The Best IPA...

[CSBUCKSHOT]

is one that you brew yourself.

Buddy of mine and I got after it this morning and brewed up a batch of "Dominator IPA". Recipe is one that he and the brewmaster of his California brewery (he's part owner) came up with. Should be good. I guess we'll see in a few weeks. Here's a couple pics from this morning.

Homemade grain mill



The brewing rig



Cooking the mash



After adding the hopps and the cook down, cooling and adding some O2 and moving to the fermenting barrel



I can't wait to try it

[Teedo44]

Sierra Nevada Torpedo......has a nice kick.

[willk]

Dude thats pretty cool.

[CSBUCKSHOT]

Thanks Wilk. It's a pretty fun hobby once you get the hang of it. Saves you a lot on beer too. This batch should come out pretty close to the "Hopslam" beer that everyone is raving about except a tad lighter and more palatable (not destroy your taste buds). Out of this one batch, we'll get about 4 cases worth of 12 oz bottles at a cost of about 12.50 a case. Not bad for a beer that typically sells for about 20-25 a six pack

[cudexter]

Pretty cool. always been interested in this. The start up costs have kept me from it.

[USMCsilver]

Dude thats pretty cool.

Indeed. A set-up like that would be awesome to have, but it'd get me into too much trouble (just like my kegorator used to).

I'm jealous.

[CSBUCKSHOT]

The start up cost on a system like this (computer controlled, all medical grade fittings and hardware) is definitely up there but there are definitely cheaper routes to get into it, especially if you can do a bit of metal fabrication on your own. It's just like anything else. We love duck hunting and fishing so we're willing to drop thousands of dollars into it. Just so happens this guy loves beer

[ersepton]

That's an $8k setup. Brew magic? That is an absolute dream!! Those kettles are $600 a piece. What an unbelievable rig. Where are you located? I would love to swap some home brews.

[CSBUCKSHOT]

In Charleston, though this is not my setup (I wish it was). Belongs to a good friend of mine in Mt P. I'll shoot you a PM next time we brew. We usually grill out or BBQ and have a bit of a beer tasting session and I'm sure you'd be more than welcome (especially if you bring some home brews to share )

[CSBUCKSHOT]

And yes, it is a Brew Magic setup.

[ersepton]

I can't stop drooling over that setup. One day, one day! The ultimate home brew setup, better than a lot of small brew pubs. I'm in the upstate, but if I'm down that way while you guys are brewing I would love to stop by.

[CSBUCKSHOT]

Definitely, like I said, I'll shoot you a pm. Funny thing is, the owner, John, was at some microbrewery and was looking at their new setup. When he asked what they had been using for their last few years of being open for business, it was the same system he's using. John certainly knows what he's doing (he's also a certified beer judge) and brews a lot but doesn't want to go through the hassle of all the licensing to be able to sell it. It's a shame because some of the stuff he makes blows the would-be competition out of the water.

[sc_slim]

How does the $8,000 amortize into the $12.50/case?

[USMCsilver]

How does the $8,000 amortize into the $12.50/case?

Math. Distant math.

[mudminnow]

That is an awesome set up...the in line oxygenation was something I have never seen, what a great idea. I don't know if I will ever have a setup like that, but I do have my eye on an ebiab setup.

To all the folks looking at this thinking that's a lot of stuff to buy. All you need to brew good beer is pretty much what you already have if you can fry a turkey. It's a lot of fun and if you screw up, the worst thing that can happen is you end up with beer

[CSBUCKSHOT]

Well... After a quick scrub and iodine bath




We moved over the final product and shot with some CO2




Initial taste test was good. Very hoppy but still smooth. Alcohol content was not as high as we hoped (ended up about 6.2 or so) but we think it was due to the initial grind (wasn't as fine as we'd hoped but have since worked out the issue). Should be good none the less.

[NorthNH603]

Nice set up.

[Buteo2808]

hell of set-up y'all got there!

[CSBUCKSHOT]

Scotch Ale is the next on the list...