Home brewing kits ....

Biohazard · 20 Dec 2012 at 23:08

Tell the barmaid to get off her knees and to get her finger out your ass..

silent · 21 Dec 2012 at 01:04

Skeeter · 21 Dec 2012 at 12:28

Well my first taste of the Samson Cider kit was.... bad. Really bad. Tastes like fizzy water with a feint apple taste. Not good.

I will leave it for a few more weeks and give it another taste.

Mark A · 26 Dec 2012 at 19:46

My sister got me a 'Deluxe kit' from Wilko but unfortunately its not very deluxe at all. It's basically a bucket and a plastic keg with a long spoon

.

I'm thinking it would be a good idea to at least get an airlock for the bucket as they're only a few quid with a gromet from ebay. Leaving the lid loose seems like a crappy solution.

Is a co2 injector a good idea? I see some of the better £50 kits contain a valve on the keg which accepts 8g co2 bulbs - http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/home-brewing/wilko-co2-injector/invt/0022563/?VBMST=home brewing. The beer she got me to use with it is 'Tom Caxton real ale' Would this need carbonating?

jak731 · 26 Dec 2012 at 19:56

Any good bargains around? I remember this time last year somewhere selling a king keg along with 3x 40 pint all malt kits (woodfordes wherry i think) for £60.

Skeeter · 26 Dec 2012 at 23:46

Do any of you guys use plastic bottles? Specifically the Cooper's PET ones? I'm tempted as storing glass bottles is a pain. I love them, but they are heavy and delicate and have crates, whereas I could just stick the plastic ones in a bag or a cupboard out the way.

Most of the bad things about plastic bottles online seems to come from snobs who just think they look cheap.

dannyjo22 · 27 Dec 2012 at 00:14

I have two sets of the pets, which have been fine. Never had issues with losing pressure like some of the people go on about. I do though prefer a cold bottle to the Pets, but to be fair I pour it all out in one so it's not a issue keeping cold.

After 2 brews though I have noticed separation of the layers in the Pet bottles already, which the coopers kit say is normal but it's not great.

I tend to chuck my cheaper everyday brews in pets and the more expensive mixtures in glass.

Mark A · 27 Dec 2012 at 01:18

Just looking on ebay for all the bits i'll need and can't seem to find anything for lubricating the keg seals on any of the home brewing stores.

I read the first few pages of this thread and someone mentioned vaseline. Is this really the right stuff to use? Won't it react with the brew at all?

Skeeter · 27 Dec 2012 at 08:07

Separation of the layers?

Kimi · 27 Dec 2012 at 12:16

Tried my coopers stout on xmas day, 60 days conditioning and it was lovely, i can tell its only going to get better

dannyjo22 · 27 Dec 2012 at 12:23

Skeeter said:
Separation of the layers?

The layers of plastic in the bottle delaminate so you get a bubble in the wall of the bottle. In the coppers instructions it says this will happen and is normal but I find it a bit annoying that they don't stay in good condition after just two uses.

jimmy321 · 27 Dec 2012 at 15:15

Mark A said:
Just looking on ebay for all the bits i'll need and can't seem to find anything for lubricating the keg seals on any of the home brewing stores.

I read the first few pages of this thread and someone mentioned vaseline. Is this really the right stuff to use? Won't it react with the brew at all?

Yes vaseline is fine it's what I use for my king kegs, if your using a corny keg then KY jelly or any food grade lubricant will do.

Theres this on ebay you could try.

Skeeter · 27 Dec 2012 at 16:30

dannyjo22 said:
The layers of plastic in the bottle delaminate so you get a bubble in the wall of the bottle. In the coppers instructions it says this will happen and is normal but I find it a bit annoying that they don't stay in good condition after just two uses.

Ah ok. As long as it doesn't let any gasses seep through, or light in, it should be ok though? I brew cider and keep it in the bath, I'm not concerned about the asthetics

Just got my shipping confirmation for my latest order that includes a couple of Easy Kegs and Carbonation Drops meaning I can fire of the Mexican Cerveza when it gets here. Really looking forward to it going from the comments on here, and my current batch of cider tasting like pee.

Mark A · 27 Dec 2012 at 22:38

jimmy321 said:
Yes vaseline is fine it's what I use for my king kegs, if your using a corny keg then KY jelly or any food grade lubricant will do.

Theres this on ebay you could try.

I saw that, but then I saw the £12 price tag and quickly clicked the back button. Trying to spend as little as possible, so if some good old Vaseline will do the job i'll use that.

Thanks, I'll order some with my next shopping delivery.

silent · 27 Dec 2012 at 23:03

I use Vaseline with my keg but need a never rubber seal as mine has got all twisted.

Mark A · 4 Jan 2013 at 15:48

Just a quick question. Can I use Gin in the airlock on my fermentation bucket? I have read you should use vodka, but we dont have any and I'm not going to buy some just for this.

Just wondering if the Gin manages to get into the beer it might make it taste odd?

Garfo · 4 Jan 2013 at 16:02

i use vas on my cornies never had no probs and i always brew

i never go to shops to buy beer

lord filbuster · 4 Jan 2013 at 16:08

Mark A said:
Just a quick question. Can I use Gin in the airlock on my fermentation bucket? I have read you should use vodka, but we dont have any and I'm not going to buy some just for this.

Just wondering if the Gin manages to get into the beer it might make it taste odd?

Use whatever you have lying about. I always do. There isn't enough in the airlock to affect the taste at all. I've used a steriliser solution in the airlock before, and there was beer in the airlock when I bottled it, but it didn't affect the taste at all.

platypus · 4 Jan 2013 at 16:14

dannyjo22 said:
The coopers premium range of kits such as:

Heritige Lager (two can kit)
Traditional Draft (Two can kit)
Pils
IPA

I really enjoyed the Cerveza and Canadian Blonde as my first couple of kits but the Pils blew them out of the water by a considerable margin. Everyone who tried it said it they would think it was a shop bought german beer if they didn't know. It get's better and better. I tried it early, after 60 days and was so dissapointed. Then I read the premium kits like 12 weeks atleast conditioning. Then it became awesome.

The downside is they like 13 degree fermenting temps but it's the perfect time of year for that. I will get 150 bottles done this winter to last me through to next year

Sounds like you've got a fairly serious setup, any chance of seeing it?

Mark A · 4 Jan 2013 at 16:59

lord filbuster said:
Use whatever you have lying about. I always do. There isn't enough in the airlock to affect the taste at all. I've used a steriliser solution in the airlock before, and there was beer in the airlock when I bottled it, but it didn't affect the taste at all.

Thanks

.

Still waiting for it to cool to 21o as I put too much boiling water in doh! Its currently at 27o and taking ages to drop.