More to it than I thought.

[Altrez]

Altrez, it is great that you want to experiment and have lots of expensive equipment. Just keep in mind that a large part of what you have bought, most other home brewers will never buy (or need) through their entire time brewing.

I surely wish I had all the money that you have spent on advanced (and unnecessary) equipment so that I could use it to buy ingredients to brew BEER. I would still have a ton left over for other things......

And no disrespect intended. Just trying to explain why others are puzzled by this whole thread.

Its cool! I just do things my own way and have always had great success in doing so. I want to know every aspect of each part of the brewing process and every tool that is used inside and out. But hey that is just me

Thanks for the post!

-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

First 1 gallon batch is done! Safely put away in the fermentation chamber with a blow off tube! It was an easy process just lots of steps involved. The sample I tried was hop-a-rific!!!

-Altrez

 

[FatDragon]

Hello Jwin,

I am sorry that you feel that way. I will check out the LaMotte kits as well.

Take care,

-Altrez

The basic kit looks enticing. You can get a reasonably-accurate pH meter for less than the difference between the basic and plus kits, and adding another $600 for a thermometer, TDS, and Dissolved Oxygen tests seems like absolute madness on a homebrew scale, but the tests you can run with the basic kit would be of great use to a tap water brewer who wants to fiddle around with water chemistry.

Like others have said, though, if you're using distilled water as a base, a water chemistry kit seems like an entirely unnecessary expense.

 

[55x11]

Hello 55x11,

To address one question, I have read 4 books on the subject already and currently looking to add 2 more. I listen to all the advise of the wonderful and very helpful people on this forum and consider them to be a very valuable resource.

As far as buying equipment I am going to need most of that stuff for later brews. And It is ok if I have around a 10 to 15% loss on things I will never use again. I consider it a learning adventure.

And I do not think I ever posted anywhere that it was my belief that having high end equipment automatically meant good beer. It takes lots of hands on time and hard work to get to where I want to be.

To spend 10 to 20 grand on brewing the perfect Mr. Beer kit is not the point. I am having a great time exploring beer brewing and doing it my way

Like I said before some people will not understand it and that's ok! This is how I am going to do it and it is different then the way you do but that does not mean that it is wrong

And yes if it cost me $20,000.00 in R&D to make the perfect Mr. Beer IPA and I can repeat it every time I brew then that to me is something awesome. I am brewing other kits and will go to all grain later this year.

Thank you for the post! And there was no disrespect taken. I think if you better understood my position you would understand the direction I am heading.



-Altrez

maybe I was a bit harsh last night, for that I apologize. But...

$20,000 in R&D to make "perfect Mr. Beer IPA" is sort of like saying you spent $20,000 on a new kitchen just so you can microwave a perfect "Hot Pocket".

My point is - for about $100-$200 investment (mash tun, bigger pot) and a little bit of thinking and hard work you could be making all-grain recipes - which with some thinking and some passion and some "real" investment - intellectual one, you could be making the best beer that rival any of the commercial ones. You can't do that with Mr. Beer kit for many reasons that I won't go in, just read the books and the forums if you want to know why.

After spending all this money, why, WHY are you brewing Mr. Brew kits and not challenge yourself with something that will almost certainly give you more range and produce better quality beer?

 

[Altrez]

The basic kit looks enticing. You can get a reasonably-accurate pH meter for less than the difference between the basic and plus kits, and adding another $600 for a thermometer, TDS, and Dissolved Oxygen tests seems like absolute madness on a homebrew scale, but the tests you can run with the basic kit would be of great use to a tap water brewer who wants to fiddle around with water chemistry.

Like others have said, though, if you're using distilled water as a base, a water chemistry kit seems like an entirely unnecessary expense.

Hi FatDragon

I was never going to use the kit with distilled water. That was someone making an assumption. I was looking at that kit a few weeks ago for testing my tap water and a few of my friends tap water. and um they where going to pay me.

Seemed like a good kit from a good company.

Everyone instantly attacks me almost every time I post something with out asking for any clarification.

-Altrez

 

[kh54s10]

Altrez, it is great that you want to experiment and have lots of expensive equipment. Just keep in mind that a large part of what you have bought, most other home brewers will never buy (or need) through their entire time brewing.

I surely wish I had all the money that you have spent on advanced (and unnecessary) equipment so that I could use it to buy ingredients to brew BEER. I would still have a ton left over for other things......

