New Brewer to be...Recommended Homebrew Sites?

[Brett N Colorado]

I'm just getting started and have my kit from midwest supply at the house with some beginners beer kits to be delivered tomorrow. My stock pot and burner is ready to go so by this weekend my first batch should be fermenting.

So far I have Ordered:
Liberty Cream Ale w/ American Ale Wyeast 1056 Propagator 140W
Honey Bee Ale w/ American Ale Wyeast Propagator 1056 285W
Copper Ale w/German Ale Wyeast 1007


What are some of your more favorite sites with forums and discussions?

Hopefully I can get to a supply store here at some point but it seems I am in-between the Denver and Fort Collins stores so I may be doing more online ordering than anything.

I've wanted to do this for a long while now and can't wait to see what I end up with.
:beer: :beer: :beer:
Brett

[xjmatt]

welcome to the obsessi... I mean hobby :) You'll find that much like building an offroad rig you can get in deep in a hurry but it's good time and very rewarding.

As for local shops you have a couple that should be at least relatively nearby. You have Beer at Home in Westminster: http://www.beerathome.com/
There is another in Boulder but I forget the name of them. They are located over by where Redstone Meadery is.
As for good online places to order from well that's limitless. I started off ordering quite a bit from a place called Home Brew Adventures: http://www.homebrewadventures.com/
When it comes to good beer kits I have found few that are better. All of their beer kits make GOOD BEER. When it comes to equipment though I order mostly from Northern Brewer: http://www.northernbrewer.com
Those will definitely get you started but like I said there is a lot more out there and everybody has their favorites. Welcome to the joy that is homebrewing and brew on! :beer:

[ColoradoXJ13]

What's Brewing in Boulder, pretty good store, I get all my grains there. I usually mail order hops and other stuff from Northern Brewer, and I culture most of my own yeast (I work in a lab).

homebrewtalk.com is the only forum I frequent, it is pretty good for all levels.

[Ooompa Loompa]

I like www.realbeer.com

And like XJmatt said welcome to the hobby. I just started about a month and a half ago, and I'm already obsessed.

[Brett N Colorado]

Thanks guys, I fear I am at the point where i am reading too much and starting to make this more complicated right now than it needs to be, but I am excited to get started.. lol ..

I am now starting a boil in the virgin turkey fryer aluminum pot to remove some of the mineral taste that can accompany a new pot.

Still need to buy a strainer, stirring spoons dedicated measuring cup, sponges dedicated for cleaning and sanitizing Spray bottle for same and a small bucket for cleaning and sanitizing the small parts. I want to make sure that everything I use for beer making is specific for that cause:)

Brett

[xjmatt]

Thanks guys, I fear I am at the point where i am reading too much and starting to make this more complicated right now than it needs to be, but I am excited to get started.. lol ..

I am now starting a boil in the virgin turkey fryer aluminum pot to remove some of the mineral taste that can accompany a new pot.

Still need to buy a strainer, stirring spoons dedicated measuring cup, sponges dedicated for cleaning and sanitizing Spray bottle for same and a small bucket for cleaning and sanitizing the small parts. I want to make sure that everything I use for beer making is specific for that cause:)

Brett

Sounds like you're on the right track. Homebrewing really is easy. As in everything though remember that there will always be people that take it to the n'th degree so if ever you start thinking that this is a complex process remember that the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians made beer, it ain't that hard.

Honestly if you've got a turkey fryer that can accommodate 7 gallons you're already ahead of where most people start! Better than where I started at least. I already mentioned the kits at Home Brew Adventures but I'll say it again, they are good kits and come with good instructions. They also publish those instructions on their website with the kit so go there and have a read, aside from the odd balls most beer is made using exactly the same process, once you learn it and get good at it, it's just wash rinse repeat.

The best advice I could give you beyond that is be patient. Don't rush any step and you'll get a good end result. Leave it in primary for 1 week, secondary for 2 weeks, and in the bottle for 3 weeks. Yea it's 5 weeks but I promise you you'll be 100x happier with the end result than if you rush it like so many others and just primary for 1 week, bottle for 2 weeks and then get upset when it tastes like yeasty poo. Use those 5 weeks to drink all the good micros you can find and keep the bottles!

