First Homebrew Kit

CianSmyth

Hey,

Well I have been looking to get into Home Brewing for a while now but every time i'd get to the point of buying a kit i'd "bottle it", excuse the pun! har har

This time however I really want to start!
I'm looking for a basic start into homebrewing but I find i'm confused as to what Is the minimum I actually need to begin. I would like to go with the cheapest option to start with and have been looking at the starter beer and cider kit from homebrew.ie

I cant post a link because i'm new. (It's the €24.95 Budget Beer and Cider Starter Kit)

Obviously, I'll then need a beer kit. I would like to try a wheat beer kit.

I just would like some insight into any extras i'll need in addition to this equipment or is this set up even worth it! Would love to have a start for under 65euro.

I'm clueless....

Thanks

CianSmyth

Also found a Student Homebrew Wheat beer kit on TheHomebrewingCompany.ie for €50!
This also looks promising as its in my price range. Any opinions on this also.

gothictwilight

The wheat beer kit seems like good value.
You can always invest in other equipment as you go along.
You might be well off buying some bottles also.

RasTa

Do research, lots of it. If you're looking to go cheap you can buy the stuff 2nd hand.

Hingo

I'd reccomend this fella, 40 notes and you get a beer kit with the equipment (select upgrade to wheat for free) http://www.homebrewwest.ie/craft-range-special-offer-starter-kit-for-beer-4003-p.asp

Ask your local for some empty bottles (bulmers pint bottles or old style guinness pint bottles are good sturdy ones) or save your next trip to the bottle bank

CianSmyth

Thanks for the help! I'll do my research and make a decision soon.

Thorton

Can you post here about it's picture ?

CianSmyth

Thorton wrote: »

Can you post here about it's picture ?

Im not sure what you mean?

CianSmyth

Hey,

Well I ended up ordering the Home Brewing Company's Student Kit.

It came with:
1 25L Fermenter
1 Simple Syphon
1kg of Brewing Sugar
1 packet of Steriliser
1 Bubbler
Lever capper +40 caps
Stevenson Hydrometer
Stick on Thermometer
1 Red Rubber Bung
1 Thomas Coopers Selection Wheat Beer

Right well that was everything I received, however after reading the Cooper's instructions , the reccomend mixing with dry malt and dextrose. I'm assuming the brewin sugar is the dextrose but will I need to go buy dry malt extract? Also, there is a drilled hole for the bubbler in the fermenter with a small bung In it , I also recieved a larger bung but don't know what it's used for.

Any ideas?

Thanks

BeerNut

CianSmyth wrote: »

after reading the Cooper's instructions

Rule 1 of kit brewing is Never Read The Instructions. They will steer you wrong on almost everything. There are plenty of good guides to kit brewing online if you search.

CianSmyth wrote: »

I'm assuming the brewin sugar is the dextrose

That's right. But I would recommend not using any sugar as a top-up fermentable. You will get much better results if you use a kilo of dry malt extract (aka spraymalt) with the kit.

CianSmyth wrote: »

but will I need to go buy dry malt extract?

You don't have to -- you can use the sugar you got with the kit. Just don't expect great results if you do.

CianSmyth wrote: »

Any ideas?

No idea but I wouldn't worry about it. Either its purpose will become clear in the process or it's not required. Bubblers aren't necessary anyway.

gothictwilight

This is from the coopers recipe site

http://www.coopers.com.au/#/diy-beer/beer-recipes/ale/detail/wheat-beer/

or you could do this

http://www.coopers.com.au/#/diy-beer/beer-recipes/recipe-of-the-month/

There's also a few 'how to' videos on YouTube

Here's one from Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eJlM7o2xz4

CianSmyth

Hey,

Okay well as this is my first ever brew I am quite clueless!
So BeerNut you would suggest not using the dextrose at all and instead buying 1kg of light SprayMalt?
Do I then use the Dextrose for bottling?

