Home brewing kits ....

HeadlessChicken · 1 Jan 2011 at 17:18

If possible don't use normal household sugar, as it will give your beer a ciderey "homebrew" twang. Use brewing sugar as a minimum, beer kit enhancer is better, spraymalt best. It does make a difference.

aceface57 · 1 Jan 2011 at 17:32

Spraymalt does give a better taste I think and more body. I'm waiting for a delivery of another couple of kilo's of spraymalt, lion's pride kit and another barrel. Going to produce a lot more beer this year I think.

danza · 1 Jan 2011 at 17:32

Ahleckz said:
Yeah, that's why I first suggested getting sugar. Wasn't aware you knew about spraymalt. When I make kits, I don't use thermometers. Even doing a mash brew I rarely use one. Up to you really, some people will call me stupid for doing so but it's whatever works for you really.
Post some pictures.
I haven't done any brewing for ages, got plenty to bottle though but just can't find the time.

I CBA to get a thermometer from work, so just went as-is. I'll get a pic or two up in a little while.

HeadlessChicken said:
If possible don't use normal household sugar, as it will give your beer a ciderey "homebrew" twang. Use brewing sugar as a minimum, beer kit enhancer is better, spraymalt best. It does make a difference.

Too late!

Already gone with 850g of white sugar and 150g of light muscovado. I'll do it properly next time, promise! Spraymalt seems quite expensive though - adds to the cost of home brewing somewhat, easily adding ~50% to the cost per pint. I think that I'll give it a go next time though.

Whatever happens, this brewing lark is at least 50 times easier than cider making which I tried a few years back and failed at due to using apples that were too young (sour). I even made a rudimentary press. Was strong stuff in the end (~9%), but waaaaay to acidic to drink much of. Another thing I won't miss is the constant racking. That drove me mad!

Glaucus · 1 Jan 2011 at 17:37

Tipped the root beer down the bath, tried a second batch of yeast and still refused to ferment. So pretty disapointed. Could it be acidity or oil or something?

danza · 1 Jan 2011 at 17:45

Couple of pics of my first effort so far, sans lid:

Natural habitat:

Hopefully the old sleeping bag will keep temps up when the heating goes off. Maybe I can persuade the cats to sleep on it to keep temps up a bit.

liamgo · 1 Jan 2011 at 18:18

what constant temps are you getting danza? you dont want to be above 20 degrees Celsius which i suspect youl probably be higher than with that sleeping bag.

i found when 18 degrees c worked best for me, i did a few brews at 22 degrees c and although the final result was fine i found it gave me headaches and that was the reason why.

danza · 1 Jan 2011 at 18:27

liamgo said:
what constant temps are you getting danza? you dont want to be above 20 degrees Celsius which i suspect youl probably be higher than with that sleeping bag.

i found when 18 degrees c worked best for me, i did a few brews at 22 degrees c and although the final result was fine i found it gave me headaches and that was the reason why.

Okay, cheers for the info. I'll probably take the bag off in that case, and put it on if temps drop (kitchen does get quite cold in this weather). Not sure what temps I'm at TBH, I need to get a thermometer.

liamgo · 1 Jan 2011 at 18:46

you can get ones that stick on the fermenting vessel, very handy.

aceface57 · 1 Jan 2011 at 19:26

liamgo said:
what constant temps are you getting danza? you dont want to be above 20 degrees Celsius which i suspect youl probably be higher than with that sleeping bag.

i found when 18 degrees c worked best for me, i did a few brews at 22 degrees c and although the final result was fine i found it gave me headaches and that was the reason why.

Really it gave you headaches? :confused:

Sounds a bit weird but OK, I generally try and aim for about 22C when fermenting but that is all depending on what yeast I am using.

Outcast · 1 Jan 2011 at 20:15

Missus got me a Home Brew kit (Lager) for Chrimbo so I dunno how much it cost. It came with 48 brown plastic bottles, Fermenting Urn, Hydrometer etc.

Made the mix/wort up as per destructions five days ago but it aint started bubbling yet which got me suspicious so I watched the dvd that came with it and apparently they don't always bubble.

Temp is hanging around 18c-ish

Will leave it another week and then bottle it

Liverpool-Lad · 1 Jan 2011 at 20:48

18 is a little cool iirc?

liamgo · 1 Jan 2011 at 21:07

aceface57 said:
Really it gave you headaches? Sounds a bit weird but OK, I generally try and aim for about 22C when fermenting but that is all depending on what yeast I am using.

most of the instructions tell you to ferment at 22C but thats not ideal, thats what i was getting at but couldnt remember the names of the two chemicals produced at that temp.

fusel alcohols and acetelhyde are what give you headaches which i found out, i was fermenting my brew at a steady 22C as per the instructions and although the brew turned out really nice, flavour and carbonation being spot on, id only need one bottle and id have a really bad head within an hour. so i looked into it and found out that really an ideal fermenting temp is around 16C-17C, i did it this way and the brew came out the same way but it dint give me a headache.

id recommend trying a brown sugar for a bit of extra flavour.

i also found when making a kit beer with dark beers and especially stouts you NEED half a kilo of dry malt extract or 2 tins instead of 1 in a brew to get the best flavour, i tried a few different kits and i think its only coopers thats drinkable, youngs is horrible stuff.

liamgo · 1 Jan 2011 at 21:14

Outcast said:
Missus got me a Home Brew kit (Lager) for Chrimbo so I dunno how much it cost. It came with 48 brown plastic bottles, Fermenting Urn, Hydrometer etc.

