Home of the BrewNosers

Hi guys,
I'm new to the group, and kind of new to homebrewing in general. A friend who I think used to be involved with the group told me i should look you guys up if I wanted to further my knowledge. I'm currently just making the recipes you can buy at the noble grape, brewing the wort on my stove. I'm hoping to learn some new techniques, and eventually start trying out different recipes and even my create my own. Any help or info you guys have would be great!
thanks
Jon

Welcome! Ask all the questions you like.

Welcome to the club!

There's lots of help on here, as well as elsewhere online. I've brewed quite a few of the Festa Brew kits from NG, and they have all turned out great but eventually I got bored of them. I then moved on to partial mash recipes but was never happy with the end product....which leads me to my current situation..I am just in the process of piecing together an all grain setup and hope to be ready for all-grain early next year.

My best suggestion is do some brewing, meet up with some of the guys and watch them brew an all-grain. It gives you endless options and cheaper beer..plus you get to hang out and drink beer

I only did two of the Festa Brew kits, I found that to be enough to get me bored. Ive been doing their recipes that come with the grains, malt extracts, hops and whatever else you need. I would love to watch someone brew all grain. One question I have is where you guys get most of your supplies? The only place I have found so far is the NG.
When in Vancouver a few weeks ago I tried an espresso ale that was awesome and have been thinking about trying one of those on my own. Does anyone have a recipe thats not too complicated I could try?

We have been getting our supplies from various sources, both local and sourced from out of the province and country, depending on what makes the most sense. Expresso ale is not something I'm familiar with, was it like a coffee stout/porter? Who was the brewer?

Welcome. Check out http://www.howtobrew.com/, I've got the book and found it really helpful, from basics to advanced stuff. The book is printed for free online on that website, and is available in printed form as well. If you can watch anyone brew, that would be quite beneficial. I generally figured out my system through books and hanging back and reading homebrew boards for info.

Keep your eye open at Kent, Canadian Tire, WalMart, Home Depot, etc - grab yourself a propane burner (may also may be called a turkey fryer, corn boil or lobster boil kit) - it usually comes with a 30quart or 40 quart pot.

That'll do as your heat source and brew kettle for at least a little while (I used mine for over a year). If its an aluminium pot, boil some water in it to 'season' it and don't ever scrub off that layer of gray aluminum oxide.

A picnic cooler makes a cheap mash tun (check out http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/ )

Yeah, that is a really good online resource. I'm a big advocate of Brewing Classic Styles too. Not much technical information - just lots of recipes.

http://www.amazon.ca/Brewing-Classic-St ... 0937381926

This is great, you guys are already more helpful than I could have hoped.

Mr. X: Your right, it was espresso stout. Haha, ill reread my posts before hitting send from now on. It was from a brewpub called Steamworks brewing.

If you enjoy coffee stouts, definitely try Peche Mortel if you haven't had it. About as good as it gets in that area, Premier Wine and Spirits carries it.

JEH wrote:This is great, you guys are already more helpful than I could have hoped.

Mr. X: Your right, it was espresso stout. Haha, ill reread my posts before hitting send from now on. It was from a brewpub called Steamworks brewing.

Well, here's a recipe page somebody put together, might be a good place to start.

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/01/espressostout/

Do you have any brewing software? I use Beersmith and probably couldn't live without it now.

I'd still be buying recipe kits if it weren't for BeerSmith! Its pretty affordable too ~$25 I think.

And 'Brewing Classic Styles' is a great resource too - as X said, not really technical, but LOTS of recipes. Brew up the basic recipe for the style, then tinker and make it your own.

Oh, I also get 'Brew Your Own' magazine. Each issue has some recipes, some technical articles, both basic and advanced. My wife shuddered when I told her I was reading an article about growing and malting barley.

Just downloaded beersmith. Sounds great. Also thanks for the link on the espresso stout recipe i think I will try it this weekend. My only problem is not having an espresso maker, just a french press. Does anyone whos tried the style know if I should be able to use a little more from the french press?

Hello Everyone; I am new to the site but can see that it will be very usefull!!!!! I was told the other night(MON) that I should check it out when I was at the H&T

Hey guys, quick question on using WYeast Activator 1084 irish ale yeast. Ive only used dry in the past, and just realized that last night i didnt break the little pouch inside so didnt give the yeast time to swell. On the back of the package it says I can immediately direct pitch the yeast, but I havent started brewing yet, was planning to now. Since I just broke the pouch (tough little thing eh?), should i wait until tomorrow to brew or should I be fine for today?
thanks
Jon

Either way you'll end up ok. If your brew day takes 3 or 4 hours you might see some swelling by then. It's best if you keep it in a warmer place, that helps activate it faster.

I usually smack it about 3 hours or so before using it. You should be fine - RDWHAHB!

If you continue using liquid yeast (which you probably will), you may want to make a yeast starter a day or two before brew day.

Excellent, thanks for the advice! Ive actually started to see swelling already and havent even started steeping the grains yet. Now I just need to figure out the best way to get coffee into the recipe Mr.X posted a link to above

I've never used coffee (in brewing) before, but from what I've read, you're on the right track with the French Press.

Where you add the coffee will alter the coffee flavor you get as an end result- early in the boil, late in the boil or secondary. The earlier in the boil you add it, the more aromatics and volitile compounds you'll drive off. Adding to the secondary will give a good, rounded coffee flavor, but its easy to add too much.

If it were me, I'd add it to your secondary fermenter. Take a small (measured) amount out of the fermenter and add a measured amount of coffee until you get the taste you are looking for. Then scale up for the full batch.

After a bit of reading, I think what I will do is add some coffee to the cooled wort before I put it in the primary, then before bottling taste it and see if I want a stronger coffee flavor. Im excited to see how this turns out!

JEH wrote:After a bit of reading, I think what I will do is add some coffee to the cooled wort before I put it in the primary, then before bottling taste it and see if I want a stronger coffee flavor. Im excited to see how this turns out!

Welcome!

And remember, you've got a few dozen guinea pigs who are happy to taste and give you suggestions for the next time.
Just bring it to our next meeting, the second Tuesday of the month, Dec 14.

Cheers,
Chalmers

This might be of interest to you:
http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/700