Just in the process of making my first brew. Who else here does this, and what advice would you pass on after you've learnt from doing/mistakes or successes.
Kj
Printable View
Just in the process of making my first brew. Who else here does this, and what advice would you pass on after you've learnt from doing/mistakes or successes.
Kj
@kimjon
Good on ya for giving it a go.
My only advise is:
Clean, Clean, Clean, A clean brewery is a good brewery.
Cheers
Pete
Cheers Pete and Toby.
Yes I've been a bit "brewcurious" for a while now. Finally manned up and went to a shop and brought a heap of gear last weekend. My wife is very tolerant and the fermenter is sitting in our open plan kitchen pride of place with the heat pump seat on a constant temp...
I'm starting easy with a kit as the base of this brew, being a first timer. Will see how it goes and then up my game to biab?
Anyway advice always appreciated.
Kim
Really like that answer!!!:)Quote:
Originally Posted by 7mmwsm
As a rule I don't generally hang out with blow arses because I believe you're judged by the company you keep, however this forum is about the only exception to that. Hmmm forum beer drinking party anyone?:thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by 7mmwsm
Do you need any bottles for bottling?
I have a heap I need rid of and by the time I am through getting my lot drank I will simply have more than enough.
All brown glass bottles, probably about 50 or so. If you would like them give me a pm and will sort something out. Probably have more than that come to think of it.
My latest batch of Cider came in at a shade under 11% Alcohol.
I added 1kg of white sugar into a 15 Litre batch.
I usually don't add any sugar and achieve around 6% alcohol
My mate and his wife both gave the 11% batch the thumbs up for taste, fizz and all-round drinkability on Friday Night :thumbsup::thumbsup:,
However they weren't so enthusiastic on Saturday Morning after four bottles each :sick::sick:, especially after a month long sabbatical of no drinking.
The 6% Cider is much more my style with little or no after affects after a bottle or two. :)
https://youtu.be/FurWqvpGTNM
Cheers
Pete
Many thanks Willie, pm sent.
Pete, wow 11% !!!! Just finished bottling mine, its an ale and should finish up approximately 4.25% ABV.
Now, waiting....waiting...oh the waiting.... until it does its thing in the bottles.
Kj
Be patient Grasshopper. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by kimjon
The longer the wait the better the off you'll be.
Forget about it until July.
Cheers
Pete
It's been pretty easy so far. No harder than making a cup of tea...just on a bigger scale (23L of beer). Will be a couple more weeks until its ready to drink as it needs a little time for everything to work its magic. I'll post an honest review when I taste it...good or bad.
Kj
Look up BIAB or 'brew in a bag'.it's the cheapest way to make heaps better bet than you get in can kits.
Looks good, will get a couple brews under my belt to get the hang of it and then will definitely give the biab a go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wildman
Cheers
Kj
Hunting KiwiQuote:
Originally Posted by huntingkiwi
Made from Juice is easier and produces a good product.
Check out my video a couple of lines up.
Cheers
Pete
Woops, sorry @P38, been up since early am. Great video and inspiring!
Have you found cheaper sources for the juice, commercial suppliers, or is buying by the bottle at the supermarket when on special about the cheapest you can get?
Kiwijames has some commercial contacts which would most likely be cheaper jucie than the supermarket but you may have to purchase in bulk.Quote:
Originally Posted by huntingkiwi
Me I make 15L batches and buy the juice from the supermarket ... even at full price the Juice is only around $20 and the yeast is around $5 (Ferments 30L)
So around $22:50 per batch or about $1:50 per Litre, which is pretty cheap cider.
Cheers
Pete
Good on you Kimjon, it's a slippery slope once you start just like rifles. I started doing a couple kits a few years ago and have now been brewing all grain for about 18 months. The step up in quality and control is huge, so BIAB will be a good idea if you like your craft beer. If you're happy with standard lagers and ales then the kits will probably suffice.
As other have said cleanliness and sanitation is the biggest threat to good beer.
Good luck
Iv got to put down a batch of cider sometime soon, iv been meaning to for ages.
iv done beer, cider and spirits
its all pretty simple tho, as has been said clean and clean again
Iv yet to loose a batch but an ex's granfather who made it in 200l drum lots got a bug in his that made him quite sick
so be vigilant and it wont be an issue
be ready to drink 3 X what you consider normal......
@kimjon. The advise I was given by P38, Wildman, Raging Bull etc here http://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.n...ad.php?t=16311 has got me brewing pretty good beer now. It's as easy as you want it to be. Keeping clean as well as patient is about the best advise. One thing that I have found is the best way to ruin a good beer is poor fermentation temperature control. Stable temps inside the recommended yeast temperature is crucial to good, clean tasting beer. Keep it simple for starters with a basic ale would be a good step and grow your skill from there.
Cheers @kiwijames much appreciated. Just spent last half hour reading all those posts and links...think I need a beer now haha. But very cool.
What's your greatest success to date (favorite beer you've made)?
Kj
No excuses for not having a beer on hand now mate.Quote:
Originally Posted by kimjon
I think the best so far has been a Porter/Black IPA. A few on the forum plus other mates have given it a go and it went down well enough.
I also made a wheat beer which was interesting (and tasty). The influence the yeast has in a beers final finish can really be noticed here. A refreshing drop too. The latest beer to go into the bottle may come out a crowd favourite too but we will have to wait for a few weeks yet.