Made the mix/wort up as per destructions five days ago but it aint started bubbling yet which got me suspicious so I watched the dvd that came with it and apparently they don't always bubble.

Temp is hanging around 18c-ish

Will leave it another week and then bottle it

should start to bubble after 24 hours but be properly in the swing of fermenting (so lots of bubbling) between day 3 and 6.

seems like its not started to ferment though as 5 days is a bit long for nothing to of happend. did you make sure the wort was cool when you pitched the yeast? around 16C? did you mix up the sugar thoroughly and airiate the wort sufficiently? so there was a lot of froth on top prior to pitching the yeast? did you sprinkle the yeast on and leave it as per instructions? or did you fold it into the froth (ideal)

if you need to kickstart it which it sounds asif you do then mix a teaspoon of yeast in a small glass of warm water then add to the wort, mix it gently a little and hopefully itl start to ferment after a day.

JonB · 1 Jan 2011 at 22:28

Has anyone here come across the StackExchange sites? They've got a public beta for home brewing, which may be worth some of us supporting. I've been an active browser since it was launched, but it never occurred to me to link to it here.

http://homebrew.stackexchange.com/

Outcast · 1 Jan 2011 at 22:48

liamgo said:
should start to bubble after 24 hours but be properly in the swing of fermenting (so lots of bubbling) between day 3 and 6.

seems like its not started to ferment though as 5 days is a bit long for nothing to of happend. did you make sure the wort was cool when you pitched the yeast? around 16C? did you mix up the sugar thoroughly and airiate the wort sufficiently? so there was a lot of froth on top prior to pitching the yeast? did you sprinkle the yeast on and leave it as per instructions? or did you fold it into the froth (ideal)

if you need to kickstart it which it sounds asif you do then mix a teaspoon of yeast in a small glass of warm water then add to the wort, mix it gently a little and hopefully itl start to ferment after a day.

Thanks for advice. All greatly appreciated

danza · 2 Jan 2011 at 16:38

Got a thermometer today, and found that in the kitchen with a sleeping bag around it, my brew is only 14 degrees C. Will this have caused any issue with the yeast? I pitched the yeast yesterday at about 6PM. I've moved it into my office which is the warmest room in the house, but not sure if that'll keep it warm enough (waiting for it to warm up nearish a radiator ATM).

Are belt heaters worthwhile?

liamgo · 2 Jan 2011 at 17:05

yer thats a tad too cool, will be why its not kicked off yet.

if you need to keep it in the kichen then a belt heat would be bes, otherwise it should be fine in a living room/office etc, just keep an eye on the temp, aim for 17C

danza · 2 Jan 2011 at 17:08

Cheers. Temps are creeping up to around 18 at the moment, but that's with me in the office with my PC belting out heat.

I think one of the best heating solutions I've seen is using an aquarium heater in a big tub of water with the fermenting bin stood in it. I might give that a go as heater belts can cause hot spots (or so I read). They're cheaper too.

However, these brewing lashups seem to be causing many suspicious looks/comments from the wife.

liamgo · 2 Jan 2011 at 17:31

leave it be for a few days and wait untill the temp stops rising, youl be surprised what itl reach in a slightly warmer room, also factor in that once it starts fermenting itl create a little of its own heat.

my suggestion leave it wrapped untill tonight then check the temp, if its around 20C take the cover off, let it settle over night check it in the morning, ideally around 17C/18C and aslong as thats fine you should start bubbling by tomorrow evening.

i had similar problems with my first brew, the key is finding that magical spot in the house where you your brew sits at the right temp

also even though your brew has been in the fermenting vessel for 6 days now i wouldnt count that in, start afresh from tomorrow, so leave it be for 7 days tomorrow as per instructions (although ive found 12-14 days works best, a) for maturity and b) and most importantly it gives all the yeast extra time to fall out of suspension, sink to the bottom and give a clearer wort.)

danza · 2 Jan 2011 at 17:43

Cheers for the info.

I've ordered a cheapo aquarium heater with thermostat control for next time at least. The office is witout doubt the warmest/best part of the house to ferment in, but it's getting a bit cramped with a brewing bin in here!

I'll leave it longer as you say. If temps do fall too much, I can stick it in a warm tub of water with this heater in (if it arrives in time). I think the main trouble I'll have is with maintaining warmth, as even though the office is usually warm, temps will drop at night by quite a lot. I'll wrap it with the sleeping bag to give it every chance and keep an eye on it.