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[rsmith2786]

Ok, so I have been brewing for a couple years and decided to throw together a quick how to.

First you need to get really drunk with your roommates (in this case off homebrew) until a wrestling match happens in the kitchen and there are holes in the wall.  Then go downtown to hit on the few college women that actually exist in Platteville, WI.



Wake up the next morning and wonder what the fuck happened to the wall in the kitchen.  Clean up the mess and prepare for the new drywall.



Clean the kitchen.  Cleanliness in key and in this house it's the biggest challenge when brewing.  Cleaning hookah coal residue, spam, and other crap off of the stove may take a while.  Then set out the sanitizing stuff.



Sanitize the equipment.




Get out the ingredients.  In this case I made an American style lager.  My first lager actually.



Get about 2.5 gallons of water in a large stainless pot and start heating.



Put your grains into the bag and steep at the required temp for the required time.  I did 30 min at 155 degrees.



Look at that sweet wort.



After steeping bring the wort up to boiling and add the malt extracts and first set of hops.





...Keep boiling until its time for the second set of hops.  In this case 55 min.  Then put the pot into the sink with cool water.  Wait until the wort is down to about 85 degrees.



Pour the wort into a 6 gallon carboy and add cool water until the total amount of liquid is 5 gallons.



Pitch the yeast.  (This is actually a hefeweizen 24 hours after pitching.  I forgot to take a pic of the lager.)



Since this is a lager I fermented it at 51 degrees and then lagered it at 31 for a few weeks.  I just set the thermostat in my homemade kegerator for the desired temperature.




Then into a keg it goes and the thermostat is set to a nice serving temperature.  Force carbonated to desired feel.



Right now the lager is on tap, a steam will be ready for kegging this weekend, and the hefeweizen will hopefully be ready next week.  Here is a pic of the hefe and steam.



Right now I am brewing at "Full Capacity" which is one 5 gallon batch a week.  We drink it just as fast as I can brew it and i really need to upgrade my setup.  I think this is my first write-up.  Let me know if you have any questions.

[bluerex]

My roommate tried brewing his own shit a little while back but couldn't get the alcohol content up much past 4%.  Any tips?

[rsmith2786]

More sugar.  Most beer yeasts shouldn't have a problem getting to 6%.  Until then...more sugar=more alcohol.  It's also possible the yeast stopped producing alcohol due to lack of nutrients, temperature, or possibly bacterial contamination.

[97Econobox]

I want cheap homemade beer this sounds awesome.

[Aero]

I always wanted to try doing this.

[jagojon3]

Looks awesome, can't wait to see what your new setup would be like because I think that is a pretty damn good one.

[Robb]

Somebody do a write up on how to make cider.  I dont like beer but ackollic cider is the nectar of the gods.

[jagojon3]

Somebody do a write up on how to make cider.  I dont like beer but ackollic cider is the nectar of the gods.

I drank a lot of woodchuck 40s in high school, good times!

[97Econobox]

Somebody do a write up on how to make cider.  I dont like beer but ackollic cider is the nectar of the gods.

Someone did on the old site, they had an apple press that their grand father built or someshit.  anywho did a whole speel on it.  wanna say that wasnt too long ago.

[rsmith2786]

heffeweizen writeup if it turns out well  :yes:

It turned out amazing.  It was a total hit.  I had some friends over and we had the keg burned within about 3 hours.  We went downtown after that but I don't remember going down or coming home.  I woke up sleeping the wrong way on my bed, fully clothed...shoes and all.

[88dx]

write up for some Keystone ICe That costs less then 3.59 for a six pack

[rsmith2786]

write up for some Keystone ICe That costs less then 3.59 for a six pack

30pack of pbr is cheaper than 5 6-packs of keystone

Exactly.  30-pack of PBR = $11 = Unbeatable value.

[Spanish-rice]

Ok, so I have been brewing for a couple years and decided to throw together a quick how to.

First you need to get really drunk with your roommates (in this case off homebrew) until a wrestling match happens in the kitchen and there are holes in the wall.  Then go downtown to hit on the few college women that actually exist in Platteville, WI.

up the next morning and wonder what the fuck happened to the wall in the kitchen.  Clean up the mess and prepare for he new drywall.

Clean the kitchen.  Cleanliness in key and in this house it's the biggest challenge when brewing.  Cleaning hookah coal residue, spam, and other crap off of the stove may take a while.  Then set out the sanitizing stuff.

what do you use to sanitize ? anything works? or is something perfered?

Sanitize the equipment.

