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Beer started loving me when I was 7
It was wednesday evening as dad was sitting in his chair relaxing after a hard day at work. He was sipping a cold beer and watching a western on tv called, "The Hallelujah Trail." Mom was heading out the door to church with my brothers and sisters in tow, gravely disappointed that I chose to stay home with dad. I watched out the window as mom drove down the road and when her car was safely out of sight, I turned and asked dad for a taste of his beer. As that cold beer trickled over my taste buds and down my throat, I knew right then and there that I liked beer! The best part was, deep down inside that cold dew covered can, that beer liked me right back!
When I was 14, dad took me to a bar to show me that you could go in have one beer and leave. That's all my dad ever drank; the occasional beer at home, or the occasional single beer at a bar. Beer liked me a little bit more than that. Back then, a parent could take a minor to the bar with them and a bartender could serve them if the parent said it was ok. Yeah, the good old days! A minor could work back then to, and it didn't hurt them either.
My dad was a truck driver and My mother was an abusive parent when he was away. As a result I always sought a way out of the house every chance I got. I was a bit mischievious as were some of my friends, so we would go to bars trying to get served and of course we quickly found the ones that would. That's how I got my first drunk on with a six pack of Miller Highlife at the age of 14 in the year of beer, 1971. Of course I tried the hard stuff but beer liked me more!
Back in those days young people did two things which are basically nonexistent today, they worked and they drove. Though driving wasn't legal no one seemed to care or notice. I bought my first car when I was 13. It was a 1964 Fiat that had seen much better days especially before it's previous owner had hit a horse with it. But hey, it was four wheels and a seat and that was all I needed.
Why this website?
I like good quality beers, and good beer ain't cheap. Cheap beer and light beers simply don't cut it for me, they never have. To me, they all have a similar boring taste. The volume of beer that I drink and share with friends has varied wildly, but probably averages two to five cases a month. During an event of sorts or when visitors come around, a lot more. Though the cost has always been relative, in todays money that's at least $100 per month.
I've had some friends who've dabbled in home brewing making extract brews and they have made some good beers. Those friends gave me the idea of brewing my own beers. However me being me, I knew that I was only interested in brewing all grain beers, I wanted to brew at a different level. Some might say that I have a control issue and I won't argue that. The problem was however, I could find no sites that didn't say you had to start by brewing extracts, and no sites that offered any really valuable information for someone with my desires. So here it is, with my primary objective helping people get into all-grain brewing without wasting money on a bunch of stuff they will get rid of later because there is a better way.
You don't have to brew extract, I never have.
If you want the ease of brewing extract, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, knock yourself out and enjoy. They will likely be very tasty beers. But, if you want to make your own creations, continue on.
Despite the fact that every thing I had read said that you have to begin with brewing extracts, after a couple of years researching, studying, and saving money, I was ready to take the plunge and buy some equipment and supplies for my first stab at making an all-grain beer. I considered a turnkey setup, but really didn't want to lay down that kind of change without a little more knowledge that I had been absolutely unable to find.
From the very first brew in December 4th of 2020 to now I have brewed at least one batch a month. They have all been absolutely delicious, and I have never looked back. The first was quite a chore, but now I have it down to where it is easy and I look forward to my monthly brew day.
Two most important things to do!
1. Document everything you do! Have a computer or a notepad near where you are doing your brewing so you can sit down and type or write between steps, and do it religously! You need to plan a 5 hour period to get it done, and you don't need distractions like social media. If you let yourself get distracted, you're going to screw something up.
2. Brew a batch! Stop worrying about all that water chemistry stuff, and all the testing stuff, and all the things that people who have been doing it for a while say you must do. It is far more important to get a batch behind you. It is really rather easy. After you get a batch made, and you see how good it can be, then start working on perfection. The worst beer you make will likely be better than any of the cheap stuff, so get started.
