Home brewing kits ....

Bought my kit last week and have 40 pints of Coopers real ale on the go. Will be interesting to see how this turns out but will do the Wherry kit next that seems to be highly recommended.

Started the fermentation last Thursday and hopefully be bottling it on Sunday. Has been very active since Friday but original hydrometer reading was 1.032 so might only be about 3.5%.
 
Well i've made a decision...


I've just bought a 2nd hand 30 litre tea urn off the auction place and an going to use it for an all grain brew in the bag!

Just waiting for my grains to arrive.
 
Kicked off my Christmas beer last night. Wort smelled lovely, like treacle. Can't wait to try it next month. Woke up this morning to it starting to bubble nicely. :)
 
I have 2 Woodfordes kits on the go for Chrimbo, full grain can start again when I move house.

The Norfolk Nog is in the cornelius resting and the Wherry is in the secondary for casking in the cornelius next week. I grated lots of fresh ginger into the Wherry for some extra aroma so hoping for a little ginger tang.

I'll be taking the cornelius's with me to any parties I think this year, 76 pints is going some for drinking in the house by myself unless I get a few friends over.
 
My Coopers Real Ale is done in the FV so bottled it now, had a quick taste and seems okay but not as much flavour as I had hoped. Only used brewing sugar which is probably why, hopefully taste nicer once conditioned.

My next kit is a Coopers Australian Lager which I am doing with 500g hopped light spraymalt and 500g brewing sugar so hopefully get improved flavour on that one.
 
Griffyn said:
My Coopers Real Ale is done in the FV so bottled it now, had a quick taste and seems okay but not as much flavour as I had hoped. Only used brewing sugar which is probably why, hopefully taste nicer once conditioned.

My next kit is a Coopers Australian Lager which I am doing with 500g hopped light spraymalt and 500g brewing sugar so hopefully get improved flavour on that one.
Click to expand...

The Coopers RA and APA were read disappointments for me, but only against their IPA and stout I think, which are uterly superb. The APA was very, very light, and needed a kick which your hopped spraymalt should hopefully take care of :)
 
We've tried Coopers Australian P.A. a couple of times and been disappointed with it. However, just almost at the end of the second barrel of it, and it's gone from having quite an acidic, lemony roughness, to very smooth and honey flavors in the space of one final week. Typical, would get nice just as it runs out.
Muntons Yorkshire Bitter is the one we keep going back to as being very, very nice. Added some crystal malt and extra hops to our last batch of it, and there's a Hobgoblin resemblance to it.
 
Yeah the RA wasn't as good as I was hoping from the taste I had whilst bottling, I have no idea how much conditioning changes the flavour of a beer so hopefully will improve.

The Coopers APA is different from the Australian Lager though, so will be interesting to see how it comes out.

Hobgoblin resemblance sounds good, might try that next but the Wherry kit seems highly rated.
 
Got another batch of Woodfoods Wherry on the go, will be kegging it in a few days time. Am I right in saying that adding extra sugar will make it a stronger drink? :D
 
Kanifee said:
Thinking about brewing my own beer, how on earth do you decide what to brew for your first time? How on earth do you have any idea which you would like and so forth?
Click to expand...

What kind of beer do you drink down the pub? You can make bitter on the cheap, which is all I've made so far. Nicer ales cost a little more though. Lager can be made easily but requires lower temperatures, so a shed would be handy.
 
Evening guys!

Decided I quite fancy brewing up a little bit of cider. Nothing serious, just something simple.

Where is the best place to get a kit of all the equipment I will need (I like the idea of bottles rather than a keg, as I can fit them in the fridge better)? With or without an actual cider kit in with all the equipment.
 
You found us!

Your best bet would be to find a local home brew shop, there are a few in Hampshire. The FV (fermentation vessel - where you make the cider) is quite big, so postage would likely be quite expensive if you were to buy it online.

As for the bottles, you can use what you want. Some people here reuse drinks containers (both plastic bottles, and glass beer bottles - you can buy a capper for about £8 and bags of caps are pretty cheap). I personally use 700ml glass Irn Bru bottles. However, some kits will come with plastic bottles which will do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom