Can home beers be as good as store bought?
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They can be made better than store-bought. You'll never get fresher taste.
The only one that can be really challenging is the pilsner. To get the lightest color, you really need to do all grain - the extracts, even the lightest ones, undergo some darkening during the process of making them into extracts. You also need to ferment them cold and lager them cold for an extended period so temp control becomes essential. However, it can be done.
The only one that can be really challenging is the pilsner. To get the lightest color, you really need to do all grain - the extracts, even the lightest ones, undergo some darkening during the process of making them into extracts. You also need to ferment them cold and lager them cold for an extended period so temp control becomes essential. However, it can be done.
That all depends on how good of a brewer you are and what "store bought" brands you're comparing it to ;D
Can you make bread as good as you can buy from a good bakery? Yes, but you need the right ingredients, equipment, and technique to do it. You can take short cuts by using malt extract, just as you can buy pre-made bread mix, but as Medsen said, if you want that real fresh grain flavor, you need to go all-grain.
Dark ales like stouts and porters are more forgiving to the homebrewer because ales ferment better closer to room temperature (though you should still try to keep the temps down below 68* or so to minimize unwanted yeast esters), and the dark roasty flavors can help cover up other imperfections. I made a decent extract milk stout a few years ago that turned out pretty well. It wasn't all that good at first, but it improved in the bottles over a year and half, and I got a lot of compliments on it.
As Medsen said, lagers (pilsners especially) are a little trickier to do at home because you need lower temps and longer aging at those temps to really produce the clean flavor profile like the examples you are familiar with.
Some of the best beer I have ever had has been homebrew, most notably pale ales and IPAs due to the freshness of the hops. It can definitely be done and be done as good or better than store bought beer, but it takes a significant investment of time and money and the willingness to possibly produce a few bad or not-so-good batches before you get the techniques down.
Can you make bread as good as you can buy from a good bakery? Yes, but you need the right ingredients, equipment, and technique to do it. You can take short cuts by using malt extract, just as you can buy pre-made bread mix, but as Medsen said, if you want that real fresh grain flavor, you need to go all-grain.
Dark ales like stouts and porters are more forgiving to the homebrewer because ales ferment better closer to room temperature (though you should still try to keep the temps down below 68* or so to minimize unwanted yeast esters), and the dark roasty flavors can help cover up other imperfections. I made a decent extract milk stout a few years ago that turned out pretty well. It wasn't all that good at first, but it improved in the bottles over a year and half, and I got a lot of compliments on it.
As Medsen said, lagers (pilsners especially) are a little trickier to do at home because you need lower temps and longer aging at those temps to really produce the clean flavor profile like the examples you are familiar with.
Some of the best beer I have ever had has been homebrew, most notably pale ales and IPAs due to the freshness of the hops. It can definitely be done and be done as good or better than store bought beer, but it takes a significant investment of time and money and the willingness to possibly produce a few bad or not-so-good batches before you get the techniques down.
Zach said it pretty well, this is a similar question to asking whether home cooking can beat store bought. The answer is exactly what you expect it is: maybe.
Can I out-cook McDonalds? Sure, so could a child. Can I out-cook my favourite fine dining place in Vancouver? - heck no. But maybe my grandmother could.
Same thing here. Can you make better beer? Yes. Why not? That said, beer is harder than mead/wine (in my opinion, it's simply more complex to do).
My advice would be to start with someone else's recipes, recipes that are proven. Just winging it gets risky, I've made some real duds.
Can I out-cook McDonalds? Sure, so could a child. Can I out-cook my favourite fine dining place in Vancouver? - heck no. But maybe my grandmother could.
Same thing here. Can you make better beer? Yes. Why not? That said, beer is harder than mead/wine (in my opinion, it's simply more complex to do).
My advice would be to start with someone else's recipes, recipes that are proven. Just winging it gets risky, I've made some real duds.
