A lapsed home brewer

[NeilMac]

Hi everyone.

I made my first home brew in the late 1970s, when ingredients were hard to come by, and were often of dubious quality.

That first brew was bad, being made with anonymous hops and malt extract, with too much sugar added; but my dad and his mates drank it.

Gradually the brews got better (thanks, Glenbrew and Boots), but I could never make beers to match the real ales I enjoyed (and still do) on my trips around Britain: that is, until about 15 years ago when I finally produced a beer that I actually enjoyed......then I stopped brewing.

Maybe I felt there was nothing left to achieve, but I've got the itch again, and have started buying new, basic equipment (from Tesco, I'm afraid), and intend to start brewing when I take early retirement in April.

Sorry for boring you with that bit of history, but I'll let you know how I get on; and in the meantime I've got some questions to ask........

Cheers
Neil

 

[adrianmole72]

Hi Neil, and welcome aboard !!

I too enjoy real ale, and that is why I started brewing ; I did 2 kits first, and I did my first All-Grain last Saturday, and had so much fun (pics are on here AG#1 Twisted Stout)..

Ask away with your questions ; there are a lot of knowledgeable people on here :thumb:

My gear isn't top notch; its basic at best

Good luck !

Stephen

 

[graysalchemy]

Welcome to the forum

:thumb: :thumb:

 

[Moley]

Sorry for boring you with that bit of history, but I'll let you know how I get on

Not in the least bit boring, it's nice to have a bit of background, and there are many of us on the forum who have returned to the hobby after a lengthy lay-off.

Even the basic kits (one can, add a kilo of sugar) are a vast improvement on anything which was available in the 70s, and the Premium kits (two cans, no sugar required, you've already found a “How To” thread) can rival any of the commercially mass-produced ‘real ales’.

Get back into the swing of things with a few kits, but if you like a challenge and progress to All Grain there's so much more you can achieve.

Welcome to the forum :

 

[Dieseljockey]

Welcome back to the brewing fold Neil...like a lot of us...I returned to the AG fold last year.
..your in the best place..read up on the "how to" post...or ask away!! :thumb:

 

[Dunfie]

Hi Neil

Welcome to the forum. This is the place for questions - just ask. :

 

[NeilMac]

Thanks for the warm welcome, folks.

Neil

 

[robsan77]

nice to meet you :

 

[Yorkslad]

Hello Neil,
Good thing about this site is i haven't come accross one 'bully' yet, which there tends to be in the brewing game. For example the AG brewers are at the top and the kit brewers at the bottom, yet i've not come accross any nasty comments towards the kit brewers at all (i do kits still)
We all have to start at the bottom i suppose and build up experience, and the experienced people on here respect that.
Happy brewing :

 

[Moley]

I did 5 kits before going over to the dark side, and then tried a Premium kit to see how they compare.

Horses for courses, the budget kits are quite acceptable, premium kits are better, AG's best and cheapest but then AG requires far more equipment, a fair bit of reading and homework and will then take 5-6 hours for a brew. The vast majority of homebrewers aren't going to have the time or inclination to take the hobby that far - I can respect that.



THBF wouldn't tolerate any snide comments or bullying, but it doesn't happen here anyway :

 

[Springer]

Welcome Neil,
I brewed 35 years ago and never did manage to produce anything worth drinking, so gave up. :lol: Things have really moved on lots more information, equipment and ingredients to produce top quality beer, with a bit of research and investment.
Doesn't look like you ventured into AG, (all grain,) but that a good place to be at , you can then produce brews of any characteristic you want, to match any you might buy and better most.
The thing that puzzles me is why are you going to wait until April :lol:
S

 

[Yorkslad]

I think we're all in the same gang here, no matter how we do it we all brew our own beer which makes us all fall into the same category. We obviously share the same interests and are proud of what we make and drink. Different methods suit different needs and thats why theres no bullys here

 

[NeilMac]

Thanks to the encouragement from you folks, I've decided to re-commence brewing operations earlier than I intended.

I've starting with a premium kit, Woodforde's Wherry, a kit which has received mixed reviews: the novices seem to rave about it, whilst the more experienced home brewers tend to be more critical.

Since it's a two-can kit, I'm doing a trial batch using one can only. I dissolved the contents in about 6 pints of treated water heated up in my 'jeely pan' (stockpot/preserving pan), which was then brought to near boiling point and allowed to cool slightly before being added to fermenting vessel.

I topped up FV to only 18 pints rather than 20 with more treated water, and when cool enough, dry-pitched S-04 yeast instead of the supplied sachet.

I carefully skimmed the brown bits off the yeast head after two days (why do kit instructions never advise you to do this?) and, four days in, I'll soon be racking the beer into a couple of demijohns, to allow it to condition (under airlock) before bottling.

Watch this space……

 

[Cider Minx]

: welcome :) :drink:

 

[Moley]

when cool enough, dry-pitched S-04 yeast instead of the supplied sachet.

Good move :thumb:

I carefully skimmed the brown bits off the yeast head after two days (why do kit instructions never advise you to do this?)

Because it's not necessary, and every time you mess with your beer is an opportunity for infection. Don't be alarmed by that, the risks are minimal if your hygiene regime is sound.

Some people skim, many don't bother, I like to try to remove the rim of crud off the side of the bucket, but any floaty bits should settle to the bottom given time.

 

[NeilMac]

Thanks for the info, Moley.

My obsession with skimming dates back to the days when I made my home brew with malt extract, crystal malt grains and whole hops, which seemed to produce a thick brown mat on top of the fermenting brew. Of course, the problem is that you inevitably end up removing a lot of the healthy, yeasty white head along with the nasty stuff.

 

[NeilMac]

On 5th March, after seven days in the FV, fermentation had almost ceased, so I got ready to rack into demijohns, as mentioned above.

A hydrometer reading at that stage showed an alarmingly high gravity of 1021, but I racked it anyway, to get it off the lees, and to study airlock activity in the demijohn (I don’t have an airlock facility on my FV lid).

After three days in the demijohns, activity had slowed to one bubble every five minutes or so through the airlock, and gravity was only marginally lower at 1020: this rang a bell, so I put ‘1020’ in the Forum’s Search engine; lo and behold, this finishing gravity seems to be an issue with Wherry, and other kits produced by Muntons.

I bottled it on 8th March, slightly underpriming each bottle, left it in the warm, and tried my sample bottle last night, exactly a week after bottling.

Initial impressions are surprisingly favourable, considering the beer is still ‘green’: carbonation is low, but I don’t mind that, and anyway I expect it to increase with time. Aroma is of a malty sweetness (that high finishing gravity….), although in the initial mouthful a hoppy bitterness (not the dreaded home-brew 'tang') combined with the sweet malt to give a distinct but pleasant ‘candy apple’ taste.

I think this beer shows promise (for a kit), and I intend to leave it for several more weeks before sampling again.

Neil

 

[BigYin]

Sounds like a very promising result : Welcome to the forum, and back to a very fulfilling and highly enjoyable hobby :drink: :drink:

 

[seanipops]

Welcome to the forum.

I brewed in the early 80's. The results were spectacularly mediocre. :)

Sean

 

[YogiB]

Hi NeilMac and Welcome :

Wherry is a nice drink;the kits have certainly improved.

YogiBeer