http://www.idkfa.com/v3 idkfa: syndicated http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=332 hmmm.... interesting... i'll admit the original idea wasn't mine. It actually came about because one of Dan's best friends has been brewing his own beers for years now, and was joking about how he'd just make us a bunch of beer as our wedding gift. After a minute of laughing we realized it really wasn't a bad idea at all. haha. That's good to know about the safety issues, though. That sort of scare would definitely not be how I would like to thank our friends for coming out. Even if a keg of bud light were to be cheaper, I don't think I could inflict that sort of crapiness on our wedding guests. If we have beer available, it is defintely not going to be piss-water that I would have had at a college rugby drink-up. CapitolZebra@idkfa.com (CapitolZebra) Indiscernible from Magic Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:26:45 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=332 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=329 Well, cost wise I personally already invested about $150 in hardware that would allow me to brew about 15 gallons of beer at a time. Maybe it pushed $200. To make two batches of beer this last weekend it cost $90 for all the ingredients and took most of the day. Most ales will take a week to ferment before bottling and another 6-8 weeks to bottle condition before drinking so you're looking at two months or so before you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. All told we will probably bottle up about 8 gallons of beer, since I only made two 5 gallon batches. All told it comes out to be a little bit cheaper than buying cases of microbrew in the store. Not by a lot and that is only counting the cost of the ingredients, but since I've already made a couple batches of beer and cider before I think I've paid off the hardware already. Safety wise I would have no concerns. The liklihood of pathogenic bacteria or bacteria that produce toxins harmful to humans getting in your beer is pretty much zero. Mostly because of how the beer is made and the ingredients used. The greater concern is just a bad batch happening where wild yeasts that happen to be in the air, or wild bacteria get into the beer and hijack the fermentation to produce something undrinkable. If you happen to know anyone who brews and is pretty good at it, it can be an awesome and unique way to celebrate your wedding. Its possible to have a beer made specially for you that is unique for the occassion. But it will probably be more expensive than a keg of bud light. Though a lot less than an open bar. MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Indiscernible from Magic Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:49:55 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=329 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=328 I keep hearing of friends brewing their own beers at home, but I've never seen it done. Just out of curiosity, what all do you need to make it happen? How does it compare in price to buying it? Dan and I were kinda toying with the idea using home brew for our wedding to keep costs down, but I've never looked into the safety issues of it to know whether there would be any risk of a public health catastrophy. CapitolZebra@idkfa.com (CapitolZebra) Indiscernible from Magic Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:01:55 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=328 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=327 Nice work with the marshmallow. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Indiscernible from Magic Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:29:36 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=327 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=326 Hopefully the Snowcap is rescued. An extra heavy dose of yeast seemed to get it going last night and I further improvised the airlock to better keep out contaminants and vent fermentation gasses. Now it consists of a jetpuff marshmallow wrapped in seran wrap acting as a stopper for an actual airlock. Will be obtaining an actual stopper today, but I may just leave the marshmallow in there so I do have to keep exposing it to outside air. At least the fermentation process has finally begun. MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Indiscernible from Magic Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:06:30 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=326 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=325 Christmas? You can try some of my brews then as well. MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Indiscernible from Magic Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:56:08 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=325 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=322 I've obtained some beermaking shizzz from my father, I may try my hand at it some point in the future. I made need a consult. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Indiscernible from Magic Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:21:14 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=322 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=315 Made two batches of beer on Sunday. The first was an all grain attempt at an american brown ale. Should end up nice an dark with a little bitterness and good hop aroma. Currently the yeast are seriously going to town on that shit and its pretty fun to watch through the side of the glass cardboy. Our other beer which is a clone of Pyramids Snowcap winter ale, had a great start to it, but seems to be faltering on the fermentation end of things. Granted I had to improvise an airlock by shoving a damp rag in the top to keep out air bacteria from spoiling the beer. While I doubt that would affect fermentation I'm still madly trying to obtain another airlock and perhaps another batch of yeast to toss in there in hopes to keep in from going bad. At any rate in about 8 weeks we'll have beer, either 4 gallons or 9 gallons in all that'll be ready for drinking. If it turns out ok I'll bring a couple bottles up for christmas. MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Indiscernible from Magic Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:01:08 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=315&msg_id=315