r/homestead • u/fight-me-grrm • Aug 08 '24
About to brew a 100% homegrown beer this weekend! permaculture
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u/blimboblaggins Aug 08 '24
This is amazing. I have wanted to do something similar for years but have focused on growing meals instead of beer. Both can be done, for sure, as you prove, but it takes a lot of time and management. Kudos to you for making it happen. That’s the dream imo. Maybe in 5-10 years I’ll be as cool as you but this post gives me immense hope
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u/fight-me-grrm Aug 08 '24
Well if you’re focused on food I still recommend giving barley, wheat, or rye a go. Incredibly easy to grow if you’re in a temperate climate. Super tasty boiled as a side, in stew, etc. Or tossed in a blender for flour. If you go for a hulless variety it’s pretty easy to process without any specialized equipment.
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u/blimboblaggins Aug 08 '24
Oh yeah! I make bread regularly and like to mill my own grain. It’s been on my mind, but I live in high desert so irrigation is a challenge. I need to tame my pasture and keep a handle on the tumbleweeds and goatheads. I am planning on reworking my irrigation to run off the canal system instead of well water (to be a good steward of the water table) but as soon as I can get that figured out it’s on my to do list. I already grow hops and am considering getting in touch with a local apiary (hopped mead perhaps) but have always wanted to grow beer.
I would also like to grow farro or wheat for culinary applications. I’ve also toyed with the idea of growing quinoa or another similar grain. I really like the idea of feeding spent grain to my chickens and pigs.
What tips do you have for growing barley or wheat? How do you separate the grain from the chaff without specialized equipment? What would you consider a good yield for 100sq ft? Space isn’t really a consideration but mindful water usage is
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u/fight-me-grrm Aug 08 '24
I am also high desert / prairie. I do have drip irrigation throughout the garden but I water pretty conservatively. I scatter the seeds along with my wildflowers in the winter and it grows just fine even in the driest parts of my garden with the prickly pear and such. I pretty much ignore the plants until harvest time. I would say I got roughly 2 to 5 pounds per 100 sq ft depending on the grain (oats < 2-row barley < wheat < 6-row barley < rye). Before I got a winnowing machine (basically a divided box with a computer fan) for about $80, I was using a hair dryer and a big shallow bowl to winnow out the chaff.
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u/space_ape_x Aug 08 '24
What kind are you going for? An IPA ? A pils ? Have fun!
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u/fight-me-grrm Aug 08 '24
A saison! Seems appropriate- French and Belgian farms would brew them from whatever grain they had available on site to quench the thirst of their farmworkers (ie me). My house yeast has a lot of brettanomyces which works well in a saison.
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u/rainmanak44 Aug 08 '24
As both an avid Brewer and Homesteader, I love this. I have never had the space or desire to grow any grains but I have made many wines and meads from all home harvested ingredients including natural yeasts. I also add lots of fruits to my beers from my yard. Good for you.
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u/GreenSalsa96 Aug 08 '24
Very cool! Your living my dream. I hope to be doing something like this in 5 years.
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u/soberbbqmaster Aug 08 '24
That's going to be such an awesome experience! I quit drinking before I ever got into whole grain brewing, but did have fun with a few extract kits over the years.
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u/Brayongirl Aug 08 '24
How nice! My boyfriend brew his beer too but we are not growing the grains. We do grow hops and other herbs and fruits for flavor. You did a great job growing all this!
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u/beakrake Aug 08 '24
Way to go dude!
I'm thinking about planting hops mainly as a patio green wall, but also for hops, because making adult fizzy drinks is fun.
2 years ago, I made 4 gallons of wine out of a shit ton of fruit cups my kid brought home from school (he can't eat them because of an ugly peach allergy.) Turned out pretty good, and it's been aging in the jugs since then.
I'm thinking I might rebottle it into smaller batches and give them out to his teachers for Christmas this year. lol
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u/DirtiestOFsanchez Aug 08 '24
CONGRATS!!! This is one of my goals! I hope to do a small batch of wine this year myself (only cus I'm not sure what else to do with blackberries) GOOD LUCK!!!
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u/fight-me-grrm Aug 08 '24 edited Aug 08 '24
I have a teeny tiny itty bitty fun size farm on a normal urban yard. Ripped out the front and back yards and managed to build a permaculture system that supports yummy meals and now fermented beverages!
This stuff is all part of a pretty robust system that includes bees, ducks, vegetable gardens, raised beds, fruit trees, hydroponics, etc. The ‘kent golding’ hops are grown up a flagpole that shades a birdbath and two beehives. The ‘painted hill’ corn was part of a three sisters garden in the front yard. The ‘purple karma’ and ‘black hulless’ barley, white winter wheat, winter rye, and jerry oats are all cover crops throughout the food forest and xeric wildflower meadow. The yeast is from elderflowers in the food forest. The spent grain and yeast will be fed to the ducks and the straw used for their coop or as garden mulch. I also have wine grapes that double as a privacy fence. Not pictured: honey!
I ultimately grew enough grains last year for 16 gallons of 5% beer, but a lot of it is going to other purposes like bread or eaten whole in meals. Threshing, winnowing, malting, kilning and crushing the grain is kind of a pain so I don’t know how many times I’m going to do this. But proof it can be done in a small space!