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  1. #1
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    mini micro-brewing



    Fellow home brewers,
    Has anyone looked into mini micro-brewing for home use, say 30-50 ltrs at a time.Ive seen and tasted the fihished product at "brew your own" outlets.Very nice.Maybe someone has a idea or knows of a company that would be able to help.

    Regards Dave.



  2. #2
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    Ive seen and tasted the fihished product at "brew your own" outlets.
    Dave

    Are you sure that you haven't been on the home brew already?

    Frank

  3. #3
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    home brewing

    Dear Dave,

    Love to home brew ( beer/wine ) !

    problem : Don't know how to - Malaysia being a Muslim country and all that; its difficult to sneak in a brew kit. Saw a few in Toronto but was advised against bringing it in.

    I'm sure I can make one if I had drawings and other specifications but tsk! tsk! - who's going to help me ??? Any websites ?

    Bernard

  4. #4
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    For starters, the Prof would suggest you get a copy of Charles Papazian's book "The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing". You can find it on amazon.com.

    If you can obtain barley, hops, and brewers yeast, you can brew beer..
    Prof Sporlan

  5. #5
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    Hic! Thanks Prof ! Hic! Hic!

  6. #6
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    Hi Bersaga,
    Having lived in a Muslim country for nearly 20 years, (Saudi Arabia), I've picked up a few tips on "the old home brew".

    As the Prof says, you can make a brew out of virtually anything. All you need is sugar and yeast. Are you trying to make wine, beer or spirits.???

    I had a pot still for many years but I converted it to a reflux still, ( more efficient), I could get approximately 110 proof (US proof that is) on a single run. I usually ran it three times and the finished product was 195 US proof. If you use refined sugar there is less chance of making wood alcahol. I found a site on the web some years ago where it gave drawings of a reflux still, I'll try to find it again and post it on this thread.
    "The old codger"

  7. #7
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    Home Brew!!!

    Thanks Peter - Awaiting your website !

    By the way, are there any no-no's in this field - I mean if you try to brew using , say , papaya puree to get papaya beer/wine , am I concoting some form of 'poison' !!

    What are the most popular candidates for wine and beer ?

    By the way, I love both wine and beer - no hard liqour for me unless in a ****tail!!!

    Thanks again !

  8. #8
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    During Prohibition, there were apparently occurrences of methanol being present in "bathtub gin", which is poisonous and can lead to blindness. The Prof is reasonably sure the methanol (wood alcohol) was simply added to the gin to increase alcohol content, and it as not some byproduct of fermentation.

    Rest assured, fermenting barley will create ethanol, and not methanol, and perhaps the worst thing that you can do making your own beer is producing some very bad tasting beer..
    Prof Sporlan

  9. #9
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    Thanks Prof !

    But what is ' Prohibition ' ? Oops sorry ! That's in that recommended book, right?

    Thanks again!

  10. #10
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    "Prohibition" was in effect in the U.S. during the years 1920 thru 1933. During that time production, sale, distribution and consumption of alcohol were prohibited. It was an attempt to reduce crime and corruption and a number of social problems that were believed to be directly related to alcohol. It did'nt work. Drinking continued, crime increased and became "organized", and the quality of a lot of home brews became dangerous. The most important reason prohibition was ended was because the government realized how much tax money it was losing and how much it was spending enforcing the new law. Amazingly enough, smuggling alcohol is where the Kennedy fortune was made

  11. #11
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    Thanks - thought it was part of a process

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    Saudi suffered me for about four months, Peter wasn't that distilled sugar brew called Siddiqui? Added to coke it tasted just like Bacardi. The Scottish guys out there would buy all the alcohol free beer that had passed its sell by date, pour it all into a bath tub, add sugar and bakers yeast...Hey Presto, beer that tasted a bit like beer!
    Karl

