With those small batches an ice bath will work, a plate chiller is overkill. Make some beer!

Hello,

There is a method to my madness. I want to brew several 1 gallon batches to test recipes of my own design one day so nothing will go to waste.

I want to have absolutely everything in place before I start my first brew day. That includes a keg system.

The only thing I want to worry about when I start is the beer. My goal is to have every tool in place and tested before brew day at least that is my plan anyways.

Yes I need another fermentation chamber. I need some way to do 24/7 monitoring of each batch and that alone will run over 3 grand easy.

I need to have a system in place with a back end database server to log and record everything. I need a RO system installed an certified. It takes tons of leg work in my case to start brewing but when I start I wont need to do much else or buy much of anything.

I could just boil some water and make one of the Mr. Beer kits that is easy. Its engineering a system that yields consent results brew after brew is what "For me a least" is going to take some time.

The keg's for the Mr. Beer kits I am going to use are here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OBX3ZHW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The Kegs for the 1 Gallon batches are listed here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BN3FDRC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I am going to bottle some out of each batch and also keg. I am buying the taps I got one in over the weekend.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D52ZWFC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

You can also force carb with that tap. Still lots of work to do. I am in the process of converting a closet to a storage room for everything.

:rockin:

-Altrez

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I still maintain you are a nutjob.

 

[Altrez]

I still maintain you are a nutjob.

Why is that? Do you consider everyone to be "Nutjob's" who do not conform to your ideas on how someone should brew their own beer? That would be absurd!

Everyone is different and has their own way of doing things. I could buy 10 grand worth of automated brewing equipment if I wanted to. The fun part for me is the science behind the perfect brew.

-Altrez

 

[dano]

I can't wait for the impending garage sale...

 

[Pantherjon]

You are just being thorough! Maybe more thorough then really necessary..But, to each their own, I say..

 

[Altrez]

You are just being thorough! Maybe more thorough then really necessary..But, to each their own, I say..

And having a blast learning all the cool science behind the art of brewing.



-Altrez

 

[chickypad]

Why is that? Do you consider everyone to be "Nutjob's" who do not conform to your ideas on how someone should brew their own beer? That would be absurd!

I think it's more that you have invested thousands of dollars and haven't yet brewed any beer. It's kind of like deciding to get into photography and not just buying a camera, but also an entire set of specialty lenses, tripods, diffusers, underwater equipment, and set up a full darkroom before you've taken your first picture. Dude, more power to you if you've got the dough to spend, I just hope it doesn't turn out that you actually hate to brew

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Something along the lines of "you still have not brewed beer yet" problem. I am a firm believer is trying, enjoying, improving, enjoying, etc.

My comment is still meant in good fun but there is kernel of WTF in there. I am not worried, confounded or confused about your love of the science but I am confused about your desire get "stuff" hand over fist without producing anything.

So yeah..I stand by nutjob.

 

[Altrez]

I think it's more that you have invested thousands of dollars and haven't yet brewed any beer. It's kind of like deciding to get into photography and not just buying a camera, but also an entire set of specialty lenses, tripods, diffusers, underwater equipment, and set up a full darkroom before you've taken your first picture. Dude, more power to you if you've got the dough to spend, I just hope it doesn't turn out that you actually hate to brew

It would suck if I hated to brew lol. I haven't brewed any beer yet that is true. I do know how to brew beer so I guess I just need to boil some water add some extract just to say that I have brewed a batch.

I guess people really will flip out when I start talking about the Dissolved Oxygen meter kit I am looking at buying.

http://www.coleparmer.com/TechLibraryArticle/1424

-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

Something along the lines of "you still have not brewed beer yet" problem. I am a firm believer is trying, enjoying, improving, enjoying, etc.

My comment is still meant in good fun but there is kernel of WTF in there. I am not worried, confounded or confused about your love of the science but I am confused about your desire get "stuff" hand over fist without producing anything.

So yeah..I stand by nutjob.

You are basically still saying that because you are confused or simply cannot understand my approach to brewing that I am a nutjob? That is really interesting, perhaps it is you that needs to do some self reflection and try to understand why you have some sort of deep dark judgmental envy festering deep down inside you soul.

Again just because I do things differently then you does not make me a nutjob.

-Altrez

 

[chickypad]

It would suck if I hated to brew lol. I haven't brewed any beer yet that is true. I do know how to brew beer so I guess I just need to boil some water add some extract just to say that I have brewed a batch.

Just thinking about being in the surgeon's office: I haven't performed any of these procedures yet but I have read everything and know how it's done...

but definitely brew something, anything, so we can stop razzing you!!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Twenty pages of banter, and not a drop to drink... At least it is entertaining

 

[Jwin]

Why is that? Do you consider everyone to be "Nutjob's" who do not conform to your ideas on how someone should fantisize about brew their own beer?

-Altrez

You are basically still saying that because you are confused or simply cannot understand my approach to dreaming about one day brewing that I am a nutjob?
-Altrez

FTFY

Altrez, where are you? I'm sure a forum member would be happy to come over and show you how to make great beer with what you have. You know, before you start your hop fields, yeast lab and write your first book.

 

[Jwin]

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Rabbit Hole!

Please tell me you already join AHA. Or you are green and live under a bridge.

 

[FatDragon]

Just make the Mr. Beer kits already! They're lowest-common-denominator brewing kits anyway, an entirely unnecessary step for a new brewer of your level of commitment. Get 'em bubbling and shut us up.

