First Time Homebrewers

[binkyboots]

Ok, I'm on childminding duty for the holidays, six glorious weeks of domestic bliss!

I've a few plans, cooking as a (basic) science and maths primer, we plan pasta making, rolling our own couscous, more breadmaking than you can shake a stick at and perhaps building an outdoor brick oven (though that may be shelved for next year)

I thought a nice complement to our cooking activities would be homebrewing. We made wine at school as part of a chemistry lesson, fascinating stuff, but not drinkable at all!

last summer I made mead, accidental mead, lol, I bought a bottle and air lock, boiled some honey and water, dropped in some wine yeast and hoped for the best... it's certainly alchoholic and pretty tasty.

however, I'd like to approach this in a more organised way. child is seven and enthusiastic, not because she likes beer, but because she loves making things.

so, I fancy making something which is easy, tasty and will be ready in time for halloween.

beers I've drunk and loved include hobgoblin ale and oatmeal stout, chocolatey, toffee and fairly smooth.

so, I need some help, some really easy to understand help.

I have a hydrometer, some demi johns, an airlock, siphoning tube and a lot of interest in learning more.

I need a big bucket I guess.

then, grains? hops? how much? and once I have it what do I do?

I've read threads here and elsewhere, but all are too technical (or sound like they are) for this first timer!

pictures will be posted as we go.

[Okbrewer]

While I applaud your enthusiasm and encourage you to make beer, eventually, if you want to involve your 7 year old in this sort of activity, I would suggest perhaps making a soft drink, like root beer or ginger ale. The process is similar, but the finished product would be something your child and her friends could consume.

Root beer making can be a simple process if you use extract, or it can be made more difficult if you use herbs and spices. There are many step-by-step sources on the web that will show you the ingredients needed and the process. Also, the finished product is ready to be enjoyed much sooner than with beer!

If you have your heart set on beer, then I suggest you go to your local homebrew supply shop for instructions or to watch the process.

[cdh]

Hate to hear that the other homebrewing threads here have scared you with complexity... but homebrewing is not quite as simple as meadmaking is.

Your easiest bet is to find a pre-hopped extract kit, where the only challenge is dumping it into some hot water and stirring it. That takes the complexity down almost to meadmaking levels.

The complexity comes back when you do the hopping yourself... and when you choose specialized yeasts... and if you choose to start with grains rather than malt extract syrup. All of those are options... but not required.

What level of involvement and hand-holding are you looking for? Plenty of brewers are here to help you if you get flummoxed. Just ask.

I'd second Bob's soft-drink suggestion. Try making your own ginger ale or root beer. A big part of the fun is the self-carbonating effect the yeast have on it. Nothing more magical than sealing a bottle of flat stuff and having it become all fizzy in a week.

Edited July 6, 2005 by cdh (log)

[nr706]

For a first timer, I'd suggest a kit. Pre-hopped malt extract, some specialty grains, dry yeast - it'll all be in there - ask at your homebrew shop (or get it online - I get my supplies from Leeners in Ohio. You'll also need about 50 ± 5 -10 bottles (no screw-cap bottles, and preferably brown glass) and the same number of bottle caps and a capper. After a few batches of this, you can graduate to all-grain, make yourself a vessel for mashing and lautering, etc. but to start, the kits make pretty decent, drinkable beer (certainly better than your basic BudMilCoors).

[binkyboots]

thank you, ok...

ginger or root beer, good idea! I'll look up some sites and see what we can find. I'm sure she'd be pleased to get a drinkable end result.

our motivation for making beer is, her uncle's birthday, she'd like to make some for it. her suggestion after noticing a homebrew shop while we were out for a walk. she goes to a steiner school so there is a lot of focus on making things with real results, tangible evidence that learning has happened.

I am a coward and was too intimidated to go on in and have a chat that day, however, armed with more information I think a visit to check out his beer kits will be the next step.

I suspect there is more to mead than I realised too, that the stuff is drinkable is down to luck I imagine

we will update as we go, might take her out tommorow to have a talk about kits. do you think a homebrew shop would have the ingredients for root beer too? something fast and more suited to her age might be a good introduction for us both.

