New Starter--- Beer for Christmas

spoofilyj

Hi Guys

I've been reading pretty extensively on here for the last couple of weeks.
I’ve been talking about doing my own brew for ages now, a friend started with a beginners kit last Christmas and has made some really tasty beers and stouts.
I was in the folks place in Cork over the weekend and was talking about starting a brew, my Dad out of the blue revealed he used to brew Wine and beer years ago, he gave me a sealed box with a Hydrometer, rubber bungs, airlocks, tap , a vinometer and other stuf and four 1 gallon Briwn glass Demijohns, I was delighted. Oh my mate gave me 25 swing top Grolsch bottles he had spare too.
So correct me if I’m wrong regarding Kit, I still need, two Fermentation buckets, a siphon plus clip, a stirring spoon.
Anything else?
Also I want to do two separate brews for Christmas.
I was thinking a larger and an ale.

I live on the N11 in Dublin but work all week so ordering my equipment and ingredients to the house is not an option. Where would the closest home brew shop be so I can get the lot on Saturday and kick off the brew then?

Oh also once fermentation is complete after two weeks, would it be ok to store the beer in Demijohns to mature further and then bottle after another two weeks?
Sorry for all the questions, i’m really excited to be finally getting started and my imagination is running away with me with all the ideas for things to brew... I’m already looking into brewing Mead and Cider after Christmas so I’ll have it for the summer.

Pics to follow once I start the brew, any advice/criticism welcome.

BeerNut

spoofilyj wrote: »

Anything else?

An immersion thermometer, trial jar and bottling wand are worth having. If you're going to be using non-swingtops you may as well get a capper and caps too.

spoofilyj wrote: »

Where would the closest home brew shop be

There is only one in Dublin: My Beer and Wine in Rathmines. They often don't have stuff in stock so check ahead with them. I order from The Homebrew Company in Laois and they're open on Saturdays. If the Rathmines place can't sort you out it'd be worth making the trip.

spoofilyj wrote: »

Oh also once fermentation is complete after two weeks, would it be ok to store the beer in Demijohns to mature further and then bottle after another two weeks?

You can. Dunno why you'd bother, though.

spoofilyj

Nice one BeerNut, cheers for the advice.

I reckon I'll take a spin down to Laois and have a look see.
I'd say it will be good to have a chat with the lads in the shop too to get any additional tips depending on what brew I decide on.

On another note is it ok to use Milton to Sterilise all the equipment?

spoofilyj

BeerNut wrote: »

You can. Dunno why you'd bother, though.

Well I was thinking the brew might mature in the Demijohns berofe finalising then in Bottles, plus I could maybe add additional flavours at this point, like Beech wood etc, although at this stage it would be over ambitious for the first couple of batches I'll keep it a simple as I can and try and learn a good technique...

BeerNut

spoofilyj wrote: »

On another note is it ok to use Milton to Sterilise all the equipment?

I've heard bad stories about Milton leaving a taste behind, and it also needs rinsing. You can make a dirt-cheap no-rinse sanitiser by adding 30ml of thin bleach and 30ml of vinegar to 20L of water (add them separately, don't mix them neat).

spoofilyj wrote: »

Well I was thinking the brew might mature in the Demijohns berofe finalising then in Bottles

It won't get any better, and every transfer you do increases the risk of infection and oxidation.

spoofilyj wrote: »

plus I could maybe add additional flavours at this point

Yes, if you're doing experiments like this demijohns are very handy.

If you haven't already seen it, this is a good guide to kit brewing. Kit instructions often have bad misinformation on them.

Cork Boy

I'm only on my 3rd batch so some noobs advice...

Keep collecting grolsh bottles, cappers (two lever variety) were the bain of my first batch.

I can vouch for Beer Nut's vinegar and bleach method - just make sure it's thin unscented bleach - you can get it for about €1 in tesco which should do about 30 batches!

I've used the guys in Laois and can vouch for them 100%, I still haven't gotten around to calling up to them, though it is on my to do list. They don't stock the 'little bottler' though so if you can get your hands on one in one of the dublin shops or get someone to pick one up definitely do!