If you're the type who truly learns from research, you'll learn nothing from making Mr. Beer kits, but you will have crossed the threshold from manic-obsessive brew-planner to homebrewer. If you're the type who really locks in your learning with experience, getting those Mr. Beer kits going will give you your first actual experience with homebrewing so you'll have some personal data to start working with. Either way, we're going to razz you for as long as you dive deeper and deeper into the hobby without actually brewing any beer. It's mostly in fun, but there is certainly a component of "what the hell is this guy doing?" going on for many of us. It's clearly in your personality to want to dot every i and cross every t before you finally get started, but the great thing about homebrewing is that you don't have to do that to make good beer, and in the long-term such planning could even end up hurting your experience; if you manage to make great beer from day one, you won't have the experience of improving batch after batch so you won't have the same sense of accomplishment that we feel when we finally make a great beer after so many mediocre ones. If, probably more likely, you still start off making mediocre beer like the rest of us, all this pre-planning will have been unnecessary as you could have been making beer as you researched and assembled the more OCD portions of your kit like the thermal camera and dissolved O2 meter (which, make no mistake, are major overkill for a guy planning one-gallon brewdays).

I'm thoroughly entertained by this whole thread and I've completely gone off my earlier skepticism (although I still wonder if you may have been a little overenthusiastic when calculating your typical alcohol intake), but just make some beer already!

 

[chickypad]

I'm thoroughly entertained by this whole thread and I've completely gone off my earlier skepticism (although I still wonder if you may have been a little overenthusiastic when calculating your typical alcohol intake), but just make some beer already!

Me too man, it's gone from WTF to pure entertainment. Also hoping the EtOH intake is an exaggeration and this thread isn't the product of hepatic encephalopathy. C'mon Altrez, show us some bubbling fermenters baby!

 

[PADave]

It would suck if I hated to brew lol. I haven't brewed any beer yet that is true. I do know how to brew beer so I guess I just need to boil some water add some extract just to say that I have brewed a batch.

I guess people really will flip out when I start talking about the Dissolved Oxygen meter kit I am looking at buying.

http://www.coleparmer.com/TechLibraryArticle/1424

-Altrez

That's the funny part. On paper, you think you know how to brew beer, but have you? Things never go as planned. In theory you know how to brew in you mind, but have you? Your building a NASCAR team and never even drove a car yet, but know how to race cause you watched it a lot on TV. Introducing way too many variables into your system from the get go. You are not going to know where things went wrong, or what improves the process.

 

[Pkrd]

Anything worth brewing is worth brewing badly.

 

[Altrez]

FTFY

Altrez, where are you? I'm sure a forum member would be happy to come over and show you how to make great beer with what you have. You know, before you start your hop fields, yeast lab and write your first book.

I live in Kentucky and the hop field is a really great Idea but farm land is hard to find in my area. As far as writing a book that's not my thing I prefer to read books

Now the yeast lab sounds like a good idea.

-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

I am waiting for one last thing from Northern Brewer to come in and I will brew the Mr. Beer kits.

I also have cut back a bit on my drinking so I can be more focused on brewing beer.

All this prep work that I am doing is going to build a great foundation for my home brews.

And as far as everything I have purchased almost all of it can be used elsewhere so no real loss there.

-Altrez

 

[kombat]

And having a blast learning all the cool science behind the art of brewing.

You know what would REALLY help your learning? ACTUALLY BREWING SOMETHING.

You said you don't want to "waste" any beer, yet you're spending thousands of dollars on overkill equipment. Why are you so averse to wasting $20 worth of ingredients on a batch of beer, but you'll spend $3k on an automated, 24/7 temperature monitoring system and database? You don't want to waste 5 gallons of beer, but you'll install a thousand-dollar whole-home RO water system?

Dude, just brew some beer already.

 

[Altrez]

You know what would REALLY help your learning? ACTUALLY BREWING SOMETHING.

You said you don't want to "waste" any beer, yet you're spending thousands of dollars on overkill equipment. Why are you so averse to wasting $20 worth of ingredients on a batch of beer, but you'll spend $3k on an automated, 24/7 temperature monitoring system and database? You don't want to waste 5 gallons of beer, but you'll install a thousand-dollar whole-home RO water system?

Dude, just brew some beer already.

For me this is a hobby and I am enjoying it very much. I am following my own plan. I do not tell anyone else how they should start out the journey on the path to home brew.

Also this is my thread on how I am doing it. Some people will hate it, Some will like it and some will be indifferent. At the end of the day this is how I am going to do it.

So now the first part of my plan is building the foundation and that is what I am in the process of right now. It might be 6 months and 50 grand later before I bottle my first extract brew and if it is ya know what? Who cares!@!@! This is my hobby and my way of doing things.

Perhaps I will box everything up and throw it in the dump because I decided I do not like to brew? You know what? That is ok because it is my hobby and I am doing things my way.

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed and I really enjoy all the wonderful information that is available here on the HBT forum.



-Altrez

 

[PADave]

For me this is a hobby and I am enjoying it very much. I am following my own plan. I do not tell anyone else how they should start out the journey on the path to home brew.

Also this is my thread on how I am doing it. Some people will hate it, Some will like it and some will be indifferent. At the end of the day this is how I am going to do it.

So now the first part of my plan is building the foundation and that is what I am in the process of right now. It might be 6 months and 50 grand later before I bottle my first extract brew and if it is ya know what? Who cares!@!@! This is my hobby and my way of doing things.

Perhaps I will box everything up and throw it in the dump because I decided I do not like to brew? You know what? That is ok because it is my hobby and I am doing things my way.

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed and I really enjoy all the wonderful information that is available here on the HBT forum.



-Altrez

True that man, that's why we all get to brew on our own systems and how we want. Can't wait to see your brew day pics. :rockin:

 

[Altrez]

Totally off topic but the 2016 DFH120 needs a lot more time to age! Its like pure sugar and alcohol right now.



-Altrez