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Complete HomeBrew Noob.

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Comments

  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 18,300 ✭✭✭✭Seaneh


    The coopers kits are, by all accounts, pretty much perfect for a first brew in that they just about everything you need. I've heard good things about the iBrew kits too though.

    Someone else told me that HomeBrewWest also have an unbranded kit they put together themselves that is fantastic value.

    I haven't started brewing myself yet so I'm in the same position are yourself, I would love to hear others opinions.

    To add to your questions, I would like to do a stout/porter for my first brew, any recommendations?


  • Registered Users Posts: 602 ✭✭✭masseyno9


    homebrewwest are very reliable. I got stuff of them in December and shipping was very quick. They offer a few kits they put together themselves ranging from pure essentials to all the bells and whistles. There's a handy page where they lay it all out simply HERE. The one at 89.95 seems to be what you want, but have a read of that page. I went for the 28.95 one and added caps and a capper and an ingredient kit of my choice. I'll get bottles from my local. Didn't get a brewbelt as it's kept indoors, so just have it wrapped in a blanket to stop major temp fluctuations. I'll add other bits as I progress.

    Seaneh: Apparently the Milestone black pearl stout kit is quite good, from what i've read. I think I'll be making that after I bottle this one.


  • Registered Users Posts: 732 ✭✭✭poitinstill


    coopers stout with 1 kg malt extract is as good as any kit. either original stout or irish.


  • Registered Users Posts: 274 ✭✭merc230ce


    I got the Coopers kit and have never regretted it. The special fermenter they have is excellent. The only bits I didn't like were the plastic bottles. Used 'em once and then got a capper and started collecting. I didn't bother with. Heat belt as my missus never lets the temp in the house drop below 20deg ;-)


  • Registered Users Posts: 274 ✭✭merc230ce


    Oh and Homebrewwest are great, as is The Homebrew Company.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 936 ✭✭✭leggit


    coopers kit is excellent in my opinion, no need for the sterilizer or the brew belt unless your house is unbelievably cold. my house is regularly below 12 degrees but brews do fine. should be even cheaper then,

    make your own sanitising solution with 20 litres water, 30ml vinegar and 30ml thin bleach. costs nothing and works!

    as for a beer kit, try anything! that's the most fun part!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,323 ✭✭✭wet-paint


    I got my own Brew Smart kit from Brew West just this evening, and can't wait to start out. i'm even thinking of getting a second load of bottles, so I don't have to wait to finish the first to start cooking again.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭cloptrop


    as a regular drinker , bout a tray of beer a week im wondering will i save money if i make my own?
    a tray of tuborg can be 20 quid if you shop smart


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,323 ✭✭✭wet-paint


    Hell yeah, with the sale in Brew West at the moment, you'll get the Brew Smarter kit for just over eighty bucks. That's meant to make forty half litre bottles. - Two quid a pop.

    And then it's less than twenty bucks for all the ingredients for a second run, again for forty cans worth.

    I drink an awful lot less than that, and I'd say I'll still save money, although that's not the driving force behind my decision to start.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭cloptrop


    and how drinkable is the beer , i dont mind tbh but would the missus be partial to it?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,323 ✭✭✭wet-paint


    Yes, yes she definitely would be, bearing in mind I haven't asked her in a while what her tastes are like.

    I've tried five or six mates' first tries, it's all with that Cooper's Canadian Blonde, and while some are better and some are worse, all are fien and drinkable and some are quite nice.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,758 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    cloptrop wrote: »
    will i save money if i make my own?
    a tray of tuborg can be 20 quid if you shop smart
    Homebrewed beer is definitely cheaper than commercial: a tray is 24 cans, yeah? So 12 litres for €20 vs. 20 litres for €20 (basic 1.5kg kit ~€14; 1kg spraymalt ~€6). It gets even cheaper if you move away from kits and brew from scratch.

    However, you won't be able to make a beer like Tuborg from a kit. You can make light blonde ales (like the Coopers Canadian) but as wet-paint said results are mixed: the paler the beer the less room there is for you to get anything wrong.

    Stouts and ales are much more forgiving, but if yellow beer is your preference I'd stick to the Tuborg tbh.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,666 ✭✭✭blahfckingblah


    complete noob to this and i didnt want to start a new thread (and possibly annoy regulars trying to wade through threads titled "im an idiot") but what would the likes of this kit be like http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brew-Buddy-Lager-Pints-Starter/dp/B001C4YY4G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326730470&sr=8-2 seems like good value and has a fair bit in it. anybody use this kit before?

    Edit: does this have everything i need in it?


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,758 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    I'd be inclined to buy from a homebrew shop rather than "Gadget Grotto" -- you don't know how long that kit has been sitting about and they do go stale. At least homebrew shops have the turnover. I'm also not sure if that Amazon seller delivers to Ireland.

