The 13th step to recovery - Homebrewing.

[WhineinAlbany]

Reminds me of my FIL. He never drinks (note: he's never had a drinking problem), but he likes to make wine kits. Now, if only he would get into making beer, I would have a lot less bottles of wine collecting dust - I think he's gave me 15 bottles from his last batch of ice wine!

 

[bernerbrau]

Then again, I know that it's only a matter of time. Because one is a Butterfinger...

Man, if I had a butterfinger on my desk, it would probably stay there until the end of time. Just sayin'.

Now hand me a Twix or a Reese's, on the other hand...

 

[BenVanned]

It may would be an issue if I were freshly sober or had chronic relapsing issues but that is not the case. I do have friends who can taste my beer and can give me an honest breakdown. Also as I stated in a previous post. My gf's step father drinks quality... reguardless of what hes drinking and has used this same kit before. I wouldnt like to think of it as a blind man painting but more like Beethoven conducting music. And yes I will be tasting the wort.

 

[jfr1111]

Y
Also the gift was from my girlfriends mother. Her husband owned the kit, it was given to him in 95.

Discard any hop or yeast that comes with this kit. I'm not sure I would brew with canned LME that would be old enough to get a driving license either.

 

[BenVanned]

Discard any hop or yeast that comes with this kit. I'm not sure I would brew with canned LME that would be old enough to get a driving license either.

Oh yes. I'm disposing of the yeast. I have another thread about potentially experimenting with the hops in the future though.

 

[Kosch]

Hey, you know what? Good on you. Everyone is different, I think that is the point the naysayers are missing. There is no absolute rule, even if the 12 steps say there is...

Not exactly the same, but I have a friend who is a luthier, best in the city. He specializes in violins. All the great players in town go to him. But funny thing is, he can't play worth a damn. But he knows how they should sound, and knows how everything works. He lets them play for him, and knows what to do.

Anyway, I would totally keep brewing if I couldn't drink. Maybe not as much, but I would still do it for others. I like to give away my other creations, so why not beer/wine?

Good luck and enjoy it!

Kosch

 

[COLObrewer]

This brings up a couple of questions, Would non-alcoholic beer be an option for the OP? How do the brewers make non-alcoholic beer taste like beer? Granted most of the commercial beers have some alcohol, (less than 0.5%) but still the NA beers we're drinking from Holland and Germany have that distinct lager yeast flavor. FYI, me and my sons are "on the wagon" for a month for a couple of reasons, that's why we're drinking NA beer.

 

[bernerbrau]

How do the brewers make non-alcoholic beer taste like beer?

1. Make beer.
2. Remove alcohol.

 

[COLObrewer]

1. Make beer.
2. Remove alcohol.

Can this be done "completely" on a homebrew level?

 

[Homercidal]

Can this be done "completely" on a homebrew level?

Most likely not. I think it can be reduced to a certain extent, but I have not finished my stout to test it. And I'm still looking for equipment to do a real test with. I keep forgetting to contact the local university to see if anyone there can help measure the ABV.

 

[COLObrewer]

Most likely not. I think it can be reduced to a certain extent, but I have not finished my stout to test it. And I'm still looking for equipment to do a real test with. I keep forgetting to contact the local university to see if anyone there can help measure the ABV.

Homer, are you freezing it out or? Do you have a thread on this? Just curious.

 

[Revvy]

You might find it amusing that George Remus, the "king of the bootleggers" was a liefelong tea-totler.

George Remus practiced law, made millions, built a mansion in Price Hill, and killed his wife in Eden Park

Before the dawn of the Roaring Twenties, George Remus had built a successful law practice in Chicago.

As a criminal defense attorney who crusaded against capital punishment, he earned as much as $50,000 a year, an extremely lucrative income at the time.

But after the onset of the Prohibition era, he realized that some of his clients had become far wealthier than he was by illegally selling liquor.

Unable to resist the lure of vast riches, Remus, a lifelong teetotaler, turned to bootlegging in 1919, the year Congress passed the Prohibition laws. In 1920, Remus closed his law office and moved to Cincinnati because of the many whiskey warehouses and distilleries within a 300-mile radius.

From here.

 

[Homercidal]

Homer, are you freezing it out or? Do you have a thread on this? Just curious.

My plan is to heat to the boil temp of alcohol, which is much lower than the water. But I also want to apply a vacuum to the container, to lower the boil temp even further.

