Ex pat in NZ

[SnakeEyes]

What did you buy?

The mangrove jacks micro brewery starter set. Came with a golden ale.

 

[GerritT]

The mangrove jacks micro brewery starter set. Came with a golden ale.

Now the old people had their say, it's time to get to business. Welcome! You're one of us now.

Let's have look at the set you bought:

1) Stainless Steel Fermenter with thermometer (this is nice!)
2) Brewer's Spoon (good to have one)
3) Bottle Brush (you gonna need bottles)
4) Hydrometer (it's glass, it might break, be careful)
5) Carbonation Drops (convenient? just use it)
6) Ingredients for first beer - Robbers Gold/Golden Ale Brewery Box (Mangrove Jacks, they know their stuff)

You will also need bottles to put the finished beer into. (I hope you been drinking to prepare?)

So: you'll need 23 liters of bottles. 70 small ones or 46 bigger ones. Get drinking. BUT if you can get your hand on fliptops, you're golden. Best bottling ever.

You gonna need a bit of sanitiser. Now I had brews where I didn't use it (wasn't paying attention), but I did clean everything as I normally do and I got away with it. Gambrinus (King of Beer) had a good day probably.
It's an ale, so no silly refrigerating required. Good. It's extract so no heating required in a 5 gallon pot. But you're gonna want one SO badly. Once you're into all-grain. Trust me on that.

So what do you need? Sanitiser and bottles.
The bottles: plastic works for some people. I could do with it. But save bottles and in due time get a capper. A handcapper perhaps. And caps. But best is fliptops. Like on Grolsch-bottles. Which is brewed in my country. Making it often enough CHEAPER to buy Grolsch, emptying them in the garden and cleaning them instead of buying fresh bottles. Not what I do though.

So frankly you're golden. Just get bottles :) And be kind to the missus if there is one. It's good to be kind when you gonna claim the kitchen on brewdays.

 

[Clint]

Ah yes just read your link..
Right..
You may need to wash the fv before sterilising.
Mix up a few litres of sanitiser as per ratio...I do around 5 of 6..in a clean bucket...bung all your bits into it...spoon,a jug,hydrometer in fact anything that will touch your wort,
Tip some solution into the fv and swish it round,
Put your unopened malt extract into a bowl of hot water to soften,
Boil kettle,
Open a beer,
Open malt extract, scissors or tin opener,depends on packaging,but sterilise those too,
Tip extract into sterilised fv,tip out sanitiser first!
Tip up empty malt pkt with boiled water to rinse out...they will be hot!
Give mixture in fv a good stir with sterilised spoon,
Now with your sterilised jug tip up your fv with cold tap water to req level..watch temp guage...depending on your incoming water temp you may need to add hot or cold as req to get correct temp for pitching..read your instructions for this..
When topping up thrash it well with your spoon to introduce air.
Take hydrometer reading...I use a cheap turkey baster,sterilised,to remove some wort,you can just float your hydrometer in your fv but....sterilise it first.
Record the reading
Pitch your yeast...sprinkle evenly over the surface.
Fit airlock filled with steriliser solution.
Leave somewhere around 20 degrees if possible..
DO NOT fiddle with it,take the lid off or worry..

 

[GerritT]

Ah yes just read your link..
Right..
You may need to wash the fv before sterilising.
Mix up a few litres of sanitiser as per ratio...I do around 5 of 6..in a clean bucket...bung all your bits into it...spoon,a jug,hydrometer in fact anything that will touch your wort,
Tip some solution into the fv and swish it round,
Put your unopened malt extract into a bowl of hot water to soften,
Boil kettle,
Open a beer,
Open malt extract, scissors or tin opener,depends on packaging,but sterilise those too,
Tip extract into sterilised fv,tip out sanitiser first!
Tip up empty malt pkt with boiled water to rinse out...they will be hot!
Give mixture in fv a good stir with sterilised spoon,
Now with your sterilised jug tip up your fv with cold tap water to req level..watch temp guage...depending on your incoming water temp you may need to add hot or cold as req to get correct temp for pitching..read your instructions for this..
When topping up thrash it well with your spoon to introduce air.
Take hydrometer reading...I use a cheap turkey baster,sterilised,to remove some wort,you can just float your hydrometer in your fv but....sterilise it first.
Record the reading
Pitch your yeast...sprinkle evenly over the surface.
Fit airlock filled with steriliser solution.
Leave somewhere around 20 degrees if possible..
DO NOT fiddle with it,take the lid off or worry..