    As the product description says, you'll need to sort out your conditioning and serving method, so a pressure barrel or bottles, and a capper and caps if necessary. There's no thermometer, which is something worth having, and it's better to use spraymalt rather than sugar for making the kit.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭cloptrop


    is there a way to just make booze with stuff you can find in your kitchen .
    Like i know they make drink in jail , with the heat from a 6 inch heating pipe<cell radiator> a bucket and some potato skins or some **** , but id love to try this at home


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,431 ✭✭✭Sky King




  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭cloptrop


    great man im gonna get trying this during the week . ill let you know how i get on.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭cloptrop


    I have inmate brew up and running , everything is working like he said it would. I just have to leave it for around 3 weeks till the airlock deflates , i used orange juice. Did anyone make this before whats it taste like?


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,431 ✭✭✭Sky King


    Apparently it's mingin but I have never had it.

    Reckon you would have been better off with grape, apple, cranberry etc.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭cloptrop


    yeah i was thinkin the orange would be easier to drink though , i have no idea why i thought that but we shall have to wait and see if im an idiot or not


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,903 ✭✭✭DeadSkin


    No point in starting a new thread, complete noob here too!!

    Purchased the all you need Cooper kit & all seems to be going well[I think].

    The temperature has been maintained at around 22/23 degrees the past few days.
    My original SG was 1.035 at 26 degrees, currently[day 4] the SG is 1.010 at 22 degrees.
    So, using the link BeerNut posted a few days back in another thread[cheers] http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/hydrometer.html?14304299 the current ABV is 3.4.

    Assuming that the SG remains the same tomorrow I can bottle the beer, my plan is to use the carbonated drops supplied in the kit.
    I'll store the bottles in a wardrobe & hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be enjoying my first homebrew.

    Just wondering if this all seems like typical results folk get here?
    Thanks.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭cloptrop


    DeadSkin wrote: »
    No point in starting a new thread, complete noob here too!!

    Purchased the all you need Cooper kit & all seems to be going well[I think].

    The temperature has been maintained at around 22/23 degrees the past few days.
    My original SG was 1.035 at 26 degrees, currently[day 4] the SG is 1.010 at 22 degrees.
    So, using the link BeerNut posted a few days back in another thread[cheers] http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/hydrometer.html?14304299 the current ABV is 3.4.

    Assuming that the SG remains the same tomorrow I can bottle the beer, my plan is to use the carbonated drops supplied in the kit.
    I'll store the bottles in a wardrobe & hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be enjoying my first homebrew.

    Just wondering if this all seems like typical results folk get here?
    Thanks.
    I sorry but wikipedia is down today, bloody idealists , how do you measure specific gravity.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,758 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    DeadSkin wrote: »
    Assuming that the SG remains the same tomorrow I can bottle the beer
    Really really wouldn't recommend doing that. Your fermentation may be mostly finished but the yeast is still active, tidying up after itself. I wouldn't even think of bottling a beer until it's had two weeks in the fermenter.
    cloptrop wrote:
    how do you measure specific gravity.
    With a hydrometer.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,903 ✭✭✭DeadSkin


    cloptrop wrote: »
    I sorry but wikipedia is down today, bloody idealists , how do you measure specific gravity.

    Haha, I actually popped onto wiki to calculate the abv!!

    The kit came with a hydrometer, I took that reading, noted the temperature & popped those readings it into the link in my original post.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,903 ✭✭✭DeadSkin


    BeerNut wrote: »
    Really really wouldn't recommend doing that. Your fermentation may be mostly finished but the yeast is still active, tidying up after itself. I wouldn't even think of bottling a beer until it's had two weeks in the fermenter.

    Thanks for that BeerNut. From your sig I took a look at beoir.org & see there is a getting started guide for brew kits.
    Seems it could also be beneficial to leave it a few weeks, I just wasn't aware that you could leave it that long.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭cloptrop


    DeadSkin wrote: »
    Haha, I actually popped onto wiki to calculate the abv!!

    The kit came with a hydrometer, I took that reading, noted the temperature & popped those readings it into the link in my original post.
    but isnt the specific gravity directly related to the weight , say for example a litre of water weighs a kilo , if you made alcohol from water and then weighed a litre of it and it was 1 and a half kilo would the specific gravity be 1.5?
    i remember something like this from plumbing school , could be mashing two formulae together though , it was a while ago.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,903 ✭✭✭DeadSkin


    cloptrop wrote: »
    but isnt the specific gravity directly related to the weight , say for example a litre of water weighs a kilo , if you made alcohol from water and then weighed a litre of it and it was 1 and a half kilo would the specific gravity be 1.5?
    i remember something like this from plumbing school , could be mashing two formulae together though , it was a while ago.

    We'll wait for wiki to come back online :pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 211 ✭✭covey09


    SG-FG/7.42 i think thats its. Its to do with the viscoity of the liquid .water having a specific gravity of 1.000 and sugar and it gets more viscous.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭cloptrop


    is that specific gravity-fg
    ,,,,,,,,,,
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,7.42
    what does fg stand for.


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  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,758 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    FG= Final Gravity.
    OG= Original Gravity
    SG is any gravity in between.
    cloptrop wrote:
    if you made alcohol from water
    ...you'd be a billionaire!


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