And no disrespect intended. Just trying to explain why others are puzzled by this whole thread.

Its cool! I just do things my own way and have always had great success in doing so. I want to know every aspect of each part of the brewing process and every tool that is used inside and out. But hey that is just me

Thanks for the post!

-Altrez

All of us will have to look past your strange entry into this hobby. I, for one will support you with any advice I can impart, even though I don't really understand your approach.

Good luck. When you get to formulating recipes and processes for brewing them, I will be glad to give my opinion/help.

 

[Altrez]

All of us will have to look past your strange entry into this hobby. I, for one will support you with any advice I can impart, even though I don't really understand your approach.

Good luck. When you get to formulating recipes and processes for brewing them, I will be glad to give my opinion/help.

You are 31337 dude for real thank you!



-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

maybe I was a bit harsh last night, for that I apologize. But...

$20,000 in R&D to make "perfect Mr. Beer IPA" is sort of like saying you spent $20,000 on a new kitchen just so you can microwave a perfect "Hot Pocket".

My point is - for about $100-$200 investment (mash tun, bigger pot) and a little bit of thinking and hard work you could be making all-grain recipes - which with some thinking and some passion and some "real" investment - intellectual one, you could be making the best beer that rival any of the commercial ones. You can't do that with Mr. Beer kit for many reasons that I won't go in, just read the books and the forums if you want to know why.

After spending all this money, why, WHY are you brewing Mr. Brew kits and not challenge yourself with something that will almost certainly give you more range and produce better quality beer?

Hi!

If you look back at my posts you will see that My Father "30 years in the Navy" "Decorated war hero" "Almost killed at Midway" and I brewed a Mr. Beer kit together many years ago. He's no longer with us now but when I started looking into home brewing that memory instantly came back to me. The Mr. Beer is just apart of me remembering my Father and to me that is priceless.

I can go all grain right now if I want to. I can buy a Fuc#@#@ Mico brew but "I" want to take my time enjoying my "Hobby" everything will come in time.



-Altrez

 

[FatDragon]

Hi FatDragon

I was never going to use the kit with distilled water. That was someone making an assumption. I was looking at that kit a few weeks ago for testing my tap water and a few of my friends tap water. and um they where going to pay me.

Seemed like a good kit from a good company.

Everyone instantly attacks me almost every time I post something with out asking for any clarification.

-Altrez

To be fair, you mentioned the water kit in the same post where you mentioned planning to buy a larger distiller for larger batches. It was only logical to assume you were intending to use the water testing kit with the distilled water given the context.

 

[Altrez]

To be fair, you mentioned the water kit in the same post where you mentioned planning to buy a larger distiller for larger batches. It was only logical to assume you were intending to use the water testing kit with the distilled water given the context.

And we all know what happens when we "Assume" I guess I need to explain a bit more in my posts.

-Altrez

 

[Subdivisions]

Too much time has been spent on your ******* posts

 

[Tactical-Brewer]

As I'm sure it's been said a gazillion times already, it's as complicated as you make it.

You can very easily throw things together with stuff you already own in your house, double pot boils to get the volume you want, regular thermometers, regular glass hydrometers, buckets from lowes to ferment in, etc.

Or you can go scientific as you want, or fancy, or gadgety as you want. That's the beautiful thing about this hobby, it's as involved or uninvolved as you want it to be. You can focus on yeast and be a yeast master, or water and be a water master, you can malt your own grains, or use lme or dme. The opportunities are endless with this hobby.

Biggest part of the hobby is to enjoy it. I've found there's certain aspects of the hobby that I don't enjoy doing it the way I was doing it, but there's always a work around. For example, I hate waiting for my wort to cool enough to pitch my yeast. I've been cheap and not went out and made a emersion chiller yet, well, that will cut my time down drastically so guess what I'm going to be adding to my brewing gear collection next, yep, a dual station emersion chiller. One will go in a cooler full of ice and run into the emersion chiller in my boil kettle to really bring that wort down to temp asap.

Have fun with it, take it to whatever level you want and brew some beer

 

[MaryB]

Skip the airlock and rig a blowoff tube on this one!

Brew Day is underway this evening! I am using the NB 1 gallon kit and it is AWESOME! Everything smells so fresh!! I am brewing The Plinian Legacy.

