Home of the BrewNosers

Hey everyone, I see from the map I might only be the second from Pictou County!

My brother and I just started home brewing about a few weeks ago, we're just bottling our first IPA this weekend, Festa West Coast, dry hopped with a couple oz of Cascade . . . yeah, pretty vanilla. I know it's a humble start but we're already plotting our moves up to hopefully AG someday down the road.

Looking forward to having some locals to share with!

Festa Brew IPA dry hopped isn't too vanilla, that's a great place to start

I'm in Woodburn

I think you'll really enjoy that kit dry hopped... I recently dry hopped a brewhouse pale ale with EKG and swapped out the yeast and it turned out awesome

btw, festa kits have better yeast thank brewhouse

The Festa kit just seemed *too* easy, but it was recommended as a good starting point by a friend who's brewed for a long time.

@bluenose, you were the only other PC member I saw on the map, we can't be the only two in PC are we?

I'm in NG, but I grew up in Stellarton.

Whoa! Long distance move haha

So I'm guessing everyone from PC is a Water n' Wine regular? I'm only asking because I'm just getting started and this NSLC foolishness is sounding like it might be bad news for everyone, but especially for us with only one store in town. I travel to Halifax pretty consistently for work and can shop there easily, but it's nice to be able to support someone local and run out for supplies in a pinch.

weir wrote:Whoa! Long distance move haha

So I'm guessing everyone from PC is a Water n' Wine regular? I'm only asking because I'm just getting started and this NSLC foolishness is sounding like it might be bad news for everyone, but especially for us with only one store in town. I travel to Halifax pretty consistently for work and can shop there easily, but it's nice to be able to support someone local and run out for supplies in a pinch.

I don't do in there too much, as charlie doesn't have much I need for AG brewing.

mr x wrote:

weir wrote:Whoa! Long distance move haha

So I'm guessing everyone from PC is a Water n' Wine regular? I'm only asking because I'm just getting started and this NSLC foolishness is sounding like it might be bad news for everyone, but especially for us with only one store in town. I travel to Halifax pretty consistently for work and can shop there easily, but it's nice to be able to support someone local and run out for supplies in a pinch.

I don't do in there too much, as charlie doesn't have much I need for AG brewing.

Yeah, I found them a bit lacking the one time I was in. I picked up some dextrose and a hydrometer, which they were confused as to why I would need one for beer.

I'm still a ways off from grain brewing, but do people normally shop online? Or use someone closer like Noble Grape?

A bit of both.

I use water n' wine mainly for kits and some odds and ends. I'll buy less and less kits now that I have my BIAB setup. I wish he carried all grain stuff for those times you only need a little of something.

When I asked him about all grain brewing he told me I don't want to get into that because it's a 6 hour process and about another $500 investment in gear and it stinks up your house... all that it true, but BIAB can shorten your day, I like building the gear and I really like the smell, so go figure...

They also told me I didn't need a hydrometer, but I bought one anyway... that said, I'd hate to see him go out of business

Yeah, he's somewhat of a swillmeister when it comes to beer, but he's a good source for wine yeast when you need it.

Welcome!

bluenose wrote:I use water n' wine mainly for kits and some odds and ends. I'll buy less and less kits now that I have my BIAB setup. I wish he carried all grain stuff for those times you only need a little of something.

When I asked him about all grain brewing he told me I don't want to get into that because it's a 6 hour process and about another $500 investment in gear and it stinks up your house... all that it true, but BIAB can shorten your day, I like building the gear and I really like the smell, so go figure...

They also told me I didn't need a hydrometer, but I bought one anyway... that said, I'd hate to see him go out of business

Certainly don't want to see any local businesses go away, no matter what they do. But you guys seem to be confirming what I suspected when I was in there, to them beer drinkers are just looking for a cheap drunk. Might explain the guy leaving with 2 dolly's full of BIS beer.

And who could possibly think boiling mash smells bad? I love it when you go in Garrison while they're boiling, I could bottle that smell.

bluenose wrote:They also told me I didn't need a hydrometer, but I bought one anyway... that said, I'd hate to see him go out of business

Probably if you're brewing kits or Festabrew, you might as well not bother with a hydrometer - you're going to brew until it stops, and trust what the manufacturer says. If you're making wine or beer from scratch, it's hard to imagine not using a hydrometer (or in my case, quite a few of them, as they don't bounce well)

weir wrote: And who could possibly think boiling mash smells bad? I love it when you go in Garrison while they're boiling, I could bottle that smell.

I know! I miss that having moved the brewing out to the garage.

Welcome! I'm over in Westville and also do AG with a Festa Brew mixed in from time to time. I'll be being up an iipa soon if you wanted to see the process in action.

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That sounds like something I might take you up on! I'm just getting my feet wet (hence the Festa kit) but I'm hoping to work my way up to AG once I have a better idea what I'm actually doing.

Let me know too, I wouldn't mind meeting the local brewnosers