Homebrewing
- By Alex Riviello
- Published 01/20/2010
Alex Riviello
NYC native who lives with his wife in Astoria, Queens. Has written about film for five years for dozens of websites before finally settling down at Chud.com. Also freelances for various websites and publications, including Fangoria. Email him here.
My awesome wife got me a starter homebrewing kit as an early birthday present, which means that shortly I'll be brewing up my own beer. It's exciting. I've become something of a beer snob over the last few years as my tastes have changed and as I started realizing all the many different flavors and types of beer you can find, rather than simply picking up whatever was cheapest. It's something you do as you get older, I suppose.
A beer tasting with Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver and a viewing of the excellent documentary Beer Wars made my choices even more obvious. I've always been all about supporting the little guy and finding out that Anheuser-Busch owns the majority of beers in the supermarket (you likely have no idea how many brands they import- everything from Stella to Kirin to Tiger) and that they love to lean on their little competitors usually makes it a clear choice to me what I'd spend my money on. When you realize what real beer should taste like (hint: not watery) it's incredibly hard to go back.
For the record, my current favorite breweries are Samuel Smith, Brooklyn Brewery, Dogfish Head, Troegs and Sam Adams. That Sam Smith Taddy Porter might be my favorite beer of all time.. either that or the Brooklyn Local 2. Although I generally pick up a really hoppy beer or a good nut brown.
Anyway, so while I really have no idea what I'm doing with this I can't wait to find out. Now I'm on a mission to get a massive boiling pot and bottles. The kit I got (a Brewer's Best Equipment Kit) came with a starter brew kit that will make a Nut Brown ale, usually my go-to beer.
Looking forward to reading up much more on this and hopefully passing anything I learn on to you.
A beer tasting with Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver and a viewing of the excellent documentary Beer Wars made my choices even more obvious. I've always been all about supporting the little guy and finding out that Anheuser-Busch owns the majority of beers in the supermarket (you likely have no idea how many brands they import- everything from Stella to Kirin to Tiger) and that they love to lean on their little competitors usually makes it a clear choice to me what I'd spend my money on. When you realize what real beer should taste like (hint: not watery) it's incredibly hard to go back.
For the record, my current favorite breweries are Samuel Smith, Brooklyn Brewery, Dogfish Head, Troegs and Sam Adams. That Sam Smith Taddy Porter might be my favorite beer of all time.. either that or the Brooklyn Local 2. Although I generally pick up a really hoppy beer or a good nut brown.
Anyway, so while I really have no idea what I'm doing with this I can't wait to find out. Now I'm on a mission to get a massive boiling pot and bottles. The kit I got (a Brewer's Best Equipment Kit) came with a starter brew kit that will make a Nut Brown ale, usually my go-to beer.
Looking forward to reading up much more on this and hopefully passing anything I learn on to you.
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Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by Luskmonster)
You can probably find a local store that will sell you fresh ingredients measured out in "kit" size. It's basically the same as a kit but they put it together for you, and can make recommendations. The fresher the hops and the grain the better it's going to come out. Some of those pre-made kits can sit around for a while. Also, get flip-top bottles (think Grolsch) because capping is a pain in the ass. I tend to put half a batch in pints and half in liters, because sometimes a liter is what's for dinner, and the flip-top will make so you can re-seal it while you work your way through it. If you don't find a local retailer who has a recipe book and measures out ingredients per batch, I recommend http://northernbrewer.com/. I've used brewer's best, and they're ok, but NB is much better, and about the same price. Lastly, pretty much always, ALWAYS, use liquid yeast. So don't end up in AA like me, but do enjoy as much as possible. Homebrewed beer is tits.
Comment #2 (Posted by Alex Riviello)
Thanks for the advice! I was thinking about getting a pack of flip-top bottles, but since the kit came with 50 caps and I've got a good number of 22 ounce bottles (and a couple of champagne bottles) saved up I'll probably go with that for at least my first try. Definitely going to look around for somewhere local that sells ingredients, as I'd rather get something fresh. What's liquid yeast do for it? Thanks a lot for the input, though- I'm likely going to start this in a day or so and am looking forward to figuring out all the tricks.
Comment #3 (Posted by Luskmonster)
Liquid has more active cells, is usually purer and generally has a superior flavor profile. There are more varieties too. Starting with dry yeast is typical before moving to liquid. I still remember my first batch, it was a little overwhelming, but once you get the first one out of the way it's really quite fun and easy.
