Category: Grub Garage
All,
I'm wondering if anyone on here has ever given homebrew (Brewing alcohol) a go?
I've been at it for around 2 years now and I'm just about to siphon 40 pints of a custom pineapple cider into a keg.
As a hole, this is actually very dooable by someone with no sight, except for a couple of things that I was hoping that other brewers may have found solutions for:
I haven't been able to find an accessible hydrometer for gaging the gravity of the brew, which makes it very hard to find the alcohol percentage.
When siphoning, I find it hard to get the last few cm's of the brew into the keg because there so near to the gunky stuff at the bottom which you don't really want to be drinking.
If anyones ever done this, feel free to share any tips that you have or interesting things that you've brewed, or if your thinking about giving it a go, I'd be more than happy to help where I can.
Cheers.
Nice to see this come up. I did make beer with a friend about four years ago now. I presented it last year on the zone to no availa but boy it's nice to hear from a fellow brewer. Since we were making quite a quantity it literally took two of us, one pouring and the other with the strainer.
I didn't help with the hydrometer and PSI measurements (which you must use on beer). But yes most of it can be done without sight, and the ginormous strainer helps.
Just see that you clean it *seconds* before you pour through it because bacteria from the air mixed with yeast will give it that sort of lemonish bad taste some home brewed beers can have. Increase your alcohol percentage with an increase in sugar - we added straight molasses and of course the water must be hospitable: cool enough to not kill the yeast but still warm enough to provide it with a friendly incubating environment.
But yeah the strainer is your friend.
If you buy a brewer's vat, they come with a spout that is positioned an inch and a half or so above the bottom of the vat. You attach a hose to that spout, put the other end of the hose in the keg, and push down the spout. Then you don't have to worry about straining and all that, because all the gunky stuff at the bottom is toolow for the spout to pick up, because of its positioning above the bottom.
As for the mesaurement devices, there are several mesaurement devices I've been trying to find, and I've never seen a hydrometer in the catalogs.
Neat topic. I'm thinking I'd like to try making elderberry wine or something like it. Cheesemaking is kind of a pet interest of mine too. It's a lot of work and I won't be doing it till I've got a hoop and a press for starters. What would be a basic brew that a beginner should start with? What are some basic proportions to keep in mind? Is there a perfect time of year to set your brew? I've got a batch of potato yeast going in my bread pan. Friendly bubbly stuff that. Tiffany
hi i have never done this but gibson girl go to http://www.thebeefolks.com. they have a wonderful honey mead kit. i have a friend who did this and it was very good.
I've been drinking the pineapple cider I mentioned in post 1 over the past week and it's pretty nice - a bit souer at first because of the pineapple, but I added 1kg of hunny so you do get a sweet taste afterwards.
@5 I brewed 5l of mead a couple of months ago using a fast firmentation recipe and will try it on christmas eve; it smells lovely at the moment.