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pictures: nothing to see right now, though recipes! from experience all grain brewing

 

 

"Relax... Don't Worry... Have a Homebrew!"

-Charlie Papazian

from experience recipes! pictures: nothing to see right now, though

2000: A New Start

Three years passed before I had the time, energy and money to get back into homebrewing. Quite honestly, I didn't drink much in those years. A nice bar that offered many tasty microbeers opened up across the street from my apartment. I went there quite often until an actual brewpub opened up just a block down the road. (Turtle Mountain Brewing 3755 Southern Boulevard Rio Rancho NM). They had great handcrafted beers. Shortly after they opened, I met my now-wife and moved. This is when things opened up for me. I got a good job up at Los Alamos National Lab and finally had money to spend again. Here's how I improved my beer-making.

Equipment:

Past Present Benefit
Equipment
Kettle: 3 gallon enamel pot 7 gallon aluminum w/ a recent addition of a 9 gallon aluminum pot 7-9 gallon pots allow full wort boil. Improves flavor and reduces chance of contamination
Burner: Electric High Pressure Propane Cooker, 135K Quicker Heating, less waiting around, avoids burns from electric elements
Fermenter: Glass No Change Glass carboy works well for fermenting. Might soon start fermenting in SS kegs
Chiller: Water Immersion Convoluted counterflow chiller CF chiller takes 5 gallons of boiling wort to 70 degrees in 5 minutes. Shazam.
Ferment Temp: Ambient Ambient and lagering with fridge in garage Fridge is critical for lagering properly.
Vessel: Bottles 5 gallon SS kegs A keg is one big bottle. No need to cap. Avoids much hassle
Malt: Extract All-grain A noticeable improvement in flavor, though fresh malt extract makes GREAT beer.
Yeast: Dry Liquid Liquid yeast is the way to go. One of the most dramatic improvements that I've made
Hops: Pellet No change I love pellet hops. I know some don't, but they work for me.
Water: bottled Tap Tap water in Los Alamos is very clean and tasty
All-grain equipment: None Phil's Lauter Tun $40 complete mash unit. Has worked flawlessly for over a dozen batches of beer so far.
Carbonation: Natural Artificial force-carbonation Precise control over fizz. Too much? Vent keg. Too little? Up CO2 cylinder

How much have I spent on my new setup? First, realize this cost is spread out over the past 6 years. (Oct '00 to Oct '06)

Old Setup: Total investment = $50

New Setup: Pot/Burner ($60) Chiller ($15) Kegs ($100 for six) AG equipment ($40) Kegging setup ($140) CP Bottle filler ($35) Fridge (free) fermenters (free)+$115 CF Chiller. Total = $500.

Price for absolutely delicious beer: priceless.

I got back into brewing not long after being married. In October I began piecing together a good system for extract brewing. This consisted of getting the turkey cooker setup, which included a decent propane cooker and a 7 gallon pot. I also bought fresh kits made in the shop in Austin Texas (Stpats.com). OUTSTANDING kits! I had a hard time justifying the need to switch to all grain, as the beer from extract was sooo good. However, I knew I wouldn't be happy until I made the switch. In January, I began piecing together my all-grain system and the rest is history. I highly recommend Phil's Lauter-Tun system from Listermann. The false bottom is concave, and is drilled with many holes. I have yet to have a stuck sparge, even with a poor crush from my Corona mill and high amount of wheat at times. It's a solid beginner system.

So, it's now October 2006. Where do I go from here? For awhile, I made new batches of beer almost weekly. But that came to a screeching halt when the kids came around in 2001. I now make just enough beer to keep myself hydrated (~4 batches yearly). My gut feeling is that I will make just enough beer to get me by until the kids are out of the house, then I might just start toying with the idea of becoming more involved in the hobby. Either as a hired hand at a brewpub, becoming more involved in the AHA or running for office in our local homebrew club. Two decades is a long time away, so who knows what I'll feel like doing. I certainly hope it involves making beer, though.

For those that stuck through with all these poorly-made stories, Cheers. I hope I've piqued curiousity, helped clear up some detail, or just inspired. If so, it would be great to hear from you!