Re intro: How Covid-19 turned me into a homebrewer

[letsallgoforasoda]

I first found this forum back in January when I was trying to find as much info on homemade root beer and sodas. I am a cook by trade and have always had some kind of fermentation going in a closet or cabinet kraut, kimchi, hot sauce, miso paste, and what ever else I can find. I think I learned how to can food from a high chair, so kitchens and the never ending quest for the fine tuned process are two things I am passionate about. I am lucky to have a lhbs just a couple miles down the road. Beer wasn't really something I had thought about making I was just there for bottles, starsan, yeast, ect

Fast forward to early march, People are starting to work from home and being a cook at a large corporate tech campus I don't have any work I can do from home so I had a whole bunch of free time, and being in King county, no where to go. I started reading up on extract brewing with specialty grains so I ordered a couple of one gallon kits and gave it a try. the first beer I made a NB irish red was really good so I figured why not make more. Two fermenters, a wort chiller, a stir plate, a flask, oxygen wand, and a old dorm fridge for the two keg system that's shipping now, later I guess I have found myself a new hobby

 

[cmac62]

Welcome to the obsession. You are staring down a rabbit hole, but it is a fun rabbit hole and you can take it as far as you like. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. LOL

 

[fermbreezy]

Very nice! I've been putting off a miso/soy sauce fermentation experiment. It seems like so much work. How did you start the koji?

 

[Stand]

Welcome! Glad to have you on the team.

Homebrewers tend to dabble in other dark arts as well; don't forget to share your expertise.

 

[Cyclman]

Welcome to the hobby, and the group, from Colorado

 

[letsallgoforasoda]

Very nice! I've been putting off a miso/soy sauce fermentation experiment. It seems like so much work. How did you start the koji?

For the last one I made I just used pre packaged Koji that you can order online or, if your lucky to have one, an Asian grocery store. They also sell the spores to inoculate you're own rice. ( I wonder if any one has ever used it the same way the acigilate malt)
If you have a a pressure cooker the process is really pretty easy for miso and its only three ingredients

 

[fermbreezy]

Oh snap, you just made me think of my rice cooker. I don't have a pressure cooker but I wonder if the rice cooker would make a good environment for inoculating the rice.

Very cool stuff. The kimchi sounds like a fun project, too. And the hot sauce... oh man now you got me going haha

 

[letsallgoforasoda]

Oh snap, you just made me think of my rice cooker. I don't have a pressure cooker but I wonder if the rice cooker would make a good environment for inoculating the rice.

Very cool stuff. The kimchi sounds like a fun project, too. And the hot sauce... oh man now you got me going haha

Once you have enough mason jars The possibilities really are endless. Glass Fermentation weights are cheap and those little silicone airlocks they make for mason jars work well but I don't think there is a way to get the funky lactobacillus smell off of them I have tried everything


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072N42T61/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_AL8ZEbGTBGDCW

 

[fermbreezy]

Oh wow, that's pretty nifty. I hadn't seen this product yet. My partner will love this for kombucha making!

 

[hout17]

I've made that you exact NB Irish Red kit a few years ago and it was stellar. Brew on!