Any Homebrew Beer makers?

[TenMile]

Wondering if there are any SFBC homebrew beer makers around? I've been brewing at a local Victoria micro-youbrew place for a couple years, but decided to give it a go at home this year using the "Brew in a Bag" method. Just started my 3rd 5 Gallon batch. Looking to share recipes and tips?

 

[Fixit]

Ive been brewing for the past two years, i use liquid malt/ 1lb or grain and fresh hops. once i figured out the kinks there were some really good batches.

best advice i can give:
-be clean/sanitary
-pay very close attention to times and temps, use a stopwatch and a thermometer
-fermentation temps are critical for a good product. i dont brew during the summer when it gets too hot. i like the basement to be 14*C / wort around 16-18


corny kegging cuts down on a lot of bottle cleaning, a few bucks to get started but awsome once your set up


i get my supplies from dans brewing on hasting street, downtown van... he has a good recipe book and all the advice you'll need.

very helpful for first timers or season brewers

 

[Kildonan]

I used to make it, I used the kits by BrewHouse. Easy to make a delicious beer with those. The IPA was my favourite.

 

[Sentinel]

All grain brewer here. Started 20 years ago using extract quit for 18 years and now back into it big time. All grain 15-20 gallon batches, hobby way out of control like fishing lol.

 

[TenMile]

Wow Sentinal -- that's over the top!!! You've got yourself a full brewery there! Fixit, your setup is more like mine.

So far, I'm using a 9 Gallon Turkey fryer for my wort along with a couple of carboys for my primary and secondary fermentation. I've bottled my first few batches and will likely eventually move to kegging. I've been doing a full grain Boil in a Bag (BIAB) brew and so far have made an Irish Red Ale, and a West Coast Pale Ale. I've got a Blonde Ale underway now and have the supplies for 4 more brews (Heffewizen, Kolsh, Session IPA and Rye Ale).

I've been getting my supplies from the shop on Findlayson in Victoria and have ordered full grain kits from Ontario Beer Kegs a few times -- decent prices when you order several kits in a row as they charge a flat rate for shipping. I noticed recently a big jump in their beer kit prices from the beginning of the year likely due to some USD pressures.

So far my investment has been pretty low. The turkey fryer I got from Canadian Tire and it's large enough to do a 5 gallon batch. Had enough friends who had old wine making supplies so got the carboys there. Siphons, hydrometer, cleaning supplies and thermometers all in a kit from the guy on Findlayson. Kits generally run $25-35 for 5 Gallons of beer (or $3 for a 6 pack) which you simply can't beat, particularly for the quality of the product.

First batch turned out just ok as I made a few mistakes, but the West Coast IPA was excellent and is almost gone.

 

[Corey_lax]

Sentinel is doing it right lol

 

[Fixit]

well ill just go sit in the corner while the real men make beer!


thats a hell of a set up!!!!!

 

[Sentinel]

Well making good beer is not totally a function of monetary outlay. Before the setup I have now, I made great all grain beer with a pretty modest setup of two converted kegs and and a $40 cooler for a mashtun. Don't let all grain scare you it is not that difficult and can be done fairly inexpensively. With the price of store bought beer up there I am surprised you all don't homebrew. I took a second job last Summer/Fall guiding and this added income allowed me to step up to my latest system. While I have 10 times more money invested compared to my old system I am not making beer that is 10 times better. What the new system does facilitate is repeatability and volume increase so I can brew less often and still keep up with demand allowing me to pursue my other affliction. Once a recipe is dialed in I can make it very similar every batch. If anybody is thinking about making the jump to all grain drop me a line and I can help, preventing you from making any missteps, been there done that! Tight lines and Happy brewing.

 

[cuttlefish]

I brew more along the line of what Fixit does. I use the Coopers kits (Australian) since they are readily available in Courtenay and the price is right ~ $17.00/kit + the cost of the dextrose, malt extract and/or hops as one wishes. All in, it's less than $25.00/batch or about a loonie/litre ($0.35/340 ml bottle)

I really enjoy their Stout, Dark Ale and Canadian Blonde Ale. They offer other varieties such as Pilsner, Lager and Light Ale but the first three are my favorites. They make 23 litre batches and I rack into 1 litre bottles which are portable but do cut down on the bottling a bit. One batch lasts me about one month but I limit my intake to ~2/3 of a litre/day. Results are pretty consistent if one follows the directions, emphasis on clean and sanitized equipment.

Sentinel's set up looks to me like something out of Breaking Bad (LOL). That is one serious brewery!