Home brewing

[Den Socling]

Well I have had it with commercial beer. I have always preferred pale ale to the crummy lagers that American brewers call beer. To make it worse, every time you turn around, they raise the price. My son has been brewing his own and every batch is delicious. As with everything he gets into, he has become an expert. I bought a used keg for $40. We went to a website that sells ingredients. They have a spreed sheet that describes the beer by color, alcohol content and flavor(s) as you add/change ingredients. This is where you need to be an expert. If I didn't have Garrett helping me, I would have just bought one of the ingredient kits. There are many to choose from. My ingredients ended up costing $33 for 5 gallons. If I bought more, shipping would come down. And this is for GOOD beer. So last night I scrubbed and sterilized my equipment (brew pot, thermometer and a plastic bucket for fermenting and a few other utensils). Then boil 5 gallons of water and add the malt. Add hops and boil for a set amount of time. Garrett had me use 2 different types. One for 30 minutes for flavor and one for 15 minutes for aroma. Then a quick chill to get the wort under 78'F. "Pitch" the yeast, stir then dump it into the fermenter. The little yeasties are now doing all of the work. The fermenter is now sitting in our cold cellar. When I checked this morning, the room was 62'F and the fermenter was 68'F. In a few days the fermentation will slow. Then I'll put it in the keg and carbonate it. After a week or so, it will be ready to enjoy. I can see that this can be simple if you like it that way or you can become a mad scientist as you craft your custom brew. I'll let you know how it turns out. It sure looks good so far.

[54Dutchman]

Sounds like a winner!  If you could give a few more details - web site & ingredients - it would be a great start.  ;D  Any other points that Garrett can add would be great. 8)

[Den Socling]

I've been shopping for equipment here. http://www.homebrewing.org/
And I got my ingredients here. http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/

If you Google "home brewing, you'll find a ton of information. I'll try to give more details as I learn and I'll see if I can get Garrett in here. He used to be an active forum member here but he's probably in a bunch of forums now.

[GaS]

Resources and information?  Whew, where to start!

I got started after browsing http://www.reddit.com/r/homebrewing 

Had thought about it a lot at various points in the past, but had zero experience and knowledge at it seems like such a significant thing to do.  Figured the best way to learn was to dive in, as there was a semi-regular sale on a basic kit of commonly needed components (fermentation and bottling buckets, bottle capper, ingredient kit)...basically just add a large pot and a bunch of empty pry-off bottles.  Pulled the trigger, collected empty bottles...went surprisingly smooth, and slowly experimented out from there.

/r/homebrew led me to http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html which is an online book and a really great resource for just getting started.  It seems like a lot at first, but after a while the basics become so ingrained you can begin to think about stuff other than "have I just massively screwed up five gallons of beer!".

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/ is probably one of the better forums out there...most of the time when I ask Google about some random question I have, someone at HomeBrewTalk has already asked the same question and gotten a decent answer. 

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/,  http://www.northernbrewer.com/, http://www.midwestsupplies.com/, and https://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/ are all good places to get initial equipment, supplies, ingredients, and the like. 

I like using http://hopville.com/ for managing recipes, but Brewmaster's Warehouse has a build-in recipe function which is pretty slick and easy to use.   This is what we brewed last night: http://hopville.com/recipe/1311501/american-pale-ale-recipes/dens-pale-ale

Brewing your own beer is all about keeping the process clean (and certain things sanitized).  You're basically creating a really sugary liquid you want one specific thing to grow and thrive in...not whatever mold and bacteria (and wild yeast!) are floating around your kitchen/garage/basement.  If you're fairly conscientious (and keep good notes) it is surprisingly easy to make decent, inexpensive ale.

Caveat: lager is an entirely different beast.  It requires very low fermentation temperatures.  And, most of the beers Americans drink are lagers...so no brewing a Bud Light (or what have you) clone at home... 

Den's ale ramping up it's attenutative phase of fermentation: http://bit.ly/LxEHAj  The bubbles are caused by a surfactant used in the StarSan in the airlock.  StarSan is a no-rinse sterilizer that uses phosphoric acid to kill off unwanted competition.

[Norm]

Great topic guys!

Thanks so much for starting this Den and Garrett but I'm just a little worried Patty may stumble on this. Wonder if Jeff can make it invisible to her.  :D

[Den Socling]

Like I told Garrett, most of you like beer, you like doing things yourselves and the people who get into this board are fanatics when it comes to food and beverages.  :D I'm sure there are more people here that are home brewing also.

