SpeedRacer 1 #1 April 30, 2003 You might be a homebrewer if... you have a seemingly endless supply of Cluster pellets your 6 year old comes up to you and says "Are those Hops?" you've ever sat for an hour watching a 9-month old lambic ferment in a carboy your 5 gallon propane bottle has never been connected to a barbecue. you don't brew much until your wife leaves town for the weekend, then you brew 30 gallons. you have more than two refrigerators. you have bottles of bleach and no white clothes. you hear someone say "sock hop" and you think they're dyslexic. your neighbors think you started a bottle recycling center. you use old, leftover hops as potpourri. you've got more cooking utensils and gadgets than your spouse does. you return from New Year's Eve parties with a trunk full of empty champagne bottles. you always make sure to take the truck, rather than the car, to the brew supply store. you name your new puppy "Fuggles", "Growler", or "Barley". you send a holiday card to the owner of your brew supply store. your house smells like a brewery. you buy more pantyhose than your wife (...for hops!) you kidnap the family thermometer to test the temperature of the wort. you hear the term 'malted milk' you think they are talking about a stout. you've ever bought a case of beer saying, "I paid for the bottles, the beer comes with them for free." you've ever had 6 or more cases of EMPTY beer bottles in your house before you had a party, not after. you've raided the boy scout bottle collection/recycling for old bottles. you've ever left your local soda bottling company with your trunk and back seat full of 5 gallon Cornelius kegs. you give clothes to Goodwill just to get more room in your closet for beer and equipment. someone says they've had a yeast infection and you ask what they were brewing at the time. you get crown seals and hop bags for Christmas presents. you've ever bought returnable beer bottles with no intention of EVER returning them. you're surfing the net at 3:40 am looking for homebrew websites or recipes. you cancel a date because your wort hasn't reached pitching temperature yet. you can't remember the last time you popped open a flip-top beer can. you think the term pitch has nothing to do with baseball. your cupboards have more brewing items and bottles than they do food and plates. you've ever cut a hole in a refrigerator. you've ever asked the question, "by weight or volume?" you've ever used a mop on a ceiling. you own a sterile trash can. walking across your kitchen floor sounds like Velcro you measure beer in gallons you don't think 10 gallons is a lot of beer you try to improve a Budweiser by stirring in a crumbled hop pellet you use more Clorox in a year to sanitize your fermenters than you do to whiten your underwear you don't think of Challenger as a space shuttle or Columbus as a discoverer you don't think of wort as unsightly skin blemish you don't think of fountain drinks when you hear the phrase "chocolate malt" your garden hose is permanently connected to your wort chiller your recycling bin doesn't contain any empty beer bottles your turkey fryer setup is well used, but has never fried a turkey Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akaGQ 0 #2 April 30, 2003 So I take it your a home brewer? - GQ ... it was the love of the air and sky and flying, the lure of adventure, the appreciation of beauty ... -Charles Lindberg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #3 April 30, 2003 Yep. And May 3rd (first Saturday in May) will be National Homebrew Day! Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akaGQ 0 #4 April 30, 2003 lol OMG you were serious - GQ ... it was the love of the air and sky and flying, the lure of adventure, the appreciation of beauty ... -Charles Lindberg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WFFC 1 #5 April 30, 2003 Only if he knows what GABF is and attends it each year... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #6 April 30, 2003 Not only is he serious, he brews good beer! Oh crap, I still haven't gotten him samples of my latest beers in return. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #7 April 30, 2003 I'll add a few more "You might be homebrewer if's": The people in the "Kitchen Store" look at you stupidly when you ask, "Is 20 quarts the biggest pot you have"? You ask to brew a batch at your parents, only because you want to do lambics without the strain getting loose in your own house. Your overhear your wife explaining the 4 main ingredients of beer to her mother. You have brewed batches that blew the carboy lid off during fermentation. You refer to the spice/baking/syrups section of the grocery store as the "adjunct aisle". Your response to Homeland Security recommendations is to stockpile even more beer. You develop allergies to any beer that comes in bottles with twist-off tops. You take advantage of winter snow to cool your wort faster. You are "forced" to buy good beer in the store and drink it quickly because you are running out of bottles. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheAnvil 0 #9 April 30, 2003 OK dude I've GOTTA ask as a fellow home brewer - did you REALLY try that shit with the crushed hops pellet and a BUDWEISER? What the hell were you buying Bud for in the first place? LOL More importantly - DID IT WORK? Beers, Vinny Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoobieCootie 0 #10 May 1, 2003 Quoteyour turkey fryer setup is well used, but has never fried a turkey Incidentally, the local Lowes hardware is selling them fryers for $29. Complete w/ SS stockpot, strainer, burner, propane hook up, ++. