Home Brew :drunk:

[mrloudly]

Just set down a batch of Muntons Gold IPA, should be about ready for a joyous christmas from the keg ;-)

Going to do another couple of batches, any recommendations? Lager a possibility ;-)

[Dan_1981]

How easy is a home brew lager?

Keep seeing the kits in a local shop and threatening to do one.

[mrloudly]

It's easy, just make sure everything is absolutely sterile and don't mess about with it whilst brewing, i.e. keep taking the lid off.
I used to add a touch more than the recommended sugar, but it gets silly You can make some proper vagrant brew LOL

[motco]

The problem with lager is that unless you bottle it and bung it in the 'fridge, you have to find a cold place for the keg. Ale, on the other hand, is okay at spare bedroom temperature for dispensing.

[Dan_1981]

Apologies for the thread hijack.....

but would soemthing like this be a decent place to start?

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/home-brewing/ibrew-la...

[mrloudly]

Give it a go! I would have thought it's not going to be the best but it's a start. Can't be any worse than some of the rot the pubs sell!

I normally bottle the lager and store in a cool place. 3 of 4 carefully into the fridge a couple of hours before and you're away ;-) (pouring into a jug to avoid the sediment transfer).

Have been doing the same with ale but this brew is going into my new CO2 keg :-)

[AMv8 dreamer]

I`m a bit of a fan of John Bull IPA, allways seems to come out allright. It tastes A bit like old speckled hen, which isn`t a IPA I know.

[Pete Franklin]

Larger is traditionally cold fermented to achieve the crisp finish. So you would need constant low temps to achieve authentic results. Most home brew larger kits produce bad pale ale.

[gazapc]

Just bottled 45 pints of Coopers Stout after finishing the last batch off last weekend 1 gallon of elderberry wine almost finished fermenting and also just finished brewing my fiery alcoholic ginger beer for christmas...~7% ABV & infused with hot chilli

Dan_1981 said:

Apologies for the thread hijack.....

but would soemthing like this be a decent place to start?

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/home-brewing/ibrew-la...

If your not bothered with 2nd hand ebay, gumtree etc.. as loads of people buy kits, use them once and then sell them on after not using them. Generally the ready made kit ingredients you buy come in ~40 pints kits so might be slightly awkward with a 20 pint fermenter. Saying that wilkos is great for all sorts of brewing stuff.

[pokethepope]

I haven't done any for a while after a mixed start but I really should get another brew on the go.

My first was a Woodforde's Wherry that came out absolutely brilliantly, but then a Woodforde's golden ale and a Muntons IPA came out really badly. They both had an identical 'off' after taste. Im finding it hard to describe but they just tasted foul. I thought I was careful with the sterilisation (and didn't change anything from my previous succesful brew) but is that the most likely cause?

[SwanJack]

Pete Franklin said:

Larger is traditionally cold fermented to achieve the crisp finish. So you would need constant low temps to achieve authentic results. Most home brew larger kits produce bad pale ale.

Just got a fridge for 99p on e-bay for this very purpose , although I'm going to do a Bock and not a Larger.

Down to the last few bottles of my Wai-Iti SMaSH, which was far too drinkable.
Xmas ale is conditioning in bottles (40 pints), bottled an American Wheat (40 pints) yesterday and my American Amber (40 Pints) is going in to secondary fermenter today to be dry hopped. Looks like a good festive season

Edited by SwanJack on Sunday 2nd December 10:22

[mrloudly]

It's normally a lack of cleanliness or lid lifting that leads to a ruined brew... Not too much else to go wrong really.

[AtticusFinch]

Festival are the new kids on the block. Just brewed some Pilgrims Hope best homebrew I've made (normally a Woodefords man)

No connection highly recommended

[SpeckledJim]

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=1...

Good thread here.