Brew Masters on Discovery

Originally Posted by Rambo

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Not up to that one yet. Just finished the 3rd ep last night. I wonder how that Tamarillo beer tastes?
Are you watching it online? Is it possible you could pme the site to stream it.

Originally Posted by Warren G.

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Are you watching it online? Is it possible you could pme the site to stream it.
Nope. Downloading it from the pirates.

Gonna watch the 4th episode today. and i'll probably catch #5 on tv tonight. (i think it comes on on sundays)

Its interesting. Just makes me want to drink a ton of beer though.

Just watched the 4th. The production process is fascination and so are all the little details that you never think about: testing for yeast, taste quality controls, etc.. Watching all that 120min IPA go down the drain was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in life.

Originally Posted by Rambo

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Not up to that one yet. Just finished the 3rd ep last night. I wonder how that Tamarillo beer tastes?

Quick question for you on the process Teach - So it goes:

Water +Hops +Barley go into the Mash Tun, gets boiled

The liquid that strains out is the "wort". The yeast gets added to that in the "?"(I don't remember what the thing was called).

Then the spices are added as its boiled again to kill any bacteria.

Then left to sit and ferment

Is that right?

No, there's only one boil. The spices are added at the end of the boil. This liquid is indeed called wort. It's strained, cooled, and pitched (yeast is added), at which time it's technically beer. Were you to boil it after pitching, you'd kill the yeast.

Originally Posted by Teacher

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No, there's only one boil. The spices are added at the end of the boil. This liquid is indeed called wort. It's strained, cooled, and pitched (yeast is added), at which time it's technically beer. Were you to boil it after pitching, you'd kill the yeast.
Ok. So the spices stay in through the entire fermentation process? Episode 4 was cool with the surfboard cedar. Anyone actually tried that beer?

The spices only go in for the last ten minutes or so (depending on what they are and how much you're using), then they're filtered out. Most spices would be WAY overpowering if left in during the ferment.

Originally Posted by Teacher

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The spices only go in for the last ten minutes or so (depending on what they are and how much you're using), then they're filtered out. Most spices would be WAY overpowering if left in during the ferment.
That's what I thought but they haven't shown or really spoken about that.

They don't always get too technical on that show, and in fact one episode I watched was fairly confusing because he was repeating something (I don't remember what it was -- it may have been this very topic) in a slightly different way that made it sound like they did something twice.

I'll give you an example of too much spice. Last year I made the first batch of what I've come to call Sugar Plum Porter. I used a few spices -- which I almost never do -- and all were in good amounts...except the star anise. I didn't realilze that most brewers only use one star for about five to ten minutes. I used five stars for about two minutes. While it wasn't exactly overpowering, it was far, far more anise than I wanted, and that was only two minutes.

I think it was the same episode. That's interesting about the anise. Just out of curiosity did you perfect the recipe?

I haven't made it again (didn't get around to it this year), but I think I just need to decrease the star anise to one star. Then again, when I do that, maybe I'll think of something else I should change. I love brewing!

My rommate and I are gonna start home brewing. Teacher how did you start? I was just gonna go really basic and get the Mr Beer kit to begin with or go down to my brew store and just have them piece me together a system for <$200ish. I've done a lot of research, but do you have any really good beginner stuff with a nice basic recipe and instructions? Mainly been reading this: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter1.html

Pilot, as a former home brewer, the best advice I can give you is cleanliness.

The second best piece of advice I can give you is cleanliness.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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Pilot, as a former home brewer, the best advice I can give you is cleanliness.

The second best piece of advice I can give you is cleanliness.

Noted. That def seems to be THE most important thing.

Looks like I have a pretty legit store in my town

http://www.thehomebrewery.com/Mercha...Store_Code=THB

1.) Get a brew kit. It'll have everything you need to get started except the ingredients. Fermentation buckets are just fine...that's what I've always used with narry a problem.

2.) Be obsessive about sanitizing. A good no-rinse sanitizer is great.

3.) Get some books. In one of the posts above, I mention some really good starters.

4.) Think some more about sanitizing.

5.) Join some online forums. I go to homebrewtalk.com, and there are some other good ones I've seen too (I just can't remember what they're called).

6.) Sanitize.

Good luck, and have fun!