So last fall we made 14 gallons of hard cider. All gone
5 gallons of turnip wine, still going.

This week i have moved over to beer.

5 gallons of Klosch, Belgian White, and Octoberfest.


The beer is my wifes idea of barter material.

My wife and I used to brew beer all the time. We would brew 4 to 6 Five gallon batches a year. We did not have a lot of room for storage so we would wait till we had more room for storage.
The last couple of years we have been more into hand gun and rifle competitions and just have not had the time.
We need to start brewing again soon.

I sometimes make stuff myself, but I leave beer and automobile tires to the commercial producers.

I've been making mead for the past several months. It's all been good stuff and pretty easy. I have a gallon of apple made with cider, a gallon of just straight mead, and a gallon of Flathead Cherry cold crashing in the fridge right no ready for bottling.

Have an American Pale Ale in the fermentor now, debating what next...

I used to brew on the regular. The last one was an Altbier. Unfortunately, having a child and a lot of family events/issues, I haven't been able to brew in about 5 months.

I've got 2 gallons of mead, 1 gallon of spiced chai wine, and 1 gallon of moscato finishing up in the closet.

I have often thought of brewing beer. Do y'all brew for the enjoyment of the process or is there an economic advantage in brewing your own beer?

quote:

Originally posted by BradleyS:
I have often thought of brewing beer. Do y'all brew for the enjoyment of the process or is there an economic advantage in brewing your own beer?

Both. It's a great time to get together with friends/family and involves a lot of beer drinking. Depending on the recipe, I would say the average bottle is $0.50. Much better compared to your local store where they are $1-2 a bottle.

I am just learning. So we bought the prepackaged 5gallon packs.

That comes to 640 ounces.

Or about 50 beers.


The kits range in price. Out of the three, it brings it to 75 cents to $1.20 per 12 oz bottle.

Pot, bottles, chiller, and other bits probably run 100 to 125. Keg, co2 and tap probably another 125.

So far though, we like the making of ours, and the time drinking.

You can get into brewing pretty cheaply but it's also easy to spend money, just like any other hobby.
I started kegging fairly early due to the ease of it, now I'm switching from using carboys to a conical fermenter. Again, because in the long ron it's easier.
I need to rebuild my keezer though.

Home brewing is not for everyone, but if you like to cook, drink beer, and have fun, it's great.

If you're in a bigger city they probably have a club or two. Or just go to your local fermenter supply shop and talk to the employees.

There are lots of ways to brew beer and the recipes are up to your imagination.

Start off simple, keep things clean, and document what you did (keep a journal) so you can reflect back on right & wrong.

Cheers~

There's so much good beer here in Richmond, it has completely killed any desire I have to buy non-local beer or brewing my own.

I did it about 10 years ago with a buddy of mine and it was fun but with the craft beer revolution since then, hard to justify.

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:
There's so much good beer here in Richmond, it has completely killed any desire I have to buy non-local beer or brewing my own.

I did it about 10 years ago with a buddy of mine and it was fun but with the craft beer revolution since then, hard to justify.

Well, when I'm brewing regular I can have 4 taps (1 is nitro) in my kegerator all stocked with variety of beer and hard cider for pennies on the dollar as compared to retail. My 5 gal. batches are between $20-$30.

I haven't brewed beer in a long time, but I used to do it a lot. I still have all of the supplies and equipment for it. I just need to get back into it.

I've got a Red Ale and a Honey Kolsch both ready for bottling this week. I've got a Brown Ale on deck.

Half of the batches I'm doing right now are promised to a contractor but that still leaves me with two cases.

Jim

I would compare it to reloading. It is a hobby that you can spend money on, but you can also save in the long run. But the real reason is the satisfaction you have when you take a drink of a beer that you made while looking at your target that you shot with your own ammunition.

Thanks all, you made my wifes day. She spebt the day getting biopsies done for BC. This was a treat for her to read.

Do you guys brew from grain or use the syrup.

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmnut:
Do you guys brew from grain or use the syrup.

My wife and I do partial mash brewing. Part grain part malt extract.