Beer: Me Love You Long Time (Introduction)

[6x7 Brew]

Hello all,

Not sure if I am in the right spot, but I guess if this is a forum about beer, I stumbled into a safe haven. My interest in brewing beer has been rejuvenated after a 15-year hiatus. But I have to tell you that my love for beer has certainly not been on hiatus. If anything, I am enjoying the finer side of beer today.

My brewing story all started after returning from a very long, six tours in the first Persian Gulf War. I gained lots of experience drinking all kinds of foreign beers. Upon my arrival back in the good old USA, I found the best way to have money for beer was to have roommates. Even when the money was scarce, at least I could pilfer the roommate’s beer. My assumption was that my roommates didn’t enjoy me helping myself to their stash, so they bought me a beer making kit for Christmas.

I had no idea that it would take the better part of a Saturday afternoon to make the beer; much less the two hours spent cleaning up the boil-over on the stove. Another downside of having roommates, you had to clean up messes before getting too drunk to clean. Imagine my state of shock when I finished cleaning this mess, only to find out that I could not drink this beer for “several” weeks, WTF. I was thirsty NOW!

After waiting, and waiting and waiting, the day finally came to unveil this swill! What a great day, I can drink as much as I want tonight. Let’s forget the bottle and drink straight from the fermentor bucket! After gathering my roommates and a few friends, I read the instructions for the bottling steps, and guess what, there was no bubbles in my ale. Well, I guess we had to go back to the liquor store for a couple cases of Coors Light. Who am I kidding, we only had enough money for three twelve packs (with coupon) of Milwaukee’s Best at CVS.

Well that was an interesting night bottling beer that smelled nothing like our precious Milwaukee’s Beast. This stuff smelled an awful lot like the Elephant Ale that I had to choke down in Mombasa Kenya. This was not my first choice of places to drink beer after being out at sea for 50+ days with no R&R. 120+ degrees in the shade, the beer was hotter than outside, and the AIDS rate there was 95%. Maybe this beer we made needed some time to settle into the bottle for a week, gather some fizz, and come out tasting like Coors Light!

A few weeks go by and I gather my friends around one more time for the uncorking of my masterpiece! We pulled the repacked Coors Light box from the closet, but something was wrong, the box was soaking wet. Maybe my cat wanted to be the first to try this stuff, but how could he use the bottle opener, he only learned to use a corkscrew the week before. The anticipation was killing the crowd, why the mess? Too much fizz, how could this be? We did everything the instructions said to do, but one extra step probably caused this catastrophe, we got drunk while we bottled. Lesson learned.

Well, 30 or so batches of interesting concoctions and I was ready for All-Grain. Not sure how to do it and no “google” to help, I joined an OC Brew Club. I went to a few meetings and met some great brewers. I made a couple of batched of good enough ale (actually, just piss that got me drunk). Then it happened…

I took my first position in the corporate world! Got myself a good cubicle, and never looked at another mash tun again. I hit the big-time, as much Coors Light as I could bring home in my beat up 1985 BMW 318i. All I needed to do, was swipe my debit card at Ralphs, and pray that the “Approved” Gods were with me.

Fast forward 15 or so years, two kids, a simi-productive career, and a new house with a “finished” backyard. You know the kind with a fridge right next to the built-in BBQ. What was I going to do with all my refrigerators? Stock more Coors Light? Nope, I already have the 36 packs stuffed into the garage fridge. Wow, we have come a long way in 15 years, now we have 36 packs. I guess that makes up for the “party ball” that went the way of the Walkman. I need to turn this “extra” fridge into a mini-Yard House. Bring on the tap!

Not sure what I’m gonna brew, but you can bet that I will not be bottling anything, I want to keg my beer.

Sorry for the long winded introduction, but I was wondering if there are any left-over brewers from the OC Brew Club. I don’t recall the name, but Yeast of Eden comes to mind. Any takers?

I’m sure there will be lots of noob questions that I will try and keep to a minimum, as I have learned that “google” is my friend.

Glad to know that brewing beer in the backyard is alive and well in OC!

Many regards,
6x7

[lexuschris]

Greetings & Welcome 6x7!!


If you love beer, then you came to the right place. I think we have at least 1 person around here who loves beer too!

Glad you found your way back to brewing! What kind of beers do you like to brew (& drink) nowadays? Tell us a bit about your brew setup too. Using a cooler mash tun? Fermenting in a bucket? carboy?


--LexusChris

[backyard brewer]

I remember Yeast of Eden, I think some iteration still exists if I'm not mistaken. When I checked it out it was back when the late Keith Hinkle from 'Shine of the Brew God' was spearheading it.

