Topic: Home Brew Thread

[Halleyscomet/Wakefield]

Correct homebrewers are correct (especially about AB's homebrew episode, man I was yelling at my tv...).

Step 1 and 2 of pretty much any brew chore for me are:

1. fill a bucket with water and PBW- http://morebeer.com/view_product/16015/beerwinecoffee/Cleaner_-_Five_Star_PBW_2_oz

2. fill a bucket with water and star-san (or equivalent santizer) - http://morebeer.com/view_product/16022//Star_San_-_8_oz

Everything that's going to touch the beer post boil goes into the PBW bucket, gets rinsed off, then goes into the sanitizer until I need it.  Star-san and equivalent are food safe and tasteless, so you do not rinse them off.  Straight from the sanitizer to contact with your beer or wort.  That's the real downside with bleach, is that you have to rinse it.  If you have infected tap water (it happens!) or you accidentally bounce the piece of equipment off anything between the sink and your beer, then it's unsanitary again.

PBW makes a great general purpose cleaner AND dishwasher detergent btw, it's handy to have around.

WARNING: PBW is safe to handle with your bare hands, non-toxic and will lift the Teflon off non-stick pans. Keep any non-stick items away from the PBW.

Star-San once mixed remains effective as long as the pH stays below 3.0.  This means a sealed bucket can last for weeks or months. When the pH gets above 3.0, it breaks down into components yeast can eat and is no longer an effective sanitizer.  The Brewing Network podcast interviewed Charlie Talley, one of the founders of 5-Star chemicals. I recommend hunting it up.

[DarthCaitSith]

Star san stays well in soft water, but in hard water it reacts with the chemicals in the water and becomes cloudy. star san should be good as long as it is not cloudy and ph < 3.0

[whitedevilbrewing]

That interview with Charlie is great.  And yes, if you have hard water, consider an iodine based sanitizer.

[baublet]

If you can find Grolsch bottles, they've served me well in homebrewing. No need to buy the custom bottling kits, but if you mess up they can be pretty dangerous.

[Neutral Milk]

I sent a disgruntled email to the brew store:

I came into your store this last Saturday at around noon. I am brand new to brewing, having recently purchased a basic home brewing kit from an online catalog. Since my knowledge was so rudimentary I had hoped to have a conversation with the clerk about what my options were for starting out and to get some tips.

I won't go into the details of the conversation, but the clerk who received me was extremely unhelpful. All of my questions were answered with scoffs, snide remarks, or eye rolls. As a beginning brewer I felt extremely uncomfortable, and wanted to get out of the store as quickly as I could after making my purchases. Given the attitude of the staff (I don't know if the staff member was the owner or not) I won't be returning to your store. I will be making my purchases through catalogs as the call operators are much more friendly and helpful.

I don't normally make these kind of complaints, but I feel that as the only  home brewing shop in town you should be wanting to bring in as many new brewers as possible. This sort of service is likely to turn anyone off.

Thanks for your time.

[Neutral Milk]

here is the response I got. I have a feeling it was the owner I dealt with.

Marc, I'm sorry you were made to feel uncomfortable in our shop, Heart's is a supplier of home brew products and although we would love  to teach home brewing, it is not possible for us to condense all the info required into a few minutes at our store. We are happy to answer specific question but what you asked was very broad, it is equivalent to, going to the grocery store picking up a chicken, going to checkout and asking the person to explain what else you need and all the procedures to make Coq Au Vin,  the only answer is, you have to pick up a book and become educated on the subject first, then we can help with problems you run into or tips. The local brew club is a great resource, they have lots of brew events  that will give you some insight into the process.

maybe one or two of my questions were broad, but question like "what should i start out with?" should be answerable. He didn't actually recommend any resources while I was in the store, so I didn't feel he cared about my learning. That and there was no excuse for his being blatantly rude.

I understand it might be frustrating to feel as though you are expected to explain all the details, but I used enough terminology to make it clear I had done some research.

This response does not make me feel any better, and I still don't plan on returning. 

[baublet]

There's only one rational response to an e-mail like that: burn that mother down!

[Calinthalus]

There's only one rational response to an e-mail like that: burn that mother down!

