I brewed a lot in 2020...

  1. late to the christmas party, brewed in January, Christmas Tree NEIPA with Lemondrop Simcoe and Chinook
  2. British Golden SMaSH with Golden Promise, Olicana hops, and S-04
  3. Azacca Cryo and Spelt SMaSH NEIPA, ended up being 3.8% and that beer slammms
  4. Red X and Styrian Cardinal SMaSH WCIPA
  5. Mittelfruh and German Pils SMaSH IPL
  6. Session IPA with Southern Passion and Summer hops for Big Brew Day
  7. Mixed Ferm Sour IPA with Citra, best beer i've ever made, soured in the fermenter with Lacto, added Citra Cryo as a dry hop and Hornindal to ride it out, no hot side hops. Incredible citra flavor.
  8. Wai-iti and Spelt SMaSH NEIPA, also 3.8%, same recipe as my Azacca beer, different hop
  9. Idaho Pils and Idaho 7 SMaSH WCIPA
  10. 100% Oats NEIPA with Sabro
  11. Vienna Lager SMaSH with Tradition hops
  12. Hopped up German Pils with Hallertau Blanc
  13. Delirium Tremens style "clone" with Ardennes and Ginger Candi Syrup
  14. Belgian Golden "IPA" with Saphir hops, A+, Saphir is extremely underrated
  15. Apple Pie Sour for Learn to Homebrew Day, made with a little Martinelli's and pitched with the new Lallemand Philly Sour, a new species called Lachancea
  16. Belgian Dubbel with Simpsons DRC and Special B, the greatest malt duo ever.
  17. Munich Brown Ale thing, Munich 5L paired with some Chocolate Malts
  18. Double Decocted Dunkelweiss
  19. Amber Ale with 2oz each of Crystals 10L, 20L, 40L, 60L, 75L, 90L, and 120L, to see if using a range of crystal malts lends more complexity to the beer, didn't really seem to, tasted like it just had 1 crystal malt
  20. Belgian Dark Mild, a British style grain bill with Belgian malts and Belgian yeast.
  21. British Dark Mild, a near identical grain bill but with actual british malts and British yeast.
All but 2 are 2.5 gallon batches = 57.5 gallons.

21 batches this year, 28 batches last year, but we had festivals last year.
100% Oat Neipa What the!:eek: how? And what did you think?

21 batches brewed here and just under 500lt down the hatch.

Also carried out a bit of my brew years resolution to brew some of my old recipes again bunyip one of them hoppy blond another.

Also saw I didnt brew any kolsch this year will have to get onto it.
 
100% Oat Neipa What the!:eek: how? And what did you think?.

Malted Oats do have a little DP, they can convert, it just takes a while. It was like 66% Malted Oats, 16% Flaked Oats, 16% Golden Naked Oats, got the brew day to 1.053 OG.

But like an idiot and to try and make something super juicy, i mashed at like 158-160F, and added a pound of lactose, plus a stupid amount of Sabro hops, the yeast was NOT happy, only attenuated down to 1.030 = 3.2% ABV.. that wouldn't have upset me, but the beer was extremely bitter and oddly enough tasted extremely dry even up at 1.030. Failed experiment.
 
Malted Oats do have a little DP, they can convert, it just takes a while. It was like 66% Malted Oats, 16% Flaked Oats, 16% Golden Naked Oats, got the brew day to 1.053 OG.

But like an idiot and to try and make something super juicy, i mashed at like 158-160F, and added a pound of lactose, plus a stupid amount of Sabro hops, the yeast was NOT happy, only attenuated down to 1.030 = 3.2% ABV.. that wouldn't have upset me, but the beer was extremely bitter and oddly enough tasted extremely dry even up at 1.030. Failed experiment.
Did you drink it or tossed it?
 
I brewed 19 times this year. Both 5 gal and 2.5 gal batches. As for savings......Cost of commercial less the cost of ingredients, less the annual depreciation of the equipment = Who cares? I really enjoy brewing and the savings will not be recognized until my equipment is really old and no new equipment is purchased. (yeah right)
 
22 brews for 106.5 gallons, still averaging 4.8 gallons per brew.... I'm brewing a lot of smaller batches these days, 3 gallons for everything I don't know. My tried-and-true favorite drinkers still get brewed 5 gal at a time. Next year I'd like to brew more often and smaller - about 2.5 gallons is as small as my primary equipment will go but still I can do other processes (biab, small-batch, even gallon-sized brews). Biggest system changes this year were heat to the mash tun (RIMS, PID controller) and RO water. Not planning any large system changes for next year but I'd like to build a keezer. I'm still building bits and bobs for my system, last one was an in-line oxygenation attachment for when I'm using liquid yeast. I also plan to write more: I've had one article in BYO, a second one should be in the March edition and I haven't heard from the editors on number 3. And once all the Covid restrictions are lifted, I plan on having a major beer disposal event to get rid of a lot of my back inventory.
 
