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Pablosaurus · Sep 14, 2020

Morning all,

After a few years off (5? 6?) I've just fired up the brewing kit again and am excited to join the forum! I've always brewed kits, with varying degrees of success. All the brews have turned out as they should, I just wasn't terribly impressed with the results. They were okaaay, but then the bottling and/or barrelling process followed by working through 40 pints of 'okaaay' put me off after a bit. I found the Festival kits produced the best results - with Golden Stag and Landlord's Finest coming out on top (with these being genuinely enjoyable). A bumper batch of victoria plums this year led to the creation of some wine (a first attempt....jury's out for a few months yet!) but that process got some of the homebrew blood pumping again and I arrived here in search of kit recommendations. On that basis, I now have a Youngs AIPA kit bubbling away in the VA (with a little extra water to bring down the abv a touch). Having spent some time reading around here a little, I'm now tempted to try AG next. I never previously considered trying an AG brew, presuming it to be too complicated and involved a process. Seems I might be mistaken...

Looking forward to hanging out! Cheers, Paul

Current favourite beers:
York Brewery - Centurion Ghost porter
TT - Landlord
Kirkstall Brewery - Three Swords
Hambleton Brewery - Nightmare porter
Thornbridge - Jaipur IPA
Pilsner Urquell
Bath Ales - Sulis lager
And I'm getting a thing for sours too. Would be intrigued to brew one!

Chippy_Tea · Sep 14, 2020

Welcome to the forum thumb.

brumbrew · Sep 14, 2020

Welcome to the forum. I'm the same as you, had a few years off. I also, like you started on kits then went to AG. It really isn't that hard once you have your own system worked out.

I havent brewed for 3 years maybe, got the kit out, remembered it like riding a bike and got stuck in.

All my kit is home made and a bit of botch job, but it's produced wonderful results over the years.

I'm also new back here, having not posted for a while. If its still like it used to be, there will be plenty of people here ready to answer your questions. No matter how small.

Happy brewing

Pablosaurus · Sep 14, 2020

Thanks both! Well, I'll ease myself back in with a couple of decent kits first, then take the plunge with an AG. Looking forward to picking up on my old hobby. I also have the words 'Lockdown Christmas' in the back of my mind, so want to be well supplied in case the situ continues to worsen here in Leeds...

Gerryjo · Sep 15, 2020

Hi and welcome to the forum..
AG is great but time consuming in comparison with kits but the reward from a labour of love can be amazing for one just knowing that you made it from scratch and a lot better than some commercial brands out there and that's just starting out.
Don't worry about making mistakes as that's how we all learn plus it's also cost effective.
Geterbrewewd have stovetop kits for 5 litre brews if you want to test the water as do other HB shops.
Good luck on your return..