We all know booze and guns don't mix, but...

[KBCraig]

How does one brew ones own beer???

People have been brewing beer for 6,000 years. Google is your friend.

Dad always laughed about the cans of Blue Ribbon Malt Extract that had a notice on the label during Prohibition: "Warning: Do not add yeast to the contents of this can and allow to ferment in a warm place, which will produce beer, which is illegal."

[Skiprr]

Thanks, WildBill. I'm a NCIC (Non-Connoisseur Infrequent Consumer), and should learn more. Maybe I could try some of those Spec's instructional events...

[DoubleJ]

..are there any homebrewers in the house?

Just curious.

-Cain

How does one brew ones own beer???

carefully

[WildBill]

Thanks, WildBill. I'm a NCIC (Non-Connoisseur Infrequent Consumer), and should learn more. Maybe I could try some of those Spec's instructional events...

I do appreciate a good wine, but I don't consider myself a wine connoisseur, because I am not a very good taster. Although some of my friends would disagree, I am not wine snob either. In fact, tonight I will enoy a Chardonnay with my medium rare ribeye steak!

Spec's type events are one way to learn. There are also some wine bars where to you get small samples of different kinds of wines to try. The only way you find out what you like is to taste different wines and figure out which ones taste best to you. To me it's part of being a "food explorer."

[NcongruNt]

There's always wine-tasting classes. My uncle is an enologist (currently, the State Enologist for Colorado), and I know that he's taught many a class at his associated universities on wine tasting. I would venture to guess he's not the only one to teach wine tasting, so perhaps you could refine your palate with some instruction.

[Fosforos]

How does one brew ones own beer???

Basic steps are:

1. Boil the wort (beer term for unfermented beer). During the one hour long boil, hops are added at different times for different pursposes: bittering, flavoring, finishing.

2. Cool down the wort to about room temperature as fast as possbile. Transfer to fermentation vessel (plastic bucket or glass carboy). Add yeast, and attach air lock or blow off hose to fermentation tank.

3. Watch all hell break loose in the bucket/carboy. Watch the bubbling in the fermantation lock with giddy delight. This goes on for a few days or a week.

4. Transfer beer to a secondary tank for a week to clear up (yeast falls to bottom). This step is optional

5. Bottling. Some sugar is added to the beer before it's bottled, and the remaining yeast will eat it up and provide the carbonation. Too much sugar can lead to some excitement (exploding bottles). Bottles are stored at room temperature for about 2 weeks.

6. Enjoy the fruit of your labors.

Main concern when brewing is sanitation. Anything that touches the beer after it has cooled down from the boil has to be sanitized.

I've been home brewing for a couple of years. Started out trying to make mead, but that's didn't work too well. I just don't have the patience to wait for it to mature.

Beer is much more fun for me. From boil to drinking in about 4 weeks. My latest batch is a Double Bock. It turned out good, but it's out of season - too heavy for a summer beer.

There's plenty of info on the web on how to brew beer. If anyone wants a book on the subject, pick up "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian.
Brewing is easy and the basic equipment does not cost a lot.

[lunchbox]

sounds like its easier to just go get a six pack at walmart

How does one brew ones own beer???

Basic steps are:

1. Boil the wort (beer term for unfermented beer). During the one hour long boil, hops are added at different times for different pursposes: bittering, flavoring, finishing.

2. Cool down the wort to about room temperature as fast as possbile. Transfer to fermentation vessel (plastic bucket or glass carboy). Add yeast, and attach air lock or blow off hose to fermentation tank.

3. Watch all heck break loose in the bucket/carboy. Watch the bubbling in the fermantation lock with giddy delight. This goes on for a few days or a week.

4. Transfer beer to a secondary tank for a week to clear up (yeast falls to bottom). This step is optional

5. Bottling. Some sugar is added to the beer before it's bottled, and the remaining yeast will eat it up and provide the carbonation. Too much sugar can lead to some excitement (exploding bottles). Bottles are stored at room temperature for about 2 weeks.

6. Enjoy the fruit of your labors.

Main concern when brewing is sanitation. Anything that touches the beer after it has cooled down from the boil has to be sanitized.

I've been home brewing for a couple of years. Started out trying to make mead, but that's didn't work too well. I just don't have the patience to wait for it to mature.

Beer is much more fun for me. From boil to drinking in about 4 weeks. My latest batch is a Double Bock. It turned out good, but it's out of season - too heavy for a summer beer.

There's plenty of info on the web on how to brew beer. If anyone wants a book on the subject, pick up "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian.
Brewing is easy and the basic equipment does not cost a lot.

[KBCraig]

sounds like its easier to just go get a six pack at walmart

Sure it is. It's also easier to pick up a Big Mac at the drive-through than to spend all day and all night prepping and smoking a brisket.

[WildBill]

There's plenty of info on the web on how to brew beer. If anyone wants a book on the subject, pick up "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian. Brewing is easy and the basic equipment does not cost a lot.

Disclaimer: This story supports my friend's theory that I am a [wine, food, beer] snob.

There is a homebrew store near my work that sells all of the equipment and supplies needed to make beer. Although I didn't know it at the time, about a year ago, a friend of mine visited that store and decided to give home brewing a try. My friend is the "adventurous type", but had absolutely no background or experience making beer.

One night, that same friend decided to play a little game with me when he invited me over for dinner. After I got to his apartment I went into the living room, said hello to a group of our friends, and took a seat. After a few minutes he asked if I wanted a beer. I told him, "no thanks." I had brought a bottle of wine. Several times he suggested that I have a beer before dinner, but I kept telling him I would rather have a glass of wine.

For some reason, that night my friend was very insistent, so I finally agreed to have a beer before dinner. He went to kitchen, opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle, opened it and poured it into a glass. He put down the bottle on the kitchen table, brought the glass of brew into the living room and asked me to taste it. He had a sly grin on his face and was acting a bit strange, but I couldn't quite figure out what was going on.

Something about the whole experience struck me as a bit odd. His other friends [who already knew his little secret] were sitting around watching and listening. I was a little suspicious because in all the time that I have known him he served his beer directly from it's original container. Finally, I took a sip and it it tasted pretty good. Not until I told him that it tasted "pretty good" did he tell me that he had brewed it himself. As I recall, it was only his second or third batch, but I was very pleased with his results.