Home brewing kits ....
- Thread starter Aliboy
- Start date
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Just went to my local homebrew store. £102 later 
But, I did grab a "Santas Winter Warmer" kit to get going and mature till crimbo
But, I did grab a "Santas Winter Warmer" kit to get going and mature till crimbo
Caporegime
- Joined
- 13 Nov 2006
- Posts
- 26,151
Is there anything stopping you doing a small brew? Say 10 pints or so.
The home kits usually are 40pints. What you could do is just use dried malt extract(DME) it's better than (liquid)LME you get in the kits anyway. Bit more expensive though, not by much. You would need to add some hops obviously as well. You could do this in a stockpot on the cooker. Basically you would be doing a partial extract brew.
Associate
Some of the Trappist style kits are 7 > 11 litres.
*edit*
you could also get a 2 can kit (the more expensive ones) and just brew up 1 cans worth. Would still be 20 pints tho.
Got the first batch going, finally.
Noob questions ahoy:
1. Do you take a sample of beer to use hydrometer or just put the hydrometer in main bucket? (I put the hydrometer in the bucket for my OG. Got a rough reading of 1.038, that seem about right?)
2. If you take a sample, How do you take a sample? Use the syphon? What do you use to hold the sample?
3. How do you use the syphon?
Thanks
Noob questions ahoy:
1. Do you take a sample of beer to use hydrometer or just put the hydrometer in main bucket? (I put the hydrometer in the bucket for my OG. Got a rough reading of 1.038, that seem about right?)
2. If you take a sample, How do you take a sample? Use the syphon? What do you use to hold the sample?
3. How do you use the syphon?
Thanks
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So, started homebrewing last year or so and today I just got offered a job as an assistant brewer for Brewdog... Mad how your hobby/passion can actually lead somewhere!
JonB, take a sample out with the syphon and use the tube the hydrometer came in. Will be easier.
You want to put one end of the syphon into the barrel, and then suck the other end until the beer almost gets to your mouth. Then you can just place the other end in a vessel and gravity will do the rest.
JonB, take a sample out with the syphon and use the tube the hydrometer came in. Will be easier.
You want to put one end of the syphon into the barrel, and then suck the other end until the beer almost gets to your mouth. Then you can just place the other end in a vessel and gravity will do the rest.
Soldato
Congrats!
Cheers. To be fair I was trying the syphon in the sink, with the cleaner. Might give it some practice goes on plain water where there is less risk. I also guess I need to sterilise the syphon and hydrometer between uses, to make sure there aren't any infections.
So glad I bought an airlock. CO2 builds up in the bin quite quickly. It's also quite fun to see it bubbling away. Makes it all the more exciting. Should I avoid keeping the bin in direct sunlight?
Is it wrong I'm already looking for my next beer kit, when this one hasn't even finished?!
Also, is a kingkeg worth the investment if I plan to keep going so I have a constant supply of beer?
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Nice one
Cheers! You never know!
It's quite simple, just need to get the levels right. For example, when bottling you want the bin at a higher level. Put it on a chair, and then bottle on the floor.
Just suck the water through to at least halfway of the tube. And then you can put your finger over the end to stop it draining out. Then lower the tube down into the container you want the booze to go into. It'll maintain a constant stream from bin to container. Lifting the tube up will stop it, or just turn the valve on the syphon. It's kinda hard to explain, but easy to do!
Sterilising the syphon is important, and try not to keep it in your mouth for too long. Sterilising the hydrometer isn't necessary as it's only going to be touching the booze you syphon out. Unless you're planning to pour it back in there's no point. I just drink it when I collect it for testing.
Yeah, try and keep it out of direct sunlight. You want the temperature to stay as constant as possible. There's quite a lot of science for the reasoning behind this which you can go look into if you're interested. Either wrap a blanket around it, or just keep it in a cupboard somewhere. My fermentation vessels live in my boiler room.
