Brewing Master

Question:

writes: My question is:  is there anyone out there who has been to such a place?  Do they sell "take out" ingrediants for real homebrewing? Would it be worth it to visit one before I make my first batch?

I’ve brewed at U-Brews fairly regularly for the last couple of years. These places are generally quite popular here in the province of Ontario, Canada (and probably throughout the rest of the country as well) due to the rather outrageous amount of taxation, the fairly tight government control over the sale of alcohol, and the (relatively) poor selection of styles available.  The Brewer’s Retail usually stocks Labatt and Molson, and most of the Ontario microbrews (Upper Canada Brewing Co., Brick Brewing Co., Sleeman’s, and others) – usually your standard American lager-type beer. Generally, one makes an appointment to go in and brew a "batch" (48-50 litres, usually) of beer.  You can choose the type of beer you wish to make from a selection of a few dozen recipes which can encompass a fair number of styles – Brown Ales, Stouts, American Lagers, Pilseners, Wheat Beer, etc. etc., and they provide the facilities, ingredients, and equipment to make it. You spend a couple of hours combining the malt extracts, hops, and grains on the first night, then they put it in a carboy and look after it for a couple of weeks while it bubbles away.  Two weeks later you come back, they generally filter and force-carbonate, you put it into bottles, and it’s basically ready to drink. What you generally leave with is a pretty decent tasting malt extract brew.  After you’ve acquired some experience, most of the owners will let you "experiment" and simply charge you for the ingredients you use, so you are not necessarily stuck with using their recipes.  Some places will also sell "take out" ingredients and equipment.  Really, the differences between going the U-Brew method vs. the complete do-it-yourself route are (a) you don’t have to buy ingredients/sanitize/clean up (b) the beer is filtered and force carbonated – no sediment (c) you get 48 or 50 L compared to 16-20 (d) you don’t get to experiment as much as you probably     could at home (e) you’re limited to a degree in your choice of ingredients It is not a bad way to learn about extract brewing, IMHO. And because you get to keep the recipes (usually), then it gives you a chance to make a particular style, and then "optimize" it to suit your particular tastes.  You also have experts around who can help you out and make sure you don’t make any mistakes.  Having acquired a little background knowledge from the U-Brews, I’m planning on getting my own equipment and brewing my first batch in the next few weeks – something to curl up in the easy chair and watch hockey with. There’s my pair of pennies, for what they’re worth. Dave

Response:

M{For those of you who don’t read the Journal, I’ll summarize the M{article:  There is now a place in California where you can go M{and have them walk you through the brewing process.  You can keep M{comming back if you don’t want to/can’t "graduate" to true home M{brewing.  They say that there are similar places, called U-BREW, Since I don’t have access to the Journal could you fill me in by letting me know WHERE in California this place is? Thanks, Jami

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – M{For those of you who don’t read the Journal, I’ll summarize the M{article:  There is now a place in California where you can go M{and have them walk you through the brewing process.  You can keep M{comming back if you don’t want to/can’t "graduate" to true home M{brewing.  They say that there are similar places, called U-BREW, Since I don’t have access to the Journal could you fill me in by letting me know WHERE in California this place is? Thanks, Jami

There’s one of these U-Brew shops (I’m not sure what it’s called) in the Manhattan Beach/Hermosa Beach/Redondo Beach area here in Southern California.  I’ve never been there and don’t know anybody that’s actually made their own beer there.  I hear it’s a bit on the pricy side. If your interested, I can call a friend who lives near it and find out *                               Brad Juhasz                               * *            Under-Utilized Scientist / Religious Home Brewer             * *                         MDA-SSD /  Club Sweetbay                         * *                        Huntington Beach / Anaheim                       *

Response:

Hello, first time poster here: For those of you who don’t read the Journal, I’ll summarize the article:  There is now a place in California where you can go and have them walk you through the brewing process.  You can keep comming back if you don’t want to/can’t "graduate" to true home brewing.  They say that there are similar places, called U-BREW, in Toranto. My question is:  is there anyone out there who has been to such a place?  Do they sell "take out" ingrediants for real homebrewing? Would it be worth it to visit one before I make my first batch? I will likely be visiting Toranto this wintewondering if it would be worth it to look into one.  Also to MABYE start one in a few years. Please MAIL me any responses, since my senior class demands have cut down my internet time availability

Response:

For those of you who don’t read the Journal, I’ll summarize the article:  There is now a place in California where you can go and have them walk you through the brewing process.  You can keep comming back if you don’t want to/can’t "graduate" to true home brewing.  They say that there are similar places, called U-BREW, in Toranto. My question is:  is there anyone out there who has been to such a place?  Do they sell "take out" ingrediants for real homebrewing? Would it be worth it to visit one before I make my first batch?

I have invited a number of people over to "help" me brew a batch of beer.   They seem to get a better handle on exactly what needs to be done by doing it instead of reading about it.  Yes, I think a U-Brew shop would be worth visiting, but only if you are not lucky enough to have someone take you in when they brew.  Some of my visitors didn’t know that there was any kind of beer besides the domestic pilsner style.  Others were already working a wort boiler before they even knew the stuff was called wort.  Just my $.02. Marriage is 90% giving.  The trick to a good marriage is knowing when to take your 10%!  –  Grandpa Inman.                       <usual disclamer

Response: