Home Brewers

#526
#526
I use the stove inside but it's electric. I've had to be careful and not scorch the wort. Looking to get out of e kitchen and out to the patio. I've got three kits coming in this weekend and looking at my options.

I've not brewed since August. Been missing it, hate going in the garage and see my carboys sitting on e bench empty.
 
#527
#527
USAF_Vol said:
I use the stove inside but it's electric. I've had to be careful and not scorch the wort. Looking to get out of e kitchen and out to the patio. I've got three kits coming in this weekend and looking at my options.

I've not brewed since August. Been missing it, hate going in the garage and see my carboys sitting on e bench empty.
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I brewed on the stove at first. We have a flat top so it took forever to boil. My wife hated the smell and after a few boil overs I was banished from the kitchen. A strong propane burner is so much better.

I would suggest going as big as you can if you think you will do larger boils down the road. The Bayou Cooker I use is my third burner. Its weight rated for up to 40 gallons of liquid so it will handle most home breweries. My last burner would do the job but it had a ring around the outer edge. My 10 gallon pot would barely fit so when I converted a 15.5 gallon keg to a brew pot it wouldn't work. I like mine so much I ordered a 2nd one to heat my hot liquor tank. This thing does suck gas though so that's something to consider too.
 
#528
#528
Hopvol said:
That will work just fine. I brewed on a turkey fryer for a long time. What is the longest setting on the timer?
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10 minutes, which sucks--but, a lot of the reviews I read on it said that that's easily fixed with duct tape, because many reviews used this same kit for home brewing as well. :)
 
#529
#529
Hopvol said:
I brewed on the stove at first. We have a flat top so it took forever to boil. My wife hated the smell and after a few boil overs I was banished from the kitchen. A strong propane burner is so much better.

I would suggest going as big as you can if you think you will do larger boils down the road. The Bayou Cooker I use is my third burner. Its weight rated for up to 40 gallons of liquid so it will handle most home breweries. My last burner would do the job but it had a ring around the outer edge. My 10 gallon pot would barely fit so when I converted a 15.5 gallon keg to a brew pot it wouldn't work. I like mine so much I ordered a 2nd one to heat my hot liquor tank. This thing does suck gas though so that's something to consider too.
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Next time I swing up to Mt. Juliet I'm gonna stop by your house and purchase some home brew. :)
 
#530
#530
Hopvol said:
That will work just fine. I brewed on a turkey fryer for a long time. What is the longest setting on the timer?
Click to expand...

The nice thing about this one is that it also came with a spigot already installed. That was a huge plus.

I'm also planning on purchasing a 5 gallon cooler to convert into a mash tun.
 
#531
#531
supersmo18 said:
10 minutes, which sucks--but, a lot of the reviews I read on it said that that's easily fixed with duct tape, because many reviews used this same kit for home brewing as well. :)
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That does suck. I asked because I have a neighbor that has one and you have to constantly keep turning the timer back. I don't know what they think anyone is going to cook on a propane burner that only takes 10 min.
 
#533
#533
supersmo18 said:
The nice thing about this one is that it also came with a spigot already installed. That was a huge plus.

I'm also planning on purchasing a 5 gallon cooler to convert into a mash tun.
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That will work great. Lots of plans online for DIY mash tuns. I was going to go the cooler route until I found a place to get kegs cheap.
 
#534
#534
Hopvol said:
That does suck. I asked because I have a neighbor that has one and you have to constantly keep turning the timer back. I don't know what they think anyone is going to cook on a propane burner that only takes 10 min.
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No kidding. No turkey's gonna cook in 10-15 minutes. But, like I said, you can disable the timer by just tying it down with duct tape, and it stays put (so says the several reviews with that particular complaint). A lot of those reviews were for home brewing purposes anyway.
 
#535
#535
And as a side note, completely off-topic, I was listening to the radio this morning about the continuing push in the state congress to allow Hamilton county to distill the brand "Chattanooga Whiskey" actually in Chattanooga (has been in Indiana due to outdated prohibition laws), and they brought up in the discussion that currently, Alabama is the only state that does not allow home brewing of any sort in any quantity. Strictly prohibited. They said it was because it 'sets a bad example for a small child to see his/her parent or guardian making alcohol.'

