new to the forums

[bobbagadoosh]

Hey guys, looks like a good site. I have about four brews under my belt, but three of them have been in the past month. I am a member of a fraternity at UC Berkeley, and after my first batch my brothers decided that it would be more than worth it to fund one batch a week. Consequently, I get to brew a lot of beer for almost free. I also control distribution of the beer, of course. I've got a corny keg setup, and I wanted to ask what is the prefered method of conditioning in the keg. I know you can treat it like a big bottle with a 1/2 cup of corn sugar, force carbonate, etc. What do you prefer?

Also, does anyone use filtration systems? I hear it cuts down conditioning time greatly.

[toneyc]

Natural carbonation vs force carbonation is pretty close to a religious question around here. Yes, you can carbonate with corn sugar in the keg, some people swear it tastes better. I don't mess with it, I just put my kegs under serving pressure for a couple of weeks. Either way you do it, the beer needs the conditioning time. Filtering is also a waste of time and money, *in my opinion*. Time is your best friend.

:)
Toney.

[HogieWan]

I wish I had started brewing when I was living in the fraternity house. Would have saved me a lot of money (I probably could have worked out a profit).

[Mad Scientist]

Wow, once you get a few batches under your belt, you might explain to your brothers how all grain brewing will produce a much higher quality brew, and that a three tier HERMS or RIMS system will ease the brewing, espicially for making those large ten+ gallon batches.

[chazwicke]

Welcome to the board!

[bobbagadoosh]

hahah thanks guys. ya id love to get into the all grain brewing, and getting some funding would be awesome. as of right now they have already provided me with a kegging setup so im happy. ten gallons would definately be great though. Beer doesnt last long around here.

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by bobbagadoosh
ten gallons would definately be great though. Beer doesnt last long around here.

Even on my own personal consumption, planning to make sure that beer supplies are adequate is difficult enough. Sucessfully planning for- and supplying a frat house with beer is worthy of a resume entry.

[eyepah]

OK bobba

We got to slow this whole thing down for just a few seconds. There are a lot of people here that would love to brew under the endorsement of "brothers."

Filtration should be done to preserve a flavor profile - not to hurry conditioning. Stronger = longer conditioning. Or your beer will taste green. Perhaps you can develop a medium-strong house beer in larger quantities that have rotational releases. So - we need to make as shopping list!

Of course it will be in the best interst of the lot that purchasing base malt by the 50 lb sack will cut costs astronomically. But to enter the more economical grain brewing process we will need:

Grain Mill
2 Sankey Kegs, cut and drilled
1 Sure Screen or False Bottom
2 burners
1 propane tank w/regulator
Some dimentional lumber
Water filter
3 more corneys
Hoses, valves, and plumbing equip.

This list will allow you make 10 gallon batches. Learn about grain brewing and master your house recipe. You will be a legend!

[Mad Scientist]

eyepah - You forgot a mashing vessel or a HLT--one of the two kegs can serve as either one--Myself, I prefer a 10 galon round cooler for my mashtun.

bobba, it goes with out saying that you need to seek the wise sages in a homebrew club at this point, in particular for the allgrain aspect. I do not think that a homebrew club would be hard to find around Berkley.

Speaking of a strong house beer, you might also want to develope a lighter strength house ale (or lager) for regular (mass?) consumption and regular brewing--this would be something flavorful, but quick (compared to the long aging of a strong beer) and inexpensive to make.

[Mad Scientist]

Oh yeah....

I really don't think that it would be hard for a frat house to generate two empty kegs:D

[HogieWan]

I do fine with one burner. I use a rectangular ice chest (cooler) for my Hot Liquor Tank (HLT). I heat water to 190 and put it in the HLT before anything else. It's right at 170 by the time I need it. I use a converted keg for a Mash/Lauter Tun (MLT) and another for my boil kettle. I have both fitted with a false bottom.

I order all my ingredients from AustinHomebrew because they mill the grain for free and process my order quickly.

[HarkJohnny]

lucky bastid! you get to brew all that good beer, and at no or little cost to you. practice makes perfect they say.

welcome!

[brewmonkey]

Filtration does not cut down on the conditioning time and to early a filtration will actually ruin what would have been a great beer. Remember that the yeast still in suspension is an integral part of the conditioning process and early removal will mean an incomplete conditioning and depending on the strain could lead to higher concentrations of diacetyl, aldehydes (especially in American lager strains) and sulfur compounds (especially in European lager strains).

Beer must condition to it's fullerst before filtering and if anything filtration will add time to your batch as to properly filter you will want to fine it with isinglass or gelatin and both of those require a minimum of 72 hours or so before running through a filter.

[bobbagadoosh]

well this is why i joined the forums, already have learned alot. id really like to get into this all grain. thanks guys

[cluckk]

I wish I had started brewing when I was living in the fraternity house. Would have saved me a lot of money (I probably could have worked out a profit).

A homebrewer in a frat-house, talk about a ruler of all he surveys! Such a person would have been crowned frat-king!