[Mooseherder]

I took a class 2 years ago while getting into the wine making but haven't attempted making beer yet.  I want to get an outdoor unit to do the boiling. They only charged 25 dollars and let me take video for future use.
If you can find a local brew store they'll be more than happy to set you up.

[Den Socling]

Well, Garrett has given enough links to make us all experts if we do a lot of reading. Maybe you're a lazy student like me. Maybe you just want to make beer. For those who want the basics, I'll tell you what I'm doing. You can do some research when you want detailed explanations. It's supposed to take about two weeks.

[Patty]

Too Late Norm!!!    ;D


This is fascinating Den, I am looking forward to your story.   8)

[Den Socling]

I started out by buying one of these kegs. http://www.homebrewing.org/5-Gallon-Cornelius-Keg-Ball-Lock_p_70.html They are the cheapest I have found. I decided to use kegs instead of bottles because I already have a kegerator. The difference between these kegs and what commercial brewers use is that the top opens. These $40 kegs were used by the soda industry and mine was filthy when it got here. It makes you wonder what you get when you drink a soda at a restaurant. The first thing I had to do was dump the syrup and rinse with water. Then I scrubbed it inside and out with a Brillo type pad. It now looked a lot better but it wasn't sterile. I took the inlet and outlet out of the keg and sterilized the parts with Oxi Clean. Then I mixed up a 5 gallon solution of Oxi Clean. It's now soaking (longer than necessary).

I'm going to tell you how much money I'm spending but I can't tell you what a used refrigerator is going to cost.

[Den Socling]

Heck yeah Patty. You already have the kegerator.  :D

[dail_h]

For those that want to go a bit further,,,www.homedistiller.com ;D ;D

[WildDog]

Thanks guys, I am watching this with more than casual interest.....Great timing, I need a new hobby

Thanks so much for starting this Den and Garrett but I'm just a little worried Patty may stumble on this. Wonder if Jeff can make it invisible to her

Too Late Norm!!!   

Norm at least with Patty you guys are partners in crime  ;) I think the best way to get the go-ahead  from Nicky is to spend up big (bigger) on beer the next month and then compare gross margine figures on "Homebrew" versus shop bought and present these to her, she's very budget conscious....Fingers crossed

[Norm]

I know Rob but it's so hard to keep her sober the way it is can you imagine what it will be like with her own brewery! :D

[LeeB]

you do like living dangerously don't you Norm?

[Den Socling]

I'll get back to this thread shortly but I wanted to mention ingredients. As I mentioned earlier, you need some experience to craft your own brew. Mixes are best for beginners. Take a look at what this one supplier has available. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-ingredients/recipe-kits.html?p=1

Garrett told me yesterday that he has a problem. He has too much beer.  :

[Den Socling]

Here's what we did Sunday night. Again, if you want details and explanations, use Garrett's link to "How to Home Brew".

We needed an 8 gallon kettle. The batch is only 5 gallons but you don't want to boil over. Stainless steel is expensive. Garrett found an 8 gallon aluminum kettle for $25. You'll also need a fermenting bucket and air lock like these shown here: http://www.homebrewing.org/Fermenters_c_168.html  Plastic is fine. Finally, need a candy thermometer and a utensil for stirring.

Now you make the wort. I think that's pronounced "wert". Bring 5 gallons of water to a boil. Take the kettle off the heat so you don't scorch the ingredients. Add your can of wort extract. Bring it back to a boil. Add hops and boil according to the instructions in you kit. Cool the wort as fast as you can. We put the kettle in a sink full of ice cubes. When it is under 80'F, pour it into the fermenting bucket and add the yeast. We just added the yeast dry out of the pouch and it worked fine. Stir vigorously for 2 to 10 minutes. We just stirred for 2 minutes and that worked fine. Put the lid on and set the airlock. Set the bucket in a cool place. Sit back and drink one of your last commercial beers.

The thing to remember is that you want to keep everything sterile. You want your own yeast multiplying in the fermenter  and not a bunch of "wild" stuff. Keep it as clean as possible until you add your yeast. When you add the yeast, you have to stir vigorously to add air and get your own yeast growing ASAP.

On Monday, the bucket was 72' while the room was 62'F. The airlock was bubbling away. Today (Thursday), there's no bubbles but the bucket is still 68'F. When the bucket is down to room temperature, we'll check the alcohol  content 2 days in a row to see if fermentation is done.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the extract is very thick at room temperature. Mine came in a gallon milk jug. We put it in a pot and then on the stove at low heat.

