Author Topic: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread  (Read 29520 times)

Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #30 on: November 25, 2011, 02:33:59 AM »
I came across this DIY bottle drying rack, and it's genius really. If you are like me, you have one of these dog crates collecting dust in storage. Time to pull that sucker out and give it a good bath!!

hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

hans

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #31 on: November 26, 2011, 03:29:39 PM »
I justed brewed my first batch yesterday. Hop head double IPA kit from midwestsupplies.com. Next up is a honey amber for the gf. I really hope my ipa turns out drinkable. Next time I think I'll primary in bottles instead of the bucket though. I'm waiting on airlock action (which might not ever come) and can't stand not seeing anything "happening". I'm sure everything is fine but it still drives me crazy. They need to make the primary buckets clear.

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Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #32 on: November 26, 2011, 04:02:13 PM »
What yeast are you using? My Nottingham yeast shows no action for about 24 hours usually, but once it hits it takes off like crazy. Right now my batch is a 4wk recipe using most yeasts, two weeks with Nottingham.

Also MWS is ok, but they overcharge for s/h. Check out apexbrewwares.com
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

hans

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #33 on: November 26, 2011, 04:41:43 PM »
I used rehydrated safale US-05.

I live about a mile away from MWS. No shipping problems.

Also have northernbrewer.com not too far away.
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Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #34 on: November 26, 2011, 06:40:47 PM »
Northern Brewer is another good one. Apex is my closest at about 4 hours, so your lucky.
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #35 on: November 28, 2011, 05:24:55 PM »
So I have been playing with Beer Target. It's open source, and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It works great, it's amazingly easy to use, and fully customizeable. The programmer is also a member of HBT and takes opinions from the community all the time.

Check it out for sure.
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

hans

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #36 on: November 28, 2011, 09:03:13 PM »
Came home to a nice bubbling bucket today. Eases my mind that this is probably going to turn out. Got about a week now then I get to rack it and dry hop for another week or two and bottle right before Xmas I think. Might not be carbonated for Xmas but should make some nice gifts.

I'm going to brew a honey amber for the gf this weekend and maybe get a mead going.
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Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #37 on: November 28, 2011, 09:19:16 PM »
My Apfelwein will be ready to bottle (ok, SHOULD) before christmas, no carb though. The bottles are actually being etched in a christmas theme by Ashley, and we are gifting out six or so bottles. The rest will be carbonated and aged.
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #38 on: November 29, 2011, 12:21:23 AM »
Had to take a gravity reading a while ago so i stole a taste, coming along nicely!! The yeast smell has vanished from the airlock, and the brew room smells like apples now.
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #39 on: December 01, 2011, 10:23:11 PM »
So today the Apfelwein is nearly completely clear (way ahead of schedule) and the fermentation is still going along STRONG. It literally looks like it is boiling inside the carboy. I'm going to let it ride until the fermentation drops on it's own. This stuff should be gooooood.

I have decided to bottle 2 gallons of it into a one gallon container and 20oz soda bottles just shy of a full stop so that some of it will be naturally carbonated. The rest of it will be racked to secondary and then bottled still.
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #40 on: December 03, 2011, 07:40:11 PM »
Anyone growing their own hops?
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

hans

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #41 on: December 06, 2011, 11:06:18 PM »
Just finished racking for my dry hop/secondary phase. Took another gravity reading and it looks like I might be somewhere around 10-11%. I tasted the gravity sample and it's not too bad. Good flavor and plenty of hops but tasted just a little bit thin/watery. Not sure if that will change as it finishes up so we'll see. Two more ounces of Cascade hops is going to really pack a punch when this thing is done.

So, two more weeks and bottling just in time to give them as Xmas gifts.
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Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #42 on: December 07, 2011, 10:24:15 AM »
Sweet! I'll be bottling two of my batchez this weekend or early next week. The Apfelwein is christmas presents for some, and then the 10 gallons of hard cider is for a few partys.
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #43 on: December 09, 2011, 09:05:55 PM »
The Apfelwein is done, and maaaaaaan it is GOOD. Can't wait to bottle it this weekend!

Tonight I harvested and froze yeast for the first time, and it was incredibly easy. I will be doing this from  now on.
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

Steve

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Re: Official Esink Home Brewing Thread
« Reply #44 on: December 11, 2011, 09:30:41 PM »
Thought you guys might enjoy this. Attached  :thumbsup:
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?