-Altrez

 

[MaryB]

I can draw a parallel to another hobby. Ham Radio. I could get on the air with a $100 radio and a random hunk of wire... but I have $15k worth of radio gear, tower, antennas...

 

[Altrez]

Too much time has been spent on your ******* posts

Why are you so upset? It's easy to be rude, perhaps you could post something that is helpful? Maybe?

-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

Skip the airlock and rig a blowoff tube on this one!

I did It is going to be good!

-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

Update:

My first 1 gallon brew is bubbling! I can not wait to try this batch!

-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

Update:

So I came home for lunch to check on my latest brew and it is going crazy! It is venting off so much co2 that you can hear it when you open the chamber!

This is going to be a good one!

-Altrez

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Update:

So I came home for lunch to check on my latest brew and it is going crazy! It is venting off so much co2 that you can hear it when you open the chamber!

This is going to be a good one!

-Altrez

The sounds of fermentation are hypnotic.

Just to revisit a topic here, since you have multiple items in the fermentation chamber at one time this is less effective, but having your probe on the vessel under a little insulation or actually in the beer is highly preferable. That rapid fire C02 bubbling is accompanied by an exothermic component as well...in the case of some yeasts, temp rise is common 5-6 f and reach 10 f. By the time that reaches your probe elsewhere in the chamber, with only 8 #'s of liquid, the "damage" is already done.

 

[troutman35]

I've enjoyed following this thread for a number of reasons. First as has already been pointed out, you've been nothing but polite and avoided the nastiness that can happen in an online forum. Second, I'm getting a kick out of your unbridled enthusiasm for a great endeavor. Third, I think you are completely off the wall (in a great way) and I love checking in on your progress. Fourth, you are good for the economy. Cheers Altrez! Can't wait to see where this goes Finally, with regards to your beer and fidgeting with it after you cool the wort, in the immortal words of my mother, "Good God, leave it alone. It will grow!"

 

[PADave]

Altrez, what controller are you using for your ferm chambers? I'm trying to figure out which one to get. My perfect basement temps. are slowly creeping up with the warm weather, and I need to get something soon. And I'm not going back thru 41 pages to see what you got.

 

[Altrez]

Altrez, what controller are you using for your ferm chambers? I'm trying to figure out which one to get. My perfect basement temps. are slowly creeping up with the warm weather, and I need to get something soon. And I'm not going back thru 41 pages to see what you got.

I am using the ITC-308 and it works great! I did data logging and it was always within a degree.

http://ink-bird.com/asset/file/ITC-308 V2.1 EN.pdf

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011296704/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I have two and they work well!

-Altrez

 

[Altrez]

Update:

I really have no idea how to age beer in a Oak Barrel so I am starting off small. I ordered this Barrel:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VO3DNLK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I plan to fill it as full as possible and let the beer age 1 more month. I like the idea of a Oaked aged light beer for flavor and I think it will turn out pretty good.

-Altrez

 

[divrguy]

Gotta say Altrez, I've enjoyed reading every one of your posts. Don't worry about the nay-Sayers because every one of us learned this hobby a different way. You have tons of energy and you love gadgets. You have a great thirst for knowledge as well. Keep it up pal and enjoy it.

cheers!

 

[Altrez]

Gotta say Altrez, I've enjoyed reading every one of your posts. Don't worry about the nay-Sayers because every one of us learned this hobby a different way. You have tons of energy and you love gadgets. You have a great thirst for knowledge as well. Keep it up pal and enjoy it.

cheers!

Thank you so much!



-Altrez

 

[chickypad]

I am using the ITC-308 and it works great! I did data logging and it was always within a degree.

As someone mentioned above it looks like you are measuring ambient not beer temp. With those tiny batches it might not be a big a deal but certainly could be with larger batches. Given how much time and effort you've put into equipment, data analysis, etc. I'd think you'd want to be more precise with your temp control.

 

[Altrez]

As someone mentioned above it looks like you are measuring ambient not beer temp. With those tiny batches it might not be a big a deal but certainly could be with larger batches. Given how much time and effort you've put into equipment, data analysis, etc. I'd think you'd want to be more precise with your temp control.

Hello chickypad,

I agree with you 100% I have only just got to the 1 gallon batches. Once I move up to 5 + gallons I am going to buy a fully computer controlled Glycol cooling system that monitors internal and external temps every secound.

