1. What equipment do I need to start brewing beer or wine? $$$?

2. How long does it take until I can drink it?

3. Hey, my grandmother says I'm gonna go to jail... is this legal?

4. Can I get sick if I mess it up?

5. What is secondary fermentation, and why are you pushing it on me?

6. I added the yeast, but nothing is happening... is it ruined?

7. My beer tastes like a baby's diaper. What did I do wrong? (sanitation)

8. I boiled the specialty grains... that's wrong...        ...right?

9. Can I use screw-top beer bottles? How about 1/2 gallon growlers?

10. My homebrew tastes, well... homebrew-y. What gives?

11. I'm doing a partial mash.... or am I? (what is mashing?)

12. What additional equipment do I need to go all-grain?

13. I want to make a lager. Whatzup with that?

14. Can I use bleach to sanitize my equipment?

15. The recipe calls for 2 pounds of corn sugar. Is that going to make good beer?

16. Wuddaya think, I'm made of money? (The aluminum brewpot debate)

17. Hey- I woke up in a parking lot again. Where is my car?

1. Most homebrew stores carry equipment kits that run somewhere in the ballpark of $60-90, and ingredient kits that average around $25. But here's a list if you're going to pick it all up individually:

- 6.5 gal primary fermenting bucket w/ drilled and grommeted lid

- 5 gal secondary glass carboy w/airlock and stopper

- plastic syphon transfer tubing

- bottle brush

- hydrometer.

- Brewpot (not usually included in kit) must be 16+ quart capacity

- "The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian (personal favorite)

2. Beer takes about an hour on the stovetop, 7-10 days in fermentation, and usually another 2 weeks in bottles... wine takes about 9 weeks in fermentation, then a good long time in bottles... both beer and wine benefit from longer bottle aging times, homebrewed beer should be consumed within a year, wine varies, but some within 2-3 depending on the style.

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3. Tell grandma she won't be visiting you in the big house. By law you are allowed to brew up to 100 gallons per person, per household, per year.

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4. No. There are no harmful pathogens that can survive in fully fermented beer or wine. Chill out.

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5. Secondary fermentation is the transferring, usually from bucket to carboy, after activity in the primary bucket has noticeably decreased (usually 3-5 days). Lots of folks don't do it, and I'd say that they're beer probably shows that. Secondary fermentation removes the beer from the yeast sediment (slurry) on the bottom of the primary fermenter. It prevents off-flavors from contact with the ageing slurry, reduces sediment in the bottles, and allows for clarification and further maturation than is possible without transferring. In many cases, the yeast, when it has exhausted the food supply, actually turns around and breaks down natural defects in the beer like 'diacetyl' (an undesireable butterscotch-like flavor). Secondary fermentation is one easy way to significantly improve the quality of your homebrew.

But hey- what the hell do I know? Do whatever you want.

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6. Yeast activity usually commences noticeably within 12-24 hours of pitching if a few basic parameters are met:

-Pich temperature. (under 90 degrees, but above 70.) Too hot- you killed the yeast (bummer, repitch yeast but, depending on time frame, expect some off-flavors if not completely nasty beer that goes for a trip down the toilet.) Too cold- you shocked the yeast and stunted the reproductive phase... solution: warm the fermenter up in a

- Adequate aeration. (splashing/ sloshing to add oxygen just before pitching yeast. Note: Do NOT add oxygen at any other stage of fermentation or cardboard-ish flavors will result.)

- Viable yeast. Was the yeast more than 6 months old? Was it kept refrigerated? Was it a Wyeast smack-pack that didn't grow? Also see fermentation tips for additional information on the subject.

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7. Nastiness is usually attributed to poor sanitation practices and long lag times between stovetop and fermentation. Peruse this list for possible causes:

-Started syphon with mouth

-Failed to properly sterilize fermenter, bottles, transfer tubing with bleach or appropriate brewing sanitizer.

- Failed to completely RINSE sanitizer

-Put bottles thru the dishwasher. (soap residue)

-Waited too long for wort to cool before pitching yeast (overnight)

-Weak stovetop boil (should be a ROLLING boil for 60 minutes, if impossible, reduce water amount)

-addition of unsterilized something-or-other to the primary fermenter

-dirty brewing equipment made contact with wort before fermentation (once the wort has cooled to below 150 degrees, anything that touches it brings with it the possiblity of infection... it won't hurt you [see question#4]- but it will make your beer suck... and you will be bummed out.)

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8. Yes. Right. That's wrong. Any recipe that tells you to boil any grains is worthy of being used as toilet paper. Boiling grains extracts major amounts of tannins from the grain husk. Bad Bad Bad. Steep specialty grains at 150 degrees for 15-20 minutes. remove grains and proceed with the boil.

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9. Again, lots of people swear they use them and get all indignant if you question that. The fact is, screw-top beer bottles are designed for one use only, they are made of much thinner glass than pop-tops and are not made to stand the neck pressure of a capper. Some will break. As far as growlers and gallon jugs go, I have seen alot of carbonation problems with any vessel over 1/2 gallon... and they go flat fast so you have to drink it all in a night... But what the hell do I know? Do whatever you want.

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10.  The term "homebrew-y" (the bad flavors people associate with poorly homebrewed beer) is generally a compound called 'DMS' or 'Dimethyl Sulfide' It imparts an earthy, vegetal rancid flavor and is caused by covering the brewpot (NEVER!), a weak boil, bacterial infection, and long wort cooling periods. (for more information on defects, click here, also see answer #7.)

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11. The term 'partial mash' refers to starch to grain conversion by means of 'mashing' the appropriate grains and then 'lautering/ sparging' the resulting sugars from the mash to produce sweet wort. The steeping of specialty grains (i.e. crystal malts, roasted barley, black malts, etc.) is commonly referred to (incorrectly) as a partial mash. These grains will yeild no significant fermentable sugars, and are used only to add body, head retention, special characteristics and residual sweetness to the brew. Doing an actual 'partial mash' means replacing a portion of the malt extract with an appropriate base malt (usually 2-row malted barley) and undergoing the process further detailed below in question #12. (click for more info on all-grain brewing)

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12. To make the leap from extract to all-grain brewing, you will need:

-7+ gallon stainless steel brewpot

-An adequate flame source capable of rapidly boiling 6-7 gallons of water (stovetop is no longer viable for this procedure) A propane turkey cooker is perfect.

-A wort chiller (available at most homebrew shops for around $80, or homemade with copper tubing, hoses and fittings from the local hardware store.)

-A lauter-tun and the appropriate tubing and valves.

-More time to brew and clean-up. (3-5 hours per batch) If this fits you then off you go! Contact KennebechomebrewSupply for the next scheduled all-grain class and get a jump on it- seeing it makes it all alot more understandable than just reading about it. Trust me.

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13. Lagering is the process of using a specific type of bottom-fermenting beer yeast that functions at much lower temperatures and over longer periods of time to produce the traditional clean, crisp characteristics of lager beer. It is advisable to get a few batches of ale under you belt before undertaking lagering. Fermenting lager yeast at higher temperatures than those it is meant for (even by a few degrees) will result in BAD beer. (high production of undesirable defects). Pay close attention to the yeast specs and study up on lagering. A regular refrigerator will not hold constant enough temperature. Buy a Johnson Controls Thermostat designed for the job, and don't be disuaded by all this cautionary stuff I'm rambling on about. Anybody can brew a good lager. (it's easier and less expensive in the winter, in a nice cold basement.)

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Still got questions?! e-mail us at Kennebechbrew@msn.com

...or just pick up the phone!

If you were offended by the humor in this FAQ, please click HERE.