# Brewing on the cheap



## Paul O (Sep 13, 2004)

The appeal of buying malt for less than $1.00 per pound intrigues me so I've been experimenting with using baker's malt to make beer. The results aren't bad. It takes a long time to clear and there's a residual sweetness that makes me think there are more fermentable sugars remaining. For my next batch I'm going to try some conditioning yeast in the secondary to get more complete fermentation. It will raise the alcohol but I should be able to control that as I refine the process. 

Anyone have any experience with conditioning yeast like Lallemand CBC-1 Conditioning Yeast?


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

Never tryed that yeast but I have used Champaigne yeast to finish a few beers that I thought the residual sweetness was too high. It did make for a very dry beer.

WWW


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## Paul O (Sep 13, 2004)

I have a batch fermenting now. I was going to keg it right after the primary fermentation because my other carboy is in use. Maybe I'll just pitch some of the conditioning yeast when I do the kegging. The first glass or two may contain some trub but then it should be clear sailing...or clear aleing as it were after that.


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## Paul O (Sep 13, 2004)

I just tried my first batch with the conditioning yeast. Since I keg my beer I just pitched the yeast into a keg that was already in use and let it set for a few weeks. That batch had gone through primary and secondary fermentation prior to kegging but the trub resulting from the additional yeast was still way more than I expected. That probably means the yeast did some good. The beer has improved a bit from the addition of the conditioning yeast but it is still a bit off. I won't throw it out but I think I'm dealing with the trade off between cheap bakers malt and expensive beer malt. I've got another keg in the works so I'll see what that tastes like. I'm not giving up on the bakers malt just yet. I've still got a lot left and it isn't really that bad, just not that good...yet


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

when I read the title it reminded me of the simple "home brew " we tried to make in my youth = a pack of yeast a bag of corn meal some prunes ,sugar and water in an old loosely covered crock . I can remember the sour taste and sick hangover still .


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## Paul O (Sep 13, 2004)

Arnie, My first attempt at brewing was almost 50 years ago. I used stuff I bought at the grocery store. I fermented it in a trash can. The results were less than great :yuck: but I never lost the desire to brew on the cheap. :thumb:


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## Paul O (Sep 13, 2004)

Back again. I have been drinking my latest keg for a while now and it is damned good. :happy2: I used a dark crystal malt with the baker's malt syrup and a British Ale yeast (Wyeast 1098). It takes a while to mature but I think its a keeper.


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## Grizzly (Feb 10, 2015)

To save money brewing I buy 50lb bags of base malt, wash my yeast, and buy hops in bulk. 

When you buy base malt in bulk it goes from ~1.60 per lb to ~$1 per pound.
Yeast can be washed and reused so that knocks off another $7 per batch of beer.
Bulk hops is the biggest savings as you can buy pounds for $15-$20 where most homebrew sites/shops charge 3.50 to $4 an oz.


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## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

How do you wash yeast?


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## Grizzly (Feb 10, 2015)

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPYUFJ4bPD4[/ame]


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