Home brewing kits ....

There'd not be anything stopping you using one of these with a kit.


Although it'd probably be easier to keep a bottle or two of water cooling in the freezer to bring temperatures down a bit if they start too high.
 
platypus said:
Sounds like you've got a fairly serious setup, any chance of seeing it?
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It's not that complicated tbh. I'm a novice and being doing kits since March which was my first try.

I prefer lagers so now go for kits which like yeast to work at 12-13 degrees. Loads of experts adapt fridges for temp control but my plan is to make what I can when my garage temp drops below 10 degrees and use a heater in a water bath to keep the constant temp with a temp controller.

IPA that likes 18-22 degrees I will do in the spring indoors :)

So my kit is a Tesco/Wilkinsons 80L bin. £7-8.

A coopers fermenting kit from tesco. Sadly you just missed them on offer at Bar Hill. £40-65 normally.

An ATC 200 temp controller from ebay. Others are available. £19 iirc. Controller came wired with plugs and socket and temp probe. Probe goes into the water batch attached to the outside of the fermenter.

100W fish tank probe set to 25 degrees and the controller set to 13 degs turns it on and off :) £8

Simple. Arrow on the outside of the 80L tub tells me how high to fill the tub before sticking in my FV so the levels match :D
Once my initial outlay was spent in the first year and I gathered bottles then I make a years worth for £75. Approx 180 bottles of 500ml drink. I'm not a heavy drinker, I drink 3 days in 8 and 6-8 bottles over those 3 days.

I do though use Tesco bottled water 5L for £1 as I find it better than our water. I'm no expert but I do enjoy it and nearly everyone loves the lagers I have made. If you have a pub you can go in and ask for bottles it helps. Kopparberg bottles are the best I've found as a quick soak in plain water and the labels fall off.






 
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seabiscuit said:
There'd not be anything stopping you using one of these with a kit.


Although it'd probably be easier to keep a bottle or two of water cooling in the freezer to bring temperatures down a bit if they start too high.
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I think I'll do that next time. I knew it would be a bit too high, but didn't realise how long the water would take to cool down.

I think I may have messed it up now as I put the yeast in last night and there have been no bubbles in the airlock yet. Might be due to all the air leaving the mix with it being stood for a while?

Ah well, If it doesn't work I'll get another kit and try again. At least I know now.
 
I'm regretting putting the fermenting bucket in my room now :eek:. It has had no activity for 72 hours, then I gave it a bit of a swish and now its been bubbling for hours with no signs of stopping lol. I was expecting it to bubble every few hours, not constantly.

At least its working though :).
 
dannyjo, that's a brilliant idea to keep the brew warm.

My light malt and airlock came today so I put my new brew on. Got a Coopers European lager kit for Christmas :)

brew2.jpg


Mine's in the sink with an aquarium heater for the moment but I'll pick up a big plastic box at weekend.

The FV is full to the brim so I expect to find my airlock on the floor in a couple of days :D
 
I did a euro lager a few months ago. I did it at 13 degrees as its a full lager yeast. A friends at work did it around 19 degrees and said it was good anyway. Remember the instructions say leave for 12 weeks to condition, every time I try a lager yeast kit early they have been terrible.

Mine will be ready for testing the end of jan :)

All I have left is a the Aussie lager that was bought as a gift, I added extra sugar. It's average but all I have until the euro is ready.
 
Ahhh, thanks for that. I remember seeing the brewing notes for this earlier on but it didn't sink in. I've unplugged the heater (it was only set on 18ºc anyway) and moved the FV out of the water.

I don't think the heater had been active as it looks like the brew is still cooling down from when I pitched the yeast earlier.

My kitchen seems to be around 14-15ºc at this time of year so should be perfect for this :)

I started drinking my Canadian Blonde after 4 weeks and it was drinkable but definitely improved with time. Waiting 3 months for this is going to be difficult :D
 
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Yeah the blonde was an ale yeast so doesn't need as long, prepare for an eggy smell from the euro :)

My blonde was perfect after 50 days ish. One of my favs after the pils :)

Also remember 3 weeks in the fv for the euro :)
 
What type of beer do you like?
But Woodfords Wherry is generally considered to be a good ale kit.
And welcome on board. It's a good, fun hobby. And with a friend to help with the brewday and friends to help with the result of the brewday (well I say day, probably less than an hour all in with most kits) it can be a great social hobby too.
 
Bottled my Premium draft today and straight on with the Heritage Lager. A few hours of Sterilising, bottling and cleaning. Although the sanitising and bottling can be a chore, I whack on a cd and find it quite therapeutic now :D
 
Just read through the whole thread :D. Can't believe some of you got Coopers kits for £30 odd quid! Will have to have a look in my local store to see if they sell homebrew kit, I have never noticed any.

My beer is still bubbling after 10 days, even though the instructions say 4-6 days in the fv. I'll take the advice i read in this thread to leave for 2 weeks as i could do with either getting some bottles and carb drops or a co2 injector for my basic pressure barrel. I hate flat beer and have a feeling thats what I'll get if I just use what came with my basic Wilko kit.
 
Mark A said:
Just read through the whole thread :D. Can't believe some of you got Coopers kits for £30 odd quid! Will have to have a look in my local store to see if they sell homebrew kit, I have never noticed any.

My beer is still bubbling after 10 days, even though the instructions say 4-6 days in the fv. I'll take the advice i read in this thread to leave for 2 weeks as i could do with either getting some bottles and carb drops or a co2 injector for my basic pressure barrel. I hate flat beer and have a feeling thats what I'll get if I just use what came with my basic Wilko kit.
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mine takes 2 weeks brew then 1 week outside in another barrel then put in my corney keg then force c02 it for 2 days :) job done :)
 
I just have a basic white plastic barrel with the kit I got for christmas. It just has a normal screw on lid with a little valve to release pressure (I assume). Would you say a co2 injection kit would be worthwhile? It's about £20 from ebay, which seems a lot really.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320347393336?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I'm going to keep my eye out for a cheap coopers kit so I have the option of bottling in future as well.
 
What do you guys use to transfer the beer from the fv to the barrel? I used the basic syphon hose you get with the kit, but I filled it with tap water so I wouldn't have to suck on the end. But I accidentally lifted it from the beer when it was near the bottom and then ended up having to waste a few pints worth.

I was thinking of maybe putting a tap on the bottom and just hold the barrel under the tap. but would this not then disturb the sediment as the tap would need to be low down in order to get as much beer as possible out.
 
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