Monday, December 28, 2009

Getting Started with Home brewing

Hello all! I've decided to start brewing my own beer. Several years ago, I had limited success making wine at home - I say "limited" because the batches were inconsistent. The whites that I made were incredible, while the reds were average. It is time to expand my horizons with the addition of beer.

I still have some equipment from the winemaking adventure, and lots of it can be used for beer making.

So far, I have:

1 - 6 gallon stainless stockpot
1 - 6 gallon glass carboy (for use as a primary/secondary fermenter)
1 - 5 gallon glass carboy (for use as a secondary fermenter)
1 - Large plastic carboy spoon.
2 - Hydrometers
1 - Bottling tool
1 - Airlocks
1 - Carboy brush
1 - Bottle drying tree

I intend to purchase:

2 - Food grade buckets/pails and lids for primary fermentation, racking, and bottling
1 - Bottling fitting for the pails
1 - Several feet of tygon tubing for racking, pumping and draining.
1 - Rubbermaid portable dishpan from Sam's
1 - Large Rubbermaid container for storing equipment
200 - Necessary bottle caps
1- Bottle capper
5 - Muslin bags
1 - Racking tool (auto-priming type)
1 - Bottle of bleach from the dollar store

I think that should just about cover it.

Since I have limited experience with brewing, I am thinking that my first batch is going to be from a kit. Besides, supposedly the results that you get from extract kits are phenomenal. My friend Perry is on his 3rd or 4th batch and is achieving great results. He's considering upgrading to a higher capacity and adding the ability to go all grain.

I’ll be posting my progress along with pictures in the coming weeks.

I'm excited!

Jarrod