DIY BrewHouse

DIY BrewHouse D.I.Y. BrewHouse is your local "One Stop Homebrew Store". Let our staff with 20+ years experience b

10/09/2020

What a long, difficult, up and down past two weeks it has been. Was so good seeing you guys/gals last weekend for our closeout day at the store. Reaching over and switching off the "OPEN" sign for one last time was like being hit with a ton of bricks. That was a reality check and a meaningful moment. Ever heard the expression that your life passes before your eyes in the moments just before death? That was a surreal moment for me in the few minutes before turning off the open sign at DIY BrewHouse.

I personally appreciate each and every customer that walked through the front door; whether you were just passing by wondering what the sign on the building meant, or were an all in avid homebrewer. You were not just a customer or a potential customer....you were viewed as a friend. That's how I tried to run my business. Get to know you first, and then help you become better at your craft of fermentation. From beginner to advanced.

Although DIY BrewHouse is no longer open for business, my passion for homebrewing does not end here. Neither should yours. We share a common thread. For those of you reading this and wish to remain in contact, simply reply offline and I will share some personal contact info. I'm always open to answering emails, phone calls, etc with questions homebrewing related.

Cheers,
Kevin

10/03/2020

If you are coming to DIY today and cannot find a place to park.....we are slowly blocking some off in front of the store for you guys.

09/26/2020

Just over 4 years ago, Wendy and I took over ownership of DIY BrewHouse with intention of bringing to you our interpretation of the best damn homebrew shop. To steal from The Grateful Dead....what a long strange trip it's been.

During that time many friendships were forged, many good homebrews were made and shared. Knowledge was imparted to new customers coming into DIY knowing nothing about homebrewing that were skeptical with questions of "I can make good beer at home and you can teach me how?" Conversations with customers having intention of going pro one day and opening a brewery. Congrats to one customer that has indeed achieved that goal and another in planning phases!

All good things must come to an end in our cycle of life. That time has arrived for DIY BrewHouse. It's with a heavy heart that we make this official announcement. In keeping with the original DIY monthly customer homebrew share events, join us for one last event on Oct 3rd at the store. Ya'll know the drill. Bring it and share it. This one will be our last hoorah along with a blowout sale of what's left on our shelves.

You guys have become part of our lives for the past 4 years, and will continue in the future. The river of beer is wide and our paths will certainly crisscross in the future.

Cheers,
Kevin & Wendy

07/30/2020

Quick update on some DIY store hours. We are unfortunately closed today. Will be open tomorrow (Friday). And then closed for a weeklong vacation until Aug 11.

Cheers,
Kevin

05/29/2020

Come get your brewing supplies for the weekend! DIY will be closed on Saturday for a short day off.

04/06/2020

Hi gang! Hope that everyone is being safe during these crazy times we are living in. We are in this together, and we will get through it together.

In light of more mandatory non-essential business closures taking effect today at 5:00 PM, DIY BrewHouse will adhere to those guidelines. Our retail store will be closed to foot traffic inside in the store. However, curbside pickup is being allowed for retail stores while maintaining social distancing measures. We will be updating our store hours in the next day or so along with some procedures for curbside pickup. Check our page periodically.

Thank you so much for supporting DIY and other local small businesses! We could not do it without you guys.

Cheers,
Kevin

03/19/2020

DIY will be closed today (3/19). Unrelated to CV-19. We will be on normal hours for Friday and Saturday.

DIY is doing everything possible to keep our customers safe while still shopping at the store. Call in or email orders are encouraged during this time as well. Given enough heads up, we will have your order ready for pick up when you arrive.

Phone : (803) 466-6026
Email : [email protected]

Stay safe and brew on.

Cheers,
Kevin

02/28/2020

Earlier in the week, we kegged up a fruit wine. Not wanting to leave an empty carboy, we cleaned/sanitized it, and started another wine (plum wine). Couple days later our fermentation was sluggish at best. (We know why too). Had another package of yeast on hand, so pitched that one and within 4 hours our fermentation was rolling along.

