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Beer brewing kit...

Little-Miss

By Little-Miss
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HallX

HallX

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I used to brew A LOT of beers a few years ago. Kits are OKish but far far better results are derived from mashing from grain & boiling hops. If you fancy going down this route, two books are essential & will have you up and running in no time:

 

Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy - Dave Line - Google Books

The Big Book of Brewing - Dave Line - Google Books

 

The hardest thing is acquiring a Burco boiler, Oh, and get some good yeast.

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Little-Miss

Little-Miss

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We have this on-going joke that i always manage to buy him the perfect gadget, even though he didnt realise he needed it...

 

I'm a bit out of my depth with this, but it does look very interesting...

Guest Guest

Guest Guest

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I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this but instead of buying a keg, which is too large not to be a nuisance (unless you are the best, most forgiving gf in the world - im assuming you live with him), you can reuse beer bottles. IME they are the easiest to get good results from. One tip I picked up is while you are learning it's good to do it in beer bottles but do one PET bottle (fizzy pop bottle). That way you can give the PET bottle a squeeze and you know if it is carbonating, and therefore the rest should be. You'll need a bottle capper.

 

Or you can actually do the whole lot in PET bottles. Mind it isn't as impressive as glass or kegs.

 

 

Random Ramblings...

 

Main thing in brewing is sanitise!

Also check your airlocks regularly, occasionally you'll get an energetic batch which blows the top off it rendering it useless.

One thing I do to maintain a constant temperature during fermentation is to wrap an old duvet round it - obviously the house is going to be colder while you are in bed or out at work.

When he first starts follow instructions to the letter.

Don't bother with "carbonising drops", just use sugar.

Don't be tempted to suck that last few drops off the bottom of the barrel. It's not too bad if you are using beer bottles as you can only ruin them few bottles but if you keg it up you've put all the gunk into what was a nice brew.

Record everything - dates, hydrometer readings, what the brew actually is (yeah I've played lucky dip with a mix of several, very similar looking, brews all at different stages of ageing).

Taste the beer kit treacle stuff, it's like malty golden syrup :)

Get him to brew you a wine/cider while he's at it :) :)

Edited by Guest
Little-Miss

Little-Miss

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ah, ok this keg bit is the stage im unsure about...

 

So, it's done what...2 weeks in the fermenting bit....then what? I was wondering whether to leave that decision up to him as it's not needed during the process is it?

plexer

plexer

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If you're going to plastic bottle do 500ml ones don't bottle the whole brew into 2 litre plastic bottles when pour one drink you will disturb the sediment and will have to wait for it settle again.

 

Ben

Guest Guest

Guest Guest

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The first fermentation will be done in anywhere between a few days and a month if you want to leave it that long (highly dependent on temperature).

Secondary fermentation or the carbonisation stage comes next. Choices are keg, glass bottles or PET bottles. So no you don't need to buy him this part of the equipment yet but if you go down the bottle route you will need to start collecting bottles now. First time out I would make sure I have the equipment for stage 2 ready to go as soon as stage 1 finishes.

 

TBH I'd just get him a capper and get some glass bottles collected (500ml) http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-accessories+equipment/wilko-capper-boxed/invt/0191082

Edited by Guest
Guest Guest

Guest Guest

Posted
Posted (edited)
If you're going to plastic bottle do 500ml ones don't bottle the whole brew into 2 litre plastic bottles when pour one drink you will disturb the sediment and will have to wait for it settle again.

 

Ben

 

It can be done... at the beginning of the night. After 4 pints when you get to the point where you can't talk I agree, sediment everywhere! (no exaggeration, until you get used to it you will be well oiled after 4)

 

 

BTW I'm not sure anyone has mentioned you could really do with a cool place to store them while they age?

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Little-Miss

Little-Miss

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*looks at glass recycling bag* i think we'll be ok...

 

Please excuse my ignorance, the carbonation is a by-product of the fermentation process?

 

Our spare room is pretty cool as we use it to dump carp in...wondering if it's actually too cool for the first process....

plexer

plexer

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Posted
*looks at glass recycling bag* i think we'll be ok...

 

Please excuse my ignorance, the carbonation is a by-product of the fermentation process?

 

 

Yes the fermentation process produces carbon dioxide and as the vessel is sealed for secondary fermentation and conditioning in the pressure keg or bottles any co2 produced now will get dissolved into the liquid and give it some fizz.

 

Ben

Guest Guest

Guest Guest

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If the room is in your house I wouldn't worry too much. Once the yeast get going they create heat. Anywhere from 16'c is fine, in fact a lot of people don't brew above say 18'c as the hotter the yeast the more nasties they produce. The starting temp of the water will be around 21'c, plenty to get it going, bang a duvet round it and you'll be fine.

 

There may seem like theres a lot to it and a lot to learn, which there is once you get a bit more advanced, but to start out with as long as he can wash things properly (men can do it, we just choose not to) and he can read instructions (yes men can do that too) he should be fine.

 

Oh and you may hear stories of people with exploding bottles. Firstly they are idiots and put far too much sugar in the 2nd fermentation. And secondly it's beer he's brewing, which isn't really all that fizzy. Ignore the stories. Never had a single bottle go bang and I generally brew fizzy boys beer (lager) and fizzy ciders.

soveryapt

soveryapt

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Loving this conversation .. simply through the fact wifey has been asking what I want for Christmas .. I've been saying since we moved into our house 3 years ago "I'm going to brew beer and wine in the cellar" .. bish bash bosh .. I now know what wifey can get me for Christmas .. lol .. ok, hardly a surprise present I know, but hey, it should be a fun one .. and the number of parties we tend to host it will be great, could just do with getting a keg or two as I have a proper pump / cooler / etc on my bar .. lol .. :)
sonofsanta

sonofsanta

Posted
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If your cellar is cold you might also want a brew belt to keep the temperature of the ferment warm enough. Not used one myself (I have a very understanding wife and get to brew indoors) but something like this is the cheapest option: Home Brew & Wine Making - Youngs U-Brew Electric Wrap Around Brew Belt Heater: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

 

You can get better belts with thermostats on them, in case the temperature of your cellar varies a lot through the day.

soveryapt

soveryapt

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@soveryapt get some Cornelius kegs although they go for a fair whack on ebay these days they are still good.

 

Ben

 

Are these good for proper hand pumps or just CO2 driven, as it looks like just CO2 having a quick ganders .. :)

plexer

plexer

Posted
Posted
Are these good for proper hand pumps or just CO2 driven, as it looks like just CO2 having a quick ganders .. :)

 

You could draw from them with a beer engine you would just need a tube with a one way to pull air in to replace the volume drawn off I guess.

 

I'm only going to put enough co2 in to blanket the beer and dispense I'm not going to force carbonate.

 

Ben

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JamesDonkin

JamesDonkin

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There's a great book by a fella called Jonn Palmer. It's sold on amazon but he makes the first edition freely available on his website www.howtobrew.com. At least it was when I started brewing, I can't check as its blocked in school (naughty beer). I followed the book's advice and ignored what was on the box - much better results. And oh yeah, sanitising is 75% of getting a brew right. If anything touches your beer after its boiled it needs to be sanitised, including any extra sugar that you're using to carbonate it (boil it in a bit water). Good luck!
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