Any homebrewers on here?

[Crysalis99]

So a few years back, I took up homebrewing as a hobby.

While not a continuous obsession such as my love for Final Fantasy, as there are periods of time where I won't even entertain the idea of putting a beer recipe together, much less getting it all done. But when I get the 'itch' to brew, it is freaking intense. Spending hours over at homebrewtalk.com just learning about the science behind fermentation, hot and cold side oxidation, etc

Drinking the beer is fun, too!


So anyone here participate in homebrewing?

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Homebrew must be the word of the day! I was just using this word in conversation!

I have only helped make beers and meads at richer friends' houses. I don't have all the fancy gadgetry. But I sure loved it. We made some killer black oatmeal stout one year, and I can still taste it, just by thinking about it. Wow it was so good!

My grandmother had a vineyard, and she made wine. It used to make me gag as a child when all the relatives and neighbors would come over and take turns washing their feet, stepping onto the tarp and then squishing the grapes between their toes. I remember people bringing over big boxes and buckets of grapes, gifts to be exchanged for free wine at a later date. It was all old fashioned. No gadgets, no hoses. Just a giant stone crock that was so heavy it took at least two men to lift it. There was a spigot at the bottom, where people would sample it periodically to see if it was ready yet.

Before the market got saturated, I used to own a kombucha company. I specialized in not only really bomb flavors, but also in medicinal blends. I made teas for people with everything from lupus to thyroid cancer to childhood tonsillitis. I supplied some very large businesses as well, and had a very productive amazon business with selling scobies. $10-$20/gallon aint bad compensation for fermented tea. I still homebrew kombucha, although I don't sell it anymore.

Ferments I've made over the years at my home are:

• kombucha, jun, water kefir, kvass, vinegar, jungle juice, hard cider.
• all kinds of breads from traditional, to sourdough, to steamed, microwaved, soda, unleavened, and big fancy decorative challas. Also english muffins, bagels, soft pretzels, crackers, etc.
• all kinds of cucumber pickles, as well as zucchini pickles, spicy carrot pickles, saurkraut, kimchi, and gardineria. I love making bread and butter pickles out of the little, round lemon cukes!
• miso (oh I love brewing big five-gallon buckets of soy-free miso). It's a hard one. One to two years to ferment.
• many kinds of cheeses
• yogurt, skyr, kefir, and other milk ferments, both dairy and vegan
• etc etc etc