I am also going to check with our Rockwell automation team to see if they have any ideas.

-Altrez

 

[chickypad]

I agree with you 100% I have only just got to the 1 gallon batches. Once I move up to 5 + gallons I am going to buy a fully computer controlled Glycol cooling system that monitors internal and external temps every secound.

I am also going to check with our Rockwell automation team to see if they have any ideas.

-Altrez

Of course you are. From what I know of you I should have had more faith. Altrez strikes again!

 

[FunCat1828]

Alright, over 2 days I just finished reading all the posts in this thread! EPIC! Loved it all.

Altrez - Totally respect and understand your reasoning for going Mr Beer, even though you know it's not going to be as good as something you'll brew later. I've also done stuff that I did with my father to remember and honour him.

I started brewing a couple years ago. I also started on a Mr Beer as well. I didn't have the fermentation setup you do at that point, but I made some beer. Before it was done fermenting I'd gone and spent $400 on some dude's brew equipment on craigslist. Was it perfect? Nope, but it had everything I needed to start making all-grain. Did I make all-grain? Nope I went into steeping extracts first, made a batch of stout, it was crap and I ended up dumping it ( I believe this was down to the prior owners fermenter.... have never had a batch anywhere near as bad again with new fermenters!). Great learning experience though.... Did 2-3 other extract brews then on to all grain and never looked back...

Pretty sure I've made a couple hundred gallons to date. Some I've loved, and others I've liked less but I used them all to refine my process.

Now I currently still brew on a modified version of that $400 setup, but I have fermentation setups, 2 kegerators and a garage full of brewing equipment.

2 years later on ans I am (very slowly!) building a 100 amp 4 element electric 3 vessel rig with 3 pumps for mass production of my favourite house brews (2x20 gallons at a time is mass for me!), just got a blichmann floor burner, just ordered a 20 gallon Spike brewing custom kettle for mostly BIAB when I am mobile. I'll have 2/3 different brew rigs for different purposes when I am done, not including what I have up for sale right now...


Overkill? Absolutely, but I enjoy all of the tinkering with the different equipment almost as much as I enjoy the brewing and the final product.

I guess what I am saying is I see a little bit of you in me.... You just have deeper pockets I think!

Brew on brother!

 

[Altrez]

Alright, over 2 days I just finished reading all the posts in this thread! EPIC! Loved it all.

Altrez - Totally respect and understand your reasoning for going Mr Beer, even though you know it's not going to be as good as something you'll brew later. I've also done stuff that I did with my father to remember and honour him.

I started brewing a couple years ago. I also started on a Mr Beer as well. I didn't have the fermentation setup you do at that point, but I made some beer. Before it was done fermenting I'd gone and spent $400 on some dude's brew equipment on craigslist. Was it perfect? Nope, but it had everything I needed to start making all-grain. Did I make all-grain? Nope I went into steeping extracts first, made a batch of stout, it was crap and I ended up dumping it ( I believe this was down to the prior owners fermenter.... have never had a batch anywhere near as bad again with new fermenters!). Great learning experience though.... Did 2-3 other extract brews then on to all grain and never looked back...

Pretty sure I've made a couple hundred gallons to date. Some I've loved, and others I've liked less but I used them all to refine my process.

Now I currently still brew on a modified version of that $400 setup, but I have fermentation setups, 2 kegerators and a garage full of brewing equipment.

2 years later on ans I am (very slowly!) building a 100 amp 4 element electric 3 vessel rig with 3 pumps for mass production of my favourite house brews (2x20 gallons at a time is mass for me!), just got a blichmann floor burner, just ordered a 20 gallon Spike brewing custom kettle for mostly BIAB when I am mobile. I'll have 2/3 different brew rigs for different purposes when I am done, not including what I have up for sale right now...


Overkill? Absolutely, but I enjoy all of the tinkering with the different equipment almost as much as I enjoy the brewing and the final product.

I guess what I am saying is I see a little bit of you in me.... You just have deeper pockets I think!

Brew on brother!

Thank you so much for the post and sharing your brewing experience with everyone. Tinker's are the people who figure out all the things that are broke and fix them and then we brake all the things that work to make them better

FWIW I do not have deep pockets money wise. However I have a list of engineers / lab junkies / contractors / programmers / consultants that will make your head spin.

Thanks for the post brother!



-Altrez