Totally New and Intimidated

[bracconiere]

25¢ beers is just what we tell our wives.

when you devote your life to beer and join a monestary...you don't have wives to explain anything too! just good food, and lots of cheap beer!

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Natty Light is currently selling 77 packs for $35. Good deal for people without taste buds who only care about cost

 

[bracconiere]

Natty Light is currently selling 77 packs for $35. Good deal for people without taste buds who only care about cost

i still got em beat, by a long shot! i get a 108 beers for 8 bucks! or being that my last bag of barley had rip in it and they gave me a 2 dollar discount 6.50!

and if my taste buds are so poor, why the hell am i wasting my time smoking malt right now? and yes i have the hot plate plugged into a kill-a-watt meter, seeing how much juice i'm burning to add it to the cost in beersmith! lol

(and yes i liked bearcat...he didn't know what he was getting into, but i've been homebrewing a long time and know the score though)

 

[Genghis]

 

[bracconiere]

honestly, i had the thought that i knew this is how it'd go. and i should have told him to PM me, and take the talk private, i could have helped him be making pruno in no time! or at least hard water! 'Get a bearcat of my own!'

i'd be thrilled to help lose a customer for steel reserve!

 

[balrog]

I actually sometimes still like Gennesse Cream Ale at $14.99 a 30 pack...to each their own. But I prefer @Yooper 's Haus Pale that I make.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

and if my taste buds are so poor

You said it, not me. I don't question other people's palates, although there is usually a general consensus as to what is good beer and what is less good. My FIL homebrews, and doesn't make any modifications to his water. I'm pretty sure a lot of his beers have a fairly heavy chlorine off-taste. He thinks his beer tastes great, I don't especially after getting pretty deep into homebrewing. It's really all subjective though and who's to say his actually is good and mine sucks(maybe someday we'll like the taste chlorine provides and start adding extra to our beer).

 

[bracconiere]

You said it, not me. I don't question other people's palates, although there is usually a general consensus as to what is good beer and what is less good. My FIL homebrews, and doesn't make any modifications to his water. I'm pretty sure a lot of his beers have a fairly heavy chlorine off-taste. He thinks his beer tastes great, I don't especially after getting pretty deep into homebrewing. It's really all subjective though and who's to say his actually is good and mine sucks(maybe someday we'll like the taste chlorine provides and start adding extra to our beer).

lol, i was just thinking that this 'off-flavor' might go 'good' with some smoked malt and cardamom! it's just missing something!

 

[jimmyjusa]

Cheap extract kit would be from midwest supplies, $23 for a 5 gallon kit that includes the extract, hops, and yeast. With this you only need something that can hold 3 gallons of water to boil. If you want cheap alcohol get wine yeast and apple juice and make hard cider, add some sugar to boost the alcohol. It does boil down to quality level you want, and if you care about flavor or not. The canned (muntons, coopers prehopped types) beer kits need added sugars which could be just plain sugar but people recommend using extract for better quality. If you are looking for just cheap beer i don't know the prices where you are but around here it's $18 or less for a 30 pack of keystone ice, for decent priced beer Costco has their Kirkland brand bottles $20 for 24 and i believe their cans are cheaper, unsure of quality there or who they are rebranding. If looking for cheap buzz there is always wine for a few bucks a bottle or getting budget hard alcohol and either drinking it by itself, with water, or cheap soda. Anyways, it all depends on what your true goals are, and one way to save a little money if you time it right is brewing a new batch the same day you bottle a current batch and pitch some of that yeast into the new batch and then you don't need to buy another yeast.

 

[lschiavo]

How did I end up here?

 

[Jag75]

How did I end up here?

How did you bring me with you?

 

[Nubiwan]

OP since banned, so posted for educational "cheap strong beer making" / hooch purposes.....

My question from all this...... Can you make high ABV beer with beer yeast? Regardless how thin and crappy it might taste. Do you need other yeasts.

With today's 5 gallon munton and / or cooper extract kits (less than US$20 where I live - YMMV). you don't need any 5 gallon pot at all, or any fancy gear IMHO. Just something to warm up some water and mix your fermentables together. A 5 gallon plastic paint bucket with a lid and a hole in the top would be adequate. Use a wet towel in lieu of an airlock.

Bearcat could use table sugar as his fermentables, and possibly ramp up the alcohol by either reducing his batch water volume amount, or simply increasing sugar, and thus his o.g.

Not sure how this affects ferment time from pitching his yeast to completion, but pretty sure there is a simple calculation. Most 5% ABV extract kits are done fermenting in a week, so maybe 10-12 days for slightly higher o.g.

Bottling suggestions would be to either reuse 2 litre pop bottles. I've done this before. OR, I currently reuse Groclsh flip top bottles which are almost a pint 16 oz. I have amassed over 200 of these from a local recycling depot who initially gave them to me, but started charging me 15 cents a bottle for their "trouble". Still a cheap, but effective, bottling startegy.

So, assuming bearcat has a larger 1 gallon pot, he can buy a 5 gallon paint bucket with lid, and a wet towel, his outlay before actual beer product is the price of the plastic bucket. $7 at Home Depot.

$20 for any coopers extract kit includes a yeast pack. And the price of a 10 lb bag of table sugar. I'll guess this is all under $25 US for a 5 gallon batch of palatable beer at 4-5 % ABV. You could use the charts found on this site to estimate how much sugar is needed to boost ABV to 10%, 15% or more. People really go to 25%? Wanna make sure it's full fermented before bottling, that's for sure. Don't think OP cares too much for the taste.

Cleaning a bucket and bottles can all be done with milder soap and / or bleach. I wash all my bottles in the dishwasher and have never had an issue.

