SOT: best beers?

Absolutely expected. Mainly... that it took you all the way till your college years to learn it.

Sure. Can't understand the complaint that it is too much work. I love it.

I assume they are approaching it as a "problem" or "task." That is a mistake in my opinion.

I steep grains the night before in a grain sack and put the brew kettle in a cooler to keep it hot overnight. Time: nine minutes most of that waiting for water to heat not "working."

Next morning I make coffee and then start the yeast. Soak bottles in my bottling bucket (prevents having to sanitize the bucket and use the tubing to drain the bucket - sanitizing the tubing and utensils in one go).

Rinse bottles (no effort with a bottle rinsing attachment to the faucet). Prime and bottle: 30 minutes max for two cases.

While this is going on my brew kettle is on the stove with malt extract and hops coming to a boil. Hold the boil for 30 minutes add flavor and aroma hops. Cool the kettle. Pour the wort into the carboy add water, pitch the yeast, and beer happens.

It helps to have several of the stalwart brown bottle soldiers to aid the campaign and something like Vivaldi on the stereo.

Total effort ~2 hours. Work? If you think cooking and baking are work this is work too. If you enjoy the challenge and satisfaction, it isn't work.

For around 50 cents a bottle I get beer I'd be pay $3 a bottle to drink. For eight cents a bottle I can clone Bud - but that would be work.

I brew two batches concurrently. One day a week I bottle and brew the next batch. Only brew three - four months out of the year for the whole year. If I had the room I'd go for whole grain and a batch size of 30 gallons.

around two hours to make two cases (total time effort over the course of one day, after learning the techniques involved) How fast can you drink? Or how fast can you drink 6 percent and up beer?

Neither. THe classic vinegar with fish'n'chips or pasties is malt vinegar. Boil with a few mint leaves and brown sugar and you have a lamb sauce to die for.

Ji

I can't speak to the fish, but it goes well on chips/fries, tater-tots, baked potatoes...

Sorry, that's what I meant.

Is that how mint sauce is made? N\\

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Adolescence peeks out again.

Don't know how I went a week without noticing this thread.

Yes, SS Oatmeal Stout has my vote, hands down.

Mark

default snipped-for-privacy@defaulter.net posted to sci.electronics.design:

When they i do a batch it is about 5 US gallons. One evening to make, a couple of weeks to ferment, charge up the tank, attach the tap and enjoy. Every batch so far has been very good and a different variety.

I think the first times I did made beer it was a pain - simply because I had no idea what I was doing. Open a book read, gather the utensils, read some more, do one procedure, read some more, etc.. Then the first batch was nothing to brag about - sanitized with bleach and that just doesn't taste good in spite of all the rinsing.

It seems daunting enough when you think about all the steps involved. It is a lot less daunting when you approach it as any production problem and try to streamline it to its basic form and eliminate the superfluous and redundant tasks.

I'll probably stick to my own technique, but I've experimented with some no boil kits and kit beers and they are excellent if a bit more money. - and less things to tweak so the artistic expression is missing. The "work" is all but eliminated with no-boil.

I think it is significant that most of the people I've known to quit - do so after the first "season" of making it. They go great guns and are having fun doing it but when the next year comes around they just remember the hassle, and tell everyone that they quit because it was too much work and they don't have the time.

I make or have made sausage, cheese, pickles, corned beef, sauerkraut, breads, pastries, yogurt, cream cheese, hominy, soy sauce (fermented), vinegar, wine, cider, mead, etc.. I don't do cakes and cookies - my wife has that nailed. I will do donuts and pies and filled and puff paste. Beer? no problem.

"Quit playing with your food!"

How many types of SS beers have you sampled? The Oatmeal Stout is excellent.

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I really liked Henry Weinhard's, when I was on the left coast. Anymore, I'm stuck with IBC. :-(

AFAICR, that's the only one I've tried. Not that easy to find around here (central New Jersey), it's at most 50/50 that a local liquor store will have it in stock on a given day.

Mark