Home Brewing (Complete Noob)

duotone

I haven’t really compared the different options & competition for the Brewster Beacon. Although David Heath has done a good video comparing some different brew systems at various price brackets. Right now I don’t have a lot of space, so don’t really want to buy one.

I’m happy with my current plan of alternating an extract brew & all grain when I have more time. 

I’m just not sure how much easier I could make bottling, I’ve got a bottling wand & an auto siphon https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/auto-siphon-56cm/ I don’t know what else could make it much easier.

RedRabbit

@duotone don't know why I didn't think of this before but have you looked at pressure barrels?

https://www.charlies.co.uk/young-s-basic-white-barrel-with-co2-injection-system-tap-5g.html?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwgZuDBhBTEiwAXNofRBzOqkrLG-oXac8mIxjYhtrOHJudco8pguIw_JFa4VielcQhfKm27hoCv20QAvD_BwE

Still best to keep them at the temp you want to serve the beer at but mine just lives on top of my fermenting fridge.  It's not ideal but it does the job.



On a separate note, I kegged my IPA this morning.  Used burst carbonation which means it's already drinkable.  It needs a bit more time to reach its best but it's drinking very nicely already.  Used fuggles and first golding for dry hopping.  Much more subtle than an American IPA but there's a bit of fruitiness behind the bitterness.  Think it's going to be a good one.

duotone

@RedRabbit ;
Thanks for that! Looks deceiving on the website as it doesn’t look like it holds 40 pints, but obviously does.

RedRabbit said: @duotone don't know why I didn't think of this before but have you looked at pressure barrels?

https://www.charlies.co.uk/young-s-basic-white-barrel-with-co2-injection-system-tap-5g.html?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwgZuDBhBTEiwAXNofRBzOqkrLG-oXac8mIxjYhtrOHJudco8pguIw_JFa4VielcQhfKm27hoCv20QAvD_BwE

Still best to keep them at the temp you want to serve the beer at but mine just lives on top of my fermenting fridge.  It's not ideal but it does the job.



On a separate note, I kegged my IPA this morning.  Used burst carbonation which means it's already drinkable.  It needs a bit more time to reach its best but it's drinking very nicely already.  Used fuggles and first golding for dry hopping.  Much more subtle than an American IPA but there's a bit of fruitiness behind the bitterness.  Think it's going to be a good one. I’m learning that this varies quite a bit, so how do you decide when certain beers taste ‘at their best’? Just follow the brewing instructions & taste often? 

That Weiss beer kit I brewed on the instructions said to drink 4 weeks after bottling, whereas a brewing YouTube channel/shop did a step-by-step video of that same kit. They said to drink after 8 weeks after bottling.

RedRabbit

The PB says 5 gallon.  I'm assuming it's US measurements.  If you're brew 23l batches then you should be fine with it as you'll always lose a little to the fermenter.

Conditioning is, I think, a preference thing.  I don't mind young beer (and I'm pretty impatient) so for most standard strength beers (around 5%) I'll leave it in the fermenter for a couple of weeks which usually leaves a few days for cold crashing etc once the yeast has done its job.  It then gets a week in the keg at whatever pressure is needed and then I'll start drinking.  If bottling I'd probably leave it for a couple of weeks to carbonate.  Some things will hardly change after that others will noticeably "mature".  My saison changed a lot while in the keg but I'm not sure it was better for aging, just different.  I'd happily drink a young saison again.

If I had carbonated the IPA as normal I doubt it'd improve all that much but the quick carbonation method I used meant it had only been in the keg 8 hours when I tapped it.  A few more days will complete the carbonation and allow it to settle a bit and, hopefully, allow some of the yeast haze to settle.

Stronger styles tend to need longer to condition.  I think this is mainly to let the boozyness to mellow a bit and allow the other flavours to come through more.  I do think the 6 months recommended for the Belgian triple I made was hugely over the top though.  I gave it 6 weeks and didn't notice much change over the few months it was in the keg for.

