Homebrew Tips Required - Page 2

**cginok** · November 5th, 2016, 01:54 AM

The room you use should just be whatever is available. I do the wort boiling in my kitchen, then do the fermenting, racking, bottling, in an enclosed garage. I know of people who store the fermenting beer in closets. Anywhere were you can keep a steady temp and it's out of the light is best.

The temp for fermenting is very important. Each type of yeast will have a different temperature range...like between 65F and 75F. You should do everything you can to keep it between the two temperature extremes. Right in the middle of the two is preferred. If the temp gets out of the yeasts range you can end up with dead yeast and off tastes in your beer.

As was previously mentioned, sanitizing everything is of the utmost importance. Make sure you star san everything that's going to come into contact with your brew from the wort stage all the way through to bottling and capping. I even star san my brewing kettle, the scissors I use to cut open the yeast packets, you name it, I star san it. I've had one batch get infected. Not only was it a waste of money, it was wasted effort and disappointment at not getting to taste the end product. That will make you very anal about sanitizing things.

I still remember the first batch I made. I woke up the next morning, first thing I did was check to see if I had bubbling in my air lock. I just about jumped through the roof when I saw that thing bubbling like crazy. I knew then I had, at least, succeeded in getting the fermentation started.

One other thing I thought of...water. I have hard water where I live, very hard water. I have to use bottled spring water for brewing. I'm not sure what the water is like where you live but, you might look into using bottled spring water. I've been told before not to use tap water, the chemicals they put into the water will kill the yeast. Whether that's true or not I don't know. I've never used tap water so can't say.

**9876543210** · November 5th, 2016, 01:58 AM

slimol55,

There are others here who certainly know more than I. But, I do have a very good friend who brews when he can and, once in a while, brews some pretty good stuff (I've even helped him a couple of times).

This is probably a little more advanced for you at the moment (so just something to keep in mind) but he started growing his own hops. If thats done correctly I guess it can make a difference. Helped him plant them but don't remember much else about them. Other than I think he found those hops somewhere out in the Pacific Northwest. Don't remember exactly, but hops used to be grown in Wisconsin for quite a while but something happened (a bacteria?) which decimated the local plants. So I guess there are areas where hops cannot be grown any longer.

snilefisk · November 5th, 2016, 02:32 AM

Like cginok said in his post, it's not that important where the brewing take place. The second time I brewed, we brewed outdoors during winter, and that IPA was amazing. I don't remember how cold it was, but it was below freezing-point outdoors. I assume you want to brew inside, so make sure you clean the ceiling above. You dont want the steam causing dust dropping down from the ceiling into your beer.
Fermenting has to be done inside with a steady temperature. We fermented ours in a basement in roomtemperature, 17-19 celcius, but that also depends on the type of beer.

Temperature-management can be very crucial, but it depends on what kind of beer you want to make. If you want to make a very hoppy IPA, you can get away with inaccurate temperatures. Perhaps in the range of +/- 5 celcius, if my memory is correct, but don't quote me on that one. The reason for this is that the hops "camouflage" the mistakes during brewing, since they have a big impact on the taste. With other types of beer, the hops are less forgiving.

I've read some recipes for stouts, and those temperatures can be tricky. It can be like for example:
- 10 minutes on 78 degrees celcius
- 15 minutes on 71 degrees celcius
- 5 minutes on 64 degrees celcius
- 10 minutes 76 degrees celcius

These numbers are just made up on the spot right now, but the recipe was something along those lines. I think it would be better to start with an IPA, and get comfortable with your equipment before you try more complicated brews.

One more suggestion is to take notes of everything you do. That way you can for example know how long it takes for the beer to get a certain temperature during cooling, or how long it takes to warm it up. Did you mess up the brewing? Publish your notes, and someone more experienced can look at them and tell you where something went wrong. Was the beer a great success? Great! Now you can just follow your notes and have the same result for your next batch.

**blueballsdc** · November 5th, 2016, 03:04 AM

Slim,

Where you ferment your beer is important but not critical if you are brewing ales. It helps to have a place which keeps a fairly constant temperature. I have used closets, pantries, spare bedrooms, and basements (for beers at cooler temps). The main factors are the type of beer you want to brew and the yeast to be used.

The yeast used to ferment the beers has a huge effect on the flavor of the beer.

Many years ago I participated in an experiment with a homebrew club. We got a large batch of wort (unfermented beer) from a brewer which was split up amongst several members. Then each member fermented the beer using a different yeast. Each beer despite having the same basic ingredients of malt, hops, and water produced very different beers.

Most of my beers have been ales (I like the fruity esters and funkiness with ales) and I typically ferment in the 60 to 75F range. You want to keep in a consistent range for temperatures as the higher you ferment the more esters and interesting (sometimes odd) flavors can be produced. Some beers, like Belgian ales or Hefe-Weizens I usually use the higher end of the temperature range. For others I use the lower end of the range. Much of this depends upon your personal preference.