Basically, as its a first go I would love for it to be cheap and buying another 1kg of spraymalt would be fine at around €5-7 but with delivery for just another item being 4.95 it seems to add cost. However, I would rather have an enjoyable first brew than a disappointing one, so if it is necessary to use this to not have a terrible I would rather do that!
Also, I have watched videos where honey is introduced which seems like a nice idea but I am wary as i'm not experienced.

Thanks Again

gothictwilight

The video I posted he uses dextrose (brewing sugar) and Dry Malt Extract.
You can use just the Dextrose but your wheat beer will have a thinner body and lower alcohol content.

If you are based in the Dublin area you can drop into the Motley Brew shop in Glasnevin. They have a physical premises.

CianSmyth

Thanks gothictwilight.

Didn't know there was a physical shop in Dublin. I'll try head up now!

gothictwilight

CianSmyth wrote: »

Thanks gothictwilight.

Didn't know there was a physical shop in Dublin. I'll try head up now!

No worries.

Heres a link for the directions to his shop

http://themottlybrew.ie/contact2/

CianSmyth

Thanks

blueshed

imo you get a better beer from LME or Spraymalt instead of sugar/dextrose.

few simple rules

1 - have everything clean and sterilized.

2 - add yeast at the right temp

3 - try and keep brew below 20*

4 - wait 3 weeks before you bottle your brew

5 - wait 4 weeks before you drink your bottles.

Being a first time brewer best of luck with 4 + 5

BeerNut

CianSmyth wrote: »

So BeerNut you would suggest not using the dextrose at all and instead buying 1kg of light SprayMalt?
Do I then use the Dextrose for bottling?

Yes and yes.

CianSmyth wrote: »

if it is necessary to use this to not have a terrible I would rather do that!

It's not necessary, but if you do use the sugar, and you're not happy with the finished beer, then that's likely to be at least part of the reason why.

CianSmyth

Right well, I ended up heading to Motley Brew and getting the Spray Malt.

Starting my brew today, I'll let you all know how it goes.

Thanks Again!

CianSmyth

Right well after looking at a few videos and reading over different instructions I went ahead and started last night. I now have it in the fermenter And last night it was at 26C when the yeast was added over night it has cooled to between 20 and 21C. The instructions say ferment for between 4-6 days but I have read that I should leave it much longer at around 2-3 weeks. Is this true? At this stage I am happy to be patient and wait whatever time I necessary in order to improve the final product!

Ronan|Raven

As a relatively new brewer all I can say is patience is a must! Leaving it for at least two weeks in primary makes a good difference. It allows the yeast to clean up after itself and get rid of some funky flavours.

Also, a stable temp is also helpful. The higher the temperature goes the more bad off flavours can develop.

BeerNut

Sounds like everything is going to plan, Cian. Give it a week or so then take a gravity reading to see how it's getting along.

CianSmyth

Thanks everyone, I'll let you know how I'm getting on after a while.

Corvo

I'll be starting my first brew this week so thanks to all for this thread.

Corvo

Actually, can anyone suggest the best place to buy bottles?

BeerNut

Off licence. Remember to empty the beer before you fill them

Pubs, especially craft beer specialists, will often let home brewers help themselves to non-returnable empties snce they have to pay to dispose of them.

But if you're determined to buy, the Coopers PET bottles sold by any homebrew supplier work fine.

MentalMario

BeerNut wrote: »

Off licence. Remember to empty the beer before you fill them

Pubs, especially craft beer specialists, will often let home brewers help themselves to non-returnable empties snce they have to pay to dispose of them.

But if you're determined to buy, the Coopers PET bottles sold by any homebrew supplier work fine.

Stupid question on bottles from an Offie.

99% of them aren't twist caps.

Can you buy caps or should I be re-using the original caps?

BeerNut

Any homebrew supplier will have caps and cappers for sale (twin lever good, bench capper better). Do not re-use caps.

Corvo

Sorry again guys, wonder can you help me along here.

