Any Brewers on TCF?

[JCoz]

I'm pretty excited to finally be on the verge of my first batch, picked up my grain bill yesterday prepping for Saturday.

Going with a Dunkelweizen first.

I've been getting ready for this for way too long, but when it comes to stuff like this its just how I roll I guess.

[Soonerfan]

I have been homebrewing for years, went from extract brewer to all-grain. All you going all grain?
I haven't had time to brew in a while but once you drink your own beer all others taste terrible.

[JCoz]

I have been homebrewing for years, went from extract brewer to all-grain. All you going all grain?
I haven't had time to brew in a while but once you drink your own beer all others taste terrible.

Yes, I did finally make my first batch this weekend. I have been preparing for a while.

As chance would have it, of course the weekend I planned was scheduled for severe thunderstorms on Sunday, chance of scattered rain on Saturday.

Fuck. But goddamned if I was scrapping those plans, so I opted to go ahead on a late start Saturday.....and of course the severe thunderstorms showed up a few hours later.

So I brewed my first ever batch of beer, in the dark, in a thunderstorm. Finished about 1am.

If the beer is any good I figure I can call it Thunderweizen.

So I have that going for me, which is nice.

[JCoz]

[peeker643]

Brew a bunch with my neighbor.

Enough so that kegs have been purchased and CO2 introduced to hasten the process.

Enough so that we purchased full kegs of Coors Light from a bar going out of business and didn't drink a drop of the stuff as it went down the drain and gave us two more kegs

Enough so that we have a nice Dry Irish Stout to go with a nice little English ale and a turtle that gives us perfect black and tans.

Enough so that I wear a scar or two on my leg from the old says of carrying volcan-hot pots that needed cooling.

Fresh hops, steeped grains, it keeps going and getting worse (or better-depends on if you ask me or my wife).

[JCoz]

Brew a bunch with my neighbor.

Enough so that kegs have been purchased and CO2 introduced to hasten the process.

Enough so that we purchased full kegs of Coors Light from a bar going out of business and didn't drink a drop of the stuff as it went down the drain and gave us two more kegs

Enough so that we have a nice Dry Irish Stout to go with a nice little English ale and a turtle that gives us perfect black and tans.

Enough so that I wear a scar or two on my leg from the old says of carrying volcan-hot pots that needed cooling.

Fresh hops, steeped grains, it keeps going and getting worse (or better-depends on if you ask me or my wife).

What, your wife doesn't like beer?

What do you have on tap now, the Stout and English Ale? What are you getting into next?

[peeker643]

What, your wife doesn't like beer?

What do you have on tap now, the Stout and English Ale? What are you getting into next?

Lisa doesn't drink much at all. Maybe occasionally wine and occasionally some sort of whiskey-sour type shit.

Yes. We have the english ale and the stout still in the kegs. Next up will likely be an IPA but I'm not a hoppy guy. Much prefer lower IBUs and really my tatstes run hard toward the porters and stouts. Probably get started on the lagers/pils for summer drinking as well as maybe a Helles Bock.

[JCoz]

Lisa doesn't drink much at all. Maybe occasionally wine and occasionally some sort of whiskey-sour type shit.

Yes. We have the english ale and the stout still in the kegs. Next up will likely be an IPA but I'm not a hoppy guy. Much prefer lower IBUs and really my tatstes run hard toward the porters and stouts. Probably get started on the lagers/pils for summer drinking as well as maybe a Helles Bock.

I really love porters and like many stouts, but too many good summer beers to brew before they are out of season. I'm going to brew some Cherry Wheat for my wife this week, then next week a Wit, then hopefully by then I'll be ready to brew a Saison.......I'm pretty much set up, only thing I really need now is some good fermentation control, been trolling craigslist, a free fridge pops up every other week nearby, hoping to snag one, or pay $100 or less for one. That, some ferm wrap and a dual stage temp controller.

[Soonerfan]

Brew a bunch with my neighbor.

Enough so that kegs have been purchased and CO2 introduced to hasten the process.

Enough so that we purchased full kegs of Coors Light from a bar going out of business and didn't drink a drop of the stuff as it went down the drain and gave us two more kegs

Enough so that we have a nice Dry Irish Stout to go with a nice little English ale and a turtle that gives us perfect black and tans.

Enough so that I wear a scar or two on my leg from the old says of carrying volcan-hot pots that needed cooling.

Fresh hops, steeped grains, it keeps going and getting worse (or better-depends on if you ask me or my wife).

The kegs and the CO2 tanks were an absolute necessity. Cleaning and bottling became way too much of a hassle.
We have a converted keg that we have used for our brew kettle and big ole Gatorage coolers for the mash tun.
My buddy has gotten real good at re-using yeast.
It's just great to brew and drink your own beer!
Where are you all getting your grains? I go to place in Toledo called Titgemiers, it's a grain/landscape shop, in a terrible neighborhood of Toledo.

[JCoz]

The kegs and the CO2 tanks were an absolute necessity. Cleaning and bottling became way too much of a hassle.
We have a converted keg that we have used for our brew kettle and big ole Gatorage coolers for the mash tun.
My buddy has gotten real good at re-using yeast.
It's just great to brew and drink your own beer!
Where are you all getting your grains? I go to place in Toledo called Titgemiers, it's a grain/landscape shop, in a terrible neighborhood of Toledo.

I'm using Brewmaster's Warehouse, are you purchasing in bulk?

They will mill it for you, and you can save whole recipes online and just purchase that recipe anytime you want.

There is also a 10% recipe discount "BBBYO"

[peeker643]

There's a place called the Brew Mentor in ... umm .. Mentor here that has the grains and the mills, etc.

World Wines in Mentor also has tons of supplies, yeasts, malts, etc.

[peeker643]

The kegs and the CO2 tanks were an absolute necessity. Cleaning and bottling became way too much of a hassle.
We have a converted keg that we have used for our brew kettle and big ole Gatorage coolers for the mash tun.
My buddy has gotten real good at re-using yeast.
It's just great to brew and drink your own beer!
Where are you all getting your grains? I go to place in Toledo called Titgemiers, it's a grain/landscape shop, in a terrible neighborhood of Toledo.

The cleaning and bottling was easily the worst part of the deal. Although a good stout has a nice taste even while bottling. And the consistency of 10w-30

One of our buddies who prefers the drinking portion of making beer is a plumber. Very handy in the process. He got us, from a dairy farm, some ginormous aluminum feed trough for the cooling.

And jeez does the co2 save time.

The wort alone smells better than thanksgiving dinner.

[UnlikelyOptimist]

A lot of respect, Always wanted to do this. Love the show BrewMasters have you seen? All about Dog Fish Head and their process. Crazy to see what lengths they go to. Prob why that beers so dam expensive!

[JCoz]

So I took a sample of my Dunkelweizen, its basically done now, 1.014, and I tasted it, came out really well as far as I can gather, being flat and all.

Had alot of the flavors of Weihenstaphaner Dunkel, so I'm pretty excited to see what the finished product tastes like.

[JCoz]

A lot of respect, Always wanted to do this. Love the show BrewMasters have you seen? All about Dog Fish Head and their process. Crazy to see what lengths they go to. Prob why that beers so dam expensive!

You should just do it.

Buy how to brew, by John Palmer.