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 Huehuecoyotl
 
Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 9,165
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 Brewing Beer
#8659797 - 07/20/08 05:03 PM (4 months, 13 days ago) |
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Any amateur brewers in the house? I just took up brewing beer. I love dark beers, and I love cooking. I brewed some years ago, and recently I bought a Mr. Beer kit. I am really impressed with the simplicity of the operation. It is very triouble free and the beer is as good as any I ever made!!!! The equipment is polished, simple, and cheap!
www.mrbeer.com
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"A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting." - Carlos Castaneda
www.warriorfusion.org
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daussaulit
Forgetful
Registered: 08/06/02
Posts: 2,594
Loc: Earth
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You should go to a homebrew store and get a real kit. I've had some Mr. Beer kits before, and they're pretty bland. Great way to get introduced into brewing.
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Beers that I have had. Total listed:1,365
Make your own beer!
Homebrewing(Extract with Specialty Grains)
Homebrewing(All-Grain)
Home wine making
Make your own Wine!
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Huehuecoyotl
Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 9,165
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I make my own recipes...I don't use those kind of kits. I am just using the Mr. Beer equipment. Now I have had the bucket, air lock, and siphon hose and it works no better than the Mr. Beer equipment. As for the ingredients I work from scratch. Using an ingredient "kit" is lame.
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"A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting." - Carlos Castaneda
www.warriorfusion.org
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LunarEclipse
LE
Registered: 10/31/04
Posts: 2,472
Loc: O
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Post deleted by LunarEclipseReason for deletion: hulyr
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Holydiver
Registered: 03/19/01
Posts: 5,001
Loc: The midnight sea
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Agreed, mr. beer is OK for an intro to the hobby to teach basics like "this is what fermenting is", but the sooner you step it up and can be enjoying quality beers by all grain/partial mash you made yourself, the better. great hobby and very rewarding.
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To find a place to live between the negatives and positives.
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Huehuecoyotl
Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 9,165
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: Holydiver]
#8662490 - 07/21/08 10:20 AM (4 months, 12 days ago) |
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For my present use there is no difference between the Mr. Beer tub and a plastic bucket, and I am not putting out for a glass fermenter at the moment. I am not interested in making lagers as ales are my favorite beers, so any advanced techniques beyond racking the beer a time or two don't really appeal to me right now. I was immersed into brewing rather deeply several years ago and had top of the line gear and read books on the subject, but now I am just interested in making ale in much the same way as I make bread or chili. It is just another food source, but a favored one of course. I just finished a small batch of blackberry mead and the Mr. Beer tub did fabulous. It was not crystal clear, but it tasted good and was potent. I realize much more care can be taken and extreme levels of detail can be observed, but at this moment in my life Mr. Beer is serving me fine!
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"A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting." - Carlos Castaneda
www.warriorfusion.org
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Huehuecoyotl
Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 9,165
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That device does look cool in a geek way.
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"A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting." - Carlos Castaneda
www.warriorfusion.org
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daussaulit
Forgetful
Registered: 08/06/02
Posts: 2,594
Loc: Earth
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Except that with a bucket or carboy, you can get about 3x more beer. I like making 6 gallons at a time instead of 2.
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Beers that I have had. Total listed:1,365
Make your own beer!
Homebrewing(Extract with Specialty Grains)
Homebrewing(All-Grain)
Home wine making
Make your own Wine!
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Huehuecoyotl
Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 9,165
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I am not hung up on having that much to drink. If I get a bottle of beer every now and again I am cool. IF I needed more I would go with a carboy...no doubt.
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"A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting." - Carlos Castaneda
www.warriorfusion.org
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 addsub
Troglodyte
Registered: 10/26/07
Posts: 35
Loc: ation
Last seen: 21 days, 8 hours
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Nice to see some brewers in here.
Long-time lurker, new poster.
Been brewing for a year or two now, been up planning the next recipe tonight and lining up ingredients (I'm thinking coconut plum...) so this caught my eye.