Malted Oats do have a little DP, they can convert, it just takes a while. It was like 66% Malted Oats, 16% Flaked Oats, 16% Golden Naked Oats, got the brew day to 1.053 OG.

But like an idiot and to try and make something super juicy, i mashed at like 158-160F, and added a pound of lactose, plus a stupid amount of Sabro hops, the yeast was NOT happy, only attenuated down to 1.030 = 3.2% ABV.. that wouldn't have upset me, but the beer was extremely bitter and oddly enough tasted extremely dry even up at 1.030. Failed experiment.
Wow I would not of expected that I suppose when I think of oats I dont think of sweetness.
Cool!
 
My material cost for malts, hops, yeast averages out to around $45 per 40 pint batch. Craft brews in the Northeast US run $3-4/pint, so $120-$160 per batch. So if you go purely on that, out of pocket savings can add up fairly quickly. Craft brew prices were somewhat of reason for me to get back into brewing. Now if you add your time, there's probably no comparison so it has to be a labor of love. But I do like to tell my wife that all the shiny stainless steel will pay for itself in less than a year, lol.

This was the exact line of reasoning I took. It only took a little over a year to get to a break-even point when I went to simple all-grain setup. And for a hobby you love, labor is free!
 
22 brews for 106.5 gallons, still averaging 4.8 gallons per brew.... I'm brewing a lot of smaller batches these days, 3 gallons for everything I don't know. My tried-and-true favorite drinkers still get brewed 5 gal at a time. Next year I'd like to brew more often and smaller - about 2.5 gallons is as small as my primary equipment will go but still I can do other processes (biab, small-batch, even gallon-sized brews). Biggest system changes this year were heat to the mash tun (RIMS, PID controller) and RO water. Not planning any large system changes for next year but I'd like to build a keezer. I'm still building bits and bobs for my system, last one was an in-line oxygenation attachment for when I'm using liquid yeast. I also plan to write more: I've had one article in BYO, a second one should be in the March edition and I haven't heard from the editors on number 3. And once all the Covid restrictions are lifted, I plan on having a major beer disposal event to get rid of a lot of my back inventory.
If you need any help with that "Beer Disposal Event" let me know
..
 
If you brew quite a bit, I think you can amortize your equipment pretty quickly.

I estimate that I have about $1200 in equipment including a fancy SsBrewtech fermenter with temperature control, a keezer/chilled water reservoir, electric BIAB vessel, 4 kegs, a CO2 tank, two taps, and a Tilt.

My batches cost about $12-13 per 2.5 gallons. Four 6-packs would be $36. I save around $24 per batch. I make around 25 batches a year, so a $600 savings. It pays for itself in two years, or a bit quicker if you use less expensive equipment.

Unfortunately I brewed my own beer but also bought quite a bit of the local stuff too! I am too curious when a new release comes out! Ate into my savings! Haha.
 
Unfortunately I brewed my own beer but also bought quite a bit of the local stuff too! I am too curious when a new release comes out! Ate into my savings! Haha.
I keep buying bits and bobs to improve my system. Stainless steel isn't cheap! I'll never amortize the equipment but we're okay with that: SWAMBO will never amortize her sewing equipment, either!
 
More this year than 2019, but 2018 was definitely my high water mark. I was also brewing 42L batches most of that time so I am now doing 21L batches since I was overwhelming myself with beer.

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First 7 brews of the year were 10 gallon batches, sold that system
Next 8 brews were on a 35L Brewzilla
Two more brews planned in the coming weeks.
Total including next two batches will be 17 brews for 120 gallons
2019 was 18 brews for 130 gallons
 
First, sorry for not participating lately. I’ve been focusing more on brewing and less on talking about it lately. I have some minor issues with astringency to fix. But have 22 5-gal batches of beer on the wall this year. Most ever. I’m pleased that those tax dollars didn’t go to the Govt for my evening swill. Ben, keep those pool shots coming. TW, Bourbon updates appreciated. Bob, meds are always in order. Merry Christmas all. GW

Merry Christmas to you & Lisa too!
 

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