I have been reading " How To Brew " by John Palmer and so far it has been a delight to digest. A few conclusions, as AToE has said it is a complex operation. As a friend who enjoys a good stout with me from time to time, He remarks that it is a " Finicky Master ". From my perspective, with no experience of making beer I am somewhat intimated by the process. I expect like all things, once I do it a few times and get the hang of the type of beer and the procedure's things should go smoothly? It does seem to warrant a bit more funds to play with though....
Once I had gotten a couple of meads under my belt, I ventured into beer brewing. I have Palmer's book, too, and it really made brewing accessible for me!
Since I had started making meads, I already had much of the equipment, too! Now, mind you, I didn't go the whole nine yards and try all-grain brewing; instead, I went the extract route. But, my results were great!
I was going to do a stout, myself, but never got around to it. Instead, I did a couple of Yuengling knock-offs (since I know my family likes Yuengling).
Also, instead of buying bottles, I went out and got a few cases of Grolsch flip-tops. The price for "beer in bottles" wasn't all that much more than "empty bottles"; even better was the fact that with the flip-tops, I didn't have to worry about playing around with caps, and capping paraphenalia -- instead, I just had to buy the little red gaskets, and bottling was a snap!
Good luck with it, if you give it a show!!!!
Merry
Since I had started making meads, I already had much of the equipment, too! Now, mind you, I didn't go the whole nine yards and try all-grain brewing; instead, I went the extract route. But, my results were great!
I was going to do a stout, myself, but never got around to it. Instead, I did a couple of Yuengling knock-offs (since I know my family likes Yuengling).
Also, instead of buying bottles, I went out and got a few cases of Grolsch flip-tops. The price for "beer in bottles" wasn't all that much more than "empty bottles"; even better was the fact that with the flip-tops, I didn't have to worry about playing around with caps, and capping paraphenalia -- instead, I just had to buy the little red gaskets, and bottling was a snap!
Good luck with it, if you give it a show!!!!
Merry
Too cold? What do you mean? I don't think a house can get too cold for fermenting with a human being living in it.
Saison and other farmhouse styles do well at 75-80ºF. There are several Saison yeast strains available from both Wyeast and Whitelabs. Fair warning: Some of the best beers I've had were Saisons (e.g. Ommegang Hennepin), but they were also some of the worst (blocked from memory). If it helps, the homebrewed versions I've had all fell on the good side of the spectrum. It's a fairly forgiving style, though does best in the lighter, drier end of things IMO.
As for cold, I agree it can't be too cold. If water is still liquid, you can find a way to make beer. Cold houses make for great places to make a lager! (or a Kolsch, or an Alt, etc) I'd also encourage fruit beers, the fruit character gets preserved well at lower temps.
As for cold, I agree it can't be too cold. If water is still liquid, you can find a way to make beer. Cold houses make for great places to make a lager! (or a Kolsch, or an Alt, etc) I'd also encourage fruit beers, the fruit character gets preserved well at lower temps.
A California Common (aka Steam Beer) is essentially a lager fermented at room temp. I like it.
Was going to ask about Grolsch bottles. Do you replace the gaskets every batch?
A few replies have mentioned all grain brewing. Is it a lot harder?
What about pressurized equipment for tap beer. Is it better tasting? I guess one would need their own fridge for the kegs.
A few replies have mentioned all grain brewing. Is it a lot harder?
What about pressurized equipment for tap beer. Is it better tasting? I guess one would need their own fridge for the kegs.
which ones are farmhouse styles >.>;
We have a second fridge in the garage, if it works I may bring it into the basement, and get a temperature control. I mean, I can't do anything in the basement besides age (no possible way to get it clean enough, plus no running water) but would work for the most part I think.
We have a second fridge in the garage, if it works I may bring it into the basement, and get a temperature control. I mean, I can't do anything in the basement besides age (no possible way to get it clean enough, plus no running water) but would work for the most part I think.
Nope, just when they start to harden/crack, as far as I know. A lot depends on how long between batches.