Get out the ingredients.  In this case I made an American style lager.  My first lager actually.

what are the key ingredients/amounts for a simple setup?

Get about 2.5 gallons of water in a large stainless pot and start heating.

just heat it to 155 like you mention in the next picture ? or just warmer?

Put your grains into the bag and steep at the required temp for the required time.  I did 30 min at 155 degrees.

how do you know what times and temps to do this at? is it pretty much the same for all quanitities and brews? how do you know when its done? or considered a "good" wort?


Look at that sweet wort.


After steeping bring the wort up to boiling and add the malt extracts and first set of hops.

what exactly is steeping? how many steps of hops are there? how much do you add?

...Keep boiling until its time for the second set of hops.  In this case 55 min.  Then put the pot into the sink with cool water.  Wait until the wort is down to about 85 degrees.

what determines the time till its ready for the second set of hops? or is it always 55 minutesish?

Pour the wort into a 6 gallon carboy and add cool water until the total amount of liquid is 5 gallons.

Pitch the yeast.  (This is actually a hefeweizen 24 hours after pitching.  I forgot to take a pic of the lager.)

what is pitching yeast? just adding it?

Since this is a lager I fermented it at 51 degrees and then lagered it at 31 for a few weeks.  I just set the thermostat in my homemade kegerator for the desired temperature.

if its not a lager what would you ferment it at ? what is lagering? how long do you ferment it and what determines the amount of time you ferment it?

Then into a keg it goes and the thermostat is set to a nice serving temperature.  Force carbonated to desired feel.

so the only way to carbonate it is to force carbonate it? what exactly is that? is there any other way?

Right now the lager is on tap, a steam will be ready for kegging this weekend, and the hefeweizen will hopefully be ready next week.  Here is a pic of the hefe and steam.

Right now I am brewing at "Full Capacity" which is one 5 gallon batch a week.  We drink it just as fast as I can brew it and i really need to upgrade my setup.  I think this is my first write-up.  Let me know if you have any questions.

[slappynuts]

Somebody do a write up on how to make cider.  I dont like beer but ackollic cider is the nectar of the gods.

http://www.realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/index.php?topic=1333.0

[rsmith2786]

1. what do you use to sanitize ? anything works? or is something perfered?
2. what are the key ingredients/amounts for a simple setup?
3. just heat it to 155 like you mention in the next picture ? or just warmer?
4. how do you know what times and temps to do this at? is it pretty much the same for all quanitities and brews? how do you know when its done? or considered a "good" wort?
5. what exactly is steeping? how many steps of hops are there? how much do you add?
6. what is pitching yeast? just adding it?
7. if its not a lager what would you ferment it at ? what is lagering? how long do you ferment it and what determines the amount of time you ferment it?
8. so the only way to carbonate it is to force carbonate it? what exactly is that? is there any other way?

Very good questions!

1. There are many options for sanitizing.  I use a product called One-STEP which is a no rinse sanitizer.  You can use something as smiple as bleach though.
2. I usually go with a 3.3lb liquid extract and a 3lb dry extract.  Each has their advantages which is why i like to combine them.  The grains depend on the batch and actually aren't necessarily required.  Usually you will use around 2oz. of hops.  It depends on the alpha acid content and how you want it to taste.  Things can get complicated here.  Then you need some yeast.  There are also several options here.  The best bet for a first timer is to buy a kit from a homebrew shop.  Almost guaranteed to taste good.  After you do a couple dozen batches you start to get a feel for what works.
3-4. The temperature and time depends on the grains.  There is a lot going on with breaking down proteins and extracting sugars.  Ive used all sorts of grains from barley to corn, to rice, to oats.  If you are following a kit instructions then it is pretty easy.  Otherwise a good route can be to find a recipe close to what you want and modify it as needed.
5. I did 2 steps with 1oz each.  It depends on the type of beer you are making and the alpha acids.  Most of the time there are two stages but the time for each can vary.  There can also be more or less stages in some cases.
6. Yes.  Just a brewing term.
7. For a lager you ferment it around 55 degrees.  Then you "lager" it which is a cold storage period.  During this time the beer clarifies and the flavor mellows.  Most ales are fermented around room temperature.  I do a red ale that i like to keep around 68 and a heffeweizen that i like around 78.  The higher temperatures usually cause more esters to be created which impact the flavor and smell.
8. I force carbonate because it's easy and im lazy.  You can also bottle.  In that case you add some "priming sugar" right before you bottle.  Then once bottled the yeast ferments that little bit of sugar, creating CO2, and naturally carbonating the beer.