I've got just a few batches under my belt, but I'd say that the starter kits are great for obtaining an understanding of the process, but there's no reason not to move onto recipes of your own design shortly thereafter.
This community may find this interesting... my last brew was called "sweet dreams" and used henbane and damiana instead of hops as flavoring adjuncts, both of which lend some rather interesting properties to the beer. I've also toyed with the ideas of doing a mango beer with kava, or perhaps an absinthe-inspired brew (I've seen a few brews with wormwood in the recipe, so why not?)
Huehuecoyotl - 5-6 gallon carboy means you have more beer to share with friends 
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AroundtheSon
Mr. President
Registered: 01/11/07
Posts: 2,226
Loc: Midwest.
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stick to your pftek.
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Huehuecoyotl
Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 9,165
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: addsub]
#8672697 - 07/23/08 04:38 PM (4 months, 10 days ago) |
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I have heard of henbane beer. Does it have a special kick?
Quote:
Huehuecoyotl - 5-6 gallon carboy means you have more beer to share with friends
Alright! alright! I just don't want to spend the cash on it right now...but it is coming...
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"A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting." - Carlos Castaneda
www.warriorfusion.org
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Huehuecoyotl
Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 9,165
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Yes, and I am still stuck in PFTek...I'm a wimp, so sue me.
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"A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting." - Carlos Castaneda
www.warriorfusion.org
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AroundtheSon
Mr. President
Registered: 01/11/07
Posts: 2,226
Loc: Midwest.
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your not a wimp, but you were awfully defensive about "your" way.
surely better ways exist
good luck on your brew.
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Huehuecoyotl
Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 9,165
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Better ways are defined by their purpose. PfTek for instance is not suited for commercial production...and neither is Mr. Beer, but he is still our faithful friend...particularly if your just shitting around with brewing and not trying to be a God.
Quote:
good luck on your brew.
I am drinking some right now.
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"A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting." - Carlos Castaneda
www.warriorfusion.org
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AroundtheSon
Mr. President
Registered: 01/11/07
Posts: 2,226
Loc: Midwest.
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addsub
Troglodyte
Registered: 10/26/07
Posts: 35
Loc: ation
Last seen: 21 days, 8 hours
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Quote:
Huehuecoyotl said:
I have heard of henbane beer. Does it have a special kick?
This is one of the few resources on henbane beer, or "pilsenkraut" -
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/alcohol/alcohol_brew.shtml
It definitely has a unique effect - I haven't had more than one bottle in a sitting, but the way it makes you feel, it's not quite drunk, its kind of strange... you really have some interesting dreams after this one. The couple people I've shared it with have reported the same.
Here's a link to my recipe:
http://www.beertools.com/html/recipe.php?view=7563
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero
Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 16,838
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 1 hour, 3 minutes
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: addsub]
#8675095 - 07/24/08 04:07 AM (4 months, 10 days ago) |
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> I've also toyed with the ideas of doing a mango beer
I've never had luck fermenting mango and getting it to taste good. Never tried a beer, so donno there, but my mango wines never turned out drinkable. (at least not what I would call drinkable)
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Just another spore in the wind.
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vater
LOST
Registered: 07/23/08
Posts: 323
Last seen: 2 months, 1 day
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: Seuss]
#8708746 - 07/31/08 06:06 PM (4 months, 2 days ago) |
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Hi all,
I have been making my own beer for 10 years now.
The kits are quick and simple, but to get the true flavors you need
to go all grain and use fresh hops.
Granted doing a all grain takes alot of time but it is worth it!!
If I want it simple I just go to liquer store, There are so may micro
brews out there now days.
I also grow my own hops.
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GRIM GOPHER the great shroom hunter.
Coming in a theater near you.
