I am an all-grain, fermentation-controlled, kegging homebrewer (with other bells and whistles thrown in there, too).  But I didn't start out that way.  I was thinking about my progression as a homebrewer and wondering if I would change anything about my journey (hindsight is 20/20).  So, I made a list of my progression.  The list below doesn't contain every gadget or step, and some steps include multiple purchases/equipment, but it hits key milestones.  Here is a brief overview of how I have progressed so far as a homebrewer: Extract on the stove top Wort chiller Turkey fryer/Burner for outdoor use Kegerator Pump Fermentation control Yeast starters All-grain (all the equipment at once) Plate Chiller Oxygenation system So, what would I change?  How would I choose to progress now that I am more advanced?  Or, I guess a pertinent question also is, where did I get the most bang for my buck?  What was most worth the money?  Below is m...

The more I brew, the more I learn about how I brew. I think that is true with most things in life, right?  The more you do something, the more you learn about it.  "Practice makes perfect," as the saying goes. But practicing the wrong thing can lead to bad habits and, even worse, bad beer.  So, I want to go into a little more detail about the opening sentence. First, learning.  It is something I have been somewhat obsessed with since I started brewing.  I have gobbled up information from books, forums, and podcasts.  Learning is a good thing.  It helped me know what the heck I was doing - at least in the general sense.  It gave me an overview of the process, a map, a view of the entire forest.  I needed to know how to hit temperatures, how to sparge, how to do the basics of brewing.  Learning, reading, and listening gave me a bigger picture of the process.  Those various avenues of learning were, and still are, extremely helpf...

Some of you may be familiar with a hop back.  Essentially, it is a container that holds hops while post-boil but still-hot wort runs through the chamber on its way to the chiller and then fermenter.  Probably the most famous user of a hop back is Troegs Brewing Company (who even have an amber beer named, "HopBack").  They use a hop back for several of their beers. Blichmann Hop Rocket It is something that I have been curious about using.   Blichmann Engineering produces a hop back called the Hop Rocket .  I have been thinking about purchasing one for a couple of reasons.  First, I like the idea of a hob back. I like the flavor and aroma it gives - at least in the beers I know have used it. It would be similar, I think, to adding a few ounces at 0 minutes.  Second, a hop back also acts as a filter for some of the hop bits from pellets and the like.  A loaded hop back can filter out some of the hop sludge so that a plate chiller won't get cl...

So, the title might be a little misleading, but the point remains.  I bought a system in which to brew beer - or as a normal person would call it: a brewery. I have sung Craigslist's praises in the past and I will do so again here.  That place - if you're lucky - can be a treasure trove of cool stuff.  I was lucky enough to find this system on there several months ago but the price was out of my range.  So, I held off from calling.  Over the months, I did research on building a system from scratch found out that what this guy was offering was actually a pretty good deal. So, I called.  I talked him down a little bit on price and when I went to pick up the system, I was more than pleasantly surprised.  Overjoyed?  Ecstatic?  Happy?  This was more than a frame and some kegs; this guy built the brewery to be an efficient, compact, easy to use piece of beer brewing wonder.  He had a horrible ad on Craigslist, which turned out to be aw...

So, after a long process, lots of delays, many hours of research, much money spent, and tons of craigslist searches, our first all-grain batch is coming up next weekend.  The actual switch from extract to all-grain isn't really that difficult - if you have the Ben Franklins to drop on the new equipment.  For us, gathering all of our equipment without dropping hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars is what has taken so long.  And we're still not there. Ours won't be so fancy - at first. Our ideal setup is a three keg system (known as a half barrel system, see to the left).  Many homebrewers use old kegs as boil kettles and mash tuns, and for good reason.  First, they are all stainless steel, and thus durable.  Second, they are large, holding fifteen gallons.  They can be used for double (10 gallon) batches.  Third, they look bad ass. It is very easy to attain one of these kegs.  The hard part is doing so legally.  See, most people...