I have received the following from a friend, but just need to complete the kit. I will likely order from Home Brew West but if you could advise on the BEST products to ensure a great tasting beer, I would really appreciate it. So I have -

25 Litre Vessel
Tap
Bottling tube/valve
Hydrometer
Mixing Spoon
Steriliser
Heat Belt
Capper (Twin lever)

So basically everything that you would normally get with a kit. I can now source bottles easily enough and I will order some caps (can someone advise best place for that? Cant see them on Home Brew West)...so what are the best products to get after all this?

blueshed

Corvo wrote: »

Sorry again guys, wonder can you help me along here.

I have received the following from a friend, but just need to complete the kit. I will likely order from Home Brew West but if you could advise on the BEST products to ensure a great tasting beer, I would really appreciate it. So I have -

25 Litre Vessel
Tap
Bottling tube/valve
Hydrometer
Mixing Spoon
Steriliser
Heat Belt
Capper (Twin lever)

So basically everything that you would normally get with a kit. I can now source bottles easily enough and I will order some caps (can someone advise best place for that? Cant see them on Home Brew West)...so what are the best products to get after all this?

some of the larger tesco have caps for sale but the HBC and HBW are cheaper.

try and get 500ml brown btls for your beer, make sure there nice and clean.

i soak mine in hot water with a mix of thin bleach and vinegar but dont mix bleach and vinegar at same time.

also be on the look out for the plastic crates the pub uses for large pint Btls or cardboard box,s that hold 20 500ml btls.

plenty of good advice here on boards plus http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/board,9.0.html

lee_baby_simms

If you want to buy bottles -

http://www.alpack.ie/VK497_Short_Beer_Bottle_500mlPack_of_30/Default.1085.html

CianSmyth

Well its been a week since I started fermentation and the bubbling slowed to a halt so last night I decided to take a measurement. I cleaned everything took the FG reading to be 1.010 bottled two bottles and closed everything back up. Since then the fermenter is back bubbling and the smell has changed. It almost smells like sweet apple coming from the airlock! Really worried I have somehow contaminated it. I was planning on leaving it another week and then priming and bottling. Any ideas?

BeerNut

It's fine. Leave it to do its thing. I don't get the point of drawing off two bottles, though. Careful they don't explode.

Burkie94

Cheers for the thread. Been interested in getting into home brewing for a few months now, this thread peaked the interest again.

Reckon I'm gonna pick up the same kit as Cian and take it from there.

thelaoislad

Hi guys ,
I'm a first timer as well, kicker off with an IPA last friday, rehydrated my yeast in sterilized tepid water ~~ 35 oC ....got my yeast pitched at right temp and everything seemed good...filled FV to 22 L instead of 23 ..(what I was told by sales guy who sold me the kit anyway ..) i used spray malt instead of sugar ..
lots, i mean lots of activity in fermenter for first 3 days , about 1 bubble ever 3 seconds out of air lock ..last 3 days its been quite, every 3 mins maybe ... I m lucky to have a constant temp in my large hotpress, all heat controls, solar pumps, etc for house in there ..temp is constant at 20- 22 C ..i havent lifted the lid of my FV yet ..maybe tonight
I was going to test the FG on sat ,thats 1 wk in, and bottle on Sun if readings are stable ..otherwise will be hard to bottle in evenings after work with kids and the boss all around me..
But I see here advice is to leave it for about 2 weeks in FV ....
Also , I was gifted an unwanted FV with a tap , I was going to syphion the beer into that , leave it for a day to settle out any more final grunge, and then bottle direct from the tap using the bottle filling device i got with my kit , from Homebrew in mountmellick BTW..
What do ye think ...
I dont really trust the syphon I got , I just cant see it being easy to use to fill 40 odd bottles .. should be easy enough to syphon into one vessel first tho..and then use tap and filling device on the 2nd FV ..??
And is it going to be difficult to get a sample using the syphon for the FG readings ..?
Can you place hydromoter directly into FV ???