The easiest way to get started is to go to a homebrew store.  Buy a starter kit for $80 which will come with a beginners book.  Buy a $30 ingredient kit.  Then hit up walmart for a cheap ceramic coated 22qt pot for $15.  Right about $130 and you'll have your first batch.  That's how I started.  Next time it'll only cost you $30.  The problem is that the guy at the brew store will have some cool tool or device and eventually you've got a lot of money into it.  It's fun though.

[fysh]

Kegerator writeup?

[97Econobox]

Kegerator writeup?

+1

[rsmith2786]

That part was pretty simple.  Menard's has these freezers for under $150.  They will hold 4 homebrew kegs or 1 half barrel perfectly.  Then I went to beveragefactory.com and ordered the tower, tank, keg coupler, regulator, and lines.  Then you need to purchase a thermostat since you want warmer temperatures than the freezer's thermostat range.  I went with the Johnson Controls A419 but there are cheaper analog models that would work just as good.  Drill a hole in the lid with a hole saw.  Mount the tower.  Run the lines from the regulator to the coupler and from the coupler to the tower.  Fill the CO2 tank and mount the regulator.  That's pretty much it.  You'll also have to run the sensor for the thermostat to the inside of the freezer.  I like to mount it right to the keg with some tape so it monitors the beer temperature rather than the air temperature.  It can be done cheaper with used parts.


It's so much easier than having to bottle and it is pretty badass too.

[junkyard racer]

This is mine. It will get very elaborate this summer.


my beer stays nice and cold.


btw, all grain is def. where its at.

[rsmith2786]

btw, all grain is def. where its at.

That's what's next.  I NEED MORE SPACE!

[Joseph Davis]

Ok, so I have been brewing for a couple years and decided to throw together a quick how to.

First you need to get really drunk with your roommates (in this case off homebrew) until a wrestling match happens in the kitchen and there are holes in the wall.  Then go downtown to hit on the few college women that actually exist in Platteville, WI.



Wake up the next morning and wonder what the fuck happened to the wall in the kitchen.  Clean up the mess and prepare for the new drywall.



Clean the kitchen.  Cleanliness in key and in this house it's the biggest challenge when brewing.  Cleaning hookah coal residue, spam, and other crap off of the stove may take a while.  Then set out the sanitizing stuff.

what do you use to sanitize ? anything works? or is something perfered?



Sanitize the equipment.




Get out the ingredients.  In this case I made an American style lager.  My first lager actually.

what are the key ingredients/amounts for a simple setup?



Get about 2.5 gallons of water in a large stainless pot and start heating.


just heat it to 155 like you mention in the next picture ? or just warmer?



Put your grains into the bag and steep at the required temp for the required time.  I did 30 min at 155 degrees.

how do you know what times and temps to do this at? is it pretty much the same for all quanitities and brews? how do you know when its done? or considered a "good" wort?



Look at that sweet wort.



After steeping bring the wort up to boiling and add the malt extracts and first set of hops.

what exactly is steeping? how many steps of hops are there? how much do you add?






...Keep boiling until its time for the second set of hops.  In this case 55 min.  Then put the pot into the sink with cool water.  Wait until the wort is down to about 85 degrees.

what determines the time till its ready for the second set of hops? or is it always 55 minutesish?



Pour the wort into a 6 gallon carboy and add cool water until the total amount of liquid is 5 gallons.



Pitch the yeast.  (This is actually a hefeweizen 24 hours after pitching.  I forgot to take a pic of the lager.)

what is pitching yeast? just adding it?



Since this is a lager I fermented it at 51 degrees and then lagered it at 31 for a few weeks.  I just set the thermostat in my homemade kegerator for the desired temperature.

if its not a lager what would you ferment it at ? what is lagering? how long do you ferment it and what determines the amount of time you ferment it?




Then into a keg it goes and the thermostat is set to a nice serving temperature.  Force carbonated to desired feel.

so the only way to carbonate it is to force carbonate it? what exactly is that? is there any other way?



Right now the lager is on tap, a steam will be ready for kegging this weekend, and the hefeweizen will hopefully be ready next week.  Here is a pic of the hefe and steam.



Right now I am brewing at "Full Capacity" which is one 5 gallon batch a week.  We drink it just as fast as I can brew it and i really need to upgrade my setup.  I think this is my first write-up.  Let me know if you have any questions.

I hate people who quote entire picture posts.  Do you do it to be an ass?

[Hotrodlincoln]

Someone do a "whiskey still" write up!

[junkyard racer]

Ok, so I have been brewing for a couple years and decided to throw together a quick how to.

