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Thanks Ron Wrucke |
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Curious as to what homebrewing is all about, and what is required to get started in this great hobby. The basics regarding the fundamentals of Equipment and Ingredient Kits are discussed in sufficient detail to get any beginner started with their first batch. |
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An evolving "How to do it" - simply & quickly ! My evolving procedure for extract brewing - In addition to my how-to-do-its, hints and tips, you'll also find a specific gravity temperature correction chart and two downloadable checklist forms that I use to (1) gather up all the paraphernalia before a brewing session, and (2) to make sure I don't forget to do something after I fire up the pot ... |
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My Favorite Recipes .. Some of my evolved recipes (including labels) that have become annual do-agains - I've got the year covered from winter seasonals to summer coolers .. Revised in September 2001 to include a recipe for a tasteful lo-cal (I know that's an oxymoron) Ale - enjoy!! |
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Bottling - Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Filling Almost everything I know about bottle preparation, I owe to Joel King and his oft-repeated tips in the Compuserve "Beer" forum .... if you're put off a bit by bottle cleaning and sanitizing because of all the time it takes, this is the way to go !! Speaking of bottles, why do so many homebrewers ask where to get them ... if you brew, you must like beer .. getting bottles should be a real no-brainer .. :-) ... also included is a downloadable checklist form that I use to gather up all the paraphernalia before a bottling session to make sure I don't forget something ... |
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Water Quality and Brewing Even the old time brewers pictured on this page recognized the importance of using good water if you wanted to make good beer. This page contains a listing of water quality parameters important to brewing with recommended ranges or limits. Information is provided on how to adjust your brewing water thru the addition of standard brewing salts, and a table showing typical parameter concentrations for different styles of beer is also included. |
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Hop Characteristics A listing of common hops and a summary of their general characteristics; a summary table of common uses (e.g., American, British, and German beers vs. bittering, flavor, and/or aroma) is also provided. It may be of interest that hops constituents are extremely sensitive to UV light. If beer is exposed to UV for even a short period of time, it promptly undergoes a chemical reaction that creates the same compound that skunks spray to ward off foes (really !!). Hence the term "skunky" for a beer that is affected .. for more information on this phenomenon, check out my "That Imported Taste" page ... |
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Characteristics of Common Grains A listing of common grains and their general characteristics - steeping grains are highlighted to make them easy to recognize ... even if you're not interested in the grains, check out the Lady enjoying a cool one sitting on a keg of Wrucksterbräu ... if you have a brew in hand while browz'n, see if you can keep up with the animated version - she can really pour 'em down .. !! |
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Beer Color Color has a significant effect on the appreciation and evaluation of beer. A brew that "looks like it should" will undoubtedly taste better, if you know what I mean...? As a consequence, the control of brew color is important since it fits right in there with aroma, clarity, head, and other sensory turn-ons that contribute to the enjoyment of a tall cool one. This page contains information pertaining to how beer color is measured, how to control it, and how to predict it ... a pictorial description of the beer color range is shown .. you want to brew a rich brown ale, but don't know how much Chocolate or Roasted Barley you can get away with before your transparent brew turns opaque .. ?? this info will help .. |
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Miscellaneous BrewTips An Odds & Ends page containing a collection of tips and assorted facts that may be of interest to the homebrewer ... included is some interesting information on wort chilling, wort improvement, the use of grains and fining agents, equipment selection, head improvement, carbonation control, bench capper selection, freezer requirements for kegs, and siphoning tips ... worth a peek perhaps?? Revised in September 2001 to include a discussion of Lo-Cal brewing. |
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Brewing Art ... a few pieces of clipart which have been modified just a bit to make them a bit more pertinent to a beer related website and hopefully a little humorous as well ... some of these have found there way onto my bottle labels - I generally use Avery "RemoveEms" labels (their only drawback is size availability) and HP-970/890 color inkjet printers. CorelDraw's "clone" feature is a real label-making tool and a color laser printer really puts out a durable sharp-as-a-tack label - use the "cheap" 3M spray adhesive - not the permanant stuff - to stick them on your bottles. |
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A personal touch - you can tell I worry a lot ... Check out those slippers ... if you are into "BrewWear", check out Shipyard Brewery's website for some nice gear; and while you're visiting check out their beers too - if you are tired of the Pacific Coast cascade taste, the Shipyard's lineup is quality across the board - I don't know if your "local" stocks Shipyard brews, but if you can find them try them out; I don't think you'll be disappointed ... |
In - Progress Stuff |
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.. fill your bladder with Red Dog, and you'll be dancing too .. !