I've got a 1/2 gallon of stout ready to go if I ever get around to rigging up a vacuum. The other problem is measuring the gravity. I can take before and after, but rumour has it that's not a accurate measurement, so I really want to contact the college and see if there is a person who would be interested in explaining the proper method and proper equipment, and maybe helping if necessary.

I think freezing would be more difficult and harder on the beer. I can rig up a temp controller fairly easily, to say a hotplate or a heater in a box and run a tube from the top of the growler to a vacuum pump.

After all that, and it's measured for alcohol content, it can go into a keg or soda bottle for carbing.

 

[COLObrewer]

You might find it amusing that George Remus, the "king of the bootleggers" was a liefelong tea-totler.

From here.

Revvy, that's not amusing at all, AND is totally out of the realm of this thread topic

 

[BenVanned]

This brings up a couple of questions, Would non-alcoholic beer be an option for the OP? How do the brewers make non-alcoholic beer taste like beer? Granted most of the commercial beers have some alcohol, (less than 0.5%) but still the NA beers we're drinking from Holland and Germany have that distinct lager yeast flavor. FYI, me and my sons are "on the wagon" for a month for a couple of reasons, that's why we're drinking NA beer.

This is a mighty fine question. Ive never drank NA beer. I did some googling on the issue and people on 12 step sites have mixed opinions on it. Some have/do it and enjoy it, some have and attribute it to their relapse, some havn't but don't see a problem and some are totally agents it... Ive just never really put much thought into trying it. It's a bit expensive and If i could find a good NA beer, Dark or Amber anything I may would try. .5% alcohol can appear naturally in certain foods. There is also mouthwash and cold meds so I do find that amount to be insignificant.

 

[wncbrewer]

I say good on ya also, and understand where your coming from a little. My stepdad is/was an alcoholic but hasn't had a drink in twenty something years. He is still very interested in the process and sits in on my brew days regularly. I would not be able to brew and not drink, but you have my respect and I will help however I can...wnc

 

[BenVanned]

Its a shame none of you seem to live in the North Alabama area. I would definitely be having you guys try my beer.

 

[COLObrewer]

This is a mighty fine question. Ive never drank NA beer. I did some googling on the issue and people on 12 step sites have mixed opinions on it. Some have/do it and enjoy it, some have and attribute it to their relapse, some havn't but don't see a problem and some are totally agents it... Ive just never really put much thought into trying it. It's a bit expensive and If i could find a good NA beer, Dark or Amber anything I may would try. .5% alcohol can appear naturally in certain foods. There is also mouthwash and cold meds so I do find that amount to be insignificant.

FYI, the ones we have tried so far on our month long wagon ride are: Kaliber by guiness, decent amber with a little smokiness. Buckler by heiniken, nice lager flavor, St Pauli, pretty close flavor to regular st. pauli, skunk and all. Clausthaler Golden Amber from Germany, nice lager flavor and also adheres to the reinheitsgebot.

I figured anyone with an alcohol problem would want to steer clear but like others have said it's probably a matter of personal will power. I find that I crave the NA beer just as much as I had regular beer due to the flavor, one of my sons that I would say drinks the most is having no problems staying on the wagon after 5 days, we bought this NA beer two days ago when we were building his deck, just didn't seem right without a bottle in our hands. Whats interesting also is that they all have nutritional stats on them, calories, fat, carbs and protein.
Good luck in your quest.

 

[Stevo2569]

Sucks for you. I'm just a drunk, so I don't have to go to meetings or quit drinking. Hey, at least I'm honest. Cheers!

 

[BenVanned]

Looks like the thread finally came to an end.

 

[broadbill]

Looks like the thread finally came to an end.

they all do eventually...what were you looking for exactly?

 

[Skarekrough]

I think it's totally the opposite.. He has two choices: eliminate everything he does where he might see a drop of alcohol, or learn to f'ing deal with being around it and not partaking. Now it takes a damn strong will to homebrew and not taste the results, but if he's been doing exactly that already, then I doubt it will do him harm. Willpower is like a muscle, it gets stronger the more it's used.

I agree 100%.

I play in bar bands and have dealt with musicians and others who have come to realize that they do have problems. I find they take two paths; they shutter themselves away from the issue and change almost every aspect of their lives or they figure out how to deal with it and how to remain active and involved in the aspects of their lives which they have devoted a significant span of time on already.