If in doubt follow the recipe guide but you aren't going to spoil a batch by trying it earlier (especially if bottling).  If you keep notes you'll know how long to leave it if you repeat the recipe.

chillidoggy

Very impressed with those who are home brewing. I was an avid home brewer years ago, but prefer to leave it to the professionals these days. I never really managed to get close to what a pub might service up, although the end product still got me equally pissed. I assume the beer kits have improved over the years?

RedRabbit

Haven't used a kit in over 10 years but the better ones produced okay results even then.  Not good enough to replace a pub pint but it was drinkable and did the job.  No idea if they've generally improved since then.  I'm assuming not as the popular ones are the same as I used to use.

Brewing from grains and hops can produce great results though.  Generally I prefer what I brew to most of what's easily available in pubs or supermarkets.  With brew in a bag and all in one systems the equipment costs can be kept reasonably low now as well.

hywelg

chillidoggy said:

Very impressed with those who are home brewing. I was an avid home brewer years ago, but prefer to leave it to the professionals these days. I never really managed to get close to what a pub might service up, although the end product still got me equally pissed. I assume the beer kits have improved over the years?

It's perfectly possible to brew beer a lot better than you'll get in the average pub. Even if I say so myself very few of my beers would I be unhappy about paying £4 a pint for and they are mostly way tastier than most you'll get. All grain is the way to  go but you can get excellent results with malt extract recipes, especially if you like the hops to dominate the flavour profile. 

duotone

Just having a pint of my German Weiss now with Man City v Chelsea on the BBC.
It’s been bottle conditioned now for about 3 weeks (2 weeks in a dark room & 1 week in the fridge).  It’s not a bad beer, but tbh I wouldn’t drink 2-3 in a row in a pub.

Colour looks spot on, initial smell seems pretty good, first sip tastes fine but then there is that slight sweet/chemical aftertaste that kind of spoils it slightly.
It’s the first extract kit I have done & I think that I now know the chemical like aftertaste that people often mention. 

RedRabbit

Sounds like you've encountered the homebrew twang that seems to be associated with liquid malt extract.  A lot of imperfections diminish with time but I'm not sure this one does.

Not homebrew but I got a crate of Belgian beers from beer52.  I've had the dubbel and an IPA from it so far.  I had been planning to brew a dubbel but I don't think I'll bother now - wasn't hugely impressed. 

duotone

RedRabbit said:

Sounds like you've encountered the homebrew twang that seems to be associated with liquid malt extract.  A lot of imperfections diminish with time but I'm not sure this one does.

Not homebrew but I got a crate of Belgian beers from beer52.  I've had the dubbel and an IPA from it so far.  I had been planning to brew a dubbel but I don't think I'll bother now - wasn't hugely impressed. 

Yeah “homebrew twang” is a good term for it.
I bottled 30 more pints of it today, so that’s the full 40 pints bottled now. Phew! Am REALLY glad I bought an auto siphon. Made my day much easier! https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/auto-siphon-56cm/

My next brew will be a small 5 Litre all grain batch of Belgian Witbier to see how it turns out. A test batch I guess.  

Re: Dubbel, I have drank a few when I was on holiday in Belgium (about 5 years ago) & haven’t bothered drinking them since tbh. Obviously they didn’t impress me too much.

RedRabbit

I love Belgian beers in general and don't mind the odd dark beer but it just didn't hit the spot for me.  The Candi sugar I'd ordered to make it came as the clear stuff by mistake.  Think I'll just make another saison at some point.

Brewing a kolsch today.  Not a style I've drunk before but it seems like a happy cross between an ale and lager so should be good as the weather turns warmer.  Planning on lagering for at least 2 weeks so it'll be around a month before it's ready.  It's another David Heath recipe so I'm confident it'll turn out well.

