Homebrew

[jennyjj01]

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

Priming sugar: for 330 - 500 ml bottles, I use half a level teaspoon of sugar. For 1.5l to 2L use a slightly rounded spoonful. Amount is not critical. Those C Drops are a bit of a rip off. Buy a funnel and keep it dry.

I find that after 10 days in a bucket, I then syphon to demijons for a week. Then onward to bottles. Gives a much clearer end product without need to use finings. (Ground up fish bladders: Yeuk )

Give it 2 or 3 weeks to finish before starting to glug it.

As to adding spray malt and sugar. I wouldn't recommend adding more than a kilo combined. That might add strength, but mostly will add to headache strength and not flavour. I add 500g of a brew enhancer that is malt and sugar combined. Could take that up to a kilo. Or you could simply use less water,

[tanstaafl]

Righto have drunk 2 lots so far and very nice it was too and have another lot in bottles nearly ready to drink , first was stout and the last 2 were porter ....

Made the last lot with less water as the first 2 were prob 3.5% or thereabouts and according to my hydro thingy this lot should be about 5.25%


But decided to have a go with lager last weekend (coopers) and think the water may have been too hot (30 degrees) as have had zero bubbles and the lid is not hard like a drum as the others were, so has it stalled ?

Asked a lad at work who does beer making who recommended restarting it with champagne yeast ?? , so have some on the way

However upon testing this morning it showed 1010 on the hydrothingy from a start of 1050, which gives me a alcohol content of 5.25% , so a bit confused lol

[korolev]

I'm gonna have a go at brewing some beer.
i have a small room (6'x4' so more of a large cupboard) in my house that has the central heating boiler in it. would that be a good location for my fermentation ?

[Chemistry]

That should be a fine location. I have brewed some wine and cider in a similar sort of space. Key thing is to make sure the temperature is constant and warm so as not to stall the fermentation.

Good luck!

[jennyjj01]

But decided to have a go with lager last weekend (coopers) and think the water may have been too hot (30 degrees) as have had zero bubbles and the lid is not hard like a drum as the others were, so has it stalled ?

Nooooo.
Lager kits use a bottom fermenting yeast. That doesn't form the classic frothy yeasty crust on top of the brew: It's all going on in the layer at the bottom. Should be no need to add yeast, let alone a wine yeast. They are quite different species with different characteristics.

Just trust your hydrometer and be patient.

[nickdutch]

There is an alternative you know. Get yourself a temperature control kettle and a Chinese tea brewing set and make speciality teas from all over the world at home. It really does have a better (and substantially more varied) flavour profile than our English bagged teas. "Gong Fu" tea brewing is the way to go IMHO. And its good for you.
Same complexity as speciality wines, no hangover, and you can even get "tea drunk" with the right quantity and a long enough session.