  13. #13
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    Originally posted by angryk
    "Prohibition" was in effect in the U.S. during the years 1920 thru 1933. During that time production, sale, distribution and consumption of alcohol were prohibited. It was an attempt to reduce crime and corruption and a number of social problems that were believed to be directly related to alcohol. It did'nt work. Drinking continued, crime increased and became "organized", and the quality of a lot of home brews became dangerous. The most important reason prohibition was ended was because the government realized how much tax money it was losing and how much it was spending enforcing the new law. Amazingly enough, smuggling alcohol is where the Kennedy fortune was made

    AND this is also how NASCAR came to be.... believe it or not. YEEHAAAAA! LOL!!
    :D
    Dean
    Subzero*psia

    Extinction is simply proof of failure to adapt.

  14. #14
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    Yes, siddiqui was the " Nectar of the Gods", very nice with tonic or with coke. If you used Juniper berries, you could make quite a passable gin.

    In the early days, you could buy an American product in the supermarkets called " Blue Ribbon Malt". Our American cousins must have convinced the Saudi's that it was used for cake making or something, ( Yeh! that's right, as it states right on the label....contains hop extract ) It took the Saudi's quite a few years to twig that it was used for making beer.

    They eventually decided to remove the wicked product from the supermarket shelves. The wombled up all the cans, dug a massive pit, 30 klicks from Jeddah,dumped the lot in and set light to it. Of course only the top couple of layers burnt.

    I know several compatriots who were still digging out cans from "Malt Mountain" (as it became knows as) 5 years later.
    "The old codger"

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    Peter,
    I still get a cold chill up my spine whenever Jeddah is mentioned, spent the worst four months of my life there. After five years in Sharjah (Yes sir, we have all colours and all sizes, how many do you want) Jeddah (The answer is NO now what is your question) was a bit of a culture shock for me. The only thing that kept me sane was a drink with the TK service manager (A guy from Hull as I remember) He had five gallons of un-cut Sidiqui when I first met him....

    Ha! I knew it was time to go when the boss brought me an English version of the Koran!!!
    Karl

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    Cool

    Originally posted by Prof Sporlan
    For starters, the Prof would suggest you get a copy of Charles Papazian's book "The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing". You can find it on amazon.com.

    If you can obtain barley, hops, and brewers yeast, you can brew beer..

    Prof... I bought the book.... and I've spent close to $200 on equipment and ingredients now. I could have stopped with the beginners kit but I knew I would want more later so why stop there?

    Have you made your own wort chiller, is it advisable or would you suggest buying one?
    :D
    Dean
    Subzero*psia

    Extinction is simply proof of failure to adapt.

  17. #17
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    Have you made your own wort chiller, is it advisable or would you suggest buying one?
    The Prof hasn't gotten around to making or buying a wort chiller. He's done some partial all grain brews, but never one in which he had to boil the entire wort. At the moment, he lacks the stove top space to do it..

    If you're going to do all grain brews on a regular basis, then a wort chiller should become part of your arsenal. As an alternative, one could place the hot wort in a sealed container, and let it cool in the basement, or in a tub of ccol water. But cooling wort gradually allows Murphy better opportunity to bugger up the brew...
    Prof Sporlan

  18. #18
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    Re: mini micro-brewing

    Could anyone tell me where you can purchase suitable yeast for siddiqui in the UK?

  19. #19
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    Re: mini micro-brewing

    Quote Originally Posted by dave
    Fellow home brewers,
    Has anyone looked into mini micro-brewing for home use, say 30-50 ltrs at a time.Ive seen and tasted the fihished product at "brew your own" outlets.Very nice.Maybe someone has a idea or knows of a company that would be able to help.

    Regards Dave.
    I see you are a fellow aussie so have a look here
    http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com

    Refrigeration and fermentation are a match made in heaven!!! its the best hobby for a fridge mechanic

  20. #20
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    Re: mini micro-brewing

    Quote Originally Posted by Prof Sporlan
    The Prof hasn't gotten around to making or buying a wort chiller. He's done some partial all grain brews, but never one in which he had to boil the entire wort. At the moment, he lacks the stove top space to do it..