Can anyone see a flaw in my recommendation/process, other than what the beer might taste like? For instance, can you just make "hooch" beer by adding more sugar into primary? Don't see why not. Hope it helps bearcat.

 

[bracconiere]

How did I end up here?

i'm wondering the same thing....and i've posted here two years ago...or so..wait i know, i quoted @Bearcat....in the supporter private chit chat.........and also in this one, if you're one of the paying memembers that think i'm annoying, please be amazed....lol, the HBT algorithm is as complicated as the youtube one.....

 

[RPh_Guy]

Can you make high ABV beer with beer yeast? Regardless how thin and crappy it might taste. Do you need other yeasts.

Did you mean to say bread yeast? Yes you can make beer with it. Fleischmann's can tolerate around 10-12% ABV for example, and attenuation should be similar to most beer strains.

With today's 5 gallon munton and / or cooper extract kits (less than US$20 where I live - YMMV). you don't need any 5 gallon pot at all, or any fancy gear IMHO.

Making beer/hooch is easy, especially with extract. Your standard for acceptable quality determines how much extra gear you need.

the price of the plastic bucket. $7 at Home Depot

Huge unnecessary expense. Just use a sink or bathtub.

Bottling suggestions would be to either reuse 2 litre pop bottles. I've done this before. OR, I currently reuse Groclsh flip top bottles which are almost a pint 16 oz. I have amassed over 200 of these from a local recycling depot who initially gave them to me, but started charging me 15 cents a bottle for their "trouble". Still a cheap, but effective, bottling startegy.

Why bother with packaging when you can drink it straight out of the fermenter?

Cleaning a bucket and bottles can all be done with milder soap and / or bleach.

Or just water. Set it outside in the rain.

Hope this helps the banned member from 2 years ago with his hooch.

 

[bracconiere]

Huge unnecessary expense. Just use a sink or bathtub.

LOL, i think my idea of a storage tote was better, and it's something i've done actually.....

Why bother with packaging when you can drink it straight out of the fermenter?

see above, if it's got enough alcohol, it really doesn't need to be carb'd, has enough bite with out it....

Hope this helps the banned member from 2 years ago with his hooch.

LOL, and the put it outside in the rain and UV sunlight, actually was a suggestion i got from @IslandLizard and it saved my beer, no more unintentional sours, thanks man!!

(and i could have thrown it out that instacart will probably deliver juice to his door, what i'm doing these days....10 gallons of hooch on my doorstep in an hour!!! turbo yeast, get's her done fast!!! )

 

[RPh_Guy]

LOL, i think my idea of a storage tote was better, and it's something i've done actually.....

Anything to avoid wasting money on a bucket. You could make a whole extra batch or two with that kind of money.

 

[bracconiere]

Anything to avoid wasting money on a bucket. You could make a whole extra batch or two with that kind of money.

with the storage tote you could fit it all in one container though.....(and, i'm going to guess make a person very jolly....) and wasn't this guy drinking 211? lol even $30 for 10 gallons of juice and $4 for 8 lb's of sugar would be cheaper......

 

[Nubiwan]

Did you mean to say bread yeast? Yes you can make beer with it. Fleischmann's can tolerate around 10-12% ABV for example, and attenuation should be similar to most beer strains.

Making beer/hooch is easy, especially with extract. Your standard for acceptable quality determines how much extra gear you need.

Huge unnecessary expense. Just use a sink or bathtub.

Why bother with packaging when you can drink it straight out of the fermenter?

Or just water. Set it outside in the rain.

Hope this helps the banned member from 2 years ago with his hooch.

woah - assuming a tongue in cheek response from you, as my initial post was intended to help the OP.

I was recently searching around for short ferments, and high FGs when I stumbled upon this thread. I wrote my entire response, then realized the guy was banned. Sometimes I forget to look at dates. Think I have mistakenly replied to a few 10 year old posts in my search for "enlightenment"

My question regarding beer yeast is a legitimate one, and relevant to the OP request. How high an ABV can Ale yeast go, if I include enough fermentables, say OG of 1.080-90? Can you do this to make a 10 + ABV with regular Ale yeast? I don't intend to do it, but guess I am curious. As was the op.

The rest of what I posted works, nonetheless. You can make half decent extract home brew for under $30 without much fancy hardware which, despite the OPs poor attitude, was kinda what he was asking. Same would apply for many BIAB applications I suggest. Don't need a load of fancy gear.

Post mAy yet help someone looking for a cheap entry into the hobby. Or, I could just tell them to chuck it in a bathtub.

 

[RPh_Guy]

My question regarding beer yeast is a legitimate one. How high an ABV can Ale yeast go, if I include enough fermentables, say OG of 1.080-90? Can you do this to make a 10 + ABV with regular Ale yeast? I don't intend to do it, but guess I am curious.

Each strain of yeast has a different alcohol tolerance. Most will top out between 7-12% ABV, but some can go twice that high with proper care (WLP099 for example).

 

[bracconiere]

i'd be thrilled to help lose a customer for steel reserve!

to quote myself, i was wrong it was steel reserve, not 211....my mistake....

 

[bracconiere]

And thanks to all those who replied with good intentions and calm reason, The world could take a lesson from the best of HBT.

amen to that, i'm running low on t.p.......and i still hope the OP found turbo yeast, and did a sugar wash! lol


edit: i'm actually drinking turbo fermented apple juice spiked with sugar now....??

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Luckily online LHBS are still shipping and I have ingredients for my next 4-5 batches. If they get shut down eventually I may have to resort to making prison hooch with whatever ingredients I can pull together