Anybody into homebrewing?

I know of a couple guys on here that are into home brew, but just thought I would throw it out there to see if there are others.

Ohh, you and Ray (crusty) are going to hit it off, he has his own brew as well as his own wine...

sisterlimonpot wrote:Ohh, you and Ray (crusty) are going to hit it off, he has his own brew as well as his own wine...

Yea, I have seen Ray's setup. He showed it all to me. He is also the one who9 built my custom stand for my tank. Great guy!

Is that you Vince?

Long time no see. How's the home brew going?

homebrew as in making alcohol or homebrew as in creating things for you hobbies?

As for the alcohol side, I have always wanted to try making wine.

as for the hobby side, I have always tried to make sstuff work that wasn't supposed to...

Home brew as in fermenting some good barley and hops to make a delicous refreshing drink. Or as in fermenting the fruit of the vine to also make a refreshing drink.

I do both. Beer for me and wine for the wife. Happy wife, Happy life.

hey Vince, you doing Mash? Malt Extract? Or powder?

I've got a gallon of Pilsen Malt extract that I'm not going to use if you think you could use it. If so, just stop by and pick it up some time.

You willing to give a DIY on Wine making?

[quote="Crusty Old Shellback"]Is that you Vince?

Long time no see. How's the home brew going?[/quote


Yup, it's me. The home brewing is going great. We have done about 6 or 7 batches now. I do all kinds... the last few batches were all grain (mash) but i have been wanting to do an extract because that is so much quicker and less cleaning afterwards. I'll be more than happy to take that pilsen extract off your hands, I'll find something good to do with it!

Also, I built a kegerator out of a chest freezer and have 2 taps on it so far.

I haven't tried wine, but maybe some day. My wife is getting more into wine, and still trying to find what she likes.

Give me a ring sometime and you can pick it up.

As for venting wine, I use a kit from R.J. Spangol. It's similar to how I do beer from the malt extracts. But it's actuall easier as there is no boiling, steeping of hops etc. Just mix, add some oak chips if desired and pitch the yeast.

maybe one day we can have a instructional session at my house and do a little sampling of homebrews.

Nikecivic was doing homebrew but I talked with him yesterday and he said he's out and ha ssold his equipment. Not enough time.

Just a little FYI for those interested.

Three basic rules to get started.
1. Sanatize everything. DO NOT overlook this part.
2. Follow the directions to the lettr until you've done it a few times and understand the complete process. trust me, you'll know when it's time to deiavate from the directions.
3. DO NOT MIX wine and beer brewing equipment. A beer bussines ha dto shut down becaus ethey though it would be Ok to use the left over wine equipment from the previous bussines. One set of equipment for wine, and another for beer. They do not mix, unless you want some really bad tasting stuff.


I use Mr Beer for my brewing. It's a malt extract style of brewing and is fairly simple. It makes 2 Ga of beer in a batch and cost me about a dollar a pint for some great beers of any style. It takes 3 weeks to ferment a batch before bottling and another 3 weeks of aging before it's ready to drink. I keep three batches going almost all the time. Takes me about an hour on Sunday morning to bottle a batch and then start another batch brewing. Their starter kit runs about 30 bucks not including bottles. I get my malt extract from them but I get my Hops from a local beer and wine store. See below.

For wine, I use R,J, Spangol's Cru Select kits. Winexpert is another brand I used but they are now harder to get and my supplier dosen't carry them anymore. The kit is simple and makes 6 Ga of wine. It cost about 3.50 a bottle for a good white wine with grapes from all over the world. They also make red wines. It take sme about an hour to get the wine started fermentating, about a week later I move it into secondary fermentation which takes about 30 min, and then about 2 weeks later I have to stabilize and clear which takes about 30 min again. It takes a good two weeks to clear. Once cleared, it takes me a good hour to bottle, cork and label. Then I have to sit and let it age for at least a month. I try to keep enough going so that I can have the wine age for at least 6 months. You can find a starter equipment kit for around 120 bucks.

As for taste, Let's just say that I haven't bought very many bottles of beer or wine in the last 3 years or so. The beer taste great. better than any of the store bought beers for the most part. The one's I brew run about 6.0% Alchol. The wine runs a little sweeter than store bought but there is a ton more flavor than the store bought. The alchol level is a bit lower, at about 10.5 to 11 %, than store bought and that probaly is what contributes to more flavor in the wine.

Here's where I get my stuff from:

www.mrbeer.com On line beer supply store

http://www.homebeerwinecheese.com/ Local store over in woodland hills at the fallbrook exit off of 101.