    If you're going to do all grain brews on a regular basis, then a wort chiller should become part of your arsenal. As an alternative, one could place the hot wort in a sealed container, and let it cool in the basement, or in a tub of ccol water. But cooling wort gradually allows Murphy better opportunity to bugger up the brew...
    Onya Prof once you do full wort boils and full mashes you will see start to really see the golden,amber,ruby (insert favourite beer colour here) light start to shine

    Maybe we need to start a refrig engineer brewing forum?

    Subzero you said buy a wort chiller? wash your mouth out, a simple immersion is only a coil of 3/8" or 1/2" copper which is not too hard to make. Or for a bit more fun stuff 1/2 a coil of soft drawn 3/8" into 1/2 a coil of soft drawn 5/8" then roll it up again and braze on a few fittings and hey presto instant counterflow chiller

    ozairman
    Last edited by ozairman; 16-11-2005 at 04:12 PM.

  21. #21
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    Re: mini micro-brewing

    Hi

    Interesting stuff. I have once tryied to make some beers,
    but by the botling the caps vas blowing off, after 15 minuttes, so we had to drink nearly the hole brewing.

    But see this link.

    http://homedistiller.org/photos-reflux.htm

    Best regards
    Carlo Hansen

  22. #22
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    Re: mini micro-brewing

    Quote Originally Posted by ozairman View Post
    Subzero you said buy a wort chiller? wash your mouth out, a simple immersion is only a coil of 3/8" or 1/2" copper which is not too hard to make. Or for a bit more fun stuff 1/2 a coil of soft drawn 3/8" into 1/2 a coil of soft drawn 5/8" then roll it up again and braze on a few fittings and hey presto instant counterflow chiller

    ozairman
    I hope no one minds me bringing this old thread up.....but I was doing a bit of research and I ended up here.

    Has anyone built a wort chiller out of bits from the back of the van?
    I have a 1.8kw condensing unit lying around a few scraps of pipe to make a immersion coil and the best intentions in the world........whadya fink? will it work?

    Cheers

    eggs

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    Re: mini micro-brewing

    Hi eggs
    I haven't built a wort chiller but built a sneaky continuous home reflux still. It was fun and made lots of spirits with 120 litre brewing containers. I just used molasses and yeast to get the water and sugar going, vented the co2 (stinky) out my bedroom window. I got the plans from a book called "The Lore of STILL Building" Howard and Gibat pg 68. This helped me understand how refrigeration worked and the important uses lol. It worked out at less than NZ$5 each bottle but that was many years ago, now I just buy beer from the shop.

  24. #24
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    Re: mini micro-brewing

    Old thread. Glad to see it revived.
    Wort chillers are easy. All I did was to take 25 feet of 1/2 inch soft copper and wind it around something round. I set it in my brew pot after the boil. I have a connection I hook a garden hose. The other side goes to a hose I run onto the ground. It cools 5 gallons from boiling to fermented temperature in about 25 minutes.

  25. #25
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    Re: mini micro-brewing

    Quote Originally Posted by NH3LVR View Post
    Old thread. Glad to see it revived.
    Wort chillers are easy. All I did was to take 25 feet of 1/2 inch soft copper and wind it around something round. I set it in my brew pot after the boil. I have a connection I hook a garden hose. The other side goes to a hose I run onto the ground. It cools 5 gallons from boiling to fermented temperature in about 25 minutes.
    I have read up on these systems but it wasn't enough of a man toy......and it is a waste of water.

    I thought of maybe putting a heat exchanger on some flexi lines and connecting it up to a condenser so that it can be dipped in the wort........or something I could spend a bit more time in the garage with, away from the wife.....like an aquarium water chiller but a bit faster.

    Hmmmm

    Eggs

  26. #26
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    Re: mini micro-brewing

    I am willing to waste a little bit of water to make good beer!

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