To give you an idea, here is a link to the website for Wyeast which is one of the largest producers of yeast for brewers:

https://www.wyeastlab.com/beer-strains

Each yeast has its own characteristics depending upon what you want to brew.

slimOl55 · November 5th, 2016, 05:01 PM

Excellent behavior Gents! That is most helpful and reassuring advise.
Thanks for thinking it through for me - this is exactly what I expected of VEF crew members.

almost Seasons Greetings...be well.

**vo1v0d** · November 27th, 2018, 09:26 AM

I have brewed with cranberry juice, pineapple juice, coke, pepsi, lemonade, mango juice, basically any juice you can buy in a carton just adding yeast and sugar in two litre bottles. They mostly end up as fruity beers except coke and pepsi which is a pissy version of what they started out as.The strength is about3.5 to 5 after ten days.
I did start with a homebrew kit making stout but all that pissballing about sterilising bottles etc

**vo1v0d** · December 16th, 2018, 10:12 AM

The 40 pints i made from a homebrew kit only required one quart of boiling water. Check out kits rather than brewing techniques until you become proficient. Then check out turbo-yeast for shorter duration brews.
And my next batch is in unopened tins waiting for me to bother my arse.
And a thought; sugar is a major ingredient but I thought of the lack of flavour it adds so I am going to try some nice black thick treacle as I am unable to source molasses.

**Dr Pepper** · December 16th, 2018, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vo1v0d

And my next batch is in unopened tins waiting for me to bother my arse.
And a thought; sugar is a major ingredient but I thought of the lack of flavour it adds so I am going to try some nice black thick treacle as I am unable to source molasses.

Well in the post brexit era there might be enough demand in an impoverished Britain to justify reopening some of the old treacle mines....

**Baresfan** · December 16th, 2018, 09:01 PM

You might want to check around and see if there is somewhere near you that specializes in brewing - I did it three times at a place about an hour's drive from me and had great results without the investment in equipment or the learning curve. A lot of fun. Have been doing the same with wine making for years.

**Blue126** · December 18th, 2018, 10:10 PM

I will only say, persevere.

Yes, you make a few co-k ups, but thats how you learn.

Have fun, but always write down every brew, you can and will make perfection!!!

November 5th, 2016, 01:54 AM	#11
cginok Vintage Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 603 Thanks: 61 Thanked 5,414 Times in 594 Posts	The room you use should just be whatever is available. I do the wort boiling in my kitchen, then do the fermenting, racking, bottling, in an enclosed garage. I know of people who store the fermenting beer in closets. Anywhere were you can keep a steady temp and it's out of the light is best. The temp for fermenting is very important. Each type of yeast will have a different temperature range...like between 65F and 75F. You should do everything you can to keep it between the two temperature extremes. Right in the middle of the two is preferred. If the temp gets out of the yeasts range you can end up with dead yeast and off tastes in your beer. As was previously mentioned, sanitizing everything is of the utmost importance. Make sure you star san everything that's going to come into contact with your brew from the wort stage all the way through to bottling and capping. I even star san my brewing kettle, the scissors I use to cut open the yeast packets, you name it, I star san it. I've had one batch get infected. Not only was it a waste of money, it was wasted effort and disappointment at not getting to taste the end product. That will make you very anal about sanitizing things. I still remember the first batch I made. I woke up the next morning, first thing I did was check to see if I had bubbling in my air lock. I just about jumped through the roof when I saw that thing bubbling like crazy. I knew then I had, at least, succeeded in getting the fermentation started. One other thing I thought of...water. I have hard water where I live, very hard water. I have to use bottled spring water for brewing. I'm not sure what the water is like where you live but, you might look into using bottled spring water. I've been told before not to use tap water, the chemicals they put into the water will kill the yeast. Whether that's true or not I don't know. I've never used tap water so can't say.

November 5th, 2016, 01:58 AM	#12
9876543210 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4,044 Thanks: 24,638 Thanked 34,288 Times in 4,008 Posts	slimol55, There are others here who certainly know more than I. But, I do have a very good friend who brews when he can and, once in a while, brews some pretty good stuff (I've even helped him a couple of times). This is probably a little more advanced for you at the moment (so just something to keep in mind) but he started growing his own hops. If thats done correctly I guess it can make a difference. Helped him plant them but don't remember much else about them. Other than I think he found those hops somewhere out in the Pacific Northwest. Don't remember exactly, but hops used to be grown in Wisconsin for quite a while but something happened (a bacteria?) which decimated the local plants. So I guess there are areas where hops cannot be grown any longer.

