jason carr's mousepad homebrewing faq

[ Questions from non-brewers | fermenting | Bottling | Yeast culturing | Frugal brewing ]

This FAQ last updated on Fri Sep 19 18:18:50 CDT 2008.

Questions from non-brewers
Is it legal to brew beer at home?
Is it hard to make beer?
If it can be hard, why do it?
Is it cheaper to make your own beer?
What kinds of beers are harder to brew?
How much beer do you make at one time?
Dang. How much beer do you drink?
How long does it take from start to finish?
Dang! Why so long?
How do you put the caps on the bottles?
Is all beer bitter?
Can I use [exotic ingredient] in my beer?

fermenting
Can I use those 5-gallon water bottles as fermenters?

Bottling
Can I re-use twist-off bottles?
Can I re-use caps?
How do I get labels off?

Yeast culturing

Frugal brewing
How can I cap my beers more frugally?
How can I collect beer bottles more frugally?
Are there any items which even frugal brewers should invest in?

Questions from non-brewers

Is it legal to brew beer at home?
Yes, thanks to Pres. Carter the federal law was altered to allow sane levels of brewing for home consumption. A few states still ban it at the state level (Utah, for example)
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Is it hard to make beer?
In a very real sense, beer wants to make itself and the brewer is there to guide the process. How hard it is depends on how much you want to control. It is easy to make good beer; it is harder to make exactly what you want or to make certain styles.
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If it can be hard, why do it?
Because it is good, clean, geeky fun.
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Is it cheaper to make your own beer?
Cheaper than what? It will probably be cheaper than craft beers, but more than mass-produced beers like Budweiser that use inexpensive adjucts like rice and corn. If you really only like mass-produced beers than homebrewing would probably just irritate you.
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What kinds of beers are harder to brew?
Beers that are very delicate (like American beer), beer that takes special equipment or processes (lagers), or that are indigeonous to a specific physical setting (lambics). High-gravity (high-alcohol) are also problematic because it is hard on the yeast and uses a large amount of grains which require more spacious equipment.
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How much beer do you make at one time?
5 gallons is the traditional amount. This is about 2.5 cases.
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Dang. How much beer do you drink?
A few a week. About 1 a day on the weekends and maybe one every other day on weekdays.
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How long does it take from start to finish?
A good rule of thumb is about 6 weeks. So you will always keep beer in various states of completion so you don't run out.
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Dang! Why so long?
You can drink it in a couple of weeks (ie, the alcohol will be there) but the beer really hasn't aged or carbonated properly. It will mellow out and improve with age. One traditional method is 1-2-3: 1 week in primary (a bucket), 2 weeks in secondary (carboy), and 3 weeks in the bottle. I generally do a 2-3 (two weeks in primary, three weeks in the bottle).
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How do you put the caps on the bottles?
There is a special device called a "capper" (surprise!) that puts new caps on the bottle. You use new caps, and can't reuse caps. Twist-off bottles are generally not used.
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Is all beer bitter?
Most beers have hops, which are the primary bittering agent. I tend to underhop my beers and prefer them that way. Other folks like style-correct balance, others like to go insano with the hops. That's one of the great things about homebrewing.
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Can I use [exotic ingredient] in my beer?
You can use what you want; it's your beer. Now, some things work better than others. Tossing a 5gal batch because it is vile is an expensive lesson to learn. Google "homebrew recipe [exotic ingredient]" before you get all wild with your ingredients. Then do what you want to do anyhow.
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fermenting

Can I use those 5-gallon water bottles as fermenters?
The best answer is that #1 and #2 recyclable bottles should be great for primary or secondary vessels. Others, particularly #7s, may be 02 permeable at best and may leach chemicals into your beer at worst. If you chance it with a #7 I'd use it for short-term primary fermentations.
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Bottling

Can I re-use twist-off bottles?
Yes, with some caveats. Twist-off bottles (TOBs hereafter) are not intended for re-use and so are somewhat thinner. You may find they break easier. You will almost certainly need a bench capper.
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Can I re-use caps?
It might be possible, but they are very cheap and tend to get bent while opening.
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How do I get labels off?
Start with the right bottles. German weizen-style .5L bottles and some Japanese bottles have labels that just float off after a short soak. Normal bottles benefit from a soak in water, or water with bleach, ammonia, or oxyclean. Remember to rinse afterwards.
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Yeast culturing

Frugal brewing

How can I cap my beers more frugally?
Buy over-runs, which are misprints or extras. They will have someone else's logo on them, but you can save some money that way. Also, if you bottle in 16oz or .5L bottles (or champagne bottles) you will use fewer bottle caps.
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How can I collect beer bottles more frugally?
Let your friends know you need good bottles. Reward those that bring you clean bottles.
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Are there any items which even frugal brewers should invest in?
An autosiphon makes racking sanitary and simple. A jet bottle washer rinses bottles and carboys with less water. Works very well for rinsing and for blasting away debris. A vinator is pump. You push the bottle down on it and it floods the inside of the bottle with sanitizer. No-rinse sanitizer: Iodophor or StarSan. Brew-Hauler to move full carboys around safely.
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