pauldavidmena
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Homebrewing
I brew my own beer from time to time, and have a modest kit with brew kettles, mash tun, a pair of glass fermenters, etc. Is homebrewing legal in
Mexico? And if so, how easy is it to get supplies (malt, yeast, hops, etc.)? We plan to settle down in the Todos Santos area.
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bajaguy
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There is a growing home brew/craft beer movement in Baja. Several beer festivals in Ensenada, Rosarito, Tijuana and Mexicali with 45-60 craft brewers
represented.
We buy some supplies in Ensenada and Tijuana. We also have several home brew suppliers in the San Diego area, and also (US) mail order.
Not sure about supplies being available in Baja Sur. Guess it would depend on what you need.
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pauldavidmena
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@bajaguy - I remember you posting about beer festivals in Baja Norte. It seems worth planning a future vacation around one of them. 
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bajaguy
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My suggestion is to bring what you need with you, or have friends transport for you from NOB
Grain, hops, yeast, malt, extract.....even bottle caps.....one advantage to being in Baja is a never ending supply of Pacifico bottles, clean 'em up,
refill and cap!!
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pauldavidmena
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Our plan is to maintain an NOB presence even after moving SOB, so such resupplying is certainly possible. I know homebrewing was illegal in the U.S.
until 1979 (something we can think Jimmy Carter for), but I'm assuming the big issue in Mexico is getting the right supplies. I don't mind a Pacifico,
but nothing beats a crisp IPA.
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pauldavidmena
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This article from 2008 mentions only 5 microbreweries in all of Mexico, so it appears that there has been substantial growth in the industry
during the past few years. 
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micah202
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...homebrew,,YUMMMM....I 'lift my glass to y'all' this fine sunday--tis a beautiful day indeed!! 
......as one with a background as a brewer---I'd have to admit that other than the qualities of 'cool' and 'refreshing' after the addition of a squirt
of lime,,,I've often found something sadly lacking in baja beers......such as 90% of the taste spectrum!
--thank gawd that's been changing a bit as microbreweries and beer festivals have started to roll.
........with the addition of micro's,,,comes the potential for the best solution to a homebrewer's challenge of fresh supplies and good
yeast**......firstly make friends with your closest micro-they're usually happy to arrange some side sales of supplies--and can sometimes have excess
they want to move,supply price-scales etc that are incentives to sell materials. Once an alliance is made ,,, a brewer's club and a buyers club can
be a win-win for all  
......**.....i.m.h.o. it's essential to get -active,live- yeast from a commercial brewery.There is simply no comparisons of yeast available in the
homebrew market and those which come from a commercial operation,,,so long as it has some level of microbiological oversight
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pauldavidmena
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The Boston-based "Wort Processers" homebrew club had a resident microbiologist who went by the nickname of "The Yeast God". He would come to meetings
with a cooler filled with labeled test tubes and the knowledge that he was everyone's new best friend. I have him to thank for what was a fairly tasty
Belgian Trippel. I even managed to keep the yeast around for more than one batch.
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micah202
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| Quote: | Originally posted by pauldavidmena
The Boston-based "Wort Processers" homebrew club had a resident microbiologist who went by the nickname of "The Yeast God". He would come to meetings
with a cooler filled with labeled test tubes and the knowledge that he was everyone's new best friend. I have him to thank for what was a fairly tasty
Belgian Trippel. I even managed to keep the yeast around for more than one batch. |
...heh...I'll not preach to the converted then!....and Belgian Trippel-definitely the right choice in sunday beers!...those monks new their
beers!! 
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Fernweh
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I take the finest ingredients for some good German Weizen Bier, with me to La Paz.....
http://www.homebrewing.org/Wyeast-3068-Weihenstephan-Weizen-...
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/german-hallertau-hop-pell...
and trade you for some brew
"wir trinken den Met, bis keiner mehr steht!"
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micah202
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...you have it so easy now--'back in the day',,in the early 80's hop pellets were hard to come by
...thank gawd the beerevolution came along as a reflex to McDonaldsland and globalised everything...vive laRevolution! 
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willardguy
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 so I guess nobody buys fleishmann's yeast and PBR malt from the hardware store
anymore?
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bajaguy
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Hops
Are pretty easy to grow. You can try a few varieties
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pauldavidmena
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I'm guessing that if one were to try to grow hops in Baja, it should be one that doesn't require as much water as those from the Pacific Northwest
(e.g. Willamette or Cascade). We tried growing Fuggles and Willamette hops here in New England, and they did reasonably well until the landscapers
yanked them out, thinking they were weeds.
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micah202
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| Quote: | Originally posted by willardguy
so I guess nobody buys fleishmann's yeast and PBR malt from the hardware store
anymore? |
...yeh,,I can't imagine why homebrewing got a bad name in the early days....people's first question is often still........''WILL I GO BLIND?''
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bajaguy
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Mandarina Bavaria
Paul, get some of these and use them in a light wheat
http://morebeer.com/products/german-mandarina-bavaria-pellet...
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willardguy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by micah202
| Quote: | Originally posted by willardguy
so I guess nobody buys fleishmann's yeast and PBR malt from the hardware store
anymore? |
...yeh,,I can't imagine why homebrewing got a bad name in the early days....people's first question is often still........''WILL I GO BLIND?''
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I drank it till I needed glasses!
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pauldavidmena
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Thanks for the tip! I've bookmarked MoreBeer.com
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vandy
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I also have brewed beer down here many times.
I brought all my spplies from Phoenix.
Finding good brew water can be difficult.
The best water I found to get complete fermentation was from the stream above the hot springs near Santiago.
Wells near the coast had saltwater intrusion, bottled water from Los Barriles had some mind of chemicals and city water had the same problem.
A simple shortcut I use is to finish in 2-liter plastic soft drink bottles.
3-liter ones exploded if I didn't loosen the caps once per day.
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Santiago
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| Quote: | Originally posted by vandy
A simple shortcut I use is to finish in 2-liter plastic soft drink bottles.
3-liter ones exploded if I didn't loosen the caps once per day. |
In college back in the 60's we were a grow-your-own, brew-your-own bunch of ne'er-do-wells and used the PBR method Willard pays homage to. One time we
lost an entire batch, bottled a tad green. Two or three days after bottling the entire bunch stated exploding and over the week end the batch was
lost. What a mess......
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