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Homebrewing

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Renegade:
There are many brewers who like a sample of their bathes "raw." And sweet wort is like candy before it's hopped. Even non-beer drinkers like it. I'm surprised nobody bottles it for sale.
-40hz (July 20, 2014, 08:07 PM)
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Very! I had a taste of it before hopping yesterday. "Candy" is an appropriate description.

In bad news, the local supermarket has dropped malt extract from the shelves... sigh... my coffee just isn't the same.

I'm an ale/double-bock/porter/barley wine type myself. I like my quaff complex tasting but with a touch of sweetness (like a good Scotch ale), amber or darker in color, and with a goodly amount of body. If a spoon almost stands up in it, it's perfect. And if any pond life is swimming around in it, it's a real plus in my book!
-40hz (July 20, 2014, 08:07 PM)
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Hahaha! "Pond life!" :D


FWIW I try to make things you can't get (or get easily) in a store. Why duplicate what's available when there are so many good craft beers available for sale? I go for the more exotic brews when I'm cooking something up for bottling.
-40hz (July 20, 2014, 08:07 PM)
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I'm still in the learning curve, but eventually I'll figure it out well enough so that I can just go crazy and brew exotic experiments.

I do look forward to experimenting with fruit though. I love fruit juice, and living in SE Asia was heavenly. Soursop, pineapple, coconut, mango, star apple, etc. etc. I can imagine making some very tasty drinks!


I'd also suggest taking a look at the American Homebrewers Association. They have a wealth of solid information. And you don't need to be a member to get good info from them - although a membership is inexpensive and gets you full access to everything they have. They even have a beginner's mead how-to here.

They just published an 'official' mead recipe (August 2 is Mead Day!) that looks good. I notice it uses Lalvin K1V-1116 Montpellier yeast which is found in a lot of grape-based recipes I've seen. I haven't used this particular yeast myself, but I've heard other local brewers sing its praises. It supposedly produces a drier brew in fairly short order - so if sweet isn't your thing in a mead - maybe this recipe and yeast is worth looking at. If you start it about now you can crack it for Christmas - although I've found the type of meads I prefer need a good year of racking before they're really worth drinking.
-40hz (July 20, 2014, 08:07 PM)
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Ah! Thanks for the links! I've read through some recipes and whatnot, and have a few more answers to things I was wondering.

For now I'm being fairly conservative in my beer brewing. The ginger ale is all just one big experiment though. My first batch was really, really, really dry. Like, Sahara dry.

Renegade:
If you have a good store in your area, it's smart to ask their advice. I do at mine. They haven't steered me wrong yet. And why reinvent the wheel if you don't have to?  8)
-40hz (July 20, 2014, 08:20 PM)
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I'm an info-leech. :) They know a heck of a lot more than I do, so, might as well pick their brains!

There's one good store relatively nearby... not close, but... driveable.

http://www.liquorcraft.com.au/

There may be more, but Brewcraft seems good. They've got all kinds of goodies there! :)

However, if you're really into it, at least keep a notebook. It's a big help. Trust me.
-40hz (July 20, 2014, 08:20 PM)
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Once we finally move, I'll start keeping track better.

It's ok by me too. I'll just leave half an inch in the bottom of my glass - and dump it if it's too sludgy. I can always get another glass if I want more.
-40hz (July 20, 2014, 08:20 PM)
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When I bottle, I try to get a variety of different amounts of sediment in the bottles. Makes life a bit more interesting. e.g. Oooh! I wonder what this will be like! :)

mouser:
I have to say that the mead was the most satisfying -- only because as good as the beer was, and as fun as it was to make, it didn't rival the best store bought beer.

>Really? I'm pretty shocked.
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you show me how to brew a beer better than a pint of Guinness poured from a bar tap and I'll eat my hat.

Renegade:
I want to tell you a story about my early days of homebrewing.

This was back in about 1986-1988, that range.

I was walking around the house distracted and not looking where i was going, and our cat ran in front of me and i stepped on the cat.

A cat owner's worst nightmare then occurred -- I heard the cat's bones break under my feet.   I looked down to see blood on my foot and my stomach tightened up and I felt physically ill and started to panic about what had just happened.
Then I saw the cat out of the corner of my eye, and it was just sitting there looking at me, in no apparent pain.
Then I looked down again at my foot, and I saw what had happened.  That damn cat had finally figured out a way to get the glass fermentation lock+stopper off the 5-gallon beer fermenting in the pantry, and had been dragging it around with her and she dragged it right under my foot.  Sure enough I had cut myself on the fermentation lock.

So learn from me: Do not let your cats go near your brewing containers!
-mouser (July 20, 2014, 05:17 PM)
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That kind of stuff just makes me cringe.

I have to say that the mead was the most satisfying -- only because as good as the beer was, and as fun as it was to make, it didn't rival the best store bought beer.

>Really? I'm pretty shocked.
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you show me how to brew a beer better than a pint of Guinness poured from a bar tap and I'll eat my hat.
-mouser (July 20, 2014, 10:09 PM)
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Guinness is tough to compete against. Kilkenny as well. There are a few store-bought beers that are really, really good. But the majority just don't compare to what you can do at home.

I certainly would love to know how to brew something better than Guinness...

But it's not hard to brew a beer that you can drink warm. That's really a solid test of a great beer - can you drink it warm? Guinness is fine warm. Bud Light? Not so much. :)

Renegade:
you show me how to brew a beer better than a pint of Guinness poured from a bar tap and I'll eat my hat.
-mouser (July 20, 2014, 10:09 PM)
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Oh... 1 other angle... The current batch that I'm brewing will cost about 1/10th as much as it would cost in the store. So, there's that angle. How good is it compared to how much it costs?

When comparing costs, I think you have a much stronger case for homebrewing rather than store-bought beer.

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