Part of transitioning from extract brewing to all-grain brewing is gaining (read: buying ) more equipment.  It is easy to do if you have lots of cash money to throw around, but if you are like me, you tend not to be so extravagant with your spending (no comments from the wife, please).  Eric and I are piecing together our all-grain brew equipment one tank and burner at a time.  Because of this, I have had lots of time to think about what we need.  I thought I would review what I (currently) see as important to have in the three main brewing vessels. Hot Liquor Tank - The HLT is used for holding hot water for mashing (that's a brewer's word; common parlance would be "soaking" or "steeping") the grains and then for sparging (another brewing term; it's really just rinsing the grains of sugars that are left behind). Ideally, HLTs should hold as much liquid as your mash tun, but a little less is ok.  Grains do take up some volume in your mash...

I am sure you are just loving reading this blog.  You enjoy my topics, my writing style, my sense of humor... but, yet, you still want more.  You need more homebrewing knowledge.  This measly little blog just ain't cuttin' it!  Well, my friends, your prayers have been answered.  Today I am going to discuss some brewing books which helped me along the way and are some I think can help anyone who wants to learn to brew or create new recipes. 1.   How to Brew by John Palmer My well-worn copy of How to Brew by John Palmer. If you want to learn to brew (or brew better), this is the must-have, quintessential, no-nonsense guide to brewing.  Palmer takes the brewing process step by step, starting with extract and working his way up through all-grain brewing.  It is extremely helpful for the new brewer and is a great resource for the veteran. A vast majority of the chapters are purely about brewing - mostly extract at the beginning, but he goes ...

Or, as I wanted to name the this post, "How to Put a Hole in a Perfectly Good Pot."  I feel like the current title is more constructive.  So, that will be the topic for today: drilling a hole in your stainless steel pot for a ball valve. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous going into this project.  I read enough to know that I could royally screw up something, namely, the pot.   That is what I would have cared about.  A drill bit?  So what.  A 32-quart stainless steel pot?  That's another story. Equipment for drilling a hole. After reading up on this, Eric came over this past Saturday afternoon and we headed into the project.  After discussing our process, we decided the mantra for the day would be "patience."  And patience did pay off. To the right you will see the equipment I used.  Some of the more normal things I hope you recognize: a pot, a tape measure, a drill, safety glasses, a sharpie.  Also I have a met...

Money shot.  At the beginning, nonetheless. So, while I am waiting on the rest of my valves to come in and while I am putting off drilling a hole in my very nice, very expensive brew pot, I needed a post.  Since we are still in the beginning stages of this blog, I figure looking back some more is not all that bad.  So, since I reasoned myself to this point, this post will be about my kegerator which I built in August of 2011. Now, a kegerator is typically a beer lover's dream come true.  Draft beer at your fingertips.  Ready to go at a moment's notice.  Unfortunately, buying a pre-made kegerator can be expensive and you usually can't get exactly what you want.  So, many homebrewers and beer lovers have converted an old fridge to serve such a purpose. Some people use chest freezers (and convert them to "keezers") and build a collar around the top to give some extra head space for kegs, as well as giving a convenient place to put faucets without ...

So, while Eric and I are figuring out our mash tun and boil kettle situation, I decided it would be good to go ahead and purchase/create some things I know we want.  One benefit of this is I can use it now for extract batches until we get up and running with the all-grain setup. The first thing I invested in was the quick disconnects (QDs from here on out) and high-temp tubing.  The QDs are sold in 2 pieces, male and female connections.  They are simple enough to install, assuming that all your sizes are compatible.  Since everything was 1/2", I was golden.  Funny how things like that work when you plan ahead.  Anyways, I just slipped the barb from the female QD into the hose and clamped it on with a screw clamp.  Simple as that. I got three hoses, so six female connections.  All it took was a screw driver.  I got a few male connections which will be attached to mash tun, boil kettle, and the pump.  There are a couple of them...