There's my two cents - enjoy yourself and if you follow the link supplied by BeerNut you can't go wrong

spoofilyj

Nice one Cork Boy, cheers for the tips, I'm looking forward to getting started, Its going to be a scary Saturday but should be fun too, I just want to get it right but am afraid through my own clumseyness I'll miss a step or not sanitize properly but hopefully if I setup correctly and follow all the steps, I'll have some tasty home brew for Christmas!

Cork Boy

Ah you'll be grand, just have those instructions for the beoir link and you can't go wrong!

Just don't go getting a lager as they have to be fermented at very low temps. Also, that said, ale and stout need to be kept at 18 degrees so make sure you find a good spot in the house!

I forgot to say, get two of these for your buckets. They're not as accurate as using an immersion thermometer but they're not far off the mark and mean you reduce risk of infection massively.

Also, make sure you get the lads in Laois to drill a hole in the buckets for your taps - they did it for free for me :pac:

Happy brewing!

Askim

Cork Boy wrote: »

I've used the guys in Laois and can vouch for them 100%, I still haven't gotten around to calling up to them, though it is on my to do list. They don't stock the 'little bottler' though so if you can get your hands on one in one of the dublin shops or get someone to pick one up definitely do!

A very helpful lady there too,

they have beer wands, seen them wednesday, stops it spilling when bottling

A

spoofilyj

Well I was all geared up for a drive to Laois on Saturday and I said I'd call into the place in Rathmines first on the of chance that they would have everything.

I managed to get everything bar a trial jar.

So here are some pics of how I got on with my first Brew...

must figure out how to insert pictures...

Pics as soon as I work it out...

spoofilyj

Right here are some pics of my first Brew...:D

spoofilyj

With the end result being 5 gallons of Beer in potientia...

scrapsmac

looks good spoofilyj!

Let us know how it turns out. I'm making the step up from kit to extract this weekend. Believe me, its addictive

spoofilyj

Well I bottled my first batch last thursday.

I could not make it to the Brew Shop to get dextrose to prime my batch, so I took a spin to tesco's and got some Cane sugar to prime with.

I opened one last night and I was plesently surprised, while there is not a lot of Carbination at present there is a bit and the beer is crisp and has a smooth flavour and I think the Cane sugar added a nice fresh malty aroma, I'm delighted with the results.

Going to Kick off another Brew today, I really think I like my current Pilsner brew but think I'll try and ale next and then maybe a wheat beer, this brewing lark is great craic...:D
I do however think its going to be detremental to my wallet as I want to upgrade and keep a brew on the go constantly.
I did the calculations and other than setup costs my current batch is coming in at 33c a bottle which is awesome value when you consider how much fun you have making the stuff in the first place;).
Anyway here some pics of how the brew turned out!
Cheers for all the advice.

merc230ce

spoofilyj wrote: »

I did the calculations and other than setup costs my current batch is coming in at 33c a bottle which is awesome value when you consider how much fun you have making the stuff in the first place;).

I do those kinds of calculations all the time. The calcs I DON'T do are (a) the ones that take equipment into account, and (b) the cost per bottle I actually drink myself! I regularly give people 6-packs as they're leaving my place half cut after a sampling session! :rolleyes:

hardCopy

Cork Boy wrote: »

I'm only on my 3rd batch so some noobs advice...

Keep collecting grolsh bottles, cappers (two lever variety) were the bain of my first batch.

I can vouch for Beer Nut's vinegar and bleach method - just make sure it's thin unscented bleach - you can get it for about €1 in tesco which should do about 30 batches!

I've just bottled my second, would also agree on the swing-tops. I tore half the skin off my hand tightening screw top lids on my plastic bottles with the first batch.

Try Flensburger if you don't like Grolsch, the Weizen is very nice.

I've also had good results so far with the Tesco bleach and vinegar method.

spoofilyj

Agreed +1 for the Vinegar and bleach mix, seems to work very well and is dirt cheap.

I have a combination of Grolsch and Staroprammen/Budvar bottles, the Glolsch are handy alright but I didnt have much hassle capping the other type either,

I'm going to collect more over christmas and will save up wine bottles for the Mead I'm brewing too.

Second batch is going on tonight and this time I'm doing two at a time, going to do an ale and a stout, should be ready for the end of Jan and right on time to save me cash for the brokest month of the year...