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #11 May 1, 2003 Be careful.. Some of those fryers are not stainless steel...They look that way because the metal is thick, but they are really heay-duty aluminum. The cheap price makes me think it might be aluminum, so doubl check. I know I went into Loews last week and all the turkey friers were aluminum. And aluminum should not be used for homebrewing. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #12 May 1, 2003 QuoteAnd aluminum should not be used for homebrewing. Feh. Says who? I'm lucky enough to have stainless, but I know a few people who use aluminum without any problems. That aluminum is unsafe for homebrewing is a common misconception; you'll find plenty of people using aluminum these days. Edit: BTW, I liked the list. I've lived through mopping the ceiling, and the walls, and the fridge, and the oven, and dishwasher, and the.... - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FliegendeWolf 0 #13 May 1, 2003 How about having more beer than you can possibly drink sitting in bottles and preparing to brew another batch?A One that Isn't Cold is Scarcely a One at All Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #14 May 1, 2003 Jim, Everything I've read on the subject says that it is better to steer away from brewing in aluminum. Some people don't care, but many (most?) do, so it makes me wonder if there isn't some shred of reasoning behind it. I'm not of the school that says one batch brewed in aluminum will instantly give you alzheimers, but if the difference for a large (60 qt) steel pot over a large aluminum one is $100, is it worth it just to be sure, especially considering that a good pot will last you forever. Right now I'm brewing in a 7.5 gallon enamelware pot. These things chip really easily, with the smallest bump. I'd really like to switch over to a nice big steel pot. Maybe I'll put that on my birthday present list. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #15 May 1, 2003 Done a little research: The issue is NOT about alzheimers: that hypothesis has been pretty well debunked: cooking (anything) with aluminum is not what's causing alzheimers. People with digestive probs. regularly consume 50 mg of aluminum or more per day (in antacid tablets) & don't get a higher risk of alzheimers. Yeah, generally speaking, probably nothing will happen if you brew with aluminum. Problems are : aluminum is much more reactive than stainless steel & can get corroded by anything acidic, or by most cleansers. It also pits & scratches much more easily. Ever wrapped up italian food (that has tomato sauce in it) in aluminum foil & put it in the freezer? And then you see those little holes in the foil? The tomato sauce reacted with the aluminum. If your pH drops too low, maybe you'd have a problem with a metallic taste in your beer. But most of the time, you'd probably be just fine. Personally, I think I'll splurge & go for the stainless steel. I can get a 30 qt pot for $40, and that's not too much for something that will last pretty much forever. edited to add: Some day you might want to make mead & use the pot to pasteurize, or you might make a fruit beer. These things can have low pHs which could react with the aluminum. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #16 May 1, 2003 Yeah, I understand about the ph issue also. Once the aluminum gets pitted, it can be much more difficult (or impossible) to sanitize thoroughly. Where do you get a good 30 qt stainless pot for $40? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoobieCootie 0 #17 May 1, 2003 You are very much right about the pot being aluminium. As it turned out, it's enamalized or poweder coated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #18 May 1, 2003 Right here: http://www.kitchencollection.com/tempproducts.cfm?sku=00136169&catname=Cookware Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #19 May 1, 2003 Hey this is getting to be like one of those handgun threads! Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DYEVOUT 0 #20 May 1, 2003 Quote Hey this is getting to be like one of those handgun threads! Where? Where? ----------------=8^)---------------------- "I think that was the wrong tennis court." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoobieCootie 0 #21 May 1, 2003 30 Qt stock pot..... I want one Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #22 May 1, 2003 Hey what do you all think about altering the Beer rules of skydiving? Some homebrewers do not bottle, they put their beer in 5 gallon Cornelius kegs. They oughta be able to bring one of those as a reasonable substitute for two cases of beer (volume is about the same). Problem is some skydivers get all pissy about saying, "No it must be 24 12-ounce bottles!" Remember the Beer Rules were made up back in the 60's when homebrewing wasn't even legal. It would make for some MUCH better beer at the Dropzone! I say, ammend the rules! Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoobieCootie 0 #23 May 1, 2003 At least they ain't complaining that it "must be 24 5gl Corny kegs" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FliegendeWolf 0 #24 May 1, 2003 Quote Hey what do you all think about altering the Beer rules of skydiving? Some homebrewers do not bottle, they put their beer in 5 gallon Cornelius kegs. They oughta be able to bring one of those as a reasonable substitute for two cases of beer (volume is about the same). That's exactly what I'm doing right now. In fact, this morning I racked a pale ale into my corny keg which I will be bringing to the dz next time I go. As for sticklers who demand 48 bottles, they don't have to drink any! A One that Isn't Cold is Scarcely a One at All Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheAnvil 0 #25 May 1, 2003 I'd second that motion. Vinny the Anvil Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL JACKASS POWER!!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