I haven't quite made the jump to all grain yet, but yes, it's a little harder and requires a little more patience and equipment (bigger pots mainly). I think that for people learning it's not a bad idea to start off with extract brewing, but add specialty grains for flavour and colour, gets you used to working with the grains. Working with hops is probably my favourite part of brewing, once you smell them by themselves and during fermentation/brewing you gain a much greater appreciation for them.
As with most things "better" isn't a word that applies well to subjective things like taste. If you don't like cloudy beers that have a lot of yeast in them, then force-carbonating with kegs is the only way to go, but if you like what yeast adds then it wouldn't be considered better.
I'd love to get a keg setup, just for the sake of having beer on tap in my house, but I have to save up for the kegs, CO2 tanks, deepfreezer, taps, etc.
It isn't so much harder, but it is a lot more time intensive. You have to be able to devote the better part of a day to making a batch.
It is not necessary to do all grain brewing to make great beer. There are huge numbers of award winning beers made with extract (with or w/o specialty grains). There are just a few styles that that it makes a big difference for, pilsners being one of them.
Oh, you can also make a good IPA at 75 F. You can put enough hops in to overpower any ester production.
Since this is my first post let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a Nationaly ranked judge with the BJCP, I have served and President and Vice-President of the local homebrew club in Tulsa, OK and have served as Organizer and Head Judge of its homebrew competition.
Okay, in a word YES you can make beer as good as anything you buy in the store. The harder beers are always the more delecate beers, Kolsh, Cream Ale, Dortmunder and the like, Pilsner included. But, any of them can be done if done right and most any of them can be done with exctract as long as it is fresh.
A good place to start is John Palmer's book, it is the one I refer people to now. To start out all-grain brewing go to www.dennybrew.com. It was created by a gentlemen named Denny Conn. Wonderful brewer and tells you how to do it on the cheap and easy scale. Also, you can always send me an email I am glad to answer questions.
Saisons are probably my favorite beers, love them. Word of warning on the yeast it likes it warm 80+ is not a problem for it. But it has the possiblity to just stop short of what you want, or atlest it seems like it. It will take it to 60 - 65% attenuation and then slooooowwww down and I mean that. It is working just slowly. Some people have added the US-05 or 1056 to finish it off, but I have found that with time it will finish.
Again, if you have a question let me know.
Okay, in a word YES you can make beer as good as anything you buy in the store. The harder beers are always the more delecate beers, Kolsh, Cream Ale, Dortmunder and the like, Pilsner included. But, any of them can be done if done right and most any of them can be done with exctract as long as it is fresh.
A good place to start is John Palmer's book, it is the one I refer people to now. To start out all-grain brewing go to www.dennybrew.com. It was created by a gentlemen named Denny Conn. Wonderful brewer and tells you how to do it on the cheap and easy scale. Also, you can always send me an email I am glad to answer questions.
Saisons are probably my favorite beers, love them. Word of warning on the yeast it likes it warm 80+ is not a problem for it. But it has the possiblity to just stop short of what you want, or atlest it seems like it. It will take it to 60 - 65% attenuation and then slooooowwww down and I mean that. It is working just slowly. Some people have added the US-05 or 1056 to finish it off, but I have found that with time it will finish.
Again, if you have a question let me know.
Thanks, for your input and recommendations! Until I am on the path and have at least read through John's book with some understanding & comprehension then I may feel better qualified to ask a question...
If I could ask if you or folks that you know that brew do or do not use a conical fermenter ( Blichmann Fermenter ) and any opinions you could offer would be most welcome.
Regards,
Carl
5 or 6 gallons, unless it's really experimental then maybe do less. Then again, 3 gallons is a decent size too if you have those carboys. Smaller than that and it just gets a bit dissapointing to put in so much work and only get a couple 6 packs.
Home beer's the same as commerical, it really depends. Lower ABV might peak in the first half year from what I understand, but then again might be fine for a couple (or even more, it just might go through some major changes). Higher ABV can go longer, like the braggot I'm going to bottle soon is about 5 or 6 months now, and I won't be drinking much of it until 5 or 6 months after that. Hops also help beer age longer, and mellow with age.
