Roll call for all the homebrewers!

[culturejam]

Do you brew beer, wine, mead, or anything else? Let's hear about it!

I've been brewing beer since about 1995 (my senior year of high school). Now I've got a sweet two-tap kegerator and I brew all-grain beers (most of the time).

As a side note, I also have been writing articles for Brew Your Own, a magazine for homebrewers, for several years now. My articles are how to build your own brew equipment. DIY baby! 

Here's a pic of a new fermentor I just got this week. I'll be trying it out this weekend.

[madbean]

I would like to subscribe to your beer.

[alanp]

I make about one batch every two years. Typically when I'm sick of the watery soup they call guinness here.

[DutchMF]

Tried it once and realized I don't have the patience, so I switched back to drinking beer instead of making it. Turns out, I'm much better at that!!

[aziltz]

I started brewing in May with a friend.  We've made 5 batches so far using a 5 gallon kit from morebeer.com.

No all grain for us (yet), but we try to keep it creative.  We dry hopped a steam beer and it is/was awesome!  There's a hop harvest coming up soon so we're going to try to get our hands on a few pounds of whole hops for a Pale Ale or IPA.

[pryde]

I used to brew a couple times a year. I had a very good Belgium strong ale and a dry-hopped pale ale recipe down.

Unfortunalty I no longer drink due to health reasons but I envy those who do 

[culturejam]

No all grain for us (yet), but we try to keep it creative.  We dry hopped a steam beer and it is/was awesome! 

One of my first beers was an extract steam beer. And yes, it was awesome!

As long as the extract is fresh, it will make great beer. Well, that and you have to keep the fermenting temp in check.

I'm also an advocate of extended primary fermentation and no secondary. I generally keep the beer in primary for 4 weeks and then transfer it to the keg, which then sits in the fridge at 45F for another couple weeks. Then I hook up the gas and let it carbonate. Takes longer, but the results are worth it. The extra time on the yeast helps to tame odd flavors that might be been generated during fermentation. Once the yeast go dormant, they begin to reabsorb some of the not-so-nice compounds they excreted earlier (such as diacetyl, wood alcohols, etc). By skipping secondary, you also avoid the extra contact with oxygen during the transfer and you end up with more beer at the end. 

[mjcyates]

I am a red wine guy. I have thought about trying my hand at making some but haven't made the leap yet.

[crash]

I usually do about 2 batches a year.  Been brewing since 1998.  It is nice cause I live a few miles from one of the biggest brewing stores in the country.  Northern Brewer in St Paul, MN.  I converted a small fridge where I can fit my glass carboy fermentors in it for lagering.  I got sick of bottling after the first couple of batches, so now I keg.  I would suggest that to anybody who home-brews.  Luckily, I have an extra fridge in the garage so I can fit 2 5 gallon kegs with a tap for each one on the front of the fridge. 

Here are some pictures I took during the different brewing stages
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjrash/sets/72157625914531019/

[culturejam]

It is nice cause I live a few miles from one of the biggest brewing stores in the country.  Northern Brewer in St Paul, MN. 

I hate you!  NB is where I get most of my supplies, but by mail order, obviously. Recently, a homebrew shop opened very near me and it rocks, so hopefully I'll be getting more of my gear there.


Here's one of my fairly recent articles in BYO on how to build your own draft tower:
http://byo.com/stories/article/indices/20-build-it-yourself/2488-build-a-draft-tower

[timbo_93631]

At one point I wanted to home brew using as much home grown or local ingredient as possible.  I planted 5 scions of Willamette hops in my garden four years ago and every spring it shoots up, does great and then quickly keels over once the temps get above 100 F, which is basically June through September in Fresno, CA.  Since planting I have had 2 kids (#3 on the way in November) and have all but stopped drinking.  You guys have fun though.  Beer is yum.

[aziltz]

now that my buddy and I have 5 batches out of the way, I think we'll take our time fermenting in the future. 


We've got a pretty neutral wheat beer in the fermenter right now that we just added a vanilla beer to.

[atreidesheir]

I just received prescription to drink as much beer as I can stand until Monday.  Kidney Stone day10. 
Irony is I HATE beer.  Man this sucks. 
I told my wife to buy something good like Shiner Bock or Yuengling.  She came home with Michelob Ultra with Lime.   This room feels like a scene from "Misery".  Oh honey drink your delicious beer so you can feel better.  Sledgehammer forbodes in the corner.   

[culturejam]

You should get some good Belgian beer. It's quite a bit different from "standard" beer, and it'll get you hammered pretty quick. Most of it is > 7% ABV.

If you despise shitty beer like Budweiser, give a try to Chimay, or LaChouff, or Saison Dupont. There are some great domestic micros that are making great Belgian-style beer as well. If you want some suggestions, I'll be happy to make you a comprehensive list. 

[aziltz]

i had a saison recently from a legitimate brewery.  I've never had one before, but this was best described as smelling like cheese curls and tasting like apple juice.