More to it than I thought.

[TasunkaWitko]

My question is this: Am I over analyzing this? Can good home brew beer be made just throwing wort into a jar and letting it ferment?

In my opinion, yes and yes! But that's okay ~ my observation is that brewers fall into two categories:

This:

Or this

Some folks like to try to say that they are actually somewhere in-between; however, it seems that - when pressed - they will fall on one side or the other.

The point is, it doesn't matter! Brew the way you like, and have fun with it! I am more of the "monk" type, but I've learned some awesome stuff from the scientific types, and have applied it to my style.

Make it your own, and enjoy!

Ron

 

[Altrez]

Update:

Picked up a small chest freezer for a secondary ferm chamber it is an Idylis 5-cu ft Chest Freezer and another Inkbird Itc-308 Digital Temperature Control. I hope to have it installed and tested next week. Things are really starting to come together! I have a brew day tomorrow and then on Sunday.

I am quickly running out of space in my home office so I am going to look at buying a building in the next few months or so to put in the back yard for brewing.

Lots more to come!!!



-Altrez

 

[FatDragon]

Update:

Picked up a small chest freezer for a secondary ferm chamber it is an Idylis 5-cu ft Chest Freezer and another Inkbird Itc-308 Digital Temperature Control. I hope to have it installed and tested next week. Things are really starting to come together! I have a brew day tomorrow and then on Sunday.

I am quickly running out of space in my home office so I am going to look at buying a building in the next few months or so to put in the back yard for brewing.

Lots more to come!!!



-Altrez

I feel like there's some incongruity between your long-term goals and your short-term purchasing. You intend to go fairly large-scale with your stated goal of 500 gallons a year, but you keep buying stuff like mini fridges and pots that will only accommodate small extract batches. You've stated many times that you will go about this as you see fit and that's alright, it seems you have the money to spend on the hobby and don't mind the potential waste, but I would encourage you to try targeting equipment that's more scaleable in your future purchases. If you plan to go big but currently buy small, you're going to be replacing everything when you scale up. Buying big now can save you time and money in the future, of which the former might be the more valuable asset for you.

 

[Murphys_Law]

Update:

Picked up a small chest freezer for a secondary ferm chamber it is an Idylis 5-cu ft Chest Freezer and another Inkbird Itc-308 Digital Temperature Control. I hope to have it installed and tested next week. Things are really starting to come together! I have a brew day tomorrow and then on Sunday.

I am quickly running out of space in my home office so I am going to look at buying a building in the next few months or so to put in the back yard for brewing.

Lots more to come!!!



-Altrez

I want to party with you!

 

[Altrez]

I feel like there's some incongruity between your long-term goals and your short-term purchasing. You intend to go fairly large-scale with your stated goal of 500 gallons a year, but you keep buying stuff like mini fridges and pots that will only accommodate small extract batches. You've stated many times that you will go about this as you see fit and that's alright, it seems you have the money to spend on the hobby and don't mind the potential waste, but I would encourage you to try targeting equipment that's more scaleable in your future purchases. If you plan to go big but currently buy small, you're going to be replacing everything when you scale up. Buying big now can save you time and money in the future, of which the former might be the more valuable asset for you.

I agree with you 100%!! I have put much thought into all of my purchases and they are going to be used for other things once I have brewed enough to decide if I want to take it to the next level.

I can drop 10 grand on a system right now if I want to. However I am not so foolish to risk that amount of money without being sure I know what I am getting into.

The hot plates are going to be used for pot luck. The pots will be used for chili and soups and everything in between. The Fridge for cold beer storage and the freezer for deer meat in the fall.

All the water testing gear will be used for hydroponics / aquaponics and the RO system will be used for all the drinking water.

So at the end of the day I have over a 90% reusable rate for everything

I have all of this planed out. The only thing that might go to waste is the beer but hopefully it won't be so bad that I cant drink it



-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

I want to party with you!

We know how to do it right in Kentucky! Go Wildcats!!!!!!

:rockin:

-Altrez

 

[FatDragon]

I agree with you 100%!! I have put much thought into all of my purchases and they are going to be used for other things once I have brewed enough to decide if I want to take it to the next level.

I can drop 10 grand on a system right now if I want to. However I am not so foolish to risk that amount of money without being sure I know what I am getting into.

The hot plates are going to be used for pot luck. The pots will be used for chili and soups and everything in between. The Fridge for cold beer storage and the freezer for deer meat in the fall.

All the water testing gear will be used for hydroponics / aquaponics and the RO system will be used for all the drinking water.

