Microbrewery - Question

[JohnL]

I have been a home brewer for many years with varying success and recently I have discovered a micro brewery in Gosford. You know the story....you just use their ingredients, equipment, etc and you get a good beer.

I have done 2 so far with the results OK but not as good as I thought. First one was a "MB" recipe and the after taste was not the best. Second was a Tooheys New with the gas being the problem but tasted OK.

Anyone else had a go?

[Danzar]

Nope. I just don't see the point. You brew your own either to save money or as a hobby, with the ultimate goal being the ultimate beer.

These places are fine for part timers, but even then, you don't save as much money as doimg your own and you just wouldn't be able to strive for the perfect beer.

[MOFO]

If you are trying to replicate Melbourne Bitter or Tooheys New, then perhaps that is the reason why it tastes like shite. Try a pilsner or a good ale clone with nice hops instead of Pride of Ringwood and a can of Tooheys extract and perhaps the results will improve...

Economics/Moral issues aside of going to these places, they should produce a good brew given they are in temperature controlled environments...

[scooter75]

My understanding of these joints is you have to keep the canned or bottled product cool once you bring it home. If have beer fridge not an issue but maybe a problem. A mate tried to dry store them at room temp and they tasted like shite after a week or so. Big disadvantage me thinks and defeats the purpose of trying to mature a ripper.

[Chris]

That sounds rediculous! You have to keep them cool? Screw that. I'm staying with HB!!!

[James L]

i got told the same thing....you need to keep em cold, and you have to drink them within 3 months...

[Chris]

Don't they put hops in? Won't that preserve it?

Makes you wonder...

[James L]

They do... but thats what they say... maybe its a clever ploy to get you to drink more and therefore make more beer. Overall, i wasnt happy with the beer. very bland beer and it tasted like apples..seriously, and it was supposed to be LCPA...

[Trough Lolly]

These brew on premises outfits sound good in theory, but for brewing tragics like me, I get as much enjoyment out of making beer as I do drinking it!
There's a local brewery here in Canberra (Fyshwick) that does the same thing, and a mate recently went along to a brew session - he had a friend who's wife bought him a brew session as a gift. Excitedly I asked him what sort of beer did they make and he said "dunno, something German I think..."

I'd rather a Craftbrewer gift voucher than a brew on site voucher...

Cheers,
TL

[Chris]

TL, is that Christoph's brewery by any chance? If so, I didn't know he was doing that.

[Trough Lolly]

Nah, it's called "Ubrewit", apparently - Xtoph's brewery in Fyshwick is the real deal and I've heard that he's setting up a cafe/restaurant as well....I must visit there more often. The Zierholtz brewery is small in scale but his beer's world class, IMHO...

To be fair, I did taste the "Scottish Ale" that the friend I mentioned earlier had brewed - or to be more precise, opened the kettle lid and poured in the hops.... It tasted ok - the malt and hop flavour profiles were in balance but the aftertaste was a bit harsh. All in all, a good brew that could easily be bettered with a bit more effort by the average homebrewer...I recall they paid $132 for 5 slabs. I could have brewed 5 slabs and made $100 profit!!

According to the Ubrewit website:

PRICES START FROM AN AMAZING $120.00 PER BREW ( 50 LITRES ) OR APPROX $20.00 PER CARTON

Cheers,
TL

[Chris]

That is not cheap!

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I recall they paid $132 for 5 slabs. I could have brewed 5 slabs and made $100 profit!!

Yeah, but your friend probably couldn't have. The BOP provides so much stuff that we just 'have' and employs people to do stuff so that you don't have to (I don't have anyone to clean out my kit at the end of a brewday) and all that other palavar.

I've only looked at the websites for some of these places and I reckon there's a whole bunch of times when places like this would be a good idea. I'm happy to invite one or two people over to my place *occassionally* to learn how I *cough* brew *cough*, but I aint gunna do it for a bucks' turn, etc...

[Trough Lolly]

True, SMOI, we tend to take it for granted once the brew setup is in place - and yes, it would be a great way to introduce mates to brewing if you wanted to make a day of it...but I do that at home and we have plenty of space to crash afterwards...

The real benefit of this place (other than having the use of someone else's brewgear without the large sunk cost) is the unlikely event that you couldn't be tossed brewing beer and are happy to pay heaps for booteak beer or that BUL rubbish and this brew session confirmed it in your mind. One such mate was at the barbie last weekend - he was happy to drink their scottish ale but didn't want to brew the stuff and rather ignorantly suggested that they were wasting their time when all this sort of overseas beer was readily available at the bottlo's...(for a price).

Also, I'd be pretty pissed off if I paid $130+ and found myself alongside a bucks group at the brewshop...

Cheers,
TL

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Also, I'd be pretty pissed off if I paid $130+ and found myself alongside a bucks group at the brewshop...

Depends on whether the stripper turned up during the boil or after flameout...

[Trough Lolly]

She can bend over the mashtun and help stir the grains in!!!

.....pfwoah, I've drifted waaaay off topic....sorry!

[pacman]

Haven't put down a HB for almost a year due to time constraints. Resort to commercial? Yuk!

As good fortune would have it, a UBrew4U operation opened up & I went & had a look. Have put down several most respectable brews, & the operator is quite happy for me to adjust ingredients to suit my taste.

Not as cheap as HB, but how could it be? The operator needs to make a profit.

What does one get? Preservative free 50 litre brews at about 50% of the cost of commercial equivalents. Fermentation at 18degC and conditioning at 1degC. No cleaning up etc. Takes about 90 min to put down brew, and about 2 hours to bottle including the sanitizing process.

Yes, refrigerated storage is recommended, but I don't understand why. I store unrefrigerated until drinking time and have noticed no deterioration. Same goes for a mate who stores his at warmer temps than I do.

Far better than commercial brews, and whilst I hate to admit it, equally as good as, if not better, than most of my HBs.

[pacman]

Just bottled the best beer yet from either my HB or microbrewery endeavours. A microbrew outlet recipe, with hops adjusted to hopefully suit my tastes, as follows:

Remember, this is a 50L brew.

4.5L Lager malt
3.0L Ultra light Malt

Into kettle containing 50L simmering water & boil for 15 min.

1st hops addition: 95g Northern Brewer & 50g Hallertau

2nd hops addition: 50g Hallertau

3rd hops addition: 120g Saaz
1 Irish Moss tablet
15g Yeast Nutrient

Hops additions were 15 min apart. Boil ceased at 60 min, and transfer to fermenter about 10 min later via heat exchange unit (reduces temp from approx 90degC to 18degC).

Added 25g hydrated Safbrew S33 yeast.

Fermented at 18degC for approx 14 days & then conditioned at 1degC for a further 14 days prior to kegging & gassing 1 day before bottling.

Result: Crystal clear pilsner style with pronounced Saaz hops. As good as the best Central European pilsners I have enjoyed.

Labour: 2.5 hours of my time. No cleaning duties. Hooray!

Cost: $160 for 50 litres. Yes, HB much cheaper. But for me this is offset by no cleanup and far better quality, and I still don't get a hangover.

[Kevnlis]

Geez that is a lot of hops! Even for a 50L batch!

[Trough Lolly]

Correct me if I'm wrong Pacman, but I believe you can have the beer racked into your own kegs if you bring them along on bottling day? I have as much fun making beer as I do drinking the stuff, but if I was feeling lazy yet low on beer, I'd give this a go - the thought of no cleanup is very appealing!

Cheers,
TL