Just picked up a Midwest Supplies home brewing kit.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/produ...px?ProdID=6875



Do we have any other home brewers on here?

 

Patrick home brews... I'll get him on here to talk about it. We even have the Ale Pail. LOL!

~Amanda

 

i got the same thing! that book, as well as another that the store gave me, are packed with great info...

ive made several batches of IPA, from recipes.

are you using recipes, or are you attempting your own?

 

Kit recipe for sure. I just got home from Germany and loved the beer there. So I'm trying to duplicate Paulaner Hefa-Wiezen. I picked out Hank’s Hefe Weizen. I have a question though. Why did they include two carboys? Is it so you can do a second stage for further clarification? The dvd didn't say anything about it.

 

i didnt get a DVD, but i have spent an hour or more on several occassions talking to the experienced brewers at the store. i only have one carboy, and they told me that the second is for the ability to brew more frequently. what they told me, the longer than you leave the beer in the carboy, the better it will get. one guy told me that the best home brew that he has had, was in the carboy, at 68 degrees for about 3 months..im not that patient. i did, however, taste my beer at every gravity reading and every time that i moved it.

i dont see a brewers kettle in that picture? are you just using a regular pot? I was hesitant to pay what they wanted for a "brewing kettle", but since ive used it, im really glad that i did.

I made my wort, added the yeast, then let it sit in my Ale Pale for about 7 days during the rapid primary fermentation. i then moved my beer delicately to the carboy for my secondary fermentation, and that took about 12 days, but last time, my yeast was a little on the lazy side, and it took longer than I had hoped to get to my final gravity. i believe that my last batch took me about 33 days before i drank one, and i made 48 bottles and about a half of a 2 liter bottle (ran out of clean bottles [:@] ).

the kits are nice, but i think that i will soon attempt to alter a recipe, as i want my pale ale to be painfully hoppy, and since most do not, the kits dont give me that flavor, although i am very pleased with my beer. i think that on my next batch i will use stronger hops than are included with the kit, and see how it comes out.

 

Yeah!! I have a whole room setup for a brewery.. i do all wine right now.. but will go to beer, after i get some really good results with the wine

Love seeing some more brewers on here

I think the reason you have two carboys (or at least us wine makers do) is because you will get a lot of sediment on the bottom of the carboy during primary fermentation.. it allows you to syphon the mix into a clean carboy, and leave the sediment at the bottom of the other, and when you do that its called "racking"

maybe we can start a trade of goods if anyone is interested in some wine.. right now I am making 6 gallons of Rasberry, and 5 gallons of peach.. had 6 gallons of banana wine, that was amazing.. but i didnt let it finish fermenting.. so i kinda ruined it[:@]

 

That's crazy... I was going to go out tomorrow and look for some kits. I think it would be a really cool hobby. Great to have friends over to try your own brew. I'll have to hit you guys up for some good advice and help.

Congrats on the new purchase!!

 

A really close friend of mine home brews. his beer is great... are you doing to buy grain or are you going to mash your own? just remember to keep everything super clean... my friend has killed 15 gallons of beer by letting the smallest amount of bacteria into the carboy. gl man.

 

I've always wanted to but just havent had the time or money at the time to getinto something like that.

 

I've been brewing for 10 years. My wife used to complain that it made the kitchen smell like a wet barn. Got rid of the wife .

The most important things are:

1. Use high quality yeast. Find a good homebrew store. The kit allows you to get started, but if you really want to make some really great beer, you will have to get a good recipie book and better ingredients.

2. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Make sure everything is cleaned. Use the cleaning/antibacterial agents. Otherwise you can get some real funky brews.

3. Don't be in a rush. Make sure everything has cooled to the right temperature before adding yeast.

4. Don't add more sugar to the bottle than called for when doing the chargng. This wont make it carbonated faster, but will give you some great hand grenades