Brewing is an extremely satisfying hobby, especially once you go all grain.
Cheers mate, I'm still at the kit and kilo stage...but I do have an addictive personally, so that and my ocd will most likely end up going all grain in the near future.
Kj
I only did one kit ( I think we have a similar mindset). One thing with the kits is you can get enhancers to add rather than the bulk sugar as well as dry hops etc. This can improve the beer somewhat I understand.Quote:
Originally Posted by kimjon
Sing out if you need anything further (Im still a bit of a novice though) or if you're passing through HB call in for a beer. We can clock it up as QA.
Another one that wasn't explained in the kit I had was, your dry yeast gets away much faster if you re-hydrate it before you pitch it. Basically empty the sachet in some lukewarm sterile water to activate it (just like you would do when baking with yeast). Give it a couple of hours or even overnight in a warmish place to get it up and going. Its dormant when dried so need to stretch its legs so to speak before it gets to work.
Awesome, those are the tips I'm looking for. Often its the little things that make the biggest difference. Many thanks
Way to much time on my hands today, so I joined a coopers beer forum so I could use the label maker. Named my first batch "little red hen" after the children's story where no one would help the little red hen make bread...so she ate it all by herself. This came about when my wife wouldn't help me make the beer and I jokingly said "do you know the story about the little red hen"...she laughed and said that's gotta be the name of your beer.
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps001f3276.jpg
Kj
Brilliant. Are you using PET bottles? I have not but I think the consensus is they are not as good as glass for storage or conditioning.Quote:
Originally Posted by kimjon
Attachment 36824
Now you will look at everything in a new light
The PET bottles came with the kit, so I've used them. From what I've read, both have pros and cons... but glass apparently is better for longer storage as it keeps its bubbles longer.
Willie on here has generously offered some bottles to me, so my next batch will be glass bottled.
Kj
If your beer is as good as your label you'll be onto a winner Kimjon :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by kimjon
Cheers
Pete
@P38 and @kiwijames how do you store you beer while its aging?
Mines been in the hot water cupboard for 2 weeks now in bottles. My kestrel reads 19.3°c when I leave it in there over night.
Do I leave the bottles in there longer, or should I move them somewhere else? Note they are contained within a large plastic container with a lid just in case they pop, so no worries about spillage...just wanna know optimum place and procedure for nz conditions as all literature on the web in Australian or US where temps vary a lot from ours.
Cheers
Kim
@kimjonQuote:
Originally Posted by kimjon
I also place the freshly bottled brews in my hot water cupboard for a couple of weeks to allow the secondary fermentation to get a good start, then I move them out to the back room of my shed and place a sack over them to exclude the light.
Light can oxidise beer in the bottle and give it an off flavour.
Then I just forget about them for a couple of months.
I have just shifted a couple of dozen cider bottles, one batch bottled December 2014 and the second bottled February 2015.
These will be drunk throughout next summer.
Cheers
Pete
They are few tips you need to be aware of:
1) clean and sterilise everything.
2) see tip one, repeat.
3) longer is better
4) if you are worried about you alc % then toss your hydrometer, it's no good for anything really.
5) the lower the temp, the better the product will taste.
6) don't use sugar, except for priming and then only Chelsea sugar, but drops are better.
7) kits are ok, biab is better and full grain will give you the best flavours and ability to personalise your beer.
I have always just transferred it into the bottle and left it inside. The yeast needs a bit of warmth to ferment out your priming sugar and give the CO2 volume required to give the beer some fizz. Ideally the beer wants to run in its optimum fermentation range and will be with the yeast packet. 18 - 20 deg should be fine. There will already be CO2 in the beer out of the fermenter but not as much as desired. After a couple of weeks it should be carbed up but may require a week or more to condition. I have found the lighter beers both in colour and ABV are more drinkable earlier. I don't know how some people can wait months to condition a big stout or other but patience was never a virtue of mine.Quote:
Originally Posted by kimjon
I have been using corn sugar as of late to prime. I did find the carbonation drops are very convenient but sometimes a bit overkill resulting in too much head and over carbed beer. My Chargemaster powder scale is currently the best way to weigh out sugar into each bottle.:thumbsup:
I have also started to use a 500ml bottle rather than the old 750 pint bottle. One can be not enough but two too many for my liking.
You should have a bottle filler to fill the bottles too (long tube with a spring valve at the end). You don't want to oxygenate your beer now that you've got it this far.
I've got the bug too.
On to our 4th brew, a chocolate malt stout.
So far have a stout, a bock and a cider to drink.
The stout was our first (Coopers) and it was bottled March 20th. It is improving with every bottle opened but only have about 10 left now.
I have to confess, my wife is the brewer. I am more the drinker.
A perfect match then Shearer. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Shearer
She's a keeper for sure. :thumbsup:
Cheers
Pete
Cheers guys, your advice is much appreciated.
Kj
Well bugger, I missed this this tread, I just use the tin kits, nice and easy ,clean every thing in boiling water, glass bottles only and leave it for 3/5 months under the house, dam good, gets better after the second bottle! :beer:, Cheers, Homebrew.357.
What's the best tin kit you've used? Do you just follow the instructions on the tin, or do you change it up a little?Quote:
Originally Posted by homebrew.357
Cheers
Kj