[GaS]

That link (http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/index.html) certainly is the best place to start reading!

The pot I bought is no longer on sale (was $25 with free shipping!): http://www.amazon.com/IMUSA-32-2dqt-2e-Aluminum-Tamale-Steamer/dp/B001ARYXNW

If you are the patient type, add this to your daily reading, it's where I found that pot on sale: http://www.homebrewfinds.com/

To my kit (got this via the Groupon sale: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-basics-equipment-kit.html) I added a narrow plastic cylinder to hold my beer while taking OG and FG readings, a few nylon bags to help keep sediment out of my bottling bucket when transferring on bottling day, a bottle of StarSan concentrate, two gallons of distilled water to make batches of StarSan sterilizer, a container of OxyClean Free (no fragrance), a bunch of bottles I collected (and had friends collect), a bunch of plastic totes to keep my equipment and bottles organized and clean, an autosiphon, and a plastic five gallon water container for getting a known good / standardized brew water from our local grocery store.  Oh, and the 8 gallon pot and a ~24"x24" nylon bag to do BIAB with.  With 20 gallons of beer under my belt I'm getting close to breaking even. It's about $16 per case for the ingredients with extract, hoping to get this down a lot as I move to all-grain).  Taking the equipment into account, I'm currently around $27 per case, and that drops with each new batch I brew.  If I've done all of my math up to this point correctly (no promises!) this batch of all-grain will be $12.25 per case, should start dropping that $27 average in a hurry

Going to eventually get a 50# sack of base malt (buying in bulk halves the price you pay).  Use about 1/5th of it per 5 gallon batch.  Should reduce my per case cost to under $10.   8) 

Garrett told me yesterday that he has a problem. He has too much beer.  :

It's true!  I have just over a case of an IPA left that was brewed on April 3rd and bottled on April 18th: a Centennial / Munich Single Malt and Single Hop (SMaSH) thing I threw together randomly, was supposed to be a pale ale but ordered too many hops and 'screwed it up', ended up a surprisingly tasty IPA. 

And I had to bottle my fourth batch last night, a Columbus / Amber SMaSH that I also threw together randomly: five gallons now bottle conditioning for a week or three. 

Next week I'm going to do my first all-grain batch using the Brew-in-a-bag method (BIAB).  Going to be a Citra-hopped pale ale.  All-grain is a lot cheaper (a LOT cheaper when the grains are bought in bulk) but adds about an hour to the process to make the grain soup (aka wort).

I gave away a fair bit of my first few batches as I wasn't wild about them.  The first was an Irish Red Ale created from an ingredient kit that came with my brew kit.  It was a perfectly acceptable Irish Red Ale, but I learned that I don't care for Irish Red Ales.  The second batch was a Cascade-hopped pale ale, but it ended up tasting a little sweet.  Not bad, just not what I'm looking for in a pale ale.  The OG and FG measurements were fine, I chalked it up to the yeast choice (Safale US-05).  I went with a different yeast for the Centennial SMaSH, ended up a bit drier, reminds me of Troegs Hop Back Amber Ale.  Finally a beer I am somewhat happy with!  When bottling the Columbus SMaSH last night, I drank the beer I had pulled for a FG reading, and it was very dry and surprisingly bitter considering my calculations pegged it as a mild pale ale.  This is brand new (just born), warm, uncarbonated beer, so I'm not worried about it.  Two weeks in bottles is minimum for it to condition, and closer to a month is ideal for the flavors to meld.  The all-grain coming up is going to be a second attempt at the second recipe I made, with Citra instead of Cascade,  Nottingham instead of Safale yeast, and with fresh grain instead of extract.  Here's to hoping for a better outcome

[Delawhere Jack]

About 15 years ago I was whole hog into homebrewing. I brewed from malted barley rather than extract. I was making 10 gallon batches. It's a funny hobby, but brewing from grain takes all day. I gave it up for a long time, but this past Jan. I brewed a batch from malt extract. I was aiming for a Sierra Nevade Pale Ale clone, but it came out a little weak all around. It was still really good, but more like a Sam Adams Lager than SNPA.

You can use a porcelain lined cooker, like they use for crab boils, just so long as all of the porcelain is intact, any bare steel exposed to the boiling wort will cause an off taste. Also, keep a very close eye on your boilng wort, especially after you add hops. If you let it boil over on the stove top you're going to have a terrible mess to cleanup.