Great Posts Btw, V helpfull and got me started

Ferg

loyatemu

thelaoislad wrote: »

Hi guys ,
I'm a first timer as well, kicker off with an IPA last friday, rehydrated my yeast in sterilized tepid water ~~ 35 oC ....got my yeast pitched at right temp and everything seemed good...filled FV to 22 L instead of 23 ..(what I was told by sales guy who sold me the kit anyway ..) i used spray malt instead of sugar ..
lots, i mean lots of activity in fermenter for first 3 days , about 1 bubble ever 3 seconds out of air lock ..last 3 days its been quite, every 3 mins maybe ... I m lucky to have a constant temp in my large hotpress, all heat controls, solar pumps, etc for house in there ..temp is constant at 20- 22 C ..i havent lifted the lid of my FV yet ..maybe tonight
I was going to test the FG on sat ,thats 1 wk in, and bottle on Sun if readings are stable ..otherwise will be hard to bottle in evenings after work with kids and the boss all around me..
But I see here advice is to leave it for about 2 weeks in FV ....

Leave it the extra week

Also , I was gifted an unwanted FV with a tap , I was going to syphion the beer into that , leave it for a day to settle out any more final grunge, and then bottle direct from the tap using the bottle filling device i got with my kit , from Homebrew in mountmellick BTW..
What do ye think ...

sound fine - racking to a second bucket for a week should make it clearer. You can then prime the bottles individually and fill directly from the second bucket. or rack back to the first bucket for bottling (google "batch priming").

I dont really trust the syphon I got , I just cant see it being easy to use to fill 40 odd bottles .. should be easy enough to syphon into one vessel first tho..and then use tap and filling device on the 2nd FV ..??
And is it going to be difficult to get a sample using the syphon for the FG readings ..?
Can you place hydromoter directly into FV ???

yeah, sanitise it first though. Its a bit difficult to read in the fermenter but it'll give you an idea of where the fermentation is at.

thelaoislad

tks, ill follow that advice for sure about the extra wk (2 in total ) in FV.
I had first look in it tonight and there is a lot of stuff still in suspension ,thats after 5 days..no way is it near bottling this wend with what I saw floating on top.. might take FG at wend out of interest , thats all

so does 2.5 - 3 weeks in total seem about right before bottling ?

leave it in ~~20 oC for few days to kick start second fermentation, then move all bottles out to garage where temp is averaging 8 -12 oC, for another 3 wks say ?

loyatemu

2 weeks is usually long enough, but leaving it an extra week won't do it any harm - best to judge using the hydrometer.

you should leave the bottles at room temperature for at least a week before moving them to the garage - they'll take much longer to carbonate at low temperatures.

CianSmyth

Hey, I'm bottling today but need more bottle caps. Any place on the north side of dublin I can buy them. Tried tesco but they didn't have them.

loyatemu

CianSmyth wrote: »

Hey, I'm bottling today but need more bottle caps. Any place on the north side of dublin I can buy them. Tried tesco but they didn't have them.

Mottly Brew are the only shop in Dublin but they're not open on a Sunday.

maybe ask over on http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php - there might be someone nearby who can give you some.

Buona Fortuna

CianSmyth wrote: »

Hey, I'm bottling today but need more bottle caps. Any place on the north side of dublin I can buy them. Tried tesco but they didn't have them.

If you're completely stuck use 2ltr fizzy drink bottles.

CianSmyth

Hey everyone,

Just thought I'd post a thank you to you all!
Everything went well and I was happy with the result! Looking to start a new brew now, any suggestions?

Hingo

A Nice stout for those post Xmas Blues! - Have a look into kit hacking, maybe make a winter stout (add some extra DME and some christmassy spices)

I made a stout there at the weekend (was a handy extract recipe) 1.080 OG and smells like Christmas cake in the FV!

Ya can't go wrong with a good stout.

Then closer to spring, start looking at Pale Ales, IPAs & session ales!