[cdh]

Here's a good article on brewing soft drinks that should get you going in the right direction.

http://byo.com/feature/547.html

[Okbrewer]

Most homebrew shops also carry soft drink extracts. But you might try your local supermarket too. Zatarain's Root Beer extract is one to look for. If going the extract route, all you need is the extract, some sugar, water, and some yeast. You can make as little or as much as you can handle. To start, you might try a small batch in a clean, screw-top, plastic soft drink bottle. Using a funnel, add sugar and yeast to the bottle, some extract, fill part way with filtered water, shake to dissolve all ingredients, fill up with water to about an inch from the top, put the cap on and put it in the fridge. When the bottle feels pressurized, hard like a new bottle of soft drink, carefully open and enjoy. This is obviously not a precise recipe I've given, so look on the web for exact measurements of ingredients. The yeast in the homemade rootbeer will eat the sugar and as a result create CO2 and alcohol. But the alcohol will be negligible, so don't worry about intoxicating the child!

[TongoRad]

The kits and homemade sodas are great ideas. You don't have to worry about adding too much of this, not enough of that..., and you can concentrate on fundamentals. I would also encourage you not to feel intimidated about asking too many questions at first; every homebrew shop I've been to has had people who bend over backwards to make beginners feel at ease. Just make sure you have a good understanding of the process before you get started. And- this cannot be overstated- be very wary of your sanitation procedures. Most folks use bleach when they get started, which is fine, just be sure to give it enough time and to give it a good rinse.

I suspect there is more to mead than I realised too, that the stuff is drinkable is down to luck I imagine 

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FWIW- chances are, if you added a wine yeast, you used what is called a "killer" strain, which would have put the odds of success in your favor. To make something 'drinkable' you just have to mitigate the odds of something bad occuring. To get beyond that level, well, that is a pretty fun journey in and of itself, and I'm sure you'll have plenty of help along the way if you need it. Good luck.

[JennotJenn]

Our bigger homebrew store carries soda making supplies. I would call and ask.

I will say that, with beer, our biggest concern is always with sanitation, which, even as a 27 year old with a reasonable attention span, gets old fast (husband is a super-sticktler) because there are so many steps at which the beer can become contaminated. A kit may cut the steps down to a point where it's a less annoying concern.

[mtigges]

I will say that, with beer, our biggest concern is always with sanitation, which, even as a 27 year old with a reasonable attention span, gets old fast (husband is a super-sticktler) because there are so many steps at which the beer can become contaminated.

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Actually this is not really very true. There is only one point where it is easy to have the beer infected. That is when it is not yet beer. You must make sure that what you are fermenting is extraordinarily clean and sanitary (these are different things). Make sure that your primary fermenter (presumably a plastic bucket) is very clean, soaking overnight with Oxiclean (preferably without the blue crystals) will do that. Then rinse the bucket with a sanitizer. The best for homebrewing is called StarSan from Five Star Chemicals. Your local HB store likely carries it.

After fermentation it becomes much more difficult for nasties to infect your beer. It would certainly behoove you to santize your bottles if you are bottling, and any other vessel that the beer will be in contact with, but it is not nearly as critical as with the fermenter. Luckily StarSan makes sanitizing extraordinarily easy so you really don't have to worry about it too much. Do not be scared away from making beer because you think you must be sterile or close to it. It's just not the case.

Top 3 things to ensure that you have uninfected beer:

1. Cool after the boil as fast as you can. This essentially comes down to ensuring that the yeast is pitched as soon as possible.

2. Clean your fermenter very well, preferably with chemicals (like oxyclean) no scrubbing. Sanitize your fermenter with a no-rinse sanitizer, like StarSan.

3. Pitch an adequate amount of yeast. You want the yeast to finish respiration in under 12 hours. Once you have the critical population where fermentation proper has begun you have severely reduced the risk of infection.

With regard to #3, the Danstar 11gram packs of dried yeast are pretty good for around 20 litres. However the tubes and smack packs from WYeast and White Labs are not. I'm not sure about the new XL packs, but the smaller ones are not sufficient, you should make a starter. Though for beginners it's probably not adviseable to do so.

Mark.