Like I said, the second most important thing you can do is get to it and brew a batch. However, there is one thing you really must do, and a couple that you should do if you can. You must sanitize everything, and if you get the stock pot I recommend it is easy! I put 1 oz of sanitizer solution (Star San) in the large pot, and 3 inches of water (5 gallons) which gives the correct dilution. This makes it really easy to dip everthing as I need it as well as the space to rinse the fermenters.
If you can, put a charcoal filter on your water source especially if you're using city water. I would do it no matter the water supply because it's just a good thing to do. You can use any water you want without any additions, but if you use treated water, you really need to run it through a charcoal filter. I use only rainwater for all my brewing and distilling, something that everything I read said you either shouldn't or couldn't do, with all kinds of nonsensical reasoning. Bullshit! I cannot keep up with the demand for my brews. All made with recipes that I have developed myself. Some things are proprietary, but the majority I can and will disclose on this site so you can develop your own proprietary recipes.
First things first, you need a starting point
If you want to dabble with homebrewing you can get very reasonable complete/starter kits here: MoreBeer.com. There are many similar sites. But if you think you're gonna get serious about making your own beer, continue reading. The serious approach is going to require an investment of about a grand give or take your preferences. So far I've spent a little over six grand to learn all that I have about brewing and distilling, and I'm not done yet because I'm still not at the scale I want to be. Some of what I spent was unnecessary but I've learned a lot about what works really good and what doesn't work so well. I'll know a lot more about the actual costs per bottle as more time passes and I gather enough really good data. For me it's about making 100 percent of my own beer and enjoying the hobby while I barter for other things with it.
A barrel is such a non-standard term. It's not simply 55 gallons as many think. Whiskey is 53 gallons, crude oil is 42 gallons, and beer is 31 gallons. Since what we're talking about is beer, and considering that I make 1/4 barrel volumes which is 82.6 12 oz bottles of beer, or 3.44 24 bottle cases. Everything on this site relates to that volume. I make one or two 3.44 case batches per month which is one or two 7.75 gallon, 1/4 barrel Sanke (sometimes spelled Sankey) kegs. I like the ease of Ball lock (soda) kegs, but they are just to small (5 gallons or less) for my desire.
I use and recommend a 35-ish gallon stock pot. You can find one here: Vevor.com. It'll be some of the best money you spend. This stock pot will double as the container which you wash everything in before and after. It will also be used to sanitize everything in while you're making the beer, and before you bottle. You'll also need a beer pump which you can find on the same site reasonable unless you get the Foundry with one.
I also use and recommend this boiler which comes with a beer pump option that is well worth the money: Anvil Foundry. I use that boiler and I make just shy of nine gallon batches all the time, which absolutely maxes it out. This batch size allows me to fill 1/4 barrel kegs allowing for sediment etc. (You don't have to keg, but you'll want to and we'll get to that). I recommend the pump option with the boiler because it really makes the job a lot simpler than it would be otherwise and it includes some other really helpful items.
You'll need a primary fermenter, this is an excellent choice: Beverage Factory. You'll also need a secondary fermenter which will also be the bottling or kegging unit. I recommend this one if you're cash strapped: Fermonster, get the lid with hole option. And this one if you've got some extra dough and really want to get serious about this beer making venture: FermZilla All Rounder, which they also make in a 15 gallon size if you think you'll get into kegging is a better choice. The extra size won't hurt you one bit in the beginning, but it does cost a little more. Also, it's better to get the pressure kit package if you can. If you are going to keg, and use the larger all rounder, you won't need either of the other two fermenter/carbouys because the all rounder and kegging replaces those.
The absolute best source I have found for grains and misc parts is: RiteBrew.
How long does beer making take?
I'm talking about from brew day to your taste buds here.
If you're bottle carbonating 60 days and you really need to be disciplined. The beer can go from sucky, to ok, to fantastic all in that last week. On brew day, you'll brew and put it in the primary fermenter where it needs to stay two weeks minimum, but four weeks is okay if you need more time, it won't hurt a thing. Then you'll move it to secondary where it can stay for another two weeks, or if it was on primary for four weeks you can bottle it as soon as it settles which takes about two days. It needs to finish in the bottles for at least two weeks, and four is much better.
