Advice Needed... New to All This...

[TimD]

Hello all, and greetings from Germany (Cologne, to be exact). Well, German beer is good as far as it goes, but it's all extremely 'samey'... you're basically restricted to either lager or wheat beer (or the local 'Kölsch' that they brew around here, but that is, basically, still lager). And I really miss my bitters and pale ales.

So, the thought came to me that I would brew my own... since I'm a complete dolt at this (the idea of brewing my own beer actually makes me feel a bit nervous)... I thought I'd ask you some advice about easy starter kits.

Basically, the style of beer that I like are the light, hoppy bitters like Summer Lightning or Otley, or pale ales like Marston's Old Empire. so, can anyone recommend me an idiot-proof brewing kit that might approach either of these two styles?

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/review/pr ... tegory/71/

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/muntons-p ... 3-6kg.html

Look promising, but I gather these take quite a while to be ready, and I'd like something that I can knock out in two or three weeks. anyone got any suggestions? Also, I gather I need a special 5 gallon barrel in addition to the brewing kit?

TIA,

 

[Moley]

Look promising, but I gather these take quite a while to be ready, and I'd like something that I can knock out in two or three weeks. anyone got any suggestions?

Can't be done from a kit brew, not if you want anything worth drinking, sorry.

 

[bigdave]

Thats a bit dismissive. The kits of old were fairly poor but the modern day kits are very good. One thing you will notice about kit brewed beer is that the finished product lacks a bit of mouth feel.

You have 2 options with kits, 1 can or 2 can. The 1 can kits are good because you can control the finished beer with the addition of DME (dried malt extract), sugar or beer enhancer whilst 2 can kits are a one stop shop. My advice with kits would be to pick a 2 can kit and follow the instructions on the box. It wont give you pub quality beer but you will get a reasonable quality beer.

 

[Moley]

That's a bit dismissive. The kits of old were fairly poor but the modern day kits are very good.

I agree, kits are vastly superior now to anything I brewed back in my teens and twenties, but you still can't knock them out, clear and condition in 2-3 weeks.

Drinkable? Maybe.
Good to drink? No.

Also, I gather I need a special 5 gallon barrel in addition to the brewing kit?

You don't need a pressure barrel, that is only one option, but conditioning in a barrel or keg can take even longer than bottle conditioning.

 

[TimD]

Thanks, all....

OK, so how long would I be looking at if I bottle-conditioned from a kit? And what sort of bottles? I can get 1-litre or 330 ml plastic screwtops here no probs (but I'm gonna have to drink a lot of orange juice...). 500 ml glass bottles, of course, are no probs, but stoppers are. Are these available separately?

Basically, my plan is to start with a kit, to get a feel for the process, then move on to something a bit more 'artisanal'.

Any recommendations for kits that will take me in the direction I want? Someone has recommended Cooper's kits as being pretty foolproof, and this seems to be the style I'm after:

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/coopers-r ... -7-kg.html

Bloody cheap, as well! Anyone got any experience of it?

Edit: looking for bottles over here (can't find any)... look at these badboys:

http://www.genussreich-shop.de/epages/6 ... anlagen%22

 

[TimD]

Thats a bit dismissive. The kits of old were fairly poor but the modern day kits are very good. One thing you will notice about kit brewed beer is that the finished product lacks a bit of mouth feel.

You have 2 options with kits, 1 can or 2 can. The 1 can kits are good because you can control the finished beer with the addition of DME (dried malt extract), sugar or beer enhancer whilst 2 can kits are a one stop shop. My advice with kits would be to pick a 2 can kit and follow the instructions on the box. It wont give you pub quality beer but you will get a reasonable quality beer.

Thanks bigdave... so a 1-can kit with a packet of beer enhancer would be the equivalent of a 2-can kit?

 

[gsidford]

so a 1-can kit with a packet of beer enhancer would be the equivalent of a 2-can kit?

I believe a 1-can kit with beer enhancer would be better than a straight 1-can kit, but a 2-can kit would be better than either.

 

[Moley]

OK, so how long would I be looking at if I bottle-conditioned from a kit? And what sort of bottles? I can get 1-litre or 330 ml plastic screwtops here no probs (but I'm gonna have to drink a lot of orange juice...). 500 ml glass bottles, of course, are no probs, but stoppers are. Are these available separately?

After bottling, ideally 4-7 days in a warm place followed by a month in a cool place.

Plastic bottles are fine but 330ml might be a bit of a pain. 500ml or litre would be my preference, some people use 2 litre. If using clear bottles, store them in the dark.

Glass is better but you need the caps and something to attach them.

On this page you're looking at the crown caps (100s), £2.19, and on this page look at the Young's or Emily or counter top cappers.

 

[TimD]

Great, Moley, thanks... I can get 2-litre PET bottles here for 19 cents (filled with 'mineral water'.)

 

[Moley]

Fizzy water bottles :thumb:
Still water bottles :nono:

 

[bigdave]

Aggg,... sorry, my mistake, I'd missed the bit on the end about finishing in 3 weeks! umm... yeah, 3 weeks is going to be tight although I guess you could just about pull a stout kit off in that time?