As soon as I pitched the 2nd yeast pack, I thought to myself....I shouldn't have done that.

Here's a lengthy explanation why.

Initial yeast pitched was 71-B which is a very good fruit wine yeast that tends to enhance fruit aromatics compared to other wine yeasts. It has a medium alcohol tolerance of 12-13% ABV which was the target range for our wine (semi-sweet). Did not have another 71-B on hand, so I pitched some Premier Classique which also has about the same alcohol tolerance.

As beer brewers, we are accustomed to pitching more yeast when a fermentation is sluggish. WLP001 working slowly? Have a US-05 dry yeast on hand which is similar? No worries there, just pitch it. Brewers will often blend yeast strains during fermentation (white labs sells many blended strains) to achieve characteristics from each strain. However, ALL yeast have a competitive factor. Positive, sensitive, or neutral. Almost all yeast isolated for beer making are either sensitive or neutral, meaning they will coexist together. Most wine yeast are positive, meaning they have enzymes that will inhibit (kill) yeast that are sensitive. Neutral yeast do not have the killer enzyme nor are effected by the killer enzyme.

71-B is competitive sensitive. Premier Classique is competitive positive. Within hours after pitching Premier Classique, 71-B was wiped out. :-( It's not the end of the world for our plum wine, but it will not have the light aromatic character from 71-B that we were shooting for. Doh.

01/29/2020

Dry yeast strains seem to be gaining traction among homebrewers versus liquid yeast for a myriad of reasons. Dry strains are typically lower cost than liquid yeast, more stable, have a longer shelf life (when kept refrigerated), and a wider range of strains are now available compared to only 5 years ago. For example, Lallemand now has dry yeast strains suitable for styles of Belgian Wit, Kolsch, New England, and lacto sours.

Many customers at DIY have asked "should I rehydrate dry yeast prior to pitching?" Ideally, rehydration is beneficial to proper yeast health. However, careful procedures should be followed to avoid damaging the yeast. How to instructions can be readily found with a quick web search. Some tips/pointers that I have followed when rehydrating dry yeast...

- Use spring water or distilled water.

- Most common dry yeast pkgs (for beer) contain ~11 grams. 8 oz of water is sufficient for rehydrating a single yeast package of this size.

- Target water temperature of 95-105 dF. Yeast prefer warm temps when reconstituting their cell wall and preparing for metabolism, however, temps over 110 dF can be lethal to most beer yeast strains.

- Optional use of a rehydration nutrient (GoFerm) is suggested but not a necessity.

- After proper rehydration, allow the yeast slurry to come to equilibrium temp (within 10-15 dF) with the wort/must. E.g. incremental additions of your wort/must to the rehydrated yeast will equalize the temps.

- Pitch within 1 hour after rehydrating, otherwise the yeast will begin depleting their glycogen reserves in a survival mode.

- Use utmost sanitary practices when rehydrating yeast.

01/23/2020

Reminder that DIY will be having our homebrew beer / wine / mead tasting on this coming Saturday (Jan 25th) from 11am-2pm here at the store. Looks like will be a sunny day, albeit a little chilly. Come join us with your homebrewed products and share some camaraderie with fellow homebrewers.

As an added bonus, DIY will be setup brewing an American Porter getting started around mid-day. This is a perfect time for new and potential homebrewers to see the brewing process. We will be displaying an all-grain process of mashing and sparging using a traditional converted mash tun.

Help spread the word to friends that are toying with the idea of joining our hobby.

Cheers,
Kevin

12/23/2019

Wishing all DIY customers a very Merry Christmas! Store hours during the holiday season for this week.

Christmas Eve 10:00AM - 2:00PM
Christmas Day Closed

Cheers,
Kevin

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10509 Two Notch Road
Elgin, SC
29045

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