Homebrew Beer Howto

BeerNut · 03-07-2015 02:35PM

Yes, you'll need a beer kit to go with that. A spirit thermometer is useful to have to make your gravity readings accurate and this set, while including two buckets, has no siphon for transferring between them, which is odd. I'd advise getting a siphon if you're planning to use the other bucket as a secondary or for batch priming. Other than that, yes: it's everything you need to start kit brewing.

DeniG2 · 03-07-2015 02:46PM

Thanks for the quick reply beernut

I'll order a siphon and spirit thermometer as well, just have to wait until the kit is back in stock

There's plenty of good advice here so i'm expecting decent results, going to start with an ale as it seems some of the beer kits are difficult to get right the first few times

thanks again

BeerNut · 03-07-2015 02:50PM

Yeah, the darker the better, starting out.

DeniG2 · 21-07-2015 11:00AM

Hi,

I've waited over two weeks and the "The "BREWFERM Starter's Kit "DELUXE" on the HomeBrewWest website is still not in stock

Can't wait any more, so I had a look and found this kit instead (looks like it has the same equipment):

"Superior Beer / Cider Starter Kit (Includes 25lt fermenters)" on the www-thehomebrewcompany.ie website

Is this a suitable beginners pack to get me up and running, I plan to start with the ST. PETER'S RUBY RED ALE KIT 3KG from the same website

thanks in advance

BeerNut · 21-07-2015 11:14AM

DeniG2 wrote: »

Is this a suitable beginners pack to get me up and running

It is.

DeniG2 · 21-07-2015 11:23AM

Thanks (as usual) for the quick response BeerNut, I'll order it straight away

I'm happy too that it includes the spirit thermometer and siphon that you mentioned in your other post

One last question, is there any advantage in buying the 33LT fermenter over the 25LT (not much difference in price)

Cheers

BeerNut · 21-07-2015 11:40AM

If it's not much difference then there's no need to downsize. I'd go with the 33: overflows are less likely and you've the option of bigger batches if you move away from kits.

DeniG2 · 21-07-2015 11:43AM

sound out, that's the answer I was hoping to hear, i'll go with the 33LT

DeniG2 · 23-07-2015 09:50AM

Hi,
I bought the St Peter's Ruby Red Ale kit, but since it's a double can kit I didn't buy any sugar for the fermenter

But the instructions say to add sugar when bottling, any suggestions as to what would be best for this kit i.e. DME, SprayMalt etc

Thanks

BeerNut · 23-07-2015 09:59AM

It doesn't matter what sugar you use for priming: it's only a tiny amount and won't affect the flavour. Ordinary table sugar is fine. Some brewers prefer dextrose (aka glucose) which you'll get in the baking section of the supermarket, but it doesn't really make a difference.

DeniG2 · 23-07-2015 10:45AM

thanks again for the reply, have heard dextrose mentioned on some forums so i'll go with that.

After that I think I've got everything I need, all that's required now is some patience and luck ;-)

DeniG2 · 24-07-2015 01:03PM

Hi,

going to begin the brew tonight. Since the instructions on the kit are crap I might try a few different things I picked up on this forum, do you think the following 'additional' step are okay:

Aerating the yeast for 10 minutes in 30 degree water (instead of just pouring the sachet into the FV as stated on instructions)

Also, the instructions say to add the hops sachet with the yeast, but I heard that if you leave that till later you get a hop(ier) taste.

I plan to leave it in the primary FV for 2 weeks approx, then another week in the secondary FV, thought about putting the hop sachet in at the beginning of the secondary FV, do you think this would make any difference?

BeerNut · 24-07-2015 01:21PM

DeniG2 wrote: »

Aerating the yeast for 10 minutes in 30 degree water (instead of just pouring the sachet into the FV as stated on instructions)

I wouldn't. Remember that you'll have to go to all the trouble of boiling and cooling the water and sanitising the vessels that you pour it into. It's an extra unnecessary thing to worry about IMO.

DeniG2 wrote: »

Also, the instructions say to add the hops sachet with the yeast, but I heard that if you leave that till later you get a hop(ier) taste.

Yeah, I'd leave it until a week before bottling.

DeniG2 wrote: »

do you think this would make any difference?

Might do, it depends on the hops: how fresh, and how much. You don't really need to do a secondary fermentation.

DeniG2 · 24-07-2015 01:43PM

brilliant, less work to do so!!

I read the secondary fermentation would make it a cleaner finish to the ale but it's probably overkill alright

Thanks for all the advice

MonkstownHoop · 28-07-2015 10:30AM

Started my 2nd kit Saturday night and it looks to be going nicely, bought a 2nd bucket for batch priming this time around, the instructions say to add 120g of priming sugar but they provided a bag of 100g priming sugar with the kit?

BeerNut · 28-07-2015 01:21PM

MonkstownHoop wrote: »

the instructions say to add 120g of priming sugar but they provided a bag of 100g priming sugar with the kit?

Welcome to the world of kit instructions: a much underrated genre of surrealist fiction.

