Homebrewers?

[kennebec12 0]

Just wondering if there are any other homebrewing fly tiers kicking around here. It will soon be time to start up on some lagers with the cool fall temps keeping the garage in the comfy lager zone, and also time to head to the orchards to get some fresh cider. Just finished brewing a hopped cider trial that will hopefully be aged enough to decide whether it will be made in a 5gal batch this fall, kind of worried it may pop it's top though, the yeast strain I used is far more aggressive than I planned and the sugar content of cider is well above my average beer sugars.

 

Maybe we could swap some ideas and some not-so-secret recipes. Looking for one or two new lager ideas to do over the winter.

[WITroutbum 0]

I brew! Right now I have a Lambic in Secondary (Need to find some Cherries to add to it, SOON), and a Mead with some local unfiltered (Straight from the hive) in Primary. I did a Lemon Pilsner which was ok, I finally finished it up Friday night. I also did a variation of Surlys Coffee Bender. Just bottled my Marzen after a 3 month lagering in the converted chest freezer. I am all grain now, and honestly, I am a little dissappointed in the Marzen, I should have used about another 5 lbs of Malt, it has a good flavor, but it is a little on the weak side flavor wise....

 

Anyhow, I brew mostly beers, but did a Blueberry wine kit which turned out great and I want to try a Dandelion Mead next spring. As far as Lagers, with the modified chest freezer, I can Lager year round but find myself drinking more Pilsners, and Saisons lately....winter is coming though so it is time to brew some more darks. Not sure if you have the Book The Brewmasters Bible, but on pages 97-107 there are all the style profiles, and the typical base ingredients and adjuncts if any, for each style. I use those guidelines all the time and create recipes, and the vast majority of the time, they turn out great!

[Adam Saarinen 0]

I'll brew my own beer when there is a way to reuse the alloy Can!

[Kentuckysteve 0]

I live right in the heart of bourbon country.Wild Turkey,Four Roses,Woodford Reserve,Makers Mark and Heaven Hill distilleries are all within 30 miles and the Jim Beam and Evan Williams distilleries are just a little farther.All have tours and let you try free samples.I like the homebrewed wines and beers but i love's me some bourbon.I let them do the brewing.

[mikechell 0]

Too much space involved. I thought about it, but then realized that I hardly ever drink.

Didn't make much sense to convert an area of the house into a brewery.

[JSzymczyk 0]

There are SO MANY awesome craft brews out there now that homebrewing just isn't in the game for me now. It would be a great hobby and the knowledge gained would be incredible, but I just don't have the time to dedicate to it. I have a good friend who has made some outstanding homebrews in the past, but even he has admitted that craft brews available now surpass what he was able to produce and for far less expense.

[kennebec12 0]

I brew mostly because I like doing it and can make whatever flavors I want (which I like hoppy beers but I'm not a fan of cascade hops which are in a lot of hoppy beers). I unfortunately (but fortunately at the same time) found out I am allergic to gluten earlier this year, so I can only drink a beer or two a week without bad consequences. But I have been working on ways to remove gluten/testing out other grains recently and have been making a lot more ciders. Tried the hopped cider when I switched it into secondary, tasted more like chardonnay then cider, but time will tell. I'm no cider expert yet. Someday I'll make it to all grain and maybe have the equipment to remove gluten, but for now I do extracts with specialty grains. I give most of them away to my friends, or make smaller batches for get togethers.

 

WITroutbum I've always wanted to do lambic but have never gotten around to it, made one batch of Mead a couple years ago that turned out ok but never tried it again. Pilsners are one of my favorites, I do one every fall with Vienna, Munich, and Crystal 20 malts and Saaz, Hallertau, and Tettnang Hops. Pretty much anyone who likes beer likes that Pilsner, it typically runs around 5% ABV, I keep the hops on the lighter end so everyone can enjoy it. Started up some Hops in the backyard this year, so in 3 or four years I'll be able to do a beer with my own hops.

 

There are a lot of craft brewers out there now making a lot of great beers. The breweries in Vermont are spectacular, Long Trail, Otter Creek, Switchback, Magic Hat. Maine has some good ones too, Baxter, Gritty's, Sebago, Shipyard, Allagash, Geary's, Funky Bow, Rock Harbor (Best Stout in Maine IMO), Belfast Bay Brewing, and Peak Organic. Geary's makes a great gluten free beer called Ixnay. Sebago makes one of my favorite craft brews, Runabout Red. Very difficult to find around here for some reason but Long Trail makes one called Limbo IPA which is primo, if I could only drink one beer for the rest of my life it would be Limbo IPA.