First you need to get really drunk with your roommates (in this case off homebrew) until a wrestling match happens in the kitchen and there are holes in the wall.  Then go downtown to hit on the few college women that actually exist in Platteville, WI.



Wake up the next morning and wonder what the fuck happened to the wall in the kitchen.  Clean up the mess and prepare for the new drywall.



Clean the kitchen.  Cleanliness in key and in this house it's the biggest challenge when brewing.  Cleaning hookah coal residue, spam, and other crap off of the stove may take a while.  Then set out the sanitizing stuff.

what do you use to sanitize ? anything works? or is something perfered?



Sanitize the equipment.




Get out the ingredients.  In this case I made an American style lager.  My first lager actually.

what are the key ingredients/amounts for a simple setup?



Get about 2.5 gallons of water in a large stainless pot and start heating.


just heat it to 155 like you mention in the next picture ? or just warmer?



Put your grains into the bag and steep at the required temp for the required time.  I did 30 min at 155 degrees.

how do you know what times and temps to do this at? is it pretty much the same for all quanitities and brews? how do you know when its done? or considered a "good" wort?



Look at that sweet wort.



After steeping bring the wort up to boiling and add the malt extracts and first set of hops.

what exactly is steeping? how many steps of hops are there? how much do you add?






...Keep boiling until its time for the second set of hops.  In this case 55 min.  Then put the pot into the sink with cool water.  Wait until the wort is down to about 85 degrees.

what determines the time till its ready for the second set of hops? or is it always 55 minutesish?



Pour the wort into a 6 gallon carboy and add cool water until the total amount of liquid is 5 gallons.



Pitch the yeast.  (This is actually a hefeweizen 24 hours after pitching.  I forgot to take a pic of the lager.)

what is pitching yeast? just adding it?



Since this is a lager I fermented it at 51 degrees and then lagered it at 31 for a few weeks.  I just set the thermostat in my homemade kegerator for the desired temperature.

if its not a lager what would you ferment it at ? what is lagering? how long do you ferment it and what determines the amount of time you ferment it?




Then into a keg it goes and the thermostat is set to a nice serving temperature.  Force carbonated to desired feel.

so the only way to carbonate it is to force carbonate it? what exactly is that? is there any other way?



Right now the lager is on tap, a steam will be ready for kegging this weekend, and the hefeweizen will hopefully be ready next week.  Here is a pic of the hefe and steam.



Right now I am brewing at "Full Capacity" which is one 5 gallon batch a week.  We drink it just as fast as I can brew it and i really need to upgrade my setup.  I think this is my first write-up.  Let me know if you have any questions.

I hate people who quote entire picture posts.  Do you do it to be an ass?

idk. but I hate scrolling through the same fuckin pics like 10 times in a post

[98redcavz24]

MAKE IT STOP

[98redcavz24]

Ok, so I have been brewing for a couple years and decided to throw together a quick how to.

First you need to get really drunk with your roommates (in this case off homebrew) until a wrestling match happens in the kitchen and there are holes in the wall.  Then go downtown to hit on the few college women that actually exist in Platteville, WI.



Wake up the next morning and wonder what the fuck happened to the wall in the kitchen.  Clean up the mess and prepare for the new drywall.



Clean the kitchen.  Cleanliness in key and in this house it's the biggest challenge when brewing.  Cleaning hookah coal residue, spam, and other crap off of the stove may take a while.  Then set out the sanitizing stuff.

what do you use to sanitize ? anything works? or is something perfered?



Sanitize the equipment.




Get out the ingredients.  In this case I made an American style lager.  My first lager actually.

what are the key ingredients/amounts for a simple setup?



Get about 2.5 gallons of water in a large stainless pot and start heating.


just heat it to 155 like you mention in the next picture ? or just warmer?



Put your grains into the bag and steep at the required temp for the required time.  I did 30 min at 155 degrees.

how do you know what times and temps to do this at? is it pretty much the same for all quanitities and brews? how do you know when its done? or considered a "good" wort?



Look at that sweet wort.



After steeping bring the wort up to boiling and add the malt extracts and first set of hops.

what exactly is steeping? how many steps of hops are there? how much do you add?






...Keep boiling until its time for the second set of hops.  In this case 55 min.  Then put the pot into the sink with cool water.  Wait until the wort is down to about 85 degrees.

what determines the time till its ready for the second set of hops? or is it always 55 minutesish?



Pour the wort into a 6 gallon carboy and add cool water until the total amount of liquid is 5 gallons.



