Weekend beer line up

Yes, Abita is one of the oldest and well known craft breweries in the country. It is also one of the most "meh", which really angers me since they have the capability to be so much better, but they seem content with just putting out average beer after average beer.

 

Went for a nice 4.5 mile hike this afternoon and now enjoying a Bell's "The Oracle".



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drinking this delicious beer while frying sac-u-lait

 

I've moved onto the G'Knight now. I can definitely see why you like it so much Hooker.



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No pictures, but I'm enjoying some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale this weekend.

 

I don't have any of those fancy glasses or beers I've never heard of but I did enjoy a six pack of SA Octoberfest around the firepit last night. Smores too.

 

for tonight:

homebrew red ale while reducing a batch of garden salsa to be canned later tonight

 

I'm having my last Enjoy By while watching Breaking Bad.



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Im a beer noob, (only 21) but I discovered the wegmans am hour from my house has a craft brew section. Even though about half of them on the shelf were actually craft brews, howd I do?

 

Calling any home brewers, how does this kit look? I'd like to get a hefeweizen going in the next few weeks.

Brewing Starter Kit : Midwest Supplies

I'm open for any suggestions on other kits as well.

 

Looks like everything you will need for a basic kit.

Homebrewing can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. I went simple on my first beer, but planning on getting a bit more creative on my next. Just need to finish drinking my first batch.

 

What is your experience with cappers? Is it worth spending the extra $30 to buy a bench capper, or are the hand held ones decent?

 

I have a hand held and it works just fine.

 

Looks like this kit is $15 more, but comes with the stainless steel pot for boiling. Any experience with this one or the Midwest Supplies kit.

BREWING KITS - Maestro Plus Home Brew Beer Making Equipment with 5 Gallon Ingredient Kit and 5 Gallon Stainless Steel Stock Pot

I guess it's a trade off for not having the glass carboy. Not sure which is better to have.

 

I would think you need both...? You need a pot to boil, and you need the carboy for primary fermentation.

 

I think Abita is good. Thank you for your opinion. I like a lot of different beers, just not enough time to try them all these days. I need a good winter beer, any suggestions?

 

Bought the first set up I posted along with some 22oz bottles and a Belgium Trappist kit. Should be fun.

 

That kit will do nicely, the only thing I see missing is a pot to boil in. Also you can do your primary fermentation in the carboy or the bucket. One bucket will come with a spigot near the bottom, that's what you will use for bottling. Many like to use the carboy for primary fermentation because it's cool to watch but there are things to consider if you do.

First it's much easier to transfer your wort into a bucket than the tiny opening of a carboy. If you want to use the carboy then you have to use your auto-siphon to transfer it that way (or else a big funnel), which brings up reason two - aeration of your brew. Your wort needs air within your beer to ferment, so when you pour your cooled wort into your bucket from your pot - you create air within the wort. But if you were to siphon it into a carboy then you don't get any air entrained within the wort. The more air entrained in your wort, the faster it will ferment out. Granted, you could find a way to plug the top of the carboy and give it a violent shake and it would achieve the same result but this can get awkward. Always do this before adding any yeast.

This being said I like to use a carboy because I love to watch the fermentation, I just make sure it's aerated enough before I pitch my yeast. Also it's always a good idea to keep the carboy in a dark place or wrap a blanket around it during fermentation, some say light is bad for fermenting and aging beer.

So there's some answers to questions you never asked.

Edit: One thing I don't see there and is always a great thing to have nearby - an ordinary household spray bottle. In this you will have sanitizer solution and you can use it to quick sanitize anything that comes in contact with your wort. For instance, I always spray my package of yeast before I open it and pitch it. Couple quick sprays and your golden. Actually another thing you will need is a long spoon for stirring but I'm guessing an household one would do for that.

 

I started brewing my own beer earlier this year with the Midwest supplies kit and have brewed 3 batches now. Last Friday I brewed an Octoberfest with an ale yeast as I don't have lagering capabilities. I'm excited for how it will come out. It was also my first partial mash and look forward to seeing how the addition of a couple lbs of munich and vienna sets this apart from the extract brews I've made so far.

And Jay is right...I had a empty spray bottle laying around and it is awesome to sanitize little things as you go.

I have learned a ton and found two of my recipes on homebrewtalk.com There is alot of info there. Any question I have had I was able to search and found an answer to.

 

I'm trying out a Boulevard Tank 7 tonight. I'm not overly educated on saisons/farmhouse ales but it's pretty good



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