Hops
The bitterness value of an individual hop variety may change from batch to catch. We include the range of alpha values we see most often with each hop variety. If you are concerned about hitting exact bittering values, don't hesitate to call, write or check back here!
Malt Extracts
Malt extracts, whether in syrup or dried
powder form, are necessary to make
beer. Malted barley contains maltose,
a sugar that yeast is quite partial to. We
stock the best of what we’ve found.
You’ll note that we do not carry hopped
syrups. We find that better results and
greater control can be obtained for the
same money by adding pellet, plug or
fresh hops to your mix. That said, we’ll
be happy to special-order any extract –
hopped or unhopped – you may be
partial to.
Please note that a pound of dry malt is
equivalent to 1.2 pounds of syrup.
New Homebrew!
Our explorations continue. Some recipes
we’re really happy with . . .
Draft
We’ve been handling draft beer
equipment for a few years now, but
have been too spaced out to get the
stuff into our catalog.
Actually, part of our reticence has been
due to the way we sell our homebrew
draft kit. It comes complete with
compressed gas, ready to go. However,
compressed gas cannot be shipped UPS.
That said, if you’re in the area and want
a really good deal on a complete
homebrew draft setup, come and see
us.
For those of you who are already “set
up,” here’s a partial listing of in-stock
draft components. We can special-order
anything under the sun, too, at attractive
prices. Give us a call!
Yeasts
Making beer is the art of feeding sugar
to yeast. Yeasts make the whole
fermentation process go.
Lager yeasts require cool (preferably
56 degrees Fahrenheit or cooler)
fermentation. Ale yeasts are a good
deal more congenial, working at
temperatures up to 74 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Dry yeasts are very easy to work with.
Just dump the powder in cooled wort
(roughly 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit)
and you’re ready to go. We’ve found
that taking the 1 gallon in the brew
kettle off the boil for a few minutes then
adding it to 4 gallons of tepid water in
the fermenter yields just the right
temperature. We don’t stock many dry
yeasts because we haven’t found many
good ones; if you’ve got a favorite, let
us know.
Kits
Beermaking kits are the easiest way to
get started in home brewing, and many
folks stay with kits because they offer
the chance to sample a wide variety of
beer styles without the hit-and-miss
that can accompany the recipe
specification process. Also, most of
these kits are out of the pot and into the
fermenter in under an hour, far faster
than more complex brewing
assignments. In most instances, corn
sugar or dry malt must be added to
complete the batch.
Malted Grains/Additives
If you’ve been making extract beer, we urge you to
add a pound of grain to your next batch. Without
getting into the intricacies of mashing, you can
appreciably improve the quality of your beer. Simply
add the grain (preferably in a boiling bag – see
Equipment) to a gallon of warm water in your brew
kettle. Set your stove to medium low and let the grain
steep at roughly 150 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (if
you’ve got a brewing thermometer, try to hit 170
degrees Fahrenheit) for one hour. Then proceed with
brewing as usual. You’ll wind up with an extra
something that we’re sure you’ll appreciate.
Just let us know, and we’ll crush your grains for an
extra 15 cents per pound. Crushing is necessary to
get the goodies out of the grain.
Brands and Lovibond ratings shown with some grains
are representative of what we’re seeing at this writing,
but our supply of grain does vary from month to
month. If you are concerned about exact brand and
coloring, please call us for current stock.
Our Homebrew We feel our homebrews are worthy of your consideration because of some important features: MORE >> We urge our mail order customers
to add chemical ice to orders containing
liquid yeast. It only costs $1.25, and remember -
freshness counts! Click here to order chemical ice >
