What's your favorite BEER?

[Ashful]

Drinking Merry Monks with my lunch. A local triple at $60/case, half the cost of most good triples.



I know a few who home-brew, and like to give samples of their beer. I wouldn't tell them this, but I have not found even one of them worth the effort they put into it. Brewing beer might be a fun hobby for the brewer, but becoming a world-class brewer is not something often achieved on a hobbiest budget and timeframe.

 

[begreen]

Indeed it's an art. Most good microbrewers started out homebrewing. There are some very good recipes and ingredients out there if one knows where to find them. The internet and microbrewery explosion in our region has made achieving good results a lot easier.

That said, if all one likes are extra high ABV brews then it may not be easy to judge a good bock, ipa, stout, lager, etc.. Doubles and triples are a little harder to make and often need longer to brew, require some special yeast, hops, grains, and sometimes need to age in a whiskey or bourbon cask which requires a greater volume than most home brewers make. We have a friend that's been making brew scientifically since college and he loves tackling these more complex brews, but also makes some exceptional lagers.

 

[Ashful]

I see BKVP is posting from Ireland this week. Guiness is religion there, their "mother's milk", so to speak. They (and the UK) favor un-pasteurized beers, which is why so many have noticed that Guiness tastes better in Ireland, than here in the USA. It's true, it does taste better (and serving it closer to room temperature helps!), but my stomach always has pains processing whatever bacterium lives in these un-pasteurized beers. The pasteurized export product causes no such pains, but doesn't taste quite the same.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I see BKVP is posting from Ireland this week. Guiness is religion there, their "mother's milk", so to speak. They (and the UK) favor un-pasteurized beers, which is why so many have noticed that Guiness tastes better in Ireland, than here in the USA. It's true, it does taste better (and serving it closer to room temperature helps!), but my stomach always has pains processing whatever bacterium lives in these un-pasteurized beers. The pasteurized export product causes no such pains, but doesn't taste quite the same.

You just need to get used to the extra bacteria, and in most instances it's actually good for you once you are. Trouble is, when you run across the wrong one, it can be deadly. Those rare instances are serious enough that it makes sense to pasteurize most commercially offered goods (plus more profitable to keep your product from spoiling before it is consumed).

Home brewing and home fermenting foods like sauerkraut introduces all sorts of wonderful vitamins and beneficial bacteria into the body. Once the gut is used to having all the extra help, it's smooth sailing.

A cold Autumn night next to the stove with a homebrew, man, that's livin'.

 

[johneh]

My favorite beer is the one in my hand right now .
The next one I have will be my favorite beer at that time
and so and so on and so on -----------!

 

[saewoody]

Not overly picky. Just about any light beer will do. Free is even better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[firefighterjake]

I don't drink beer, but my brother-in-law from CT who pretty much only drinks micro-brews or nano-brews really likes a few Maine micro-breweries -- Bissell Brothers and Foundation (mostly their IPAs) and the Maine Beer Company's Dinner and Lunch IPAs (although he says they are rather expensive.)

He lives about ten minutes from Tree House Brewery which apparently did quite well in some contest, but says he finds it to be just OK. He came up this weekend in fact and stopped by Bissell Brothers to stock up and trade some Tree House beer for additional BB beer.

 

[Ashful]

I don't drink beer, but my brother-in-law from CT who pretty much only drinks micro-brews or nano-brews really likes a few Maine micro-breweries -- Bissell Brothers and Foundation (mostly their IPAs) and the Maine Beer Company's Dinner and Lunch IPAs (although he says they are rather expensive).

Maine has one of the finest breweries on earth: Allagash. Try their Curieux, or if you're a coffee lover, James Bean. Both speedy, but oh so worth it.

 

[begreen]

I see BKVP is posting from Ireland this week. Guiness is religion there, their "mother's milk", so to speak. They (and the UK) favor un-pasteurized beers, which is why so many have noticed that Guiness tastes better in Ireland, than here in the USA. It's true, it does taste better (and serving it closer to room temperature helps!), but my stomach always has pains processing whatever bacterium lives in these un-pasteurized beers. The pasteurized export product causes no such pains, but doesn't taste quite the same.

Hoping to get to Ireland and England later this year. Looking at mid-September.

