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So as a further sign of impending middle age, I have the urge to dabble in a little bit of homebrewing. I recently attended Craft Beer Rising in Glasgow which has fermented the idea in my head.
I'm hoping Santa might bring me a brewing kit, but I don't really know which one to opt for.
I'm sure there must be a fair few brewers on here, so anyone got any recommendations for a good kit? I'd like to be brewing IPAs, American-style craft beers and blonde beers. No bitter, ever 🙂
Also, any tips for some good UK-based forums? The few I've looked at were either impossible to navigate or void of any content.
Thanks!
K
Don't do it - it'll turn you into an alcoholic
There is a big home-brew thread on here with loads of info. "Jims beer kit" is probably the best UK forum, "Home Brew Talk" is very good as well (big US bias though - not necessarily a bad thing as they are light years ahead of us in some ways). I get most of my all-grain recipe ideas from there.
Teef - is that advice based on experience? Definitely something to be mindful of!
Thanks zilog - I'll do a deeper search
I've been homebrewing, i'm not a raging alcoholic.
I do however have to allow myself to run out of beer occasionally to stop the above 😀
18 pages! That's tonight's entertainment sorted!
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/brewers-of-stw
Kevin, you really will struggle to beat [url= http://www.geterbrewed.com/biab-all-grain-starter-kit-includes-a-mash-kit/ ]this[/url] is a starter kit
Yep, what peterfile said, I got that for Christmas last year and with the addition of some hose for the chiller and a decent thermometer it's good to go.
+1 for Jim's beer kit, lots of very useful information and helpful home brewers.
Also whilst your writing your Christmas list you'll need something to store the beer in, I use a pressure barrel at the moment but some find them un-reliable, I've had no problems. Bottling can be a pita and you'll need 40+ bottles and a capper if you do choose that route so start saving your empties now.
That kit looks good - around the right £ too.
Does it have taps on the buckets to avoid having to siphon? And, silly question - I presume it comes with some sort of instructions, or is it just assumed that the buyer knows what they're doing?
If you go for the type of kit above (i.e. BIAB - single vessel), [url= http://homebrewmanual.com/brew-in-a-bag/ ]this guide[/url] should help you.
A tap on your bottling bucket is easy to add and makes bottling much easier (you can get a "little bottler" for a few quid which makes the process painless).
As for a tap on your fermenter...I wouldn't bother. You'll likely pull a load of sediment out with the beer unless you cold crash it first (i.e. stick it in the fridge for a day or two) and having a tap is a great place for bacteria to live so it becomes harder to properly clean and sanitise your fermenter. The downsides outweigh the benefits IMO. A siphon is cheap, easy to clean and easy to use.
One thing you'll pick up when you start reading stuff about brewing is that it seems like there are many different ways to do things and everyone thinks their way is the best 🙂 The reality is that most of them work and so long as everything you use is super clean and sanitised, it's hard to go wrong!
Thank you Peter - that tutorial looks like it will be invaluable
Check youtube as well, I watched a couple of BIAB videos before I started, cleared up a lot for me.
Kevin, you really will struggle to beat this is a starter kit
A plastic bucket to boil in? Nah you want stainless steel.
This is what a couple of my BIAB brewer friends use,
http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Buffalo-Manual-Fill-Water-Boiler-40Ltr/GL349/ProductDetail.raction
On offer too