Homebrew

[tanstaafl]

Cheers all , the mention of somewhere cool might be a problem, I live in a new build 2nd floor flat and it never gets cold , well insulated and in the middle, my gas bill is £12 pm, but the downside is that its hot all the time in the summer, nice with a bit of a breeze on the balcony with a beer in hand (Guinness Porter is my fav at the mo) so finding somewhere cool is a problem.....maybe postpone to the Autumn ....

[Jamesey1981]

Should be fine if you're doing beer and using a kit, with beer you don't need it to stop fermenting, the yeast will still be live when you bottle it, just make sure the temperature is constant, and the gravity is reading what the instructions say it should when you bottle it or move it into a pressure barrel, I ferment mine in my utility room on top of a chest freezer which is always a reasonably warm spot and I haven't had any trouble, the only beer I've found to be that finicky is saison, but that needs to ferment at a very high temperature to develop its flavours so I do that on a heat mat, everything else has just fermented at room temperature and matured in a cupboard and I haven't had a bad batch yet.

Wine is a bit more sensitive as it ferments for so long, beer kits (at least the ones I use) are a bit more forgiving, so don't be put off, it'll go fine and in a week or two you'll be bottling it.

[jansman]

What he said^^^

[tanstaafl]

Cheers both

[shocker]

Theres a couple of old books than be picked up cheap second hand, by CJJ Berry. There is one that has wines and beers in one edition but the seperate books are more detailed but very simple and straightforward, using household equipment and ingredients as much as possible. They are a bit dated but come from a time when there wasnt so much specific home brewing kit was available, likewise ingredients. Highly recommended, they have been the backbone of my brewing throughout my life. Yes, they are that old.

"Home Brewed Beers and Stouts" C.J.J Berry (includes some ciders) ISBN 1-85486-123-9
"First Steps In Wine Making" C.J.J Berry

...cant find the other details but that should put you on your way. Also, again dated but good, "Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy" by Dave Line. Lots of 1970s faves.

[BlinkingCory]

I've been making beer for years, all sorts of kits and going the all grain route.
If using kits I really get the best results when using two cans instead of one, plus a kilo of brewing sugar or malt extract and brew it long to 25 litres. +5% and full of flavour.
I agree with jansman. Six weeks is considered the minimum before drinking. 2 weeks to ferment, 2 weeks in the bottle in the warm to secondary ferment and then two weeks in the cold to condition.If you have the patience, a few months in the bottle will give you a beer better than most commercial stuff.
To be 100% honest, all grain brewing is by far the cheapest and best way to go. I make it in small 5.5L batches so I can experiment with grains and hops. 10 bottles of top notch ale for about £2.50 can't be bad.
I actually make much more than I drink, it's a proper hobby.

[Deeps]

We're doing the vino uber slowly, we've added the finings and giving them plenty time to do their thing before putting it in a cool place (thanks again for the pointer Jansman). The difference between now and 25 years ago when doing home brew lager, I had no patience and couldn't wait to get it done, gave everything the minimum time. Now all groweded up mature me is happy to go slow. If this goes well I could be setting up a production line.

[jennyjj01]

After years of being a wine drinker I have really gotten into Real Ales over the past 6 months, but they can be quite pricey, £6 for 4 bottles at the mo.

So thought I might try home brewing


Any tips and tricks, have heard that Wilko does good value kits ??

You won't go far wrong with Youngs, Coopers, or Tom Caxton and you can get those from Wilkinsons. Never saw any point trying the Wilkinson branded stuff.
DON'T buy brewing sugar. It's a rip off and adds nothing. Do add 500g of Youngs or Coopers beer enhancer, then you can get the full 40 pints.
I brew mine in a 40 pint bucket for the first week to 10 days, then siphon into gallon demijons to settle for a week or so. Then onward to sterile grolshe or crown cork bottles.

It certainly does not work out cheap when you consider the time and effort, but heck, it's worth it. Current stash 120 pints or 2 months supply )

DON'T buy certain Polish beer kits with name starting G. They are two can kits at about 25 quid and they are very prone to sticking, giving a horrid sickly beer.

Is that CJ Berry book still in print !!! Mine's about 40 years old. Mum loved his barley wine.

[tanstaafl]

So following the advice on here I gave it 2 weeks then bottled it yesterday.......

Did not try any bar the bit in the siphon tube ,,, tasted like beer

Also bought the sugar drop thingys (Carbonation Drops) for ease of use but they are designed for 330ml bottles not my 500s , so looked online and all conflicting advice , so did almost half and half with either 1 or 1.5 drops, and did a half dozen with 2 drops will see how it turns out





Did not do it this time but , the instructions recommend adding a half kilo of spray malt as well as a kilo of sugar to get a fuller flavour, ( I do prefer beers over 5%) ...............any thoughts

[jansman]

If you are using 500 ml bottles,then you could add 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar ( when you have used all your carbonation drops).Save you a couple of bob.

Mind you,I brew mine and put it into 2 litre pop bottles! Proper heathen me; but I don't half knock some out!