Use a carbonation calculator to figure out how much priming sugar you need. I tend to go for 2.2 to 2.4 volumes on most beers, which is on the low side because I really dislike overcarbonation.

MonkstownHoop · 28-07-2015 02:21PM

BeerNut wrote: »

Welcome to the world of kit instructions: a much underrated genre of surrealist fiction.

Use a carbonation calculator to figure out how much priming sugar you need. I tend to go for 2.2 to 2.4 volumes on most beers, which is on the low side because I really dislike overcarbonation.

Got 128 from that, I have a few packets of cane sugar at home I could use instead

DeniG2 · 05-08-2015 04:27PM

well,

My first attempt is brewing away so I'm getting ready to kick start my second once the first one is bottled

I want to do an IPA, have researched the following four, but getting mixed reviews (i know a lot of it is down to personal taste):
Festival Razorback IPA Kit
Bulldog's Raja's Reward IPA Kit
Muntons Hand Crafted American IPA
Youngs American IPA Kit

Has anybody had any success with any of the above. I'm leaning towards the Razorback since it gets a lot of good review and it's not that complicated for a beginner

Thanks

Denis

BeardySi · 06-08-2015 11:35PM

The Youngs American IPA is fantastic - nicer than many off the shelf beers!

It's also very simple - was the first kit I made and worked out brilliantly!

DeniG2 · 07-08-2015 09:04AM

Thanks Treadhead

I went ahead and bought Raja's Reward but based on your recommendation I'll get Youngs American IPA next

Cheers

Lucena · 24-08-2015 10:47AM

Quick question regarding brewing with the extract kits of the type mentioned in the first post. Does the fermenting bin (primary fermentation) need to be kept in the dark? The reason I ask is that the only room in my house between 20-25° is the main living area, where obviously we need light!

mordeith · 24-08-2015 10:53AM

Lucena wrote: »

Quick question regarding brewing with the extract kits of the type mentioned in the first post. Does the fermenting bin (primary fermentation) need to be kept in the dark? The reason I ask is that the only room in my house between 20-25° is the main living area, where obviously we need light!

No, no need for darkness. I start all my brews in the living room because it has the best constant temperatures for initial fermentation. It's also the brightest room. Now I keep it in the corner so it'snot in direct sunlight but it's by no means shaded.

rubadub · 24-08-2015 02:58PM

I would usually have an old sweatshirt or 2 on my fermenter to help keep it warm and buffer any heat flucuations in the room.

DeniG2 · 09-09-2015 10:34AM

Treadhead wrote: »

The Youngs American IPA is fantastic - nicer than many off the shelf beers!

It's also very simple - was the first kit I made and worked out brilliantly!

Hi Treadhead,

I followed your advise and purchased Youngs IPA kit. Quick question, did you follow the instructions exactly and get an ABV of the stated 6.4%. I've read some reviews where some brewers got around 7.5% (without brewing it short), so I'm kinda worried I'll end up with rocket-fuel, so I was thinking of increasing to 24L for example.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

Denis

BeardySi · 09-09-2015 11:09AM

DeniG2 wrote: »

Hi Treadhead,

I followed your advise and purchased Youngs IPA kit. Quick question, did you follow the instructions exactly and get an ABV of the stated 6.4%. I've read some reviews where some brewers got around 7.5% (without brewing it short), so I'm kinda worried I'll end up with rocket-fuel, so I was thinking of increasing to 24L for example.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

Denis

Heh - I don't actually know! That was my first brew so in my excitement I forgot to take an SG reading! Made it to the recipe and it is quite strong. If I go over two bottles I'm into tipsy territory...

Saruman · 09-09-2015 11:13AM

With a kit, you can be reasonably sure the SG is as stated as long as the water volumes used were as specified and you didn't make any other changes.
If you took an FG reading, you would know the final ABV.
That's assuming the kit tells you what your SG/OG should be of course.

Lucena · 09-09-2015 11:40AM

How do you know the amount of alcohol in the final product? Is it the difference between the initial specific gravity and the final SG?

BeerNut · 09-09-2015 11:43AM

Lucena wrote: »

Is it the difference between the initial specific gravity and the final SG?

There's a calculation you do on the two figures. Lots of online calculators like this do it for you.

Links234 · 23-09-2015 08:18PM

Heyoo folksies!

So, this December marks 2 years since a friend gave me an introduction to homebrewing and I made my very first dark ale, and for my birthday last July I got my very own set of brewing equipments, just basic stuff for making beer with kits, nothing too fancy. I'm tempted to start doing grain brews, but I'd like to enquire about price and everything required. Basically, how do I step up my game?

BeerNut · 23-09-2015 08:52PM

If you're going all-grain you need to decide if you're going brew-in-a-bag or getting a mashtun. There's also the intermediate step between kit and all-grain which is extract brewing.

If you look on the suppler sites, some of them sell equipment sets specifically for kit brewers moving to extract or all-grain.

Homebrew Beer Howto

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