[TimRB]

I attempted many times to brew beer years ago, but it was all hideous.  Later on, I found out that I was simply ahead of my time.  If I had opened a microbrewery and sold the stuff, I'd be a millionaire by now.

Tim

[Cityarb]

I'm enjoying this topic very much. Been wanting to try my hand at homebrew, and after reading this, I'm going to give it a go. Two of my favorite things in life to enjoy; homebrew and barbecue.

[Den Socling]

Last night we transferred my beer from the fermentation bucket to the keg. As usual, everything was soaked or sprayed with sanitizer. We used a product called Star San but there are many available. Star San is one of the "no rinse" type which is nice. The Oxi Clean that I first used on the keg does need to be rinsed. Garrett brought me a siphon which starts with a couple pumps. No starting with your mouth, of course. We had a tube on the siphon to avoid aeration. Get a large diameter to make things go faster. We had a fine mesh bag that the siphon pulled beer through. And I got my first taste.  8) It's green and not carbonated at this point but I got to check the aroma and flavor(s). It smells great and it's a little hoppy. Just the way I like it. I put it in my kegerator next to a keg of Yuengling. Yuengling uses tall, skinny 1/4 kegs so I was able to put the two side by side. I connected the CO2 and now I just wait. At least two weeks if I can.

[Dan_Shade]

I love me some yuengling...

good stuff

[GaS]

Brew notes from my first all grain tonight: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W9Vogo2T78OcNyHUximNGVzSpo84TQ9fM4TpoZBY5MA/edit

It was fairly challenging, but not terrible.  I like a 'session beer' just slightly less bitter than what a conventional "American Pale Ale" tastes like, so on paper it doesn't qualify as meeting the American Pale Ale guidelines.  I'd rather have a lot of hop aroma and flavor than a crazily bitter beer, so I usually shift the hops towards the end of the boil.  Going to experiment with dry-hopping soon, once I get this all-grain stuff down!

We'll see what the beer tastes like, as my mash temperatures were all over the place!  The OG was pretty close to correct at about 1.050, and the final quantity was just about perfect at 5 gallons.  Not bad for a whole bunch of guessing, but it's still too early to count my chickens  

Perhaps it's true what they say: RDWHAHB!  (relax, don't worry, have a home brew)  I'm not terribly worried about how complex everything seemed tonight, nor the terrible notes I took, nor the fact it'll probably be impossible for me to replicate this batch with 100% accuracy.  It took two or three extract batches until I stopped worrying that I was forgetting something, will probably take two or three BIAB until all-grain gets easier, too!

[Den Socling]

My new keg of beer is now getting gassed up.  :D I bought the supplies from this company. http://stores.kegconnection.com/StoreFront.bok The expensive part is the CO2 bottle. Around here, you get them from beer distributors or welding shops. They run in the neighborhood of $80-$100. To this, I added a $6 quick disconnect and 6' of 5/16" hose for $4. For the tank, I bought a regulator with gauges for $40. Finally, I bought a party faucet that came with 5' of hose and a quick disconnect for $12. I'll eventually want to mount a second tap through the door. So I'm now set up for two kegs. I could eventually have a 5 gallon batch in the fermenter, a 5 gallon batch aging in the kegerator and a 5 gallon batch for me to be drinking. 

[Norm]

Sure wish you lived closer Den...well maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea! :D

[Den Socling]

Well Norm, your BBQ and my beer would make a great combination.

My keg did something called "forced carbonation". When you bottle beer, you add a little bit of sugar so that the yeast continues to ferment. With a keg, you just add gas. My keg had some head but not much. I went back to the internet and and found it should have a head in 48 hours with 11 psi of pressure. I opened the freezer door (where the bottle of CO2 is) and found that the regulator was set for only 3 psi. I cranked it up to 11. Yesterday was 24 hours since I did that and it had nice fizz. That completed the beer and it has good taste, good aroma and "mouth feel". Next week I'm off to the races!

Warning: If you are used to drinking Bud Lite, be careful with these home made brews. Two or three pints will kick your butt. 

[Den Socling]

Garrett (GaS) is giving me his latest batch. He doesn't like it. It tastes like just plain, ordinary beer.  ???

