JZ oo7

iTrader: (1)

i-club meet?

VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

haha, I don't think I'll be getting a kit until late summer, so I'm just going to go up there and price everything/get info.

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

Holy carp - it doesn't suck!!! I put some more in the fridge to chill for a while. They should really chill for around a week to settle and clear. It came out very close to what I wanted - with a hoppy bite. I will save a couple bottles for ya.

EDIT: Here's a pic of a bottle..



woot!

$250 will get you everything you need to get started including bottles and a good starter brewing kit from either place. I prefer the liquid yeast and I like Morebeer's kit better but that's just my opinion. A phone call to either place will get you all the answers you need, and check out morebeer.com for some kits and such to confirm the pricing and all that, figure out if there is a specific recipe you want to start with (brew what you like to drink). Show up when you are ready to go and have about $250, you will have more fun and they will know you are serious.

VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

Yeah, I saw the kits at both sites. I'm going to get the top end bottling kit, because I font like buying sub-par stuff and needing to upgrade later. I want to get the how to book first from morebeer and read that prior to getting the kit though so that I know what I'm getting into

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

The difference in kits does not have to do with quality of the parts, but method of brewing. It's all good stuff, though I feel that the pieces included with the MoreBeer kit are of better quality than the stuff at Brewcraft (the air lock, glass carboy, bottle capper, thermometer, hydrometer, yeast, etc). Again, just my opinion based on my experience using both kits.

The top kit from MoreBeer is a full-boil kegging kit. You will boil at least 6 gallons of wort at a time, and you cannot do this on a normal home kitchen stove so that means getting a chef-burner thingy (one of those outdoor burners for doing deep frying or something). I have one, but am waiting to get it set up with a tank and everything, then I will need to get the 8gal kettle and the wort chiller. The next kit down is the same thing, but for bottling instead of kegging - same deal applies though, you need to boil at least 6gal for a solid hour (full rolling boil). This means you can get by with a partial-boil kit and a gas stove at home. This is why I recommended the $250 setup. If you plan on getting or already have the boiler setup, and you know what you are getting into - then cool! Just wanted to mention this though because I thought the exact same thing when I first got started.

As far as the quality of the beer, I have tasted crappy stuff that came out of pro-grade equipment and at the same time my scientist friend does his partial boil on an electric stove and his IPA's are fooking amazing.

BTW - great idea to get the book, and there are some cool sites out there that have some nice info. Don't get too caught up in the process - you can taste two people's beers that both taste excellent whilst they are arguing about doing things 180 degrees from each other. You will find conflicting info. My advice is to find someone who is brewing some beer and watch the process - then all the reading will totally make sense.

ish

iTrader: (7)

If all of you want a really good beer, there are only two words.

Maredsous 10



One of the greatest beers out there. Can be found at Whole Foods, some bev mo's and other places that sell good beer.

VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

So who here cooks with beer? I've found a good beer for my beer pizza crust (Sam Adam's Irish Red), but my chili could use some help. Anyone have an experience with beer chili? I don't know what kind of beer would give it an extra kick or extra flavor.

walt

Cooking with beer? That's sacrilege. The heat evaporates the alcohol. You are wasting something precious that nature has entrusted to us to consume and enjoy.

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

Wow, I went to SF Brewcraft yesterday - hopefully for the last time. They have a great selection of hops, but will only sell them in a max of 4oz at a time and have a hard time explaining why. My last beer, I used over 7oz of hops in it (different varieties/different times) and it came out great. My asking for 8oz of Cascade hops for my Deschutes Wannabe Ale started a conversation w/ the owner who basically told me: IPA's are overhopped crap and if you like them you are stupid and know nothing about beer, I am stupid for liking anything but lager/pilsener, I don't know how to brew beer and I shouldn't try, my beer will come out crap because I am stupid and want too much hops, and I think that was it. The guy went on and on about how if anyone from Germany tasted a west coast "hoppy crap beer" they would be disgusted and blah blah blah. I asked him to tell me what I SHOULD do instead of what I shouldn't do, and he just rambled saying things like "you can't just arbitrarily add a ton of hops" after looking at my carefully calculated schedule of hop application, 2oz at a time w/ 1oz for dry hopping in the secondary. Dunno what to say but I have heard this same thing from pretty much anyone who goes in there wanting anything even close to an IPA. My friend went in with a recipe he got from a family member for IPA. The guy disagreed on the same level as with me, grabbed his recipe and wadded it up - and made him a new kit using 1.5oz of hops for an IPA, which, predictably, tasted like ***. My friend asked about making a lager since that is the only thing the guy will accept as beer, and he laughed in his face telling him that he didn't possess the skill and shouldn't try. I know 4 people that brew in SF and they do not shop at SF Brewcraft solely because of the one person there (everyone else is great).

Just note - if you go in to SF Brewcraft, make sure you know exactly what you want before you get there and if you want any more than 4oz of hops, mention you are making two beers or something. There was another fellow in there - he was very helpful and nice, but everything the owner would overhear - he would loudly assert his opinion and basically stop the whole process. I finally asked "do you mind if I give you cash for some of your products and then leave?" Nutty. It's like buying clothes and having them say "sure I will sell you that, but you are going to look retarded!"

Krinkov - my beer is going fast. Gonna be around tomorrow? I may be able to drop off a bottle. I brewed up a wheat last night, and doing another ale today so there will be some throughout the summer. Between us, my group of friends has around 15 brews going right now. Hoping to blow it out homebrew stylee in GG park one nice day in the summer. The wheat is going to try to mimic Kona's Wailua ladybrew - hoping it won't fail badly. The ale is an all-Cascade American style Pale Ale but using London Ale yeast. One friend is doing what he calls his "DateGrape Ladykiller" which is a rediculously high gravity ale using muscat grapes and such. It will either be awesome or vile. His "SOFA KING IPA" made me nearly shed a tear.

VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

^^^Thanks for the heads up man! I'll be sure to avoid them, I hate store owners like that.

VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

I guess you've never experienced what beer can do in food

Krinkov

iTrader: (21)

+1000000000000000

VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

Tonight: Urthel Hop-It


This Weekend: Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale

SolSurferX

iTrader: (2)

I bought a sixer of the Irish Red yesterday, its pretty tasty, but I'm discovering Red's are a bit too sweet for my taste. Also got some Stone PA, not too shabby...

Redils16

hey sorry if this has been said i didnt take the time to read through all the posts but for those in the bay area there is a great home brewery store called Beer Beer and more Beer, i have made 3 batches of my own and am starting to get the hang of it, its easy and a ton of fun and plus you get 5 gallons of your own brew which is hella sweet. and for the beat i like Firestone is always a favorite of mine