Rated R
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satyr
Stranger
Registered: 11/13/07
Posts: 1,432
Last seen: 11 hours, 39 minutes
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: vater]
#8718786 - 08/03/08 07:17 AM (4 months, 51 minutes ago) |
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Quote:
vater said:
Hi all,
I have been making my own beer for 10 years now.
The kits are quick and simple, but to get the true flavors you need
to go all grain and use fresh hops.
Granted doing a all grain takes alot of time but it is worth it!!
If I want it simple I just go to liquer store, There are so may micro
brews out there now days.
I also grow my own hops.
Homegrown hops is where its at 
Those kits can produce some good beers, but to really have some fun, malting, drying, and/or roasting your own grains is the way to go.
Ive recently been experimenting with harvesting wild local yeast, and have had some success, just not consistency of flavor.
For some new dimensions in flavor, try smoking your malted grains. Ive discovered some very interesting flavors by placing my barley in a cold smoker, and with a low fire going, throwing on different things such as hickory nut hulls, fresh rosemary, and sage.
Good to see so many homebrewers here 
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vater
LOST
Registered: 07/23/08
Posts: 323
Last seen: 2 months, 1 day
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: satyr]
#8720295 - 08/03/08 04:02 PM (3 months, 30 days ago) |
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Yep! Smoked grains can make or break a recipe.
Smoked grains can have flavors of carmel,peat,coffee,etc..
Look for a brew supply shop in your area.
It is easier to buy the specialty grains there.
On average specialty grains is used for 5% to 10% of the grist.
There is so may chooses, 2 row malt or 6 row malt, etc...
And done forget rice,maize,wheat,etc..
Now some of the local brewer companys will give you there yeast if you
ask them. Yeast is what makes the style of beer your making.
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GRIM GOPHER the great shroom hunter.
Coming in a theater near you.
Rated R
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vater
LOST
Registered: 07/23/08
Posts: 323
Last seen: 2 months, 1 day
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: vater]
#8720468 - 08/03/08 05:01 PM (3 months, 30 days ago) |
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Here is a close up pic of my Cascade hops, almost ready to harvest..
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GRIM GOPHER the great shroom hunter.
Coming in a theater near you.
Rated R
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daussaulit
Forgetful
Registered: 08/06/02
Posts: 2,594
Loc: Earth
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: vater]
#8721042 - 08/03/08 07:14 PM (3 months, 30 days ago) |
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That is one incredibly sexy picture.
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Beers that I have had. Total listed:1,365
Make your own beer!
Homebrewing(Extract with Specialty Grains)
Homebrewing(All-Grain)
Home wine making
Make your own Wine!
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satyr
Stranger
Registered: 11/13/07
Posts: 1,432
Last seen: 11 hours, 39 minutes
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Quote:
daussaulit said:
That is one incredibly sexy picture.
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vater
LOST
Registered: 07/23/08
Posts: 323
Last seen: 2 months, 1 day
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: satyr]
#8724505 - 08/04/08 01:55 PM (3 months, 29 days ago) |
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THANKS...
You can buy fresh whole hops or rhizomes for planting at;
freshops.com. I have;
Saaz,Cascade,Goldens,and Hallertauer.
The Cascade and goldens are easy to grow,they grow like they were ivy.
You can only purchase the rhizomes (roots) in the spring. So start
planing for next year. Of couse you need a place you can plant them.
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GRIM GOPHER the great shroom hunter.
Coming in a theater near you.
Rated R
Edited by vater (08/04/08 01:56 PM)
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satyr
Stranger
Registered: 11/13/07
Posts: 1,432
Last seen: 11 hours, 39 minutes
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: vater]
#8724724 - 08/04/08 02:29 PM (3 months, 29 days ago) |
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Ive been looking to expand my ethnobotanical garden, and I love brewing, so Im most certainly going to get some next year.
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vater
LOST
Registered: 07/23/08
Posts: 323
Last seen: 2 months, 1 day
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Re: Brewing Beer [Re: satyr]
#8725005 - 08/04/08 03:20 PM (3 months, 29 days ago) |
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