Any home brewers here?

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Anybody here make your own beer or wine?  Don't mention distilled products because that's illegal.

 

I liked to make porters, stouts, and IPAs.  Also made various wines, maple, rhubarb, and honey.

[Tascosa, SASS# 24838]

A few years ago my son and I brewed beer. Started with bottles (24) and finally found it much easier to put it 2 small kegs that would fit in our den refridg, and we could just open the door and pour a glass from the keg. Haven't done it in a while but it was the best beer Ive ever had.

[Capt. James H. Callahan]

My wife bought me a DIY wine kit for Christmas some years ago. Made one batch of White Zinfandel, not sure if I didn't do it right or what, but it was a time consuming PITA and the wine wound up way too dry for my tastes (not much of a wine snob to start with). Never tried beer, probably should have.

JHC

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

I am interested in making mead sometime, as we have 6 bee hives. Anyone make mead?

[Pulp, SASS#28319]

My in laws just planted a vineyard, but it will be two more years before they can harvest grapes from it.

 

My dad and a friend made some home brew when I was a kid.  My brother and I picked pop bottles from the side of the road until we had enough for the bottling.  Dad said it was good, but judging from the look on his face at the first taste, I'm not sure I believed him.

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

A friend and I made beer in the '60s, eventually making it in wooden kegs. We got to a place where we had a good brew. But back then, there was little other beer than the old standard light swill.

 

Years later I thought about it again, but by then we had endless microbrew choices and not much reason to do it anymore. So I didn't.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

8 hours ago, Dirty Dan Dawkins said:

I am interested in making mead sometime, as we have 6 bee hives. Anyone make mead?

I've done it.  )))

Many recipes are available.

 

[Finagler 6853 Life]

My SIL brews beer.  Does a right nice job of it.  He likes IPAs, Porters, Dark.  The hoppy-er and more full bodied the better for him.  I like Lagers.  What ever the purity laws call for.  SIL belongs to a "club" where they get together and discuss tips and techniques.  A couple of the members work for some of the small brewers in the Madison area so SIL gets good input.  SIL makes a hot pepper beer that gets great reviews from those that try it.  Me? Not so much.  I don't like a beer that bites back.  SIL has a nice little set up he has crafted over a couple years. Re-configured the thermostat from a 7 CU FT chest freezer to be his cooler. All this stuff is on the internet.  He and my daughter then build a bar around the freezer with a 4 tapper head on top fed from the tanks in the freezer.  He uses recycled soda syrup tanks as his "kegs".  Works pretty slick.

Distilling your own spirits is not illegal as long as the quantity does not exceed a certain level per year and I don't think you can sell it.  It is all about the revenue.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

7 hours ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

A friend and I made beer in the '60s, eventually making it in wooden kegs. We got to a place where we had a good brew. But back then, there was little other beer than the old standard light swill.

 

Years later I thought about it again, but by then we had endless microbrew choices and not much reason to do it anymore. So I didn't.

In the 60s making beer at home was illegal, wine was legal up to certain quantities.  Sales of things like barley malt accompanied warnings about possible fermentation and accidental creation of an alcoholic product.  Jimmy Carter legalized home brew.  And then many things became commercially available.