November 5th, 2016, 02:32 AM	#13
snilefisk Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 29 Thanks: 1,559 Thanked 402 Times in 29 Posts	Like cginok said in his post, it's not that important where the brewing take place. The second time I brewed, we brewed outdoors during winter, and that IPA was amazing. I don't remember how cold it was, but it was below freezing-point outdoors. I assume you want to brew inside, so make sure you clean the ceiling above. You dont want the steam causing dust dropping down from the ceiling into your beer. Fermenting has to be done inside with a steady temperature. We fermented ours in a basement in roomtemperature, 17-19 celcius, but that also depends on the type of beer. Temperature-management can be very crucial, but it depends on what kind of beer you want to make. If you want to make a very hoppy IPA, you can get away with inaccurate temperatures. Perhaps in the range of +/- 5 celcius, if my memory is correct, but don't quote me on that one. The reason for this is that the hops "camouflage" the mistakes during brewing, since they have a big impact on the taste. With other types of beer, the hops are less forgiving. I've read some recipes for stouts, and those temperatures can be tricky. It can be like for example: - 10 minutes on 78 degrees celcius - 15 minutes on 71 degrees celcius - 5 minutes on 64 degrees celcius - 10 minutes 76 degrees celcius These numbers are just made up on the spot right now, but the recipe was something along those lines. I think it would be better to start with an IPA, and get comfortable with your equipment before you try more complicated brews. One more suggestion is to take notes of everything you do. That way you can for example know how long it takes for the beer to get a certain temperature during cooling, or how long it takes to warm it up. Did you mess up the brewing? Publish your notes, and someone more experienced can look at them and tell you where something went wrong. Was the beer a great success? Great! Now you can just follow your notes and have the same result for your next batch.

November 5th, 2016, 03:04 AM	#14
blueballsdc Vintage Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,721 Thanks: 112,645 Thanked 21,428 Times in 1,713 Posts	Slim, Where you ferment your beer is important but not critical if you are brewing ales. It helps to have a place which keeps a fairly constant temperature. I have used closets, pantries, spare bedrooms, and basements (for beers at cooler temps). The main factors are the type of beer you want to brew and the yeast to be used. The yeast used to ferment the beers has a huge effect on the flavor of the beer. Many years ago I participated in an experiment with a homebrew club. We got a large batch of wort (unfermented beer) from a brewer which was split up amongst several members. Then each member fermented the beer using a different yeast. Each beer despite having the same basic ingredients of malt, hops, and water produced very different beers. Most of my beers have been ales (I like the fruity esters and funkiness with ales) and I typically ferment in the 60 to 75F range. You want to keep in a consistent range for temperatures as the higher you ferment the more esters and interesting (sometimes odd) flavors can be produced. Some beers, like Belgian ales or Hefe-Weizens I usually use the higher end of the temperature range. For others I use the lower end of the range. Much of this depends upon your personal preference. To give you an idea, here is a link to the website for Wyeast which is one of the largest producers of yeast for brewers: https://www.wyeastlab.com/beer-strains Each yeast has its own characteristics depending upon what you want to brew.

November 5th, 2016, 05:01 PM	#15
slimOl55 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 845 Thanks: 24,272 Thanked 4,956 Times in 774 Posts	Excellent behavior Gents! That is most helpful and reassuring advise. Thanks for thinking it through for me - this is exactly what I expected of VEF crew members. almost Seasons Greetings...be well.

November 27th, 2018, 09:26 AM	#16
vo1v0d Hideous By Nature Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: sarf eeeest lunden Posts: 8,268 Thanks: 42,361 Thanked 60,810 Times in 7,485 Posts	I have brewed with cranberry juice, pineapple juice, coke, pepsi, lemonade, mango juice, basically any juice you can buy in a carton just adding yeast and sugar in two litre bottles. They mostly end up as fruity beers except coke and pepsi which is a pissy version of what they started out as.The strength is about3.5 to 5 after ten days. I did start with a homebrew kit making stout but all that pissballing about sterilising bottles etc

December 16th, 2018, 10:12 AM	#17
vo1v0d Hideous By Nature Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: sarf eeeest lunden Posts: 8,268 Thanks: 42,361 Thanked 60,810 Times in 7,485 Posts	The 40 pints i made from a homebrew kit only required one quart of boiling water. Check out kits rather than brewing techniques until you become proficient. Then check out turbo-yeast for shorter duration brews. And my next batch is in unopened tins waiting for me to bother my arse. And a thought; sugar is a major ingredient but I thought of the lack of flavour it adds so I am going to try some nice black thick treacle as I am unable to source molasses.

December 16th, 2018, 09:01 PM	#19
Baresfan Vintage Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,060 Thanks: 2,313 Thanked 14,183 Times in 1,013 Posts	You might want to check around and see if there is somewhere near you that specializes in brewing - I did it three times at a place about an hour's drive from me and had great results without the investment in equipment or the learning curve. A lot of fun. Have been doing the same with wine making for years.

December 18th, 2018, 10:10 PM	#20
Blue126 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 1,927 Thanks: 19,029 Thanked 72,076 Times in 1,922 Posts	I will only say, persevere. Yes, you make a few co-k ups, but thats how you learn. Have fun, but always write down every brew, you can and will make perfection!!!