# I'm making my own Beer (with Pictures!)



## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

The beer that I'm making now is a Belgian Ale with Hallertau Hops and Candi Sugar. It should end up yielding around 8% ABV. I had on OG reading of about 1.08, so it's going to be pretty close to the 8% ABV mark. I am striving for 8%, but I would have liked to see an OG of 1.07 to be on the safe side. I could not really dilute the wort by too much, as I was running out of room in the fermenter and you never want to lose too much flavour due to dilution. 

I've got 6 gallons of it fermenting in my closet at the moment. It smells wonderful every time I open the closet doors to check and see how my little yeasties are producing CO2 and bringing it all together. I whipped up this batch on Tuesday, August 5, so it has been fermenting for only a little over 36 hours. I will probably transfer it over to secondary fermentation on Saturday, depending on how much CO2 is still being produced at the time. After that, it will most likely stay in the Secondary Fermenter until August 23rd, on which day I will bottle it with priming sugar and then let it sick for another week or so before hitting the fridge. Just in time for labour day!

Now, onto what matters the most - Pictures!

Boiling the water:










Mixing the malt extracts and candi sugar to make wort:










Hallertau Hops:










Rolling boil after Hop addition to the wort:


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Cooling the wort:










Siphoning the wort into the primary fermenter:










Aerating the wort:










Pitching the yeast:


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Everything sealed:










Airlock:










I will update this thread as I continue the brewing process.

Thanks for looking!


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## bds (Aug 13, 2013)

Very nice. I've made a few beer kits already, this is my next step.

Let us know how it turns out.


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## SkyFall (Jun 19, 2012)

brahhh!!! thats awesome!


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Great stuff!! 😁


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

Do we get to see the "final" product - KaeJS' Home Brew and raise a toast? Pretty neat - but how do you plan on refrigerating that pail (looks more than 5 liters) or maybe it's meant by be drunk in one sitting? :biggrin:


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Yes. Everyone will get to see the entire process from start to finish. I will probably be moving the beer to the secondary fermenter tomorrow, as the CO2 production has slowed. My little yeasties have turned most of the sugar into alcohol now. It smells absolutely stunning. When I move the beer to the secondary fermenter, I will make sure to take a few pictures. The secondary fermenter is a glass, 5 gallon carboy, so you will all be able to see the beer in the fermenter.

I have bottles, caps and a capper. I will eventually be bottling the beer into the standard 341mL brown bottles.

Anyone west of Toronto (Mississauga/Brampton) all the way to the Tri-Cities Area (KWc) is more than welcome to have a bottle or two. :biggrin:


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## bds (Aug 13, 2013)

Do we get to see the recipe or is it a secret?

If it turns out well I may have to try it!


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

The recipe is not a secret, but I'd like to try it first before I give it out. I wouldn't want anyone to make a nasty tasting batch. But it does smell fantastic (I know I keep saying this, but it really does.)


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

My brother used to make it and it got to be good but it took a number of batches before it tasted any good. Problems were sediment and it had a wine taste instead of a beer taste. Here is a forum for your hobby.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/bad-tasting-beer-135421/

Another thing is don't try to raise the alcohol to much it can also destroy a good beer.

Myself, I go to a home brew company who makes it for me. I can make any kind of beer I want and they do all the work and the only thing I have to do is pitch the yeast and bottle it.

http://www.bayoubrewingclub.com/home.htm


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

dogcom,

Was your brother using a 2-step fermenting process and allowing the beer to sit and chill long enough?

2-Step fermentation (although it's not necessary) will aleviate sediment and cloudy/hazy beer. It will change the taste a little bit, also. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, depending on the beer and how careful the brewer is.

Edit: Also, depending on how long you let the beer chill in the fridge, this can also clear up cloudy/hazy beer. Usually 3 weeks of being in the fridge is recommended before drinking, although some people just drink overnight.

Homebrewtalk is a great forum. I read it, but I do not post there. I wouldn't want to cheat on CMF.


