Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with brew

Shortcuting the brewing process

brenton — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:19:03 -0800

I was going to make hard apple cider with champagne yeast for a party on Dec. 8th but wasn't able to start it in time. I know the brew process takes 14 days, but is there a way to speed it up? I have a bunch of packets of EC-1118 yeast (saccharomyces cerevisiae). I have a friend with all the equipment. I haven't bought the apple juice yet. Is it important to let the process go through all 14 days? Is there a way to speed it up? Is there some other thing I could make in a mere 10 days?

Cleanliness: On tap!

1f2frfbf — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:11:15 -0800

What's the best system for cleaning a kegerator? I have this kegerator. I've enjoyed several kegs of beer in it, but now I want to clean the lines to keep everything fresh and tasty. What are my best options for doing so? Are the pump cleaners worth it? Can I make my own gravity feed system (I'm pretty handy with stuff)? What's the best cleaning solution? What's your best pro-tip? Tell me everything.

Video streaming from a small club

Chuckles — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 17:14:06 -0800

My friend would like to stream video from a small club he volunteers in. It is purely not for profit stuff, the Celebrity Club in Performing Arts Lodge Toronto. We have a pretty nice audio system, but now he'd like to allow residents to view what's happening in the club in real time. It doesn't have to be secure, but it is intended only for the residents.

I'm looking for camera recommendations, but I'm also looking for any how to information at all. While I'm very technical, I haven't done anything in this area at all. What about software or hardware? Considering upload speeds in Toronto, we might need a streaming host for this?

Budget is something less than $2000, hopefully considerably less. I'm good at scrounging the little things though, so that adds some flexibility. I'm very technical, he is a little technical, and the residents are not at all technical.

In Soviet Russia, they make this crazy drink out of bull balls...

buckaroo_benzai — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:52:31 -0800

What kind of crazy and obscure drinks can I brew at home? So the other day I gave a business associate a bottle of homemade kombucha and in return he traded me a bottle of Nocino. I'd never heard of such a concoction but oh boy it was mmm mmm good!

This got me thinking: besides wine, beer, mead, ginger ale, and kombucha, what are some other drinks I can make at home? The more obscure and culturally significant the better.

I live just north of San Francisco so I have access to pretty much everything.

Thanks!

Help me start homebrewing!

auto-correct — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:12:22 -0800

Help me start homebrewing! I need advice for the simplest possible homebrew setup. I've been ordering and bottling "homebrew" beer from a local shop for the past few months, and I'd like to start actually brewing my own in my house.

A friend has offered to sell me his old equipment (here): basically a fermenter, a carboy with airlock, and tubing.

I'm looking to do this as simply as possible to start, and then build up from there. I figure that probably means buying no-boil ingredient kits.

I know I'll need to buy some sort of disinfectant, but is there any other equipment I'll need before I get started? Can you recommend any simple ingredient kits you've had success with that would be good for a beginner? (I'm in Canada, if it matters). I plan on asking these questions at my brew shop as well, but I'd like some other opinions so they don't try to sell me things I don't need.

Also, do you know of any good online resources for beginners? My google searches are just turning up lots of people trying to sell me things.

Thanks!

The tea to water volume ratio divided by temperature minus steeping time

brenton — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:19:37 -0800

Tea Brewing question. Help me fill in a few missing details for how to brew the perfect cup of tea. Bonus question: should I trust the instructions printed on the box? So here is what I do know about how to brew tea: Warm the cup. Pour just-boiling water over the teabag. Cover, and let it steep no less than 3 minutes, no more than 5.

Missing Details--How big of a cup? Are we talking tiny teacups? A literal 1-cup measurement? Is this different based on the company? I sometimes suspect that British teabags are designed for British teacups, while 1 American teabag is designed for the standard, larger American coffee mug. Or maybe teabags assume a big mug, while loose leaf instructions assume teacups?

The old "one for each person and one for the pot" logic doesn't help me here... the question is about how much *water*, not how much tea.

Bonus:
So I know you steep Green Tea at a lower temperature, but I assumed you'd steep it for the same amount of time.. yet one package I have advises me to "wait about 30 seconds before you remove the tea bag from your cup." How can this be? Could it be because it's using fine fanning/dust in the teabag? (Which I would think would affect the tea/water ratio, not steeping time.) Furthermore, I have a White Tea box that suggests full boiling water for 3-5 minutes, as if it were black tea. What's going on?

Final question: can white and green tea be re-steeped for different flavors? Does this depend on the quality of tea, or can all white teas be re-steeped?

Home Brewing Help!!!

Mastercheddaar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:06:56 -0800

To all home brewers out there: Need help with a recipe. I know the basics when it comes to home brewing, however, I am trying to make a Cherry Wheat Ale. (Kind of like Sam Adams version.) My first batch I made turned out ok. It had a mild cherry flavor and a sweet wheat flavor. Not bad but it really didn't taste anything like a Cherry Wheat. After about a week when everything was said and done (after the 1st and 2nd fermentation) the cherry flavor that was there disappeared. It was like it was never there to begin with. All the bottles were capped and sealed. When you opened the bottle the beer was still bubbly and foamy. I am not sure what I did wrong? I used a cherry extract and I brewed 6 bags of cherry green tea for the cherry flavor. Anyone have any experience making this type of ale before? Any hints on making fruit flavored wheat ales in general? Should I have used actual cherries in the brewing? All help will be appreciated.

