home brew.

Banjo String

I likes my beers. I'm definitely not a beer snob, but I have to admit to turning up my nose to the more conventional beers as last five or six years (Heineken, bud, etc) in favour of the crafts.

I'm lucky enough to live within a five minute drive of an O'Briens off license, which in fairness to them have some amazing beers on offer.

However the wife has arrived home from her work earlier in the evening with two bottles of home brew produced by a colleague of hers (both professionals), and I'm very, very impressed.

She was sent home with two litre bottles, the type with the old fashioned swing top fasteners on top. One is a wheat beer, and one ipa.

The wheat beer is grand, slightly sugary, but grand, but the IPA is absolutely fantastic! Much better than any of the mass produced crap found in the shops.

Its something I've been thinking of doing now for ages, but I'm just curious if many other AHers bother with the home brew, because I think I might have found a new hobby!

GLaDOS

I'm drinking a glass of my own brew right now. Was my first attempt and just made following the kits instructions but very happy with it. Very cost effective after the initial investment in the equipment.

osarusan

Never done it, but thought about it.

As I understand, the better you want it to taste, the more you have to work on it (and the less it is just mixing a couple of packets together).

There is a forum for this, in case you didn't know:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1353

thomasm

Had a mate give me some recently and all I was thinking at first was how can I politely say yeah that was ok expecting it to be ****e when in fact it was fantastic. Really surprised at how good it was

Banjo String

osarusan wrote: »

Never done it, but thought about it.

As I understand, the better you want it to taste, the more you have to work on it (and the less it is just mixing a couple of packets together).

There is a forum for this, in case you didn't know:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1353

Ah I know there's a forum for it, but I don't want to start discussing what's 'fruity with a slight liquorice after taste on the palette' in preference of a light hearted discussion in after hours.

What I did notice was the ipa blew the lid right off the bottle top when I cracked it open!

Very pleasant drink though.

The Backwards Man

I have a can of Tennent's in the fridge.

Banjo String

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I have a can of Tennent's in the fridge.

You know what's gas, I'm down here in Kildare, but a south county Derry native, where (as you'd know) tennents is pretty much the staple pint to have in a pub.

It's nigh on impossible to get in draught down here, and it's seen as a bargain basement drink around these parts in the offies.

Tenants ftw TBM.

I was drinking in the Elk bar (I am sure you knew it, and i'm from about 4miles from there originally) on Saturday night past, and the tennents went down a treat tbh!

Links234

Yeah, I started homebrewing, it's fun and you can make some very nice brews. I brewed my third not so long ago, a really hoppy IPA, turned out quite nice.

Herb Powell

Homebrewing is class, yet to make a beer I didn't like. Far easier than most would think. I think my favourite was a Belgian-style ale I made for Christmas. 8.5%, very very crisp tasting, just all-round great. T'was a good day.......:P

Banjo String

Links234 wrote: »

Yeah, I started homebrewing, it's fun and you can make some very nice brews. I brewed my third not so long ago, a really hoppy IPA, turned out quite nice.

I had to laugh, the dude that sent the beer home (consultant or surgeon, not quite sure tbh) sent a note home with them, that I should try Coopers, unknown to him is that I'm a very avid coopers drinker, especially their sparkling ale.

Definitely recommend it!

Banjo String

Herb Powell wrote: »

Homebrewing is class, yet to make a beer I didn't like. Far easier than most would think. I think my favourite was a Belgian-style ale I made for Christmas. 8.5%, very very crisp tasting, just all-round great. T'was a good day.......:P

8.5% :eek: that's near wine territory lol:pac:

Ronan|Raven

Just pitched the yeast into 20 Litres of pale ale.. come.. join us on the homebrew forum.. gwan!

The Backwards Man

Banjo String wrote: »

You know what's gas, I'm down here in Kildare, but a south county Derry native, where (as you'd know) tennents is pretty much the staple pint to have in a pub.

It's nigh on impossible to get in draught down here, and it's seen as a bargain basement drink around these parts in the offies.

Tenants ftw TBM.

I was drinking in the Elk bar (I am sure you knew it, and i'm from about 4miles from there originally) on Saturday night past, and the tennents went down a treat tbh!

Great draught in a pub where it's pouring well through a short line. There's only certain pubs up here I would drink it in, no way would I drink it in a pub in Kildare.

Years since I was in the Elk, be in McNallys, or Mals as it is now an odd time for grub. You ever see it on google street view? Some advertisement for the place!:pac:

P_1

If it's done right it's both incredible and massively rewarding. If done wrong, well you have alcoholic dishwater, a waste of time and a bit of a mess to clean up

hatrickpatrick

If they succeed in bringing in minimum alcohol pricing, home brewing will become immensely popular. I'm looking into making a simple cider at the moment, which apparently is possible with apple juice sans preservatives

Banjo String

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Great draught in a pub where it's pouring well through a short line. There's only certain pubs up here I would drink it in, no way would I drink it in a pub in Kildare.