I put my last stout up against Guiness in a blind tasting. Don't mean to brag, but it came out ahead. Could very well be because our stout was unpasteurized.

Busy brew day today. The porter just went into secondary ferment. We bottled a red wine and got a Vermentino started too.

 

[Highbeam]

I know a few who home-brew, and like to give samples of their beer. I wouldn't tell them this, but I have not found even one of them worth the effort they put into it. Brewing beer might be a fun hobby for the brewer, but becoming a world-class brewer is not something often achieved on a hobbiest budget and timeframe.

I've brewed many many batches of beer and they were all good but not as great as my favorite commercial beers. Now hard cider, that's really easy to make and to make better than the commercial places. We're almost to the bottom of a keg of cranberry-raspberry cider at about 8% ABV.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I've brewed many many batches of beer and they were all good but not as great as my favorite commercial beers. Now hard cider, that's really easy to make and to make better than the commercial places. We're almost to the bottom of a keg of cranberry-raspberry cider at about 8% ABV.

The biggest trouble I have with homebrewing is the cost involved. With most stuff, you can save lots of money doing it yourself. I generally can get some perfectly adequate commercial beer for less than I can get the raw materials for an equivalent amount of finished product. And, one spoiled batch can render all the time, effort, and cost worthless. Or, it just might not turn out great And, I really hate the bottling process as much as I hate the wood stacking process. Maybe I'll start up again when I'm retired and have worked through some of the long list of projects I've accumulated. In the meantime, once my apple trees start to produce, I'll stick mostly to hard cider and just the occasional batch of homebrew.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

The biggest trouble I have with homebrewing is the cost involved. With most stuff, you can save lots of money doing it yourself. I generally can get some perfectly adequate commercial beer for less than I can get the raw materials for an equivalent amount of finished product. And, one spoiled batch can render all the time, effort, and cost worthless. Or, it just might not turn out great And, I really hate the bottling process as much as I hate the wood stacking process. Maybe I'll start up again when I'm retired and have worked through some of the long list of projects I've accumulated. In the meantime, once my apple trees start to produce, I'll stick mostly to hard cider and just the occasional batch of homebrew.

I make a 5 gallon batch from a kit liquid malt extract, some malt, some dextrose and hops for under $25. That are 2 cases of beer. I switched from bottling to kegging, much faster and much easier. I bought the kit (new) on letgo.com for $35. A used 5 gallon keg for $45. The most expensive item was the regulator for the CO2 cylinder. But you can find these for much less on CL. Anyway, ingredient wise, it can be a lot cheaper than commercial beer and often so much better.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I make a 5 gallon batch from a kit liquid malt extract, some malt, some dextrose and hops for under $25. That are 2 cases of beer. I switched from bottling to kegging, much faster and much easier. I bought the kit (new) on letgo.com for $35. A used 5 gallon keg for $45. The most expensive item was the regulator for the CO2 cylinder. But you can find these for much less on CL. Anyway, ingredient wise, it can be a lot cheaper than commercial beer and often so much better.

Sounds like you have it figured out, Jan. I planned to go the kegging route, and still will one day.

I get a case of 24 500ml cans of good pilsner for $21, and never get a bad batch. You are still ahead, but not by enough to offset the time commitment, in my present circumstances. One day, I'll actually enjoy the time spent instead of feeling like I should be doing something else.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

Sounds like you have it figured out, Jan. I planned to go the kegging route, and still will one day.

I get a case of 24 500ml cans of good pilsner for $21, and never get a bad batch. You are still ahead, but not by enough to offset the time commitment, in my present circumstances. One day, I'll actually enjoy the time spent instead of feeling like I should be doing something else.

As a "kit and kilo" brewer, it takes me less than an hour to start fermenting a batch. Clean up in less than 30 minutes.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

As a "kit and kilo" brewer, it takes me less than an hour to start fermenting a batch. Clean up in less than 30 minutes.

Sounds like you brought some of that famed European efficiency with you when you emigrated. I hope to get where you are, one day. I guess I just need to get my priorities straight!

 

[Highbeam]

Well we've got to compare apples to apples. My homebrew beer costs about 30$ for 5 gallons. A 6 pack of decent beer is 10$. So, yes, there is a lot of money on the table to save by brewing. Oh, I keg too, bottles are far more labor intensive and slower to finish. I am brew to belly in 7 days.

