first time stout kit brew & equipment, thoughts please

[jonny5]

Hi all,

First try and home brew stout in the garage, hence the additional bucket and aquarium heater below. Can you please have a look at the below and confirm all looks ok? Going cheap initially with the plastic bottles and if i keep it up i might invest / collect some glass bottles.

brewing kit £22.79
https://www.brew2bottle.co.uk/muntons-gold-imperial-stout-40-pints.html

equipment £32.49
http://www.homebrewcentre.co.uk/5-gallon-fermentation-package

large bucket £4.00
coopers carbon drops £3.30

aquarium thermometer inc postage £10.00 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B011G5B31W/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

plastic bottles £10.00
http://groceries.asda.com/product/s...eden-falls-natural-mineral-water/910000297519

total £82.58

Thoughts please, thanks!

Jon

 

[Saltrock]

If you have a home brew shop near you, I recommend trying them out. It may work out slightly more expensive, but the hints and tips are definitely worth the extra!

 

[Dutto]

The kit looks fine and has all the gear. (Presumably the "large bucket" is to sit the FV in?)

The most critical bit of kit is the VWP steriliser. It is a "must rinse" steriliser so whilst it will do the business you have to rinse everything in cold water before you put it into service. I recommend that you go for this (which loads of Forum Members use) as an alternative or as an addition ...

http://www.homebrewcentregy.com/five-star-star-san-hb-236ml-no-rinse-steriliser

... or some of this ...

http://www.homebrewcentregy.com/chemipro-oxi-1kg

... which is what I use.

They are both "no rinse" sterilisers so, IF THE SOLUTION IS USED AS PER THE INSTRUCTIONS, there is no need to rinse the equipment before use.

ALWAYS REMEMBER
In brewing cleanliness IS NOT next to Godliness, it IS Godliness!

Have a great time! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[IainM]

The setup looks good to me. I got the same heater, the 75w Hidom, and it sticks fine to my £4 flexi bucket. I have to set the thermostat a couple of degrees higher than my desired temp, but its keeps it constant. I put the fermenter on top of a couple of jars in the bucket, which I think helps with the circulation, although the temp at the bottom of the flexi bucket is still a bit lower than the top. The beer doesn't seem to suffer for it! I've only used glass bottles, so can't comment on the cheap clear plastic ones, other than you'll want to keep them in the dark when conditioning.

I see you've gone for the Munton's Imperial Stout. The reviews for that one are mixed, and it isn't really Imperial. I've had great success with the Coopers Stout. The Homebrew Company do it with 1kg of dark spraymalt for just over £15, which is a bargain (http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/coopers-stout-ingredient-pack-p-1174.html). As a forum member, you can get a 5% discount to boot. Brewing it to a total of 20L with the 1kg spraymalt and 250g brown sugar has rave reviews. In fact, there is a post on doing it this way on another forum, which is pretty much 118 pages of happy brewers!: http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=31569

Best of luck with it and let us know how you get on :thumb:

 

[terrym]

Hi all,

First try and home brew stout in the garage, hence the additional bucket and aquarium heater below. Can you please have a look at the below and confirm all looks ok? Going cheap initially with the plastic bottles and if i keep it up i might invest / collect some glass bottles.

brewing kit £22.79
https://www.brew2bottle.co.uk/muntons-gold-imperial-stout-40-pints.html

equipment £32.49
http://www.homebrewcentre.co.uk/5-gallon-fermentation-package

large bucket £4.00
coopers carbon drops £3.30

aquarium thermometer inc postage £10.00 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B011G5B31W/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

plastic bottles £10.00
http://groceries.asda.com/product/s...eden-falls-natural-mineral-water/910000297519

total £82.58

Thoughts please, thanks!

Jon

Welcome to the forum.
Some tips in here http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=57526
My take....
- Try a Coopers Stout to start with. Simplest is with 500g Dark DME and 500g Brewing Sugar. Brew to 19 litres. Plenty of other ideas for this kit in the Review section
- Table sugar is fine for priming. You don't need 'carbonation drops'
- If you want PET bottles to start with, go for 2 litre bottles from cheap supermarket sparkling water at 17p each as cheapest option. I use these. I chuck em out after about 3 or 4 re-uses. Use with a serving jug. Gives you time to think about glass bottles or a pressure barrel.
- I use a 50w aquarium heater with a laundry trug container from Wilko to use as a water bath. So your 75w should be fine. I don't put the heater directly into my brew. Remember to set bath for about 18-20*C and don't rely on the heater control temp settings, use water to set things up not your brew. Make sure your FV will fit in the bath if you go that way.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
You could source most of what you need from the Homebrew Company, and get a discount as a forum member.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
If you haven't bought your equipment and kit, try this:
Equipment: http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk...arter-kit-includes-25lt-fermenters-p-213.html
Stout Kit: http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/coopers-stout-17-kg-p-18.html
Dark Spraymalt: http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/spraymalt-dark-500g-p-187.html
Dextrose: http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/brewing-wine-making-sugar-1kg-dextrose-monohydrate-p-251.html
Bottles: 2 boxes: http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk...plastic-bottles-500ml-caps-24-pack-p-923.html
With discount, this comes in at less than �£80 and free postage. Your aquarium heater is down to �£6.95, add on the �£4 for your large bucket - the lot for less than �£91, and you've got an extra fermentation bucket included in that price.

 

[jonny5]

Thanks for the help all.

All set for the weekend (which will probaby be sterilising this lot!)