Years since I was in the Elk, be in McNallys, or Mals as it is now an odd time for grub. You ever see it on google street view? Some advertisement for the place!:pac:

You know too much :eek:

I was a very, very regular in both back in my time!

Edit, must check it on street view..... I will report back.....

uch

I made the equivalent of Double Diamond Bitter years ago, and while the Beer itself turned out to be very close to the original, to me it tasted Shíte, so I gave up

Links234

I want to try and make mead

Banjo String

Hahahahahahahahahahahah! :pac:

That's the spot!

Wang King

How much does the equipment cost to start up, and how long before you can crack open your own ipa

uch

uch wrote: »

I made the equivalent of Double Diamond Bitter years ago, and while the Beer itself turned out to be very close to the original, to me it tasted Shíte, so I gave up

But I should have added, it's quite easy to make in the first place, so everyone should try at least once

Links234

Wang King wrote: »

How much does the equipment cost to start up, and how long before you can crack open your own ipa

I got loads of brewing equipment as my birthday present last year, and I think it cost around 100€ and depending on the brew anywhere from a month onwards. Stuff is generally better if you leave it in the bottles a while.

The Backwards Man

Banjo String wrote: »

Hahahahahahahahahahahah! :pac:

That's the spot!

Take it that it hasn't been changed then yet?:pac: One of the lads working in it was telling me about it.

Banjo String

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Take it that it hasn't been changed then yet?:pac: One of the lads working in it was telling me about it.

Load of landrovers???

Aongus Von Bismarck

I have very little time for "home brews"

If I want a beer I'm not going to trust it to some amateur to cook up in a dingy bathtub.

Hermann, one of the IT drones at work is big into home brewing. He brought in a case of Kölsch that he brewed at home. He knows I like a good beer and have a very well developed palette so he was interested in my opinion on it. I refused to even taste it. Based on Hermann's physical apperance (combats, grubby Star Wars t-shirts, greasy hair and unkempt goatee) I don't think hygiene is a major priority for him. God knows what germs were inside those green bottles.

No, if I want a beer I'll leave it to the experts who know what they are doing and are strictly regulated.

Banjo String

Maybe Hermann is an expert Aongus.

Don't judge a book by the cover lad.

The Backwards Man

Banjo String wrote: »

Load of landrovers???

Aye, Mid Ulster Auctions must have had a big one coming up, had to park a few over there :P

Aongus Von Bismarck

Banjo String wrote: »

Maybe Hermann is an expert Aongus.

Don't judge a book by the cover lad.

If you saw Hermann you'd err on the side of caution too I'd imagine BS.

Herb Powell

Banjo String wrote: »

8.5% :eek: that's near wine territory lol:pac:

It's kind of mid-range really, go do some exploring of Belgian ales, you'll have fun. Trappistes Rochefort, Gulden Draak, etc, all above the 10% mark.

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I have very little time for "home brews"

If I want a beer I'm not going to trust it to some amateur to cook up in a dingy bathtub.

Hermann, one of the IT drones at work is big into home brewing. He brought in a case of Kölsch that he brewed at home. He knows I like a good beer and have a very well developed palette so he was interested in my opinion on it. I refused to even taste it. Based on Hermann's physical apperance (combats, grubby Star Wars t-shirts, greasy hair and unkempt goatee) I don't think hygiene is a major priority for him. God knows what germs were inside those green bottles.

No, if I want a beer I'll leave it to the experts who know what they are doing and are strictly regulated.

lel

The main difference between a good proportion of homebrewers and professionals is scale. That's it. The process is fundamentally the same.

P_1

Links234 wrote: »

I want to try and make mead

Noone likes a boaster :P

larrymiller

Made my own beer a few years ago it was pure muck, wouldn't drink it If I was paid.
But a kind of family "tradition" of making poteen I've been making is top notch but pure poisin at the same time. I suppose that means I'm doing it right

Zaph

Coincidentally, this week's Cooking Club recipe is for IPA, rather than food. Costs for the equipment needed are listed, comes to about €150, but obviously that's an initial investment on reusable gear.

Personally I've no interest in home brewing, there are too many styles of good beer out there that I can switch between without leaving myself with 20 litres of the same type of beer. Because I'm diabetic it would take me forever to get through the home brewed batch as I have to limit my alcohol intake.

GLaDOS

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

If I want a beer I'm not going to trust it to some amateur to cook up in a dingy bathtub.

Bathtub won't work, need a sealed vessel to get fermentation. Such ignorance .

the evasion_kid

Banjo String wrote: »

You know what's gas, I'm down here in Kildare, but a south county Derry native, where (as you'd know) tennents is pretty much the staple pint to have in a pub.