[Den Socling]

Kegged another batch of beer last night. Like everything else, it gets easier and faster the more you do it. Garrett made a thing called a heat stick from a water heater element. We no longer need Patti's stove and we don't heat up the kitchen. We use a table in the laundry room to boil the wort. I'll show you the stick later, if anybody is interested.

[reride82]

I would be interested Den. I have been following this thread for a while. It has been a great read so far!
Levi

[Den Socling]

This is the design that Garrett used. http://lovebrewingcompany.com/brewing/diy/heatstick/ He bought all of the parts for about $33. Use a 120V 1500W element and you can use a 15Amp household outlet. If you have any questions, I'll get Garrett back on. One thing I did do was make a heavy extension cord with a ground fault outlet. My house is about 45 years old and doesn't have any GFI. When using an extract (wort ready to go) you pretty much plug it in and let it go. 1500 watts is good for boiling 5 gallons. We use a hot plate underneath the pot just to heat up faster. It takes awhile to get 5 gallons to boil.

[Norm]

Sounds like a great idea Den, thanks for the update.

[Mooseherder]

Having a Brew room sure would be a nice place to hang out.
My wine making is severely hampered because I don't have a dedicated room for it.  This has stopped me from attempting making Beer.
I did take an afternoon class with a couple nut jobs though. :D

[Den Socling]

Yes a brew room would be nice. We have been slowly slipping into Patti's Ebay room.  :D Every now and then she gets the idea that unused clothes or other items can be turned into cash.

[Delawhere Jack]

A guy down the road from me has a big shed in his backyard dedicated to brewing. The local hombrew club held a meeting there about a year ago. He made some good beer, but him and his buddies were a little too hippie-like for me. They call the place "The Grateful Shed". :-\

If you are not using it already, definately use liquid yeast cultures. Add it to about a pint of wort in a small bottle with an airlock 2-3 days before you brew. You'll have much more active yeast to pitch, which greatly reduces you chances of having a batch go bad from infection or wild yeast.

(The pic is a 5 gallon batch, not a yeast starter)

 

 

[Dan_Shade]

why the insulation on the airlock tube?

[Den Socling]

I started another batch of beer last night.



This keg was broken (empty).  :D

These are a couple pictures of the preparation. They show Garrett's heat stick and tamale steamer.







In the following picture, I've added the extract. It has a head because I shook the jug with water to get the last little bit out. It's thick stuff. While your water is coming to a boil, put the extract in a pan of warm water.



You bring the wort back to boil with the extract in it. In the following, I've added Columbus hops. I like IPA's so I boil this ounce of hops for 60 minutes. It definitely gives it a bitter taste.



During the 60 minutes you need to make certain the pot doesn't boil over. Garrett's heat stick adds just enough heat. I can have a beer.



At the end of 60 minutes, I add an ounce of Cascade hops and another Columbus. Now shut off the heat.



Now it's time to get sterile. You're going to cool the wort and you don't want any wild bugs to get started. Also, we pitch our yeast dry. That hasn't been a problem for us.





This is our home made wort chiller.



You need to get under 80'F before adding the yeast.



Then add a couple gallons to the pail. Pitch the yeast. Stir to aerate for about two minutes. Add the rest of the wort. Snap the cover in place. Put sanitizer in the air lock.

 

In several hours, the yeast will be blowing bubbles.



I leave it in the pail from one week to one month. Then to the keg for forced carbonation.

[Patty]

What a fascinating process Den. Thanks for showing us how it is done.

[Den Socling]

Now that you know how it's done, look at these kits. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-ingredients/recipe-kits.html?p=1 That's 122 recipes from just one supplier. Garrett helped me "craft" my own pale ale but there is something for everyone who likes beer already in kits. Hover under the kits at Midwestern then click on "learn more". That will describe each recipe,

[Chris Burchfield]

Not exactly what ya'll have been brewing but: Youngest son built a still with the cooker and thumper kegs out of stainless steel.  Copper for the condensate line. He can run about five to six gallons a cooking.  First batch was from plumbs, second was from cracked corn.  Useful hobby for self consumption. 

[Den Socling]

While making a new batch last night, I kept thinking of Patty. We sure miss her Norm. And I can only imagine your loneliness.

[Compensation]

Den, can you ask Garrett what ingredients to make a beer like bud light coors light? I have a brew kit but thats only half the battle. And seeing how i am a beer wimp the only thing i can drink are those two. I can handle a better flavor as long as it is smooth with no bite afterwards.