Troglodyte

If anyone's interested, I have a 40L stainless steel brewery for sale complete with corny kegs, dispense taps etc:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174744820893

Collection only from Norfolk though.

RedRabbit

Troglodyte said:

If anyone's interested, I have a 40L stainless steel brewery for sale complete with corny kegs, dispense taps etc:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174744820893

Collection only from Norfolk though.

Whoever you've sold that to has got some serious kit for a fantastic price.

I wouldn't have room for a multi vessel system but for £200 I'd have been sorely tempted if I lived closer to Norfolk.

duotone

https://www.keykegshop.eu/

Found this online & thought it may be useful. 

duotone

Troglodyte said:

If anyone's interested, I have a 40L stainless steel brewery for sale complete with corny kegs, dispense taps etc:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174744820893

Collection only from Norfolk though.

Looks like someone got a bargain @Troglodyte ;
Will you still brew in the future or have you given up?

RedRabbit

duotone said:

https://www.keykegshop.eu/

Found this online & thought it may be useful. 

Not seen them before.  Looks like an interesting idea but I don't think it'd really work for homebrewers unless I'm missing something.  As far as I can tell they are single use and the filling and serving fittings are unique to these kegs (and aren't exactly cheap).

Troglodyte

RedRabbit said:

Troglodyte said:

If anyone's interested, I have a 40L stainless steel brewery for sale complete with corny kegs, dispense taps etc:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174744820893

Collection only from Norfolk though.

Whoever you've sold that to has got some serious kit for a fantastic price.

I wouldn't have room for a multi vessel system but for £200 I'd have been sorely tempted if I lived closer to Norfolk.

He didn't pay £200. For some reason Ebay still says that even though it was more.

Troglodyte

duotone said:

Looks like someone got a bargain @Troglodyte ;

Will you still brew in the future or have you given up?

If I were to restart it would be on a lot smaller / more compact kit. To be honest I'd been brewing for 20-odd years and I wasn't brewing enough to justify the space it took up.

RedRabbit

Started my first pressure fermentation yesterday.  Started off at 10 PSI but it's dropped a bit overnight.  Fermentation has kicked off though so I'm hoping it'll pick back up a bit.  If not I'll give it another blast of co2 tonight.

It's an Indian Pale Lager - essentially a pilsner using an IPA hop schedule.  Opted for citra, mosaic and Simcoe for the hops.  Not going to dry hop this one but will do next time if the hop character isn't present enough.  Not going for a hop bomb so I think it'll be fine as is.  Should be a good one to have on tap over summer.

duotone

RedRabbit said:

Started my first pressure fermentation yesterday.  Started off at 10 PSI but it's dropped a bit overnight.  Fermentation has kicked off though so I'm hoping it'll pick back up a bit.  If not I'll give it another blast of co2 tonight.

It's an Indian Pale Lager - essentially a pilsner using an IPA hop schedule.  Opted for citra, mosaic and Simcoe for the hops.  Not going to dry hop this one but will do next time if the hop character isn't present enough.  Not going for a hop bomb so I think it'll be fine as is.  Should be a good one to have on tap over summer.

This is music to my ears!

I started my brew day at 10am today. Am having a 2nd attempt at Rob’s Belgian Witt. https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/robs-belgian-witt/

The first 5.75 Litre batch I poured away (earlier in this thread) So this time I’m using the remainder of the ingredients & brewing 17.25 Litres. Now that I have bought a 30 Litre bucket I can do this larger quantity. 

Will probably order some empty bottles https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/coopers-amber-pet-bottles/  as I am all out (30 bottles of German Weiss beer currently in my back room bottle conditioning).

Will let you know how it goes.

Edit: Finished rinsing the grains at 8pm. Just put the 30 Litre bucket in the garden, it needs to get down to 20 Degrees C, before I can pitch the yeast. Yeast pitched this morning (as it was too hot last night) & it seems to be happily bubbling away!