It's nigh on impossible to get in draught down here, and it's seen as a bargain basement drink around these parts in the offies.

Tenants ftw TBM.

I was drinking in the Elk bar (I am sure you knew it, and i'm from about 4miles from there originally) on Saturday night past, and the tennents went down a treat tbh!

Take a trip into Carlow plenty of pubs serve tennents on draught... Cheap too

libelula

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

If they succeed in bringing in minimum alcohol pricing, home brewing will become immensely popular. I'm looking into making a simple cider at the moment, which apparently is possible with apple juice sans preservatives

We did it with Lidl's cloudy apple juice. Worked a treat, and it's getting better and better the longer we leave it.

Links234

P_1 wrote: »

Noone likes a boaster :P

Want to try isn't a boast, it's an intention.

If I was to boast, it would be the most boastful boast than anyone has ever boasted, a boast so bold and daring you'd fall to your knees in awe of such a magnificent boast, tears would stream down your face in pure enrapturement at my boast. But, I don't like to boast

xlogo

Where could I get a simple starter kit for home brewing?

GLaDOS

xlogo wrote: »

Where could I get a simple starter kit for home brewing?

www.homebrewwest.ie

xlogo

Thanks but invalid url

LDN_Irish

xlogo wrote: »

Thanks but invalid url

I got the same but google it and it comes up. Might have to spend a few quid on this myself!

kenmc

thehomebrewcompany.ie
recommend getting a 3kg kit, which doesn't need a kg of sugar added to it, vs some of the cheaper 1.5 or 1.8kg ones which require a kg of sugar. taste a lot better. avoid lager kits, they require a temp control to get the best of them, otherwise will get some funky flavors. check out the beer wine spirits forum in food & drink

CarFan100

I quit making it
I had a tendency to keep drinking it every night

kenmc

CarFan100 wrote: »

I quit making it
I had a tendency to keep drinking it every night

that's a problem? means there's room for more. issues arise if you keep making it but don't drink it...

Not G.R

ScienceNerd wrote: »

www.homebrewwest.ie

Not these. They're gone shîte in recent months due to a warehouse move.

TheHomebrewCompany.ie, MotleyBrew.ie (Has a brick & morter store in Glasnevin Dublin) and GeterBrewed.ie will be your best bet.

VinLieger

I know this has mainly been about beer but we home brew wine, started out very small with 2 6 liter containers for siphoning it out during the process, it gave out 5 bottles of not bad rose the first go. We tried a couple of other different brew boxe brands with different processes and eventually upgraded to 2 30 litre containers that puts out 25-27 bottles a go. Experimented with some different boxes again and found the best to actually be a 7 day kit that requires no siphoning whatsoever and just stays in the one container with a percentage of around 10-12% and a nice taste.

All in all it's a bit of fun as a nice project to do and cheap as hell compared to buying off the shelf. Haven't done one for a while but might give it another go soon as the warmer weather is ideal for the fermentation process.

dasdog

+1 on THBC

I've brewed hundreds of litres over the past few years of really good beer/ale with only a couple of batches being not great. It takes a bit of work and bottling is a chore. Usual question is how much a pint does it work out at (can be as low as 85c) but it's about making decent beer and you get better results with better ingredients. Making a few litres of turbo cider with wine yeast is always a good laugh though, I got some up to 13%.

The HB forum (internet in general) has some great information or have a look on youtube to get an idea of what's involved.

Lyaiera

Ah jaysus. I mean lads. Seriously. You have me thinking about home brewing now. I'm broke. But then I think of beer. And feck off will ye?

The Sidewards Man

I plan to pursue this when I retire and get bored of golf.

jackofalltrades

Links234 wrote: »

I want to try and make mead

Did you have any luck doing this?
It's the one thing I haven't tried brewing so far.

VinLieger wrote: »

Experimented with some different boxes again and found the best to actually be a 7 day kit that requires no siphoning whatsoever and just stays in the one container with a percentage of around 10-12% and a nice taste.

Can I ask you what kit you are using?
Have tried homebrew wine with mixed results so far.

VinLieger

jackofalltrades wrote: »

Can I ask you what kit you are using?
Have tried homebrew wine with mixed results so far.

Best one was Solomon Grundy 7 day 30 bottle kit, possibly because it has so few processes involved it's harder to feck up

MarcoAntonio23

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Bathtub won't work, need a sealed vessel to get fermentation. Such ignorance .

This was how all beer was fermented at one time or another & some modern commercial breweries continue to ferment in open containers, Anchor Brewing of San Francisco California, Samuel Smith Brewery of Tadcaster, England & the Schneider Weisse Brewery of Kelheim, Bavaria, are but a few of the most famous breweries who practice open fermentation (although none of them use bath tubs).