So at the end of the day I have over a 90% reusable rate for everything

I have all of this planed out. The only thing that might go to waste is the beer but hopefully it won't be so bad that I cant drink it



-Altrez

Good to hear. With your previous statements about it not really being any of our business if you decide you don't like the hobby and throw everything in the dump at a complete loss (though I know you were just making a point), I was worried that you didn't have a plan for this stuff when you outgrew it (which considering your homebrew aspirations and your budget shouldn't take very long). If you've already got everything earmarked for other uses, you're in good shape.

Actually, I'm worse off than you right now in terms of unnecessary equipment. I bought a big fridge planning to run a temp controller up top for fermenting 2-3 batches of beer at a time and use the freezer for extended freezer space that we're really hurting for. Turns out there's one compressor running coolant to both the fridge and the freezer so I can only do one or the other - if the freezer's at freezing temps, the fridge is too cold for fermentation, and if the fridge is warm enough for fermentation, the freezer thaws out. I'm just hoping we'll finally have the data we need to pull a trigger on our own apartment soon so we can renovate the kitchen to fit the big fridge and it won't be a complete loss.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

.



...Actually, I'm worse off than you right now in terms of unnecessary equipment. I bought a big fridge planning to run a temp controller up top for fermenting 2-3 batches of beer at a time and use the freezer for extended freezer space that we're really hurting for. Turns out there's one compressor running coolant to both the fridge and the freezer so I can only do one or the other - if the freezer's at freezing temps, the fridge is too cold for fermentation, and if the fridge is warm enough for fermentation, the freezer thaws out. I'm just hoping we'll finally have the data we need to pull a trigger on our own apartment soon so we can renovate the kitchen to fit the big fridge and it won't be a complete loss.

Maybe get a brew belt or fermwrap then you cold keep the freezer freezing and still be at ferm temps in the fridge.

 

[FatDragon]

Maybe get a brew belt or fermwrap then you cold keep the freezer freezing and still be at ferm temps in the fridge.

I've thought about it but I'm afraid it would be a really inefficient way to deal with the problem as the heater and compressor would end up fighting against one another. The other problem that's probably more significant is that my eyes were bigger than my kettle when I bought the fridge on sale. I was thinking I could start making more beer and selling it to friends and acquaintances (a common cottage business model in China, not technically legal but not as big a deal as it would be in the States) in small kegs, but in all reality I would need more (and bigger) equipment to do that with the limited time I have to dedicate to brewing.

It might still happen (whenever I think about it I get the itch) and I might do exactly what you've suggested and build some homebrew fermwraps for the fermenters to make it work, but the reality is that I should have listened to my wife and not bought the fridge in the first place. Just don't tell her that...

 

[MaryB]

Put the heaters on the fermenter then wrap in insulation like Reflectix...would contain he heat to the fermenter mostly.

 

[MrBaloo]

This may have been the first 25 page thread that I actually read.... Very entertaining!

Glad we finally have beer.... The suspense was killing me.

 

[Altrez]

Happy Friday the 13th!

This afternoon I will be brewing two more batches of Mr. Beer. A heavy Oaked American light Beer with a DME booster pack and a Oktoberfest brewed with natural spring water DME booster and German pride!

-Altrez

 

[Morrey]

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).

Wow, what a thread!! If he is knocking off (quote) 11 pints a day, he is running thru a 5 gallon keg every 3.5 days. He is going to have to accelerate his brewing operation to the scale of a commercial brewery to keep up with his own personal demand.

Looks like he is going to be well ahead of the 200 gallon curve unless he uses a stainless steel tanker truck body as a FV.

 

[BGBC]

Brew Day #2 will be tomorrow night! I will be making a Mr. Beer Oktoberfest kit with a booster pack. This time I will take PH levels and use my new refractometer to get a good sample.

This first 8 gallons are just test runs. I learned a lot last night. There really is a lot more to it then I thought!!!!

-Alrez

If there's more to mix and boil Mr Beer kits that you thought, just wait until you go all grain. Plenty more to learn and play with there.

 

[Morrey]

Happy Friday the 13th!

This afternoon I will be brewing two more batches of Mr. Beer. A heavy Oaked American light Beer with a DME booster pack and a Oktoberfest brewed with natural spring water DME booster and German pride!

-Altrez

Good choices......in a few weeks please post us the results.

 

[Altrez]

Wow, what a thread!! If he is knocking off (quote) 11 pints a day, he is running thru a 5 gallon keg every 3.5 days. He is going to have to accelerate his brewing operation to the scale of a commercial brewery to keep up with his own personal demand.

Looks like he is going to be well ahead of the 200 gallon curve unless he uses a stainless steel tanker truck body as a FV.

That steel tanker truck idea of yours has legs. I know a guy who sells them!



-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

If there's more to mix and boil Mr Beer kits that you thought, just wait until you go all grain. Plenty more to learn and play with there.

The boiling water and mixing was the easiest part. It is all the little steps that you need to keep track of, that part is more involved.