Welcome aboard, I think you'll find a fanatic or 2 here.

[dhempy]

Hey 6x7:

Great intro and welcome ... you sound like a guy that needs to brew ASAP. As Chris and Derrin mentioned, you will find a guy or two on this board that have more than a couple of brew sessions under their belt (in the last week!!) ... and occasionally you'll pick up some real good bits of information. When you're ready to get "obsessed" again, let us know and it'll be like drinking from a firehose ... don't hesitate to ask questions or for help .. that is what BrewCommune is all about. This is a great bunch.

Dan

[maltbarley]

Welcome 6x7,
I wish the beer that love me long time was only 2 dolla. My kids might have shoes if that was the case.

[6x7 Brew]

Lexuschris, Derrin, and Dan

Thanks for the warm welcome and to answer your questions, I am starting fresh with all new brew equipment. Cleaning out my garage 3 months ago, I decided it was time to throw away ALL old stuff and start from scratch. So, I am looking to invest in a few items and wanted some advice on where to purchase, what is the latest in brewing equipment, and any tricks to assembling my tools. Any help would be great.

First, I am building a new mash tun, as I intend to jump off the deep end with my first batch and go all grain from the beginning. I am wondering what are the best options for mash tun, cooler or kettle? I am leaning to go with the cooler, any recommendations on brand? As for the manifold, I would love to know if most use bazooka or PVC? The kettle sounds like a great idea, but before making the big investment, I want to be sure this is not just a whimsical idea, and I will be back to the store buying all my beer from Ralph. The flip side to the economics as I am sure many of you are aware is that I believe you buy the right too for the job and buy it once. So, I am open to ideas.

I would like to buy a nice SS brew kettle and want it outfitted with thermometer and ball valve for convenience. Not sure of the brand, as recommendations again welcome. I would plan to get a 15 gallon capacity kettle, although I am only planning on brewing 10 gallons max each brew. I will use the brew kettle to heat my strike water, and have plenty left for sparge.

As far as burner options, I will probably buy a turkey fryer with 30qt aluminum pot, as I can use the aluminum pot for draining my mash and sparge into. Then I plan to pour the wort into my SS 15 gallon kettle for boil. It would be nice to think that there is an economical burner like the ones at Wal-Mart or Target could be hooked up to LP gas. Anyone have idea there.

One thing I need to keep in mind is that I have to sore my equipment when not in use, so I can invest in a big set up.

I plan to initially brew IPA, American Lager, and maybe a pumpkin ale.

I appreciate all of the kind words, as it seems like a good group of folks!

Cheers,
6x7

[dhempy]

Hey 6x7 ...

How much are you looking to spend? Are you going to build everything yourself or buy some premade components? (sounds like you're handy and want to build). Personally, I like every vessel to be metal but that is a personal preference. Are you going to have pump(s) on your system or maybe utilize gravity in some way? What kind of stand are you considering (something like a Brutus)? What about temp control (like temp maintenance on the HLT or MASHTUN ... RIMS, HERMS, Direct Heat)? How do you plan to chill (immersion chiller, plate chiller)? Maybe you're considering just bare bones now and want to tinker and add things later? Sounds like you want to go propane versus NG.

Several of us have built systems (some more than others) and there is a list of questions you should really work through before you tear off and start acquiring things. Another good suggestion is to define YOUR process and build a system that facilitates the way you brew. If you haven't done so, I would recommend reading Palmer and refresh yourself on good brewing practices ... and then go and brew with a couple of AG brewers and look at their processes and systems before you make up your mind. That can save you a lot of headaches and re-dos. I'm brewing Sunday but I'm up here in Ventura County so I'm a bit G.U. However, I am sure you can find several sessions to sit in on without too much trouble. If you're in the OC, check in with Eric (OCERIC on this board) at Addison Homebrew Provisions. He hosts brew sessions at his shop fairly frequently.

Also check in with Don(backhouse brew) and Derrin (backyardbrewer). Both of these guys build systems. Derrin also builds high-end brewing hardware (check his sig for the website). There are also systems being built as we type ... see JonWs stand in the equipment forum under "Anyone Want a Brutus".

Last, if you want someone to build you a Brutus Stand, I still have a contact that will build a custom stand for you (this would be the cutting and welding of the steel tubing only, pots, plumbing, burners, would be on you). For that matter,he can build any kind of stand (gravity, multi-tier) for a reasonable price. PM me if you are interested.

Dan