A premature beer just isn't good, 'nuff said. I even got some from a micro-brewery that was premature once and I knew I wasn't going back there, though at the time I didn't know what was wrong with the beer. I figured it out when I started making my own beer.
If you're kegging, 30 days is all you'll need for some very good reasons, mostly that you are mechanically carbonating the beer which shaves off a lot of time. I keg mine right from the primary fermenter two to three weeks after brew day and it sits in the keg until I tap it which could be weeks or months.
By finishing in the keg there will be some level of carbonation. After the gas is connected it takes three to five days at cooler temperature for carbonation to finish. I discourage cheater methods, but you can over pressure and roll around and such. If you use these methods, you can end up with a foam problem.
There is a much easier way unless you don't brew ahead. You can connect the coupler to the keg, cover and seal the liquid outlet, I use a valve for this. Connect the gas line but not the beer line and let it sit under normal pressure until you are ready to put it in the cooler. I always have one or two kegs waiting, ready to go into my cooler which holds two tapped kegs, one a Pale Ale and the other a Chocolate Stout.
How long will your home brew last?
If you're brewing an all-grain Ale or Stout it could last as long as two years or even more so they say. My beer don't get a chance to age that long because I don't have enough kegs to spare one sitting around for that much time.
The oldest of my beers to date was a bottle carbonated Pale Ale that was six months old when I drank the last one, it was righteously tasty! I had a batch of Chocolate Stout that I had bottled but then debottled and kegged which I consumed the last glass from the tap 5.5 months after it was brewed, it was just as righteous. If anything age had improved the beer just like wine which coincides with what I had read about ales and stouts.
Commercial beer can go bad in as little as 60 days after bottling so I've been told, I don't know for sure. Good quality all-grain beer that you will make is more like a good wine, it improves over time and may last as much as two years or more. I make a lot of beer for a home brewer, and I find that all of my beer is usually consumed within 90 days or less after kegging. I not only drink and serve beer, but I barter with it all the time.
For comparison, high volume commercial beers typically go from start to the retailer in less than three weeks.
How long beer actually lasts depends more upon the storage temperature and the lack of light than anything else. You're beer, commercial or home brew will last the longest if it is stored in a dark place at temperatures less than 60 degrees F. That's how I store my kegs until I tap them at which time they're cooled to my serving temperature of 38 degrees F in the cooler.
Time spent: Brewing, bottling, Kegging
I find that brewing is a five hour process regardless of the amount brewed, hence my reason for making 1/4 barrel (Sanke D) kegs with every brew. Why would I spend the same amount of time making one drop less when beer loves me so much? So, five hours it is, start to the end of clean-up.
Primary fermenter to secondary/bottling container is step two if you're bottle conditioning. This step takes about an hour if you're well prepared. The beer will stay here two days or up to two weeks depending upon your process. This step is skipped if kegging my way.
Bottling day is the second largest chore, and varies minutely by how many bottles you are going to fill. For the most part, like brewing, the time varies only slightly by volume, so the time is three hours start to finish.
Kegging is sweet! It takes 30 minutes or less start to finish. I do it from the primary fermenter which is my 15 gallon allrounder, and I do it with pressure from my cooler setup.
What about alcohol content?
My beers have been consistently in the 5.5 percent range, +/- .1. There is a limit to how much sugar you are going to extract from the grains, and it's not going to vary by much. There are what's typically called high gravity beers which are beers brewed with added sugars to increase the alcohol content. I see these as fortified, they certainly aren't all-grain. I don't see the point myself. I don't drink beer for the purpose of getting drunk, I drink it because I like beer.
I have to grind my own grains?
You don't have to, but if you grind them right at brew time they are fresher. If you don't want to grind your own grains, you can order them ground and mixed right from Rite Brew, ground and mixed at the ratio you want. Either way is up to you, the important thing is that you're making your own beer fresh at home!