-Altrez

 

[Morrey]

That steel tanker truck idea of yours has legs. I know a guy who sells them!



-Altrez

This is what makes our forum FUN!!!

 

[PADave]

The boiling water and mixing was the easiest part. It is all the little steps that you need to keep track of, that part is more involved.

-Altrez

Now that I've got my system down, I personally find brewing relaxing. Lots of down time to enjoy a few from previous batches. I've even got bottling down now, which I dreaded when I started, to a quick routine process. But the damn cleanup is what gets me. Need to bottle tonight or tomorrow, not looking forward to cleaning.

 

[Altrez]

Getting things ready for this evenings brew. I got my new Milwaukee Digital Refractometer in just 10 minutes ago! I am now reading the instructions lol.

-Altrez

 

[Jwin]

Getting things ready for this evenings brew. I got my new Milwaukee Digital Refractometer in just 10 minutes ago! I am now reading the instructions lol.

-Altrez

Didn't you just brew a couple days ago?

Now that I've got my system down, I personally find brewing relaxing. Lots of down time to enjoy a few from previous batches. I've even got bottling down now, which I dreaded when I started, to a quick routine process. But the damn cleanup is what gets me. Need to bottle tonight or tomorrow, not looking forward to cleaning.

For extract brews?

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I've even got bottling down now, which I dreaded when I started, to a quick routine process. But the damn cleanup is what gets me. Need to bottle tonight or tomorrow, not looking forward to cleaning.

Is it the clean-up from bottling that you dread or from brewing...there are tricks on both. Start a thread and folks will help.

 

[Altrez]

Didn't you just brew a couple days ago?

Yes I brewed one batch on Wednesday. I am doing two kits this evening. And 3 on Sunday.

-Altrez

 

[kh54s10]

I agree with you 100%!! I have put much thought into all of my purchases and they are going to be used for other things once I have brewed enough to decide if I want to take it to the next level.
Altrez

I find this statement hilarious.... I think you have spent as much, or more, before your second brew than I have in 5+years.

You have already taken it a couple of levels past where I am.

I don't plan on making any significant changes/purchases in the next few years. The only thing that could change that is if I experience a windfall financially somehow.

 

[Altrez]

I find this statement hilarious.... I think you have spent as much, or more, before your second brew than I have in 5+years.

You have already taken it a couple of levels past where I am.

I don't plan on making any significant changes/purchases in the next few years. The only thing that could change that is if I experience a windfall financially somehow.

I feel that everyone is different in all things they do and how they approach their hobbies. In my mind I have not even got off the ground level for my personal brewing.

My next level would be buying dedicated brewing equipment and that is not cheap. I am going to try and get around 100 gallons under my belt before I am even think about moving on to level 2.



-Altrez

 

[55x11]

I feel that everyone is different in all things they do and how they approach their hobbies. In my mind I have not even got off the ground level for my personal brewing.

My next level would be buying dedicated brewing equipment and that is not cheap. I am going to try and get around 100 gallons under my belt before I am even think about moving on to level 2.



-Altrez

I am so excited you finally brewed!
100 gallons will take you some time using Mr. Beer. And with all the money you invested - why not go all-grain and scale up to 10 gallon batches instead of using crappy recipes?

It's a bit like spending $10 grand on new state of the art kitchen and end up microwaving Hot Pockets. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

 

[Altrez]

I am so excited you finally brewed!
100 gallons will take you some time using Mr. Beer. And with all the money you invested - why not go all-grain and scale up to 10 gallon batches instead of using crappy recipes?

It's a bit like spending $10 grand on new state of the art kitchen and end up microwaving Hot Pockets. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

I plan on going all grain at some point. I want to get at least 20 gallons of Mr. Beer done along with some 1 gallon NB kits. A this point I just want to see how it all works and then go from there.

Thank you for the post!



-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

Second batch is fermenting! I am toooo tired to go another round tonight so I will do batch 3 tomorrow or Sunday.

One thing that was different today was the brew was a lot lighter in color. Tasted the same and had the same OG but just a lighter color.

-Altrez

 

[kh54s10]

I plan on going all grain at some point. I want to get at least 20 gallons of Mr. Beer done along with some 1 gallon NB kits. A this point I just want to see how it all works and then go from there.

Thank you for the post!



-Altrez

I suggest getting past the MrBeer kits ASAP. They are generally considered toys. You could get some drinkable, maybe even decent beer, but you should get much better results with the NB kits. I started with their 5 gallon extract kits. The second one was the Patersbier kit and I rate it in the top 20 of my 85+ batches.

 

[Altrez]

So I brewed batch 2 this evening. It took 2 hours. I also added my second fermentation chamber. I carried that heavy box up a flight of stairs and it about killed me lol. However it is in place and the temperature controller is coming tomorrow.

-Altrez