For the longest time I have possess the desire to learn the art of brewing beer. I know many of you here are considered expects in this field. So I am looking to you for guidance in this new adventure so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Disclosure
Lastly is there an equivalent place locally like the hive for home brewer’s.
Marvin
Hi Marvin!
Tiffany and I have brewed many batches of beer in the last 4-5 years. The two main homebrewing variations are “extract”, which uses malt extract for the fermentable sugar, and “all grain”, where you start with barley and do a mash to extract the sugar. Most people start with extract brewing because it’s less complex and requires less equipment.
Basic introduction:
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/beginner/how-to-make-beer/
More info:
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
You can get an equipment kit that includes almost everything you need. One example:
http://www.amazon.com/Brewers-Best-Beer-Brewing-Equipment/dp/B006J336US
Or, you can buy the pieces of equipment separately and potentially save $, especially if you buy used. You will also need a large pot (3 gallon minimum) and bottles or kegging supplies.
A lot of this stuff is already at Hive13 if you want to brew there.
You also need the ingredients (malt, hops, and yeast). Again you can buy a kit or purchase individually. Listermann’s is my go-to homebrew store, they have a big selection and are very helpful (although it can sometimes get pretty busy).
Regarding making lagers vs ales: I’d recommend to start with ale, since lager takes longer to ferment and requires you to keep the fermentation at a cold temperature. If you like lager, you may enjoy the cream ale style…
Regarding kegging vs bottling: kegging is great, but requires more $ investment! Most homebrewers who keg use “corny kegs”, which have a removeable lid. Check out cornykeg.com. They are located in cincinnati area.
I don’t think there’s really a “makerspace for homebrewers” in Cincinnati. We do however have 2 sizable homebrew clubs, the Bloatarians and the Malt Infusers. Tiff and I are members of the Bloatarians. There are monthly meetings that often have brewing-related presentations or homebrew tastings. There are also club brew days where you can bring your equipment and brew, or just show up, watch, and learn. The culture is kinda goofball but there is tremendous amount of brewing experience in the group.
Tiffany and I have done all-grain brew days at Hive13 the last 2 summers. If there is interest we will probably do it again this year!
Cheers,
Mike
Marvin,
My wife, Lindsey, and I are also members of the Bloatarian Brewing League (and the ones who finally convinced Mike and Tiff to join, haha). Come out to the March monthly meeting on Friday, 3/20 in Norwood to see what it’s all about. Check out Bloatarian.com for the club info.
Mike, Tiffany, Lindsey, and I have all made various beer brewing equipment at the Hive, so the two hobbies/clubs are very inclusive.
Like Mike said, go check out Listermann on Dana Ave (by Xavier’s campus). Browse around and ask questions. Expect to invest around $100-150 to get started with brewing extract kits and you’ll spend around $32 per kit, enough to brew 5 gallons (around 50 bottles of beer). Another advantage of joining the home brewing club is a 10% discount on ingredients at the local home brew shops.
Good luck!
Ian