Brew your own beer?

Btw...I meant to tell you guys that the beer turned out just fine! Nice head, lovely golden color and very good.

I don't know what it means when you hear some people talk about how 'hoppy' a beer is coz I don't know what hops taste like. But this beer is crisp and refreshing. Nothing exploded thank goodness and all are chilling in the fridge at the moment.

Dennis324 wrote:Btw...I meant to tell you guys that the beer turned out just fine! Nice head, lovely golden color and very good.

I don't know what it means when you hear some people talk about how 'hoppy' a beer is coz I don't know what hops taste like. But this beer is crisp and refreshing. Nothing exploded thank goodness and all are chilling in the fridge at the moment.

Congrats!

"Hoppy"would be like an IPA BTW......

See I haven't tried that, so I don't know what that means. I don't know if they sell that sort of beer locally.

Dennis324 wrote:See I haven't tried that, so I don't know what that means. I don't know if they sell that sort of beer locally.

Ah ok, well, if you see it and try some, that's "hoppy" :-P

Any brands in this country you could recommend for me to try?

If you can find it:
Stone Brewing Co. IPA, Ruination, or Arrogant Bastard
Lagunitas Brewing Co. IPA
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Torpedo (Pale Ale is fairly hoppy, but not an IPA, likewise their Bigfoot Barleywine is hoppy but also not an IPA)
Green Flash Brewing IPA (incredibly hoppy, very in your face)

Yeah, what he said :-P

I generally don't like IPAs so I never bother remembering the names of them.....

Dennis, it sounds as though you are enjoying your beer making. Bob & I used to make beer, but when we had "creative differences" (he was trying for one type of beer & I wanted to experiment with different types!) I quit helping with it.

After the wort stopped working, we siphoned it into another 5 gallon bucket for bottling. We added the sugar (corn, I think, but sometimes brown sugar for a stout or porter) to that bucket (about a cup I think) instead of each bottle. That would be a pain in the butt! 

We mostly did ales, since that's what Bob preferred, but also because that uses a bottom fermenting yeast, instead of top fermenting pilsner types. I think they need a cooler temp for fermentation. (I have forgotten if it was cooler or warmer temps, but I know ale was easier.) We did make a raspberry beer that was quite popular among friends. I'd get a good recipe book or check online for some that sound good to you. Once you have a kit, you can buy the ingredients you want.

We made a few beer bombs once too, lol & a bottle exploded about 4am on a Thanksgiving morning. Sounded like a bomb going off! We put the rest in the refrigerator to slow the fermentation down!

Happy brewing, Dennis!

I think I'm ganna have to follow Dennis' example and take up brewing.  Out here you can get mass produced crap beer or Deschutes (supposed to have a good porter, but their IPAs suck!).  The local grocery store usually has a couple six packs of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in stock, however they want way more than its worth.  I think I might have to try my hand at brewing a west coast IPA.

Bryant wrote:I think I'm ganna have to follow Dennis' example and take up brewing.  Out here you can get mass produced crap beer or Deschutes (supposed to have a good porter, but their IPAs suck!).  The local grocery store usually has a couple six packs of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in stock, however they want way more than its worth.  I think I might have to try my hand at brewing a west coast IPA.

I always thought Oregon had a healthy brew industry.

Hi Sarah!    Yeah, brewing beer has turned out to be a lot of fun.  But you have to be careful about the temperature and I'm told to keep it between 68-76F.  Right now in the heat of this summer, I'm having trouble maintaining that temp.  I only have a window unit and its working overtime as it is.  So I may have to wait until this fall to brew up another batch.

The Czech Pilsner I made turned out pretty good!  None of my bottles exploded but I sure expected them to.  Because of the sugar, the beer does have a slightly sweet aftertaste, but I like that anyway.

I  have some 'Corona-style' Mexican beer...its a mix that comes from Mr. Beer.  But I'm not sure I wanna make that yet.  I'm not sure yet what I wanna make next.  The Classic American light, The Canadian Blonde, the American Porter, the American Ale, or the St Patrick's Irish stout. 
There are hundreds to choose from!  Being fond of the Irish, I might try the Irish Stout.    But I'm leaning toward the Classic American Light for its crisp, clean refreshing taste, a plus during this hot summer.

Bryant wrote:I think I'm ganna have to follow Dennis' example and take up brewing.  Out here you can get mass produced crap beer or Deschutes (supposed to have a good porter, but their IPAs suck!).  The local grocery store usually has a couple six packs of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in stock, however they want way more than its worth.  I think I might have to try my hand at brewing a west coast IPA.

I would certainly encourage you to go for it!  Give the Mr. Beer kits a chance if you like.  They are simplified and very easy to do.  Other kits are probably more traditional and I may venture into that later.  But I really like what Mr Beer has so far. 

Marconius wrote:

Bryant wrote:I think I'm ganna have to follow Dennis' example and take up brewing.  Out here you can get mass produced crap beer or Deschutes (supposed to have a good porter, but their IPAs suck!).  The local grocery store usually has a couple six packs of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in stock, however they want way more than its worth.  I think I might have to try my hand at brewing a west coast IPA.

I always thought Oregon had a healthy brew industry.

I'm on the wrong side of the Cascades.  This is basically western Idaho.  Bend has Dechutes Brewing, but they're mainly known for their malty beers.  I don't like malt, they don't seem to like hops.

Dennis, I asked hubby about the temp, as I can't remember much of the brewing information. He wondered how hot it is in your house, and says you should try it anyway. Also, I got to thinking about it, and what do you use for water? Bob had our well water tested and it was good for making beer. I think they may make water conditioners? Also, I guess in the summer time, it's too damned hot for cooking the wort inside. We actually put a gas stove top on the back porch for cooking in the summer to avoid adding heat to the house we are trying to cool, especially for wort...

Its about 80 F + at the moment.  I have one little AC unit and am planning to buy a smaller one for my bedroom soon.  I used city water that I filter to make my beer. 

I bought 2 new mixes and they came in yesterday.  One is called Classic American Light which makes beer like Bud, or Miller light I guess.  I also bought a mix that is called American Patriot Lager, which is said to be similar to what the founding fathers might have made way back when.  I think i'll make this one first so as to be ready for Independence Day. 

Here's some of the beers you can make (not counting all the craft brews and special recipes you can find at Mr Beer)



And this is the one I hope to make in late Sept or early Oct.