I had a bass player approach me and say he needed a few months away to deal with a problem. Four months later he gave me a call and said he was good to go. He said the worst thing he could do would be to walk away from playing music altogether. It was the promise of getting up on stage and playing again that drove him to get through what he had t deal with.

You can shutter yourself away from the world, but that doesn't mean that the world is going to cater to your needs; it's arrogant to think or plan for that to happen all the time.

 

[Airborneguy]

Its a shame none of you seem to live in the North Alabama area.

I wouldn't call not living in Alabama a shame.

 

[TheMan]

It may would be an issue if I were freshly sober or had chronic relapsing issues but that is not the case. I do have friends who can taste my beer and can give me an honest breakdown. Also as I stated in a previous post. My gf's step father drinks quality... reguardless of what hes drinking and has used this same kit before. I wouldnt like to think of it as a blind man painting but more like Beethoven conducting music. And yes I will be tasting the wort.

I don't know why no one else took note of this...but you won't really taste much difference between worts. Unless it's a stout vs. pale. And furthermore, the taste of the wort compared to the finished product is miles apart.

 

[BenVanned]

I don't know why no one else took note of this...but you won't really taste much difference between worts. Unless it's a stout vs. pale. And furthermore, the taste of the wort compared to the finished product is miles apart.

I figured as much but its the best I can do.

 

[Bartp]

I second the non-alcoholic beer. You can make decent none alcoholic beer at home... Just heat up finished beer to 175 degrees for 45-60 min (it will bring the alcohol level down to less than .5%) add some priming sugar, cool, add half packet of dry yeast, few drops of hop extract, and you got some nice non alcoholic home brew. I'm thinking of making a batch of n/a beer soon as well for personal enjoyment. Not that I'm struggling with alcohol, I just don't like the effects of alcohol on a weekday, but I love to have a beer after work.

Also, thought of making sodas? or coffee roasting?

And on the side note - Speaking of people that don't drink but brew(ed). So my grand-grandpa used to brew, during WWII in Poland under German occupation. Apparently he made the tastiest brew in the area and supplied most of his village. Apparently he did not drink a drop of booze, he just made it. So when he's neighbor was having a wedding, he wanted to supply booze for the occasion. It turned out that someone ratted him out to the Germans that he brewed. At that time, home brewing was punishable by death... on the spot. So while he was in a process of brewing the booze, two German officers happened to grace him with a visit. Needless to say he was 30 sec away from a firing squad. Fortunately for him, the German officers decided to have a little whirl of his home making... and they liked. They liked it so much that they ended up getting Pisssss drunk on the fine brew, to the point where they stumbled out of the house nearly passing out - forgetting to shoot him. According to my grandma, he did not brew a drop after that incident. Its a good story. Brewing almost got him killed, but brewing great beer ultimately saved his life.

My family has a very long history of brewing/wine making/Distilling. I guess its in the genes.

 

[Eli3]

Wow, I didn't see that coming at all. I will have to think about this for a bit but it seems like a pretty unique set of circumstances.

I brew and I drink it!

Best of luck though.

 

[Mermaid]

This is a little strange and Im not here to discuss the details of it. I am an alcoholic who hasnt drank in 2 years and 2 months. I simply do not do well with consuming alcohol. End of story. I have never stopped making wine. I use cheap recipes and give it away to my neighbors, friends, and family members. I have wanted to brew for quite some time but the interest got put on the back burner because I no longer drink. Well I was recently gifted a kit and have full intentions on using it. Im just curious are there any other brewers here who do not drink alcohol for any reason other than me?

Well... only you know your triggers. The only downside to it would be that you would never know what your product tastes like, and would have to rely on friends/family feedback to help you improve your craft.

I used to live with a guy who had 10 years in the program (NA/AA) and he would still go to concerts in night clubs, and go visit family and friends knowing alcohol would be around. He was comfortable enough with his sobriety that it didn't bug him.

You could brew the kit, see how it goes, hand it out, and then decide whether or not you want to make a big investment in it.

 

[dover157]

To the OP

First congrats on making it past the 24 month mark.

Not going to get into the whole should you or should you not debate thats not what we are here for. If brewing is not a trigger for you then I say go for it. Me I do drink what I brew but not verry much. I brew because I love the act of brewing. The smell of the kitchen with a pot of wert going at full boil is just flipping amazing. The smile and nods from friends who like my brews is more than worth the cost and effort to me.