looking to go to next level

General brewing information, questions and discussion. Topics that do not seem to fit elsewhere.

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scoobybp1278
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 10:29 am

looking to go to next level

Post by scoobybp1278 »

hey i got a brew at home kit and i think i know what im doing. i want to brew more than just a 6 pack at a time. if anyone can offer up some help to a newbie it would be a huge help
fitz
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 442
Joined: Thu Dec 19, 2002 8:36 am

Home Brewery

Post by fitz »

There are many homebrewery kits out there. Many start out with 6 - 7 gallon plastic food grade buckets, so you can make a 5 gallon batch of beer (48-50 bottles of beer) Most come with a capper and tubes, brushes, Hydrometer, thermometer, etc. I started with one from brewers best. Williams brewing has a siphonless setup that is nice, because siphoning can lead to contamination. You'll also need a large pot to boil your wort(unfermented beer)As you advance, or get more cash, a secondary fermenter in a glass carboy(Water bottle) will make your beer taste and look better. Also, you may want to buy a couple books and read them. The experts have some good info in their books, and everyone can learn something from them. Keep everything clean and do some tried and true recipes to get the hang of it. When you get really comfortable, you can experiment with new additions, etc. Start with extract brewing, because it takes less equipment and is easier. Once you get comfortable with that, you can see if you want to go to All-grain, or partial mash brewing. Welcome, and good luck.
scoobybp1278
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 10:29 am

thanks

Post by scoobybp1278 »

thanks im sure i'll be back with more questions
dartedplus
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Location: Hummelstown, PA, US

i agree

Post by dartedplus »

i agree with all that fitz said. as far as the pot goes, plan ahead and get a big pot (32 qt) thay way when you go all grain (which you probably will) you will already have a big enough pot.

ed
fitz
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Strong Ale
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Joined: Thu Dec 19, 2002 8:36 am

Good Point

Post by fitz »

Definitely go with a big pot.
I have a 6 gallon pot that I use for extract brewing. To get a good volume for all grain, I got an old 16 gallon keg that we had at our club which couldn't be turned in. (It was a Lowenbrau keg, and no one handles them around here) Don't know how we ended up with it.
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Push Eject
Double IPA
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Location: Lancaster, CA, US
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A Great Website & Find a local Club

Post by Push Eject »

Where are you? Most local brewshops will have a club or support network to get you going and answer your questions for years to come.

Also, you may want to dig into http://www.howtobrew.com -- it is an amazing wealth of information.

Cheers!
Ollie
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HomeBrew
Light Lager
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Joined: Sun Dec 15, 2002 5:18 pm

Great!

Post by HomeBrew »

Always love to hear of someone who wants to step up a level! I agree with all that's been said here so far, especially with the sentiment that you should buy stuff (like a large brew pot) at the size and quality you'll need for the (next) jump to partial- and full-mash techniques.

Though millions (billions?) of gallons of beer have been brewed successfully by fermenting in plastic pails, I would advise making the simple adjustment to the kit of adding two glass carboys (one for primary fermentation, and the other for the secondary). These are inexpensive, and offer several benefits -- they're easy to clean, much easier to sanitize than plastic (especially after the buckets been used a few times and has accumulated some scratches), have a much narrower neck open to the air at any time (minimizing the possibility of air-borne contamination), allow you to see what's going on in the beer, have a much smaller headspace (admittedly, not much of a concern in primary fermentation 'cause it fills up with CO2 anyway, but it does allow you to use a blow-off tube more effectively) -- you get the idea.

Also, pick up a book. Actually, "Homebrewing For Dummies" (Marty Nachel) is pretty good, as is the classic "The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing" (Charlie Papazian).

Good luck!
scoobybp1278
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 10:29 am

next one

Post by scoobybp1278 »

do you need to add more brown suger then regular granual suger? cuz i just tried a batch with brown sugar and it does not seem to bubble as much as the white sugar. or have i just messed this batch up?
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