Home Brewing Kit

[jmiller676]

I just bought a 1 gal. beginner one. Excited to make my own beer.

Anyone else do this? Tips, hints?

I like golden ales mostly, I picked up the White House Honey Ale recipe. Anything else I should try.

1 Gallon Small Batch Starter Kit : Northern Brewer

 

[inav8r]

Sanitation is key. You should be spending as much time (if not more), cleaning than brewing. It's a great hobby. I'm ramping up to 5gal batches and can't wait!

Suggested reading: How to Brew - By John Palmer - Introduction

 

[Tula47]

We do a 5 gallon batch about every other week. Great hobby with a great product, but like stated before make sure you clean EVERYTHING. Don't be afraid to experiment either sometimes it pans out into something great. Also a little lemon juice never hurts anything

 

[jmiller676]

Sanitation is key. You should be spending as much time (if not more), cleaning than brewing. It's a great hobby. I'm ramping up to 5gal batches and can't wait!

Suggested reading: How to Brew - By John Palmer - Introduction

With these pre-mixed recipes do you measure stuff out or just dump it in. Is there an order to do things? You mentioned sanitation. I'm sure there are clear instructions but what is the process of sanitizing? Where is the best place to let it ferment?

I've been wanting to do this for a while and my wife bought me a book for christmas with a lot of recipes and tips, now I may actually be able to try them. Also, with our fruit trees maybe an apple ale this fall. There are a lot of things I want to try.

 

[PapaScout]

The kit should have pretty detailed instructions in it. As for sanitizing I like Star San liquid. If you are in the Indy area you can pick some up at Great Fermentations.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I've done some wine way back. Sanitize well, and do it immediately before use; don't figure on it keeping. I used a weak bleach solution and rinsed well with hot water, then kept the cleaned vessels upside down until time to use them. Always worked fine. Does beer ever go over to vinegar? If it does, you can't use that vessel for anything but vinegar after that. You can't kill it.

 

[jetmechG550]

The kit should have pretty detailed instructions in it. As for sanitizing I like Star San liquid. If you are in the Indy area you can pick some up at Great Fermentations.

Just make sure the cap on the star san is correctly, if it falls over and the cap comes up while riding home in your truck it will eat the glue backing from the carpet. Don't ask how I know but my insurance covered it on a comprehensive claim.

 

[Reno316]

Sanitation is key.

THAT. That right there.

 

[chuckp]

Sanitization and fermentation temperature are very important along with yeast health.

chuck

 

[Hexlobular]

Sanitization and fermentation temperature are very important along with yeast health.

chuck

This. I use a freezer with a temperature controller I made to keep the temps consistent on my 5-gallon batches. You can make your own temp controller for less than $40. Here's the website I used to make what I made, and it's worked perfectly for years now:

Make: Projects ? Water Bath Thermostat | MAKE

Also, if you're in the Evansville area, there's a place called Weber Equipment down on Franklin Street that sells homebrewing supplies and ingredients. Nice Mom and Pop place.

 

[Leadeye]

Don't make beer but have made wine from just about anything, clean, clean, and clean again.

 

[ssgjason]

Just to reiterate every post. Cleanliness is 75% of brewing.
If you are using dried yeast, create a starter. I prefer Wyeast packets but many like White labs' vials.

I do a bit of brewing so if anyone ever needs help with an issue, Needs grain, grain milled or some hops. I probably will be able to help.

 

[robh]

I've had a MrBeer kit for a year and havn't made a batch yet, maybe after I finally move into my house

 

[JettaKnight]

Just to reiterate every post. Cleanliness is 75% of brewing.
If you are using [STRIKE]dried[/STRIKE] liquid yeast, create a starter. I prefer Wyeast packets, but many like White labs' vials.

I do a bit of brewing so if anyone ever needs help with an issue, Needs grain, grain milled or some hops. I probably will be able to help.

FIFY. Typically, a single dry yeast sachet is sufficient for five gallons. If you're doing a big lager - buy two, they're cheap. Liquid, vials or packs, do not contain a sufficient number of yeast cells.

But, since the OP is doing one gallon, ANY yeast packet will be plenty.

EDIT: Here's Jamil's take:

Some exciting work has been done on dry yeast lately. Reports are coming in of better quality, cleaner dry yeast. Personally, I really prefer the liquid yeasts, but the lure of dry yeast is strong. The biggest benefit is that it is cheap and does not require a starter. In fact, with most dry yeasts, placing them in a starter would just deplete the reserves that the yeast manufacturer worked so hard to build into the yeast. Most dry yeast has an average cell density of 20 billion cells per gram. You would need about 9.5 grams of dry yeast if you were pitching into 5.5 gallons of 1.048 wort to get the proper cell counts. (Recently there have been other numbers mentioned for cells/gram of dry yeast and folks have asked me why I believe there are 20 billion cells. I've actually done cell counts on dry yeast and they're always 20 billion per gram +/- less than a billion. Dr. Clayton Cone has also stated that there are 20 billion per gram, and other folks I trust tell me that 20 billion is correct. Until I see something different, practical experience tells me this number is correct.) For dry yeasts, just do a proper rehydration in tap water, do not do a starter.

 

[Hexlobular]

FIFY. Typically, a single dry yeast sachet is sufficient for five gallons. If you're doing a big lager - buy two, they're cheap. Liquid, vials or packs, do not contain a sufficient number of yeast cells.

But, since the OP is doing one gallon, ANY yeast packet will be plenty.

EDIT: Here's Jamil's take:

I agree with this. One packet/vial of yeast is plenty for a 5-gallon batch of ale. Lager yeast works differently, and a good starter isn't a bad idea, either. For one-gallon batches, you'd be fine. I prefer using dry yeast in the summer just because I order online, but for what you're doing, you're good either way.

 

[littletommy]

As others have said, sanitize, and then sanitize some more. I've brewed numerous 5 gallon batches, all turned out very well, but I always pay close attention to keeping everything sanitized. If you get a kit from Midwest they all come with step by step instructions, if you follow them, you will be rewarded! I've used dry yeast in all of my brews, and have no complaints. If you wish to move up to 5 gallon batches, invest in a propane burner for your boils, it'll make things a lot easier. You'll also want to pay close attention to cooling the wort to the proper temp after the boil, and before pitching the yeast.

 

[PistolBob]

Personally....making a one gallon batch almost never turns out right. You really need to start with 5 gallon batches and learn from there. Look for any book by Charlie Papazian...he is the king of learning to make drinkable homebrew with simple household items.

You can not be too clean in your brewing processes.

 

[dyerwatcher]

Congrats on the start of a great hobby. You will be amazed at how good your beer tastes. I started years ago with a Mr. Beer 2.5 gal. Then went to 5 Gal kits-then all grain and now I do ten gallon and keg all my beer. As stated, cleanliness and sanitation (Don't confuse the two) is the most important aspect. My other recommendation is to keep good records.
You may not want to "Grow" in increments. I costs a lot of money - kind of like going from a Hi Point to a Keltec to a Taurus to a Sig......just buy the Sig and save a lot of money. Enjoy.

 

[T/SF34/A]

Guns and brewing, two great past times! I just bottled a 5 gallon batch of brew yesterday. Have another 5g batch to brew this week to stock up on my summer supply. Enjoy!

 

[jmiller676]

Thanks guys! I started with the small kit for the sole purpose of seeing if I enjoy doing it. If I do, then yes, I will be buying a larger setup.

Just got an email. Should be here by tomorrow!