Driven to Homebrew

[Redwulf]

Greeting from East Yorkshire!

I've decided to have a crack at brewing as my local has given up on hand pulled cask beer and become an Italian restaurant which is a bit of a shame for them but an exciting new challenge for me. My desire is for hand pumped cask beer at home but that might be a way off as I have 3 or 4 big projects going on at home already.

I'm expecting my starter kit any day and hope to have my first batch fermenting in the next week or so.

I've been reading The Complete Joy of Home Brewing while I am waiting and planning what I am going to make after I do the kit that comes in the box.

Am I right in thinking I can do an all grain brew using a strainer bag of some kind and a sous vide machine to hold the mash in the correct temperature range rather than have to invest in a mash tun early on?

 

[Banbeer]

Welcome to the forum @Redwulf, happy brewing

 

[Gerryjo]

Hi and welcome to the forum.. You're certainly right about AG though there is a load more options available depending on your needs. If starting small raid your kitchen cupboard for a large pot and a straining bag or even some voile netting. As long as you can control the temperature you'll be fine. Have a look Have a go at simple AG

 

[obscure]

Hello and welcome good basic bitters, milds etc work really well made in small batches using BIAB.

I normally just wrap my pot in a couple of big bath towels and it rarely drops more than a couple of degrees, over a 60-90 minute mash.

SMASH beer (single malt and single hop) Is a great way to get to grips with basic technique and produces some great beer, the thread mentioned by Gerryjo is a great one and what made me realise actually all grain isn’t all that difficult and decide to give it a go.

 

[NormanHurst]

If you have a sous vide temperature controller then it will probably be very effective. I considered it before my first batch a few weeks ago - also using the thread linked to above - but followed advice to just wrap blankets around the stock pot. I was surprised how effective it was. I used some rough woolen packaging insulation that had arrived in some online purchase or other with an old blanket over the top. The mash barely dropped 2C in an hour.

If you have a Sous Vide machine then if may give extra control but it certainly isn't a necessary purchase if you don't.

 

[An Ankoù]

Welcome Redwolf, Papazian's a great read but you need to be careful because American terminology and measures are different. The biggest confusion is over the gallon: 5 US gallons are 19 litres while the proper 5-gallon measure that the LORD gave to Moses on Mt Sinai is about 23 litres. (it's because they reckon there should only be 16 fluid ounces in a pint instead of 20. It doesn't matter who's right, they're wrong. Proof: if our pints hold more beer then that's the pint everyone should be drinking from). They talk about "caramel" malts while we talk about "crystal" malts. If a US recipe contains UK caramel/crystal malt, though, they call it by our name. They measure Specific gravity in degrees Plato, colour in Lovibond or SRM rather than EBC and either Papazian or Mosher claims it's enough to simply double the number to convert from one to the other. It isn't but there are plenty of conversion charts online. Once you get all that under your belt, the American literature is amazing and Papazian is among the best.
I've been brewing for 50 years this year and I've never used a sous-vide machine. It's seems an expensive toy unless you've got one knocking around anyway.

 

[Horners]

Welcome Redwolf, Papazian's a great read but you need to be careful because American terminology and measures are different. The biggest confusion is over the gallon: a US gallon is 19 litres while the proper gallon that the LORD gave to Moses on Mt Sinai is about 23 litres. (it's because they reckon there should only be 16 fluid ounces in a pint instead of 20. It doesn't matter who's right, they're wrong. Proof: if our pints hold more beer then that's the [pint everyone should be drinking from). They talk about "caramel" malts while we talk about "crystal" malts. If a US recipe contains UK caramel/crystal malt, though, they call it by our name. They measure Specific gravity in degrees Plato, colour in Lovibond or SRM rather than EBC and either Papazian or Mosher claims it's enough to simply double the number to convert from one to the other. It isn't but there are plenty of conversion charts online. Once you get all that under your belt, the American literature is amazing and Papazian is among the best.
I've been brewing for 50 years this year and I've never used a sous-vide machine. It's seems an expensive toy unless you've got one knocking around anyway.

@An Ankoù whilst nobody likes a pedant I think 23L is about 5 proper gallons.

 

[Gerryjo]

@An Ankoù whilst nobody likes a pedant I think 23L is about 5 proper gallons.

Give him a break he's been brewing hard this last 50 years

 

[Redwulf]

Welcome Redwolf, Papazian's a great read but you need to be careful because American terminology and measures are different. The biggest confusion is over the gallon: a US gallon is 19 litres while the proper gallon that the LORD gave to Moses on Mt Sinai is about 23 litres. (it's because they reckon there should only be 16 fluid ounces in a pint instead of 20. It doesn't matter who's right, they're wrong. Proof: if our pints hold more beer then that's the [pint everyone should be drinking from). They talk about "caramel" malts while we talk about "crystal" malts. If a US recipe contains UK caramel/crystal malt, though, they call it by our name. They measure Specific gravity in degrees Plato, colour in Lovibond or SRM rather than EBC and either Papazian or Mosher claims it's enough to simply double the number to convert from one to the other. It isn't but there are plenty of conversion charts online. Once you get all that under your belt, the American literature is amazing and Papazian is among the best.
I've been brewing for 50 years this year and I've never used a sous-vide machine. It's seems an expensive toy unless you've got one knocking around anyway.

I was given a sous vide by my french mother in law, it gets used once or twice year when I find a nice thick steak.

Out of interest whats the impact of getting them the wrong way round while brewing?

 

[cushyno]

Stronger or weaker beer. You'll be just over 1/5 stronger or weaker depending how you mix your measurements.

 

[Redwulf]

That was my first thought but figured it would be less straight forward than that :)

 

[Neil Whittaker]

I have a sous vide machine, maybe an idea for small batches.
Edit: Oh, and welcome to the home brew world. :-)

 

[An Ankoù]

@An Ankoù whilst nobody likes a pedant I think 23L is about 5 proper gallons.

A factor of 5 is a long way from being pedantic. Thanks. I've edited the original to avoid confusion rather than to cover up my dodgy arithmetic. :hat:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum thumb

 

[Redwulf]

Thank you for the warm welcome, my starter kit arrives tomorrow so hopefully I'll make a start over the weekend.

 

[Andrew Elliott]

Welcome to the forum, take your time and enjoy. I gets very addictive!

 

[Bambino40k]

Welcome redwulf to the end of your free weekends, spending to much money on "necessities", and a world of excellent beer! Where abouts in E.Yorkshire? I'm on the Humber coast. If your looking for a good starter book, I started with Chris Colby's Homebrew Bible.

 

[Redwulf]

We're over in a little village near Howden so on the otherside of the county I guess. I've picked up some additional essentials already from wilko as well as a fermenter measured in gods own gallons as the one I got with my kit is atlantically challenged.

I'll add Chris Colby to my reading list.

What is the water like for brewing over near you? It can smell a bit bleachy over here so I've half a mind to go and buy 20 litres of spring water from Tesco for my first batch.

 

[Andrew Elliott]

Hi Redwulf if you are worried about it smelling of chlorine you could try either leaving it in the pot overnight or just drop a Camden tablet in. Your local water company should publish some information on chemistry it won’t however give you the full picture.

 

[Redwulf]

Hi Redwulf if you are worried about it smelling of chlorine you could try either leaving it in the pot overnight or just drop a Camden tablet in. Your local water company should publish some information on chemistry it won’t however give you the full picture.

Thanks Andrew, I went with the Campden Tablet. I stirred a crushed one into the pot before I started heating and stirred it in. I think I was worried about nothing, since 36 hours later the Krausen has dropped and the cupboard under the stairs smells of delicious beer!