I usually have 2 brews going on at the same time. Usually start one a week or two after I bottle so it's quite constant. It's quite good that you can just leave them in the fermentation vessels for a while and they won't really turn bad.
As for the kingkeg, it's up to you. I haven't gone down the kegging route. I would like too, but it's quite expensive and it's a bit of a ballache to store. I don't have the room for a beer fridge. I just bottle my beers into 700ml glass bottles. They live in the spare room, but there's always a fair few chilled in the fridge ready for drinking. Personal preference really. Bottling is also easier to take to parties... Unless you're super generous and want to take 5 gallons of booze with you. If do, you're welcome at mine anytime!
I've been saving loads of clear bottles that I've drunk from. Going to invest in a bottle capper first and see how that goes. Ideally I wanted to get the whole thing out of the fermentation bin so I could start a second set going.
We'll see how im feeling once this is done. I may just buy some extra bottles / get some 2l plastic bottles and use those.
We'll see how im feeling once this is done. I may just buy some extra bottles / get some 2l plastic bottles and use those.
I was wondering if I could ask for some advice - I pinched these from my Dad (he used to brew when he was younger).
What other equipment would I need to get started? Just a basic ale - I've had a good look around but I'm lost! Much appreciated
What other equipment would I need to get started? Just a basic ale - I've had a good look around but I'm lost! Much appreciated
Nice. You've got the two most expensive pieces of kit already, so you're onto a good start.
You'd need at minimum a Syphon, a Hydrometer, a Paddle and some steriliser. I'd also look into getting an air valve and putting it in the top of the lid of your fermentation bin. Means you don't have to keep checking it and releasing the pressure. Each of these will set you back a couple of quid each.
The ingredients for brewing are simply a Beer Kit (which comes with the yeast) and depending on the type of beer kit you get 1kg of sugar. You'd be looking somewhere in the range of £12-£20 depending which beer kit you go for.
It might be worth looking for your local brew shop too, mine was great for advice. (Along with this thread of course).
As for my first brew: The production of CO2 seems to have slowed dramatically. Over the weekend it was releasing bubbles every couple of seconds. Now it's taken over three hours for the pressure to build back up in the bin, and I haven't heard it bubble once while I've been sat here for the last 20 mins.
I started last thursday, so I guess I will be looking to transfer the beer over at some point friday or saturday? Or Earlier?
You'd need at minimum a Syphon, a Hydrometer, a Paddle and some steriliser. I'd also look into getting an air valve and putting it in the top of the lid of your fermentation bin. Means you don't have to keep checking it and releasing the pressure. Each of these will set you back a couple of quid each.
The ingredients for brewing are simply a Beer Kit (which comes with the yeast) and depending on the type of beer kit you get 1kg of sugar. You'd be looking somewhere in the range of £12-£20 depending which beer kit you go for.
It might be worth looking for your local brew shop too, mine was great for advice. (Along with this thread of course).
As for my first brew: The production of CO2 seems to have slowed dramatically. Over the weekend it was releasing bubbles every couple of seconds. Now it's taken over three hours for the pressure to build back up in the bin, and I haven't heard it bubble once while I've been sat here for the last 20 mins.
I started last thursday, so I guess I will be looking to transfer the beer over at some point friday or saturday? Or Earlier?
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Is this stuff really drinkable though or is it just some semi-fizzy ale?
Any chance of making your own lager?
Any chance of making your own lager?
Soldato
- Joined
- 13 May 2003
- Posts
- 8,933
Lager is significantly more sophisticated to brew than ale. It requires constant chilling to get the yeast to work right combined with a pahse of increased warmth to break down some of the chemicals formed before rechilling. Unless you are a serious lager fan maybe into your German regional beers I don't think the investment in time and equipment will pay off the same way it does for ale. It's not unusual for ale home brewers to branch out into lager later on when they have the technique and much of the equipment already.
Associate
Good info, thanks.
I want to try this when I move house. Not sure I will be able to hide from landlord though.