[Ooompa Loompa]

Sounds like you're on the right track. Homebrewing really is easy. As in everything though remember that there will always be people that take it to the n'th degree so if ever you start thinking that this is a complex process remember that the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians made beer, it ain't that hard.

Honestly if you've got a turkey fryer that can accommodate 7 gallons you're already ahead of where most people start! Better than where I started at least. I already mentioned the kits at Home Brew Adventures but I'll say it again, they are good kits and come with good instructions. They also publish those instructions on their website with the kit so go there and have a read, aside from the odd balls most beer is made using exactly the same process, once you learn it and get good at it, it's just wash rinse repeat.

The best advice I could give you beyond that is be patient. Don't rush any step and you'll get a good end result. Leave it in primary for 1 week, secondary for 2 weeks, and in the bottle for 3 weeks. Yea it's 5 weeks but I promise you you'll be 100x happier with the end result than if you rush it like so many others and just primary for 1 week, bottle for 2 weeks and then get upset when it tastes like yeasty poo. Use those 5 weeks to drink all the good micros you can find and keep the bottles!


x2 on everything he said. I was amazed at how easy it really was when I did my first batch. The only thing I disagree with is his math (how the hell does 1 week plus 2 weeks plus 3 weeks = 5 weeks ??? Last I checked 1+2+3 = 6 :flipoff2: :flipoff2: )

[xjmatt]

x2 on everything he said. I was amazed at how easy it really was when I did my first batch. The only thing I disagree with is his math (how the hell does 1 week plus 2 weeks plus 3 weeks = 5 weeks ??? Last I checked 1+2+3 = 6 :flipoff2: :flipoff2: )

DETAILS! Thanks Oompa :flipoff2: That is just the 'math' that I use every time my wife asks how many kegs I have. 4 in the basement, 2 in the kegerator, 2 in the closet... umm yea honey I only have 5, I need more.

[Brett N Colorado]

Thanks again for helping me get it broken back down into manageable parts. I bought a kit from Midwest supply and have it at home.
Includes 2 buckets, one with spigot,a glass 5 gallon carboy, caps, capper, siphon, racking tube, cleaning stuff etc.

So your suggestion is to move from primary into the carboy for 2 weeks and bottle and go 3 weeks? Do you add tablets to the bottles of just the sugar at the fermenting stage?

That?s one of the conflicts I was facing, using a carboy and a secondary. In reading through things, I see that secondary means different things to different folks. Some say secondary is the second phase of the fermenting process but still in the original fermenting container vs, racking into a secondary fermenting device which is what I think that I will do to facilitate clearer finished ale.

I get the recipe kits today and have everything I need now to get a start on it. :beer: in 6.5 weeks

Brett

[xjmatt]

Thanks again for helping me get it broken back down into manageable parts. I bought a kit from Midwest supply and have it at home.
Includes 2 buckets, one with spigot,a glass 5 gallon carboy, caps, capper, siphon, racking tube, cleaning stuff etc.

So your suggestion is to move from primary into the carboy for 2 weeks and bottle and go 3 weeks? Do you add tablets to the bottles of just the sugar at the fermenting stage?

That?s one of the conflicts I was facing, using a carboy and a secondary. In reading through things, I see that secondary means different things to different folks. Some say secondary is the second phase of the fermenting process but still in the original fermenting container vs, racking into a secondary fermenting device which is what I think that I will do to facilitate clearer finished ale.

I get the recipe kits today and have everything I need now to get a start on it. :beer: in 6.5 weeks

Brett

Secondary to me is kind of like the polishing stage. You do your primary fermentation in the bucket and that is where you'll get the foam from fermentation (in brewer talk that foam is called the Krausen). After the primary is done (7-10 days later) most if not all the foam off the top will be gone and looking at it from the top you'll just see what looks like 5 gallons of delicious beer.

In a bucket what you don't see is all that has settled out on the bottom. This stuff on the bottom is called Trub. You'll rack it out of the bucket and into the 5 gallon glass carboy to get the beer off of the trub. You'll bring some along with you but do your best to leave as much in the bucket as possible (your racking cane has that bend in it for a reason).