Sounds brilliant. Prohibit them from home brewing and then send them off to Gump-land for college so they can learn all about alcohol there and in the process, completely destroy themselves. :)
 
#536
#536
USAF_Vol said:
I use the stove inside but it's electric. I've had to be careful and not scorch the wort. Looking to get out of e kitchen and out to the patio. I've got three kits coming in this weekend and looking at my options.

I've not brewed since August. Been missing it, hate going in the garage and see my carboys sitting on e bench empty.
Click to expand...

I am with you....need to get busy. Where did you order your kits from and what will you be brewing?
 
#537
#537
I just cracked open my first one of my most recent batch after priming for 2 months, "Chocolate Covered BEAVR Nutz". It's a chocolate/peanut butter stout. Holy moly, this one's a good one. :)
 
#538
#538
Been meaning to post in here for a while. Just bottled my second batch ever, a Witbier, yesterday. Can't wait to try it out in a few weeks. The first was an Amber that I've enjoyed immensely so far. I'd say I've been bit by the bug and can't wait to get a little more into experimenting with styles and flavors as opposed to just going by the predefined steps. Maybe even get into all grain one day. That'll be a bit down the road though.
 
#539
#539
Bgasman said:
I am with you....need to get busy. Where did you order your kits from and what will you be brewing?
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I picked up a fish fryer so I will be brewing outside now. Nothing thus weekend cause I didn't do a yeast starter yet.

I got three kits from Midwest supplies. A honey porter, oatmeal stout, and lemon wheat. Never used Midwest but pleased with contents so far.
 
#540
#540
born-n-raisedvol said:
Been meaning to post in here for a while. Just bottled my second batch ever, a Witbier, yesterday. Can't wait to try it out in a few weeks. The first was an Amber that I've enjoyed immensely so far. I'd say I've been bit by the bug and can't wait to get a little more into experimenting with styles and flavors as opposed to just going by the predefined steps. Maybe even get into all grain one day. That'll be a bit down the road though.
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Thanks for posting. Let me know how that Witbier works out.
 
#541
#541
USAF_Vol said:
I picked up a fish fryer so I will be brewing outside now. Nothing thus weekend cause I didn't do a yeast starter yet.

I got three kits from Midwest supplies. A honey porter, oatmeal stout, and lemon wheat. Never used Midwest but pleased with contents so far.
Click to expand...

We have ordered 4 kits from Midwest and been very pleased. Someone on the board mentioned Austin Homebrew Supply, looks like they have a great selection, may give them a try next week.
 
#542
#542
I think I mentioned Austin supply. Have not ordered. I need to give them a try. I had all my supply spots bookmarked but got rid of the laptop for an iPad.
 
#543
#543
USAF_Vol said:
I picked up a fish fryer so I will be brewing outside now. Nothing thus weekend cause I didn't do a yeast starter yet.

I got three kits from Midwest supplies. A honey porter, oatmeal stout, and lemon wheat. Never used Midwest but pleased with contents so far.
Click to expand...

I used midwest for the chocolate & peanut butter stout I just brewed. They've been great kits so far, and if you get stuck, they're helpful on the phone too.
 
#544
#544
Bgasman said:
I am with you....need to get busy. Where did you order your kits from and what will you be brewing?
Click to expand...

I use Midwest a lot. I particularly like their "Hank's Hefeweizen" and "Liberty Cream Ale." I'm going to add an orange extract to the "Hank's Hefeweizen" in a secondary carboy and see what comes out of that next time I use that kit.
 
#545
#545
I typically use Northern Brewer. I keg all my beers and NB gives the option to not purchase priming sugar and caps with the kit. Now that I am all grain I will probably get ingredients locally from now on.
 
#547
#547
Just out of curiosity, could fermenting of a batch be done in individual gallon containers instead of one big one? I have too many 64oz glass growlers and I was wondering if I could use a few to ferment a batch. Would this cause problems?
 
#549
#549
KappinSpaulding said:
Just out of curiosity, could fermenting of a batch be done in individual gallon containers instead of one big one? I have too many 64oz glass growlers and I was wondering if I could use a few to ferment a batch. Would this cause problems?
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Additionally, if you just use those as fermenters, you're still going to have to prime and bottle, which would be, as milo said, a huge PITA. If anything, I'd ferment in the one big primary fermenting bucket, and then prime/bottle in the growlers.
 
#550
#550
The only other problem with priming/bottling in 64 oz growlers is that you're going to have to drink all that beer pretty quickly so it doesn't go flat. Swing top growlers help a lot with that, but still aren't perfect.
 
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