[Dan_Shade]

typically light beers have fewer hops and malt per batch, but maybe some more corn sugar to up the alcohol content

[Ianab]

The lighter beers are generally trickier to home brew as the flavours are much more delicate. An unusual tastes become very noticeable with the light malt and less hops. With a dark malt you get more flavour, and use more hops to balance the malt flavour, this makes any yeasty homebrew flavour less noticeable.

The lighter flavoured beers generally just use lighter malt and less hops. The malt is less "roasted" and lighter, so the hop flavour also need to be less for balance.

Sugar is often used in home brewing, but mostly to reduce the cost. It makes alcohol, but not much else. You can usually make a better beer by using a light malt instead of the sugar.

From Den's link, a kit like this is probably what you are looking for.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/american-light-20-minute-boil-kit.html

Ian

[Compensation]

Thanks guys! I have yet to use this thing since i know it is gonna be stout. I like dosxxx whatever the Mexican beer is called and red stripe also. Cant do the Guinness

[T Red]

It doesn't have to be a stout.  I think the only way to imitate bud light would be to water it down. ;)   The process the commercial brewers use is almost impossible to imitate.  Most use rice to lighten it. 

I like this cream ale here.  http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/cream-ale-extract-kit.html  It is about as light as you can brew at home.  My buddies prefer it to the American pale ales that I like.  Plus the cream ale kit is cheaper.

[Ianab]

Get in and brew some different stuff. Your tastes will soon change once you get to drinking some real ales. Need not be Stout the first time around, that's a acquired taste I guess  :D

The best part of the kits is it lets you try different styles of beer from all over the world, without paying extra for the exotic imports.

Ian

[Den Socling]

I would think that the American Light that Ianab linked would be like Bud or Coors. You boil the wort for only 20 minutes and everything in it is light. I boil extract and hops for an hour.

I agree with Ianab about trying some different stuff. Stout is out even for me but there's a ton of recipes between Coors light and Guinness  stout.

[Norm]

Thanks Den. 

[Compensation]

Well i have a kit when i got this for a few batches of brew. I am gonna practice with so if i screw up there isnt much loss. Thanks for all the info!

[Den Socling]

About the only way to screw up is sanitation. Remember that you are creating a wort in which yeast can thrive. That means wild yeast and other bugs could thrive, also. Wash everything with unscented OxyClean then spray everything as you go with Star San. OxyClean has to be rinsed while Star San does not.

[ashes]

First pumpkin beer attempt will be bottled tomorrow. I don't particularly like the stuff, but a little lady I know does. Made this batch as a little surprise for the season. Just took gravity and it's ready to go, but to be honest I thought it tasted a bit TERRIBLE. Maybe because I don't like them to begin with. I know it's green and needs another three weeks in bottle before it gets really tasted.

Mostly my beers tend towards the sour beer world. In fact the last non sour I made was an DIPA about a year ago. It turned out nice, and this was a recipe I followed (mostly) so I figure it will be fine.

What is that saying....RHAHB...or something like that. ;) :D

[Compensation]

Ok, i made a pale ale and it was great. But since i am still a beer wimp, i had to drink it fast before it warmed up. Next batch is the classic American light

[Delawhere Jack]

why the insulation on the airlock tube?

Sorry Dan, didn't see your question until just now. The insulation is just there the cushion the airlock against breaking.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Wow a great thread and has got me to thinking about starting again.
Back in the mid 70's to early 80's I made my own on the cheap boiling the wort in my wife's kitchen then fermenting in a 15 gallon stoneware crock.
My air lock consisted of a plastic trash bag over the top of the crock with a pin hole poked in it.
I just let the stuff go in my basement until the fermenting stopped and then bottled with a little sugar in the bottles.
Didn't sterilize any of the stuff only washing the bottles in the dishwasher
Totally un-sophisticated but effective and made a heavy brew.
Granted ingredients were cheaper then but it cost me about 15 to 20 cents per quart.
I used good old Fleischmans yeast and blue ribbon malt extract. Hops bought from a friend.
Batches did vary some in alcohol content and taste but all in all did the trick.

[Radar67]

I got a kit for Christmas. She paid attention when I said I wanted to start making mead.

[ashes]

Nice! Mead is pretty easy to make in comparison to beer, but I really enjoy mead, so I always have some in the pipeline. Enjoy making that, but consider starting another one soon after because meads and ciders take a little time to mellow out and truly find their form. That is why I keep them churning so aging is less of a problem.