Not so good if you like variety. 5 gallons is a lot of beer so it had better be an easy drinker. Where I can buy a 6 pack of something wild and crazy and be done with it after 6.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Well we've got to compare apples to apples. My homebrew beer costs about 30$ for 5 gallons. A 6 pack of decent beer is 10$. So, yes, there is a lot of money on the table to save by brewing. Oh, I keg too, bottles are far more labor intensive and slower to finish. I am brew to belly in 7 days.

Not so good if you like variety. 5 gallons is a lot of beer so it had better be an easy drinker. Where I can buy a 6 pack of something wild and crazy and be done with it after 6.

Is 5 gallons really that much beer? I guess I used to think so, but not so much anymore. I suppose I'd have to really dislike something to consider it suffering to power through 2 cases worth.

I also used to think a cord of wood was a lot. Age and experience has tempered my reckoning.

 

[Highbeam]

Is 5 gallons really that much beer? I guess I used to think so, but not so much anymore. I suppose I'd have to really dislike something to consider it suffering to power through 2 cases worth.

I also used to think a cord of wood was a lot. Age and experience has tempered my reckoning.

5 gallons, 128 oz per gallon, so 640 ounces. So like 53 bottles. I always thought a case was 48 bottles.

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

I just bought a 64oz growler for 38$ today. Some of that sour beer. It's pretty good but I could get like 48 beers for that price. Ed I need some guidance on the hard ciders! I would love to home brew. Just haven't been motivated enough to do it

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

5 gallons, 128 oz per gallon, so 640 ounces. So like 53 bottles. I always thought a case was 48 bottles.

Rounding error!

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

5 gallons, 128 oz per gallon, so 640 ounces. So like 53 bottles. I always thought a case was 48 bottles.

You're not getting 5 gallons beer out of 5 gallons wort. You lose some of it. From my 5 gallon fermenter I get 48-49 12 oz bottles beer.

 

[Highbeam]

You're not getting 5 gallons beer out of 5 gallons wort. You lose some of it. From my 5 gallon fermenter I get 48-49 12 oz bottles beer.

How do you know? I most certainly am getting 5 gallons (or more) per batch. You surely aren't assuming that I only boil 5 gallons are you? Whether extract or all grain boiling you always start with more than 5 gallons if you intend to load 5 gallons into the fermenter. Better yet, I load more than 5 gallons into the 6.5 gallon fermenter since you want to leave some on the bottom when transferring to the secondary or to the keg.

The only time I use a 5 gallon fermenter is for the secondary. It doesn't take long to realize the mistake of an undersized fermenter when you get a foam explosion!

For cost. You may be able to buy 53 beers for less than 30$ but it will be low quality stuff usually. There is a place for low quality beer but as I get older I don't waste the opportunity on much of that. Good beer of any price will leave the rings on your glass.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

How do you know? I most certainly am getting 5 gallons (or more) per batch. You surely aren't assuming that I only boil 5 gallons are you? Whether extract or all grain boiling you always start with more than 5 gallons if you intend to load 5 gallons into the fermenter. Better yet, I load more than 5 gallons into the 6.5 gallon fermenter since you want to leave some on the bottom when transferring to the secondary or to the keg.

The only time I use a 5 gallon fermenter is for the secondary. It doesn't take long to realize the mistake of an undersized fermenter when you get a foam explosion!

For cost. You may be able to buy 53 beers for less than 30$ but it will be low quality stuff usually. There is a place for low quality beer but as I get older I don't waste the opportunity on much of that. Good beer of any price will leave the rings on your glass.

What I meant was that if I fill my fermenter to 5 gallons, and later fill my keg, the slurry on the bottom is my net loss.

 

[Highbeam]

What I meant was that if I fill my fermenter to 5 gallons, and later fill my keg, the slurry on the bottom is my net loss.

Make more wort to start with. You've got to anticipate this loss if you want to fill your keg. You can get more than 5 gallons in a corny keg too.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

Make more wort to start with. You've got to anticipate this loss if you want to fill your keg. You can get more than 5 gallons in a corny keg too.

My fermentation bucket has a 5 gallon (max) fill mark. The space above that mark, I want to keep for the krausen. Not interested cleaning up walls and floors after a flow over.