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[Halleyscomet/Wakefield]

here is the response I got. I have a feeling it was the owner I dealt with.

Marc, I'm sorry you were made to feel uncomfortable in our shop, Heart's is a supplier of home brew products and although we would love  to teach home brewing, it is not possible for us to condense all the info required into a few minutes at our store. We are happy to answer specific question but what you asked was very broad, it is equivalent to, going to the grocery store picking up a chicken, going to checkout and asking the person to explain what else you need and all the procedures to make Coq Au Vin,  the only answer is, you have to pick up a book and become educated on the subject first, then we can help with problems you run into or tips. The local brew club is a great resource, they have lots of brew events  that will give you some insight into the process.

maybe one or two of my questions were broad, but question like "what should i start out with?" should be answerable. He didn't actually recommend any resources while I was in the store, so I didn't feel he cared about my learning. That and there was no excuse for his being blatantly rude.

I understand it might be frustrating to feel as though you are expected to explain all the details, but I used enough terminology to make it clear I had done some research.

This response does not make me feel any better, and I still don't plan on returning.

I go to Modern Brewer in Cambridge, MA. I've found the staff to be helpful and happy to answer any questions you may have. Yes, they tend to give shorter answers when the store is busy, but they still give you answers. They tend to recommend the kits with malt extract for beginners, as it's easier and cheaper to get started that way. You also need less equipment than you do for all-grain brewing.

"I'm looking to get some starter kit or something, I've never done this before."

A better reply would have been "We carry ingredient kits with canned malt extract over here." Points to the kits. "If you're new I'd recommend you start with an ingredient kit that has all you need to get started, even step-by-step directions! You generally get better results from all-grain, but that can be intimidating for many beginners. Do you already have some equipment, and if so, what do you have?"

That gets you directed to an easy starting point AND gives him an opening to sell you a brewing kit or up-sell you some all-grain brewing equipment.

[whitedevilbrewing]

When I went to a homebrew store for the first time, the guy (who was the owner, which may help) talked to me for like an hour, set me up with all the stuff I'd need (and in retrospect, didn't sell me anything unnecessary...), and was very encouraging. 

I support this letter.

[Neutral Milk]

Another question: I'm thinking about cooking my first batch of wort on Thursday. I'm going out of town on Friday until Sunday. If I do this will I miss out on a big part of the brewing process by not getting to enjoy the fermentation bubble?

It seems silly, but I'm wondering if you guys get a lot out of watching the fermentation process.

[whitedevilbrewing]

Possibly, yes.  You could also come home to the official homebrewer initiation of having to mop your ceiling.  You could also have a 4 day lag time... which would be bad.

I'd wait.  Seriously you want to be there if something bad happens (and to smell the yummy products of rampant yeast orgies).

[Neutral Milk]

4 day lag time? Meaning the yeast doesn't react?

Another question: Do you guys rehydrate the yeast, or just pour it in?

[Chew]

Another question: I'm thinking about cooking my first batch of wort on Thursday. I'm going out of town on Friday until Sunday. If I do this will I miss out on a big part of the brewing process by not getting to enjoy the fermentation bubble?

It seems silly, but I'm wondering if you guys get a lot out of watching the fermentation process.

Before you go be sure to top off your air lock with distilled/boiled water. If it were to dry out you could get undesired yeasties in your wort.

Your kit should tell you how. Most call for sprinkling it on top after it has cooled.

[whitedevilbrewing]

4 day lag time? Meaning the yeast doesn't react?

Another question: Do you guys rehydrate the yeast, or just pour it in?

Sorry I keep jargoning you.  Lag time = time between pitching the yeast (adding it to the wort, dammit!), and when it starts visibly fermenting.  You want as short a lag time as possible, for a couple reasons.  First it means you have a vigorous and healthy yeast population, which will produce a minimum of off flavors, and ferment to the final gravity you expect.  Second it will curtail any opportunity for undesirable bugs to establish a foothold in your wort. 

Yeast procedure depends on the product, but I would suggest getting in to making starters as soon as you can.  A good starter encourages short lag time and healthy fermentation ^^^ and is one of the biggest steps you can make in improving the final product.