Over the next 2 weeks it sits in the glass carboy you'll see it continue to clear up and more trub will fall to the bottom. If there is any fermentation left to do this is when it will happen and without watching your airlock you probably wouldn't notice it at all. After a week your beer will be pretty clear and you'll see a film/small layer of trub on the bottom of the carboy. I usually leave it in there a 2nd week just to let it bulk age and continue to clear up. After 2 weeks in glass you'll see it's quite clear. Anytime now you can bottle it. If you don't have time that week then leaving it in secondary for a 3rd week won't hurt anything.

As for bottling, when I used to bottle, I used corn sugar just because it would dissolve more easily than cane sugar. I never tried using the tablets but plenty of people do with no problems. I'd rack a liter or 2 of beer out of secondary into the bottling bucket and then add my corn sugar and mix carefully as to dissolve all the sugar but not oxidize the beer. Once it was all dissolved I'd rack the rest of the beer out of secondary into the bottling bucket making sure to make a mini whirl pool so I knew it was fairly well mixed. Then bottle it and put the bottled beer in an area that was around 70?F - 74?F. You'll probably have carbonation in 2 weeks and definitely should after 3 weeks.

Patience and good sanitation at every step and you're golden. Remember if it touches your beer sanitize it first.:beer: :beer:

[Brett N Colorado]

Thanks XJMatt.. I think I have it now:)
Brett

[ColoradoXJ13]

I disagree with matt a little bit, I always boil 3/4 cup of corn sugar (for 5 gallons) in a pint of water for 10 mins, then add that to the beer that has already been racked to the bottling bucket...as he said, sanitation is next to godliness.

His comment about the racking cane may be a bit misleading too, the straight end goes into the beer, the bent end points up, but may stop the cane from hitting the bottom of the bucket depending on the size of the cane and bucket. I'd suggest spending $12 or so on an autosiphon...makes life much much better.

[xjmatt]

I disagree with matt a little bit, I always boil 3/4 cup of corn sugar (for 5 gallons) in a pint of water for 10 mins, then add that to the beer that has already been racked to the bottling bucket...as he said, sanitation is next to godliness.

His comment about the racking cane may be a bit misleading too, the straight end goes into the beer, the bent end points up, but may stop the cane from hitting the bottom of the bucket depending on the size of the cane and bucket. I'd suggest spending $12 or so on an autosiphon...makes life much much better.

Yup you caught me. Do boil your sugar first. I should have left that question to others as I honestly have not bottled a bottle of beer in a couple years now. Thanks for the correction there.

Ehh when it comes to the racking cane I have used it in both configurations. With the bend at the bottom you keep where you are pulling from above the trub, with it at the top hanging over the bucket lip you get pretty much the same effect. 6 one half dozen I suppose.

x2 on the autosiphon. Only don't go cheap and just get the 1/2" tube one from the beginning. I have the 3/8" tubing one and wish I'd spent the extra for the 1/2" tube one. I don't even know where my racking cane is anymore. :D

[Brett N Colorado]

Kewl, I have one of the siphoning tube thingys that came with the kit though it looks to be 3/8" but I already see another order in the near future so I'll just add a bigger one to the list.. lol.. This batch of beer is going to be exspensive..

Remodding the basement. 500
Plumbing in a sink- 300
Brew supplies- 200-300-400
Misc books and magazines - 50
Great tasting home made beer... Priceless.

[Brett N Colorado]

Well I popped the top of a bottle of my first ever batch of homebrew last night. It's called Honey bee ale and was a kit that I had ordered.

All I can say is DAAAAMMMMMNNNNN..

It turned out very very good.

I followed the 1,2,3 method that you guys reccomended and the beer came out pretty clear and almost no sediment in the bottle. The carbonation was good I think and pouring into a pint glass let me oxygenate it a little to get a nice 1-2 inch head on it.

Good thing the game was on, it allowed me to have 4- 22 oz bottles last night :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

Thanks all. my second batch is in week 3 of fermentation( liberty cream ale)


Brett

[Jeepindog]

Hey, good for you! It's almost too easy to brew great homebrew. Keep reading, keep brewing, start making your own recipes after you get your process down. (After a few more batches.) You'll only be more amazed at how great your brews can be. Hardest part is waiting. Second hardest part is finding more room for kegerators, bottles, conicals, fermentation chambers...

Lachlan