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

I've made beer several times but I just used the kits - KaeJS's production looks far more impressive! The trouble I found was that beer making seems far more finicky and unpredictable than wine. Sometimes I would get a very good batch and other times only mediocre. Like dogcom mentioned, sometimes there was a bit of an aftertaste. 

Its been a few years, maybe I should give it another shot.


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

It was many years ago that I had my brothers beer so I don't know what process he used to make a good tasting beer. One thing I do know is that if you make it yourself or go to a company like the one I mentioned above I believe it is probably one of the best ways to drink alcohol for your health. Unless you get gout which I am just going through now. All the barbequing, beer and cheap $2.00 fraps at Starbucks has got the best of me.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Primary Fermentation completed over the weekend. It was basically done on Saturday, but I let it sit until Sunday just to be sure. Last night I ended up racking the beer to the secondary fermenter (5 gallon glass carboy) and I added orange zest and coriander to add some kick to the beer.

The beer will sit in the secondary fermenter most likely for two weeks and will be bottled on August 24th.

Here are the pictures:

Empty Glass Carboy and Siphon










Coriander and 3 Oranges










Sanitization!










My cuts of the orange, as we want the zest only:


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Only one teaspoon of coriander so it isn't overpowering:










Orange and Coriander in the Carboy before filling:










Siphoning the good stuff and leaving behind the bad!










The fill process:


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Looking good:










This is the nasty stuff we left behind. I am tilting the bucket so you can see what lies beneath the beer. This is called "trub".










Another shot of the trub:










Beautiful beer:


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Placed in the closet and covered up so no light can get though and make the beer skunky:










And the last step...

Eat the oranges so they don't go to waste:










Thanks for looking!

More pictures will come in the next couple weeks when I do the bottling process!


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## ashin1 (Mar 22, 2014)

Looks awesome! Don't forget about your friends in AB if you roll through


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

looking great. Nice job. That is going to be tasty and a strong beer. 

I've moved to buying prepared wort and just pitch yeast, transfer, carbonate, bottle drink. It's partly a hobby but mostly to save money making decent beer the easiest way. Here in NS it's $24 for a 24 if you buy regular beer. Mine is exactly 1/3 of that.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

RBull said:


> looking great. Nice job. That is going to be tasty and a strong beer.
> 
> I've moved to buying prepared wort and just pitch yeast, transfer, carbonate, bottle drink. It's partly a hobby but mostly to save money making decent beer the easiest way. Here in NS it's $24 for a 24 if you buy regular beer. Mine is exactly 1/3 of that.


Thank you, RBull.

$24 for $24 is a great deal. In Ontario, the cheapest beer I can think of costs $31 for 24. For you to be able to make 24 for $8 is outstanding. I am hoping to be able to make about 60 beers for $30, so it would be a little bit more expensive than your $8/24.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

I took a picture of the beer tonight as it's got some great carbonation and CO2 action due to the fermentation of the sugar from the orange peel. You can definitely see a huge difference between this picture and the pictures above from when I first racked the beer.

Fermenting Orange Peels & CO2:


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## Homerhomer (Oct 18, 2010)

Looks great, hopefully it will taste just as good. 8% is pretty strong, I like good quality beer (stouts and what not) but usually find the strong beers little to strong for my taste (although they seem to get the best reviews on the beer forum). If you can make it for 0.50 per bottle it would be great, especially if you compare it to the better quality beers you can buy as oppose to the cheapest crap.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

KaeJS said:


> Thank you, RBull.
> 
> $24 for $24 is a great deal. In Ontario, the cheapest beer I can think of costs $31 for 24. For you to be able to make 24 for $8 is outstanding. I am hoping to be able to make about 60 beers for $30, so it would be a little bit more expensive than your $8/24.


You're welcome.

Didn't mean to confuse you.... I wish it was that cheap! 

$24 is price for regular commercial beer here like Labatts Blue etc. My brew costs me approx $40-$45 for 22+ liters so around the cost equivalent of 60-65 commercial beers. I bottle in 1L plastic with screw on caps.


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

I want to see a pic of you drinking it out of that big jug! :biggrin:


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