Pitch the yeast.  (This is actually a hefeweizen 24 hours after pitching.  I forgot to take a pic of the lager.)

what is pitching yeast? just adding it?



Since this is a lager I fermented it at 51 degrees and then lagered it at 31 for a few weeks.  I just set the thermostat in my homemade kegerator for the desired temperature.

if its not a lager what would you ferment it at ? what is lagering? how long do you ferment it and what determines the amount of time you ferment it?




Then into a keg it goes and the thermostat is set to a nice serving temperature.  Force carbonated to desired feel.

so the only way to carbonate it is to force carbonate it? what exactly is that? is there any other way?



Right now the lager is on tap, a steam will be ready for kegging this weekend, and the hefeweizen will hopefully be ready next week.  Here is a pic of the hefe and steam.



Right now I am brewing at "Full Capacity" which is one 5 gallon batch a week.  We drink it just as fast as I can brew it and i really need to upgrade my setup.  I think this is my first write-up.  Let me know if you have any questions.

[rsmith2786]

Oh god.

[Spanish-rice]

i hate that too sorry to be THAT guy, i fixed mine. the rest is all on you

[Joseph Davis]

Ok, so I have been brewing for a couple years and decided to throw together a quick how to.

First you need to get really drunk with your roommates (in this case off homebrew) until a wrestling match happens in the kitchen and there are holes in the wall.  Then go downtown to hit on the few college women that actually exist in Platteville, WI.



Wake up the next morning and wonder what the fuck happened to the wall in the kitchen.  Clean up the mess and prepare for the new drywall.



Clean the kitchen.  Cleanliness in key and in this house it's the biggest challenge when brewing.  Cleaning hookah coal residue, spam, and other crap off of the stove may take a while.  Then set out the sanitizing stuff.

what do you use to sanitize ? anything works? or is something perfered?



Sanitize the equipment.




Get out the ingredients.  In this case I made an American style lager.  My first lager actually.

what are the key ingredients/amounts for a simple setup?



Get about 2.5 gallons of water in a large stainless pot and start heating.


just heat it to 155 like you mention in the next picture ? or just warmer?



Put your grains into the bag and steep at the required temp for the required time.  I did 30 min at 155 degrees.

how do you know what times and temps to do this at? is it pretty much the same for all quanitities and brews? how do you know when its done? or considered a "good" wort?



Look at that sweet wort.



After steeping bring the wort up to boiling and add the malt extracts and first set of hops.

what exactly is steeping? how many steps of hops are there? how much do you add?






...Keep boiling until its time for the second set of hops.  In this case 55 min.  Then put the pot into the sink with cool water.  Wait until the wort is down to about 85 degrees.

what determines the time till its ready for the second set of hops? or is it always 55 minutesish?



Pour the wort into a 6 gallon carboy and add cool water until the total amount of liquid is 5 gallons.



Pitch the yeast.  (This is actually a hefeweizen 24 hours after pitching.  I forgot to take a pic of the lager.)

what is pitching yeast? just adding it?



Since this is a lager I fermented it at 51 degrees and then lagered it at 31 for a few weeks.  I just set the thermostat in my homemade kegerator for the desired temperature.

if its not a lager what would you ferment it at ? what is lagering? how long do you ferment it and what determines the amount of time you ferment it?




Then into a keg it goes and the thermostat is set to a nice serving temperature.  Force carbonated to desired feel.

so the only way to carbonate it is to force carbonate it? what exactly is that? is there any other way?



Right now the lager is on tap, a steam will be ready for kegging this weekend, and the hefeweizen will hopefully be ready next week.  Here is a pic of the hefe and steam.



Right now I am brewing at "Full Capacity" which is one 5 gallon batch a week.  We drink it just as fast as I can brew it and i really need to upgrade my setup.  I think this is my first write-up.  Let me know if you have any questions.

I hate people who quote entire picture posts.  Do you do it to be an ass?

idk. but I hate scrolling through the same fuckin pics like 10 times in a post

I feel that

Spanish-rice needs a good dick kicking.

[Spanish-rice]

fuck you i just had questions on getting drunk on the cheap. its something we should all know how to do

[junkyard racer]

the reality is, getting drunk cheap and brewing beer shouldnt go hand in hand. I can think of 1000 other ways to make your own shit and get drunk. You can go ferment you govt givin applejuice and get hammered on that shit with some brewers yeast and some corn sugar.

IMO, you shouldn't brew beer to 'drink cheap/tasty beer'

Is it cost saving, sure but not by much. Brewing all grain is much cheaper.