Best Beer Selection in NYC?

Black_Umbrella — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 07:36:03 -0800

I am looking for a place in NYC that is like the RFD in Washington DC. Any beer aficionados know? I am looking for a place that serves a very wide range of beer on tap and in bottle. Small craft breweries, world wide breweries, everything.

Help me get the fizz into my home made root beer

markblasco — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:15:19 -0800

Help me get the fizz into my home made root beer I am starting out with making root beer at home. I have the extract, mix it with the sugar and ale yeast, and put it into 2 liter bottles. I leave about 2 inches of air space at the top after adding the water. After leaving the bottles out for about 2 days, they are pretty solid to the touch, so I put them in the fridge. I left them there for 2 days. When opening the bottles, the flavor is good, but there is absolutely no fizz. I thought leaving them out until the bottle was firm would do it, but no luck with that so far.

Is there anything I am missing? Should I be leaving more or less air space in the bottles? Should I leave them out longer after they have become firm?

Brew pubs in London?

team lowkey — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:21:56 -0800

Are there any good brew pubs in London? I've been to a lot of brew pubs (pubs that brew their own beer) in the western US, will be in London for a few days, and want to see what London has to offer. Are there brew pubs in London? If so, which ones are not to be missed? I particularly like stouts and non-hoppy ales (especially Belgian style). If there aren't actual brew pubs, where are the best places to drink the best beers? Bonus points for exceptional fish and chips. (Apologies if there is an inordinate amount of ignorance in this question. I haven't been outside of the Americas since I was 14).

What to consider when opening a brewery?

Telf — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:20:06 -0800

I think my town could support a microbrewery. Where do I start? What are some considerations? I live in Gainesville FL, the home of the University of Florida. UF has somewhere in the neighborhood of 50k students. We have a fairly beer-savvy community. Between the students, the townies, the grads that never leave and the alumni that come every football season, this town loves beer. We have pubs that feature 200+ beers. We have multiple stores that carry rare american craft and microbrews, many people drink belgian ales, one pub has a belgian on tap. We have an active homebrewing club and a successful home brewing supply shop. There are 2 brew pubs (If you count Hops as one).

I have NOT dug into the legislation yet, obviously that should be my first priority. How do I even start that? Where do I go?

Ignoring laws for one second, what else do I need to consider? I'm on pretty good terms with a number of local restaurant owners, I think I could get some start up money. How do I create a business plan, where do I get the "numbers" from? Is there a resource for getting information on similar projects/businesses?

Though I'd eventually like to run a pub of some sort, I'm imagining a straight brewery that distributes to local stores and bars.

I haven't decided whether bottling or kegging is the way to go, I imagine that bottles would lead to easier distribution. I'd want to minimize initial costs and just focus on one method or another.

Help me flesh out my hazy ideas or point me in the direction of some good resources.

Finally, I don't think this will work unless I can put out a bottle that is at least as cheap as Sam Adams to the consumer. What scale would I have to reach to begin making beer rather cheap/profitable. I'd like to be able to compete with common premium beers sold at most restaurants.

Thanks.

Coffee Filter. Best Coffee Pot.

benjh — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 16:38:12 -0800

Coffee Filter. I'm not entirely happy with my current coffee brewer (Hamilton Beach Brewstation, 1 Year Old), and I am considering something new. Does anyone have any specific recommendations? I grind my own beans using a burr grinder, no pre-ground. I've looked at some, but it is hard to tell if you don't see (and taste) them in action.

Austin, TX recommendations

spock — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 07:52:16 -0800

I'm going to be in downtown Austin, TX for a conference at the end of this week and would appreciate recommendations to any good food/brew in the area. I'll be at the Hilton Convention Center and without rental car, so walking distance radius, please. Also, does anyone know how tough it is to use the Austin bus system? I'd love to go from the Hilton, (at 500 E. 4th St) to the Austin Homebrew Supply store: 7951 Burnet Road

(Small town boy with no city bus experience)
: )
TIA

Easy to make hard (cider)?

dbmcd — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 17:13:43 -0800

Making hard cider - simple or complicated? I've done a little research on this, and it looks as though there are two schools of thought:
1. Let the wild yeast ferment, just lay a rag over the top of the (jug, barrel, whatever), and bottle after it's "done."
2. Get all the equipment, buy yeast, fining chemicals, do secondary fermentation, etc. etc.
Which works? Is it worth the bother to do # 2?
We have a small home orchard (it came with our house) and have a variety of apples to use for this. We've crushed it into juice (which is fabulous!), but we both like hard cider and would like to give it a try.
Bonus points for a good (non-repetitive stressing) way to crush the apples.
Thanks!