mrdave Posted June 11, 2013 Posted June 11, 2013 Any one out there love the craft? Kyle Haven't got any room for it at the moment, but I do love me some homebrew. Made a few fun kit and kilo jobs, sexed up with steeped grains and/or dry hopping. Never made it to full grain by myself but I've been to a few brew days. More about the ales than the lagers. How about you Kyle? 1
Catostylus Posted June 11, 2013 Posted June 11, 2013 I used to full grain mash but it was all just too hard in the small kitchen in my unit. I'll get back into it someday when I've got more space (= a real bloke's shed). 1
kczar01 Posted June 12, 2013 Author Posted June 12, 2013 Haven't got any room for it at the moment, but I do love me some homebrew. Made a few fun kit and kilo jobs, sexed up with steeped grains and/or dry hopping. Never made it to full grain by myself but I've been to a few brew days. More about the ales than the lagers. How about you Kyle? Mate I am, got a kit for Christmas, used to help dad when I was young. thought I'd post an EOI first before going into it. Works out really cheap one you get going. I'm onto my fourth kit now. I did a basic kit which wasn't that impressive. However I went to the country brewer (where I got the kit initially) and I got a kit to make two Fat Yak, a Beez Neez and I have just on the weekend laid down a kit that should replicate a james Squire Golden ale. More fun with steeping the grain and playing with the Amarillo hops etc. Regards Kyle
mrdave Posted June 12, 2013 Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) Mate I am, got a kit for Christmas, used to help dad when I was young. thought I'd post an EOI first before going into it. Works out really cheap one you get going. I'm onto my fourth kit now. I did a basic kit which wasn't that impressive. However I went to the country brewer (where I got the kit initially) and I got a kit to make two Fat Yak, a Beez Neez and I have just on the weekend laid down a kit that should replicate a james Squire Golden ale. More fun with steeping the grain and playing with the Amarillo hops etc. Regards Kyle Nice. I am an Amarillo fan. Galaxy is also a fave. A friend has recently undergone a lupulin threshold shift and is starting to come around to my palate's way of thinking so I figure we'll be brewing Feral Brewing 'Hop Hog' clones in the spring. How did your Fat Yak turn out? Edited June 12, 2013 by mrdave
mrdave Posted June 12, 2013 Posted June 12, 2013 I used to full grain mash but it was all just too hard in the small kitchen in my unit. I'll get back into it someday when I've got more space (= a real bloke's shed). Tell me, what styles floated your bell, my Medusozoan friend ?
leewood Posted June 12, 2013 Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) I remember making home brew when I was younger and working on farms many years ago. Can't quite remember the recipe but used real hops, raw sugar, treacle etc. Could change things around a bit using brown sugar, molasses etc. No artificial colouring or preservatives, so the real thing. The science was using an old fashioned thermometer and hydrometer to measure temperature and density while it was brewing. The secret was in getting the right yeast and keeping it alive and adding the correct amount of sugar to the brew. Too much could create a 10 to 12% alcoholic content. Lots of work with varying results. Sometimes it was rocket fuel, sometimes it exploded in the bottle creating a bit of a mess especially if it started a chain reaction with the other bottles. A dedicated, washable small shed a safe distance from the house desirable, if not essential. We would drink this after a long days work in the hot sun and dust, settled the dust and cooled the soul. These were real men beers not designed for the soft handed, shiny bummed city boys used to drinking soft boutique beers. Could also be used as a sheep and cattle drench, weed killer, blow fly and mosquito repellent. Remember, all beer is good, just some brews are lots better than others. Edited June 13, 2013 by leewood 2
Catostylus Posted June 13, 2013 Posted June 13, 2013 Tell me, what styles floated your bell, my Medusozoan friend ? English pale ales and bohemian pilseners, with forays off into porter and dark lagers in winter. The best beer I ever made was refrigerated fermentation and cold lagered bohemian pils. Pilsner Urquell was the target.
mrdave Posted June 13, 2013 Posted June 13, 2013 Tell me, what styles floated your bell, my Medusozoan friend ?English pale ales and bohemian pilseners, with forays off into porter and dark lagers in winter. The best beer I ever made was refrigerated fermentation and cold lagered bohemian pils. Pilsner Urquell was the target. Like it. I wouldn't try lager/pils styles again without building a properly temperature regulated brewing fridge.
mikizee Posted June 13, 2013 Posted June 13, 2013 Yep, I brew alot, all grain. Got an English IPA fermenting down in my cellar right now. Used Thomas Fawcett Marris Otter Malt, pale chocolate malt, UK Challenger hops and a West Yorkshire yeast. Next one planned is an amber ale using Cascade and Amarillo, and WLP009 yeast - the same yeast Coopers uses.
Nada Posted June 13, 2013 Posted June 13, 2013 What's your poison? A third man has died after drinking a bad batch of home-made grappa at a southern Queensland property at the weekend. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-12/third-man-dies-after-grappa-poisoning-ballandean/4748346
CalFB Posted June 13, 2013 Posted June 13, 2013 I do cheats all grain. I buy fresh worts from Grain & Grape, then use different hops & yeasts to get different styles/results. G & G have a bunch of different worts to use as a base for whatever style you're chasing. It gives me great beer at about 1/3 the cost of beer i'd normally buy. Sure, I could decrease that cost even more if I mashed myself, but I haven't the time or inclination. My house ale is a well hopped APA, using plenty of Cascade and some Chinook. I regularly do a Mountain Goat Hightail clone and often have a rich Pommy Pale on tap too.
kczar01 Posted June 13, 2013 Author Posted June 13, 2013 Nice. I am an Amarillo fan. Galaxy is also a fave. A friend has recently undergone a lupulin threshold shift and is starting to come around to my palate's way of thinking so I figure we'll be brewing Feral Brewing 'Hop Hog' clones in the spring. How did your Fat Yak turn out? First time turned out very well, only have two bottles left. Second time a mate told me to do it a bit different and it just wasn't the same, ended up adding honey to improve the taste and that makes it a cracker.
mikizee Posted July 28, 2013 Posted July 28, 2013 Just cracked open my latest creation, Around the World Amber Ale. Malt from Australia and Germany, hops from New Zealand and the US and yeast from the UK. Pretty happy with it. 1
3G_ Posted July 28, 2013 Posted July 28, 2013 Just cracked open my latest creation, Around the World Amber Ale. Malt from Australia and Germany, hops from New Zealand and the US and yeast from the UK. Pretty happy with it. Looks great, do you frequent AHB?
mikizee Posted November 21, 2013 Posted November 21, 2013 Well, I drank the last of that Amber Ale mentioned above the other week. The last bottle I pulled from my cellar had about 6 months on it, and it was the best one yet. I'll brew another batch in Jan for the autumn, I'll keep the same grain bill but change the hops and yeast used. Yesterday I spent about an hour down in the cellar bottling my latest beer, one I've called 'Triple Threat' due to the generous usage of the three 'C' hops, Centennial, Cascade and Citra. It uses Scottish Golden Promise malt for the main part, with a big hit of rye as well as some German Caramunich I to add some colour and caramel flavour. It tasted amazing straight out of the fermenter, and that when it was warm and flat. I have high hopes for this one. Should be ready in a month. If it turns out as good as I am hoping, and any SA members want to try a longneck of it, feel free to send me a PM. 3
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