DO NOT pitch yeast in hot wort. Wait for 20-ishº. Take notes. And come back here if you still have questions.
(PS What Clint said was good, same things should be in your howto that came with the package)

 

[marshbrewer]

Just to add, check your sanitizer instructions, some need rinsing off afterwards before you use the kit, others don't (the no rinse ones, obviously!) No rinse is massively more convenient, IMHO.

 

[Clint]

....or just YouTube your exact kit!

 

[GerritT]

o.m.g. yeah just youtube it.

Look I'm in education and my hate towards youtube is pure. It can melt steel beams.

 

[SnakeEyes]

Cheers lads. Been reading through the instructions and your comments. I think I've got it, hope I've got it anyway lol.

Is the fermentation temp really important? I've not long been up and it's 18 degrees in the house. Might get down to about 15 degrees over night. Do I need to think of heating?

I had planned to put it in the airing cupboard. But it doesn't fit :angry:

 

[Clint]

But....we all have been there starting out new...a bit unsure etc.
I would definitely try to help a new starter first hand if I could.

 

[Clint]

Heating...18 will be fine,it will slow down a bit at 15 although it will generate a couple of degrees as it ferments. At night you could just wrap a thick towel or even an old coat around it.

 

[GerritT]

But....we all have been there starting out new...a bit unsure etc.
I would definitely try to help a new starter first hand if I could.

It's okay @Clint, you're one of the people that I would take advise from without questioning. Yet my aversion towards youtube is huge. Think Trump-ego-like huge.

 

[SnakeEyes]

Heating...18 will be fine,it will slow down a bit at 15 although it will generate a couple of degrees as it ferments. At night you could just wrap a thick towel or even an old coat around it.

I'm thinking if I put it in my wardrobe and wrap it. It should be ok. Its possibly a little warmer in the wardrobe. Or I might nip out and buy a heat belt.

 

[GerritT]

Fermenting can add 3º towards the temperature, so 15º should do. Ale is very kind in that! Just keep it steady.

 

[GerritT]

I'm thinking if I put it in my wardrobe and wrap it. It should be ok. Its possibly a little warmer in the wardrobe. Or I might nip out and buy a heat belt.

Do not worry. Yeast does not give up easily. Give it a nice place, around 18-20º, cover it with something like an old coat or sleeping bag and do not come back for 2 weeks.

 

[SnakeEyes]

Fermenting can add 3º towards the temperature, so 15º should do. Ale is very kind in that! Just keep it steady.

It's getting towards the end of winter here. So I suspect the temperature will be a lot better in about 4-6 weeks.

 

[SnakeEyes]

Do not worry. Yeast does not give up easily. Give it a nice place, around 18-20º, cover it with something like an old coat or sleeping bag and do not come back for 2 weeks.

Yeah I'm just going to go for it lol.

 

[GerritT]

It's getting towards the end of winter here. So I suspect the temperature will be a lot better in about 4-6 weeks.

Not much to worry about eh? Just keep the temps flat as possible. I have a brew fermenting at 30º, and I'm curious too!! Nobody expected those temps :/

And for later, as in: a few months, you could try your hand at Norwegian farmhouse yeasts, "kveik". They thrive at 30º.
But that's for later.

 

[SnakeEyes]

Not much to worry about eh? Just keep the temps flat as possible. I have a brew fermenting at 30º, and I'm curious too!! Nobody expected those temps :/

And for later, as in: a few months, you could try your hand at Norwegian farmhouse yeasts, "kveik". They thrive at 30º.
But that's for later.

I'm going to stick to really easy ones to begin with. I'm buzzing to get started but don't want to make any mistakes

 

[Dutto]

Remember two things:

1. Adrenalin is brown and runs down the back of your legs.
2. You learn by your mistakes; but only if you live long enough!

Enjoy! It will turn out fine because God is good to first time brewers! :thumb:

Which is why he hammers the more experienced ones if they try a short-cut somewhere along the line! abigt

 

[SnakeEyes]

All set up. Had 1 miss hap while moving the fermenter. As I grabbed it off the kitchen bench, my belly pressed on the tap and I spilt some on the floor. Not much probably about the size of 2 mouth full's.