First time student brew - Some questions

[Dward93]

Hey all,

Just a bit of background. I've been thinking about homebrewing for quite some time now, just as a thing to do and try out. This post is both a test of whether what I know is right, how cheap I can do this for, and whether it's worth pursuing. I've constantly put it off as taking up too much space or time, but recent research has revealed that might not be the case. Having browsed the web and this forum, I was genuinely surprised to find your can brew up a passable beer within two weeks, plus some time for aging.

However, being a student (and a skinflint one, at that), I'm looking into how immensely cheaply I can actually do this, whilst maintaining good standards. At the same time, I have NO experience in brewing, the following is literally derived from what I've read in the past week.

I assume, for the BARE MINIMUM, I would require: A fermenter (demijohn w/ airlock & seal or fermenting bucket w/ appropriate lid/airlock), yeast, and a beer kit/malt extract (or otherwise relevant item for brewing).

Now, ensuring some degree of quality, I would also need sterilising powder, and a heater (a student house is an unheated house).

For a better degree of knowing what's going on and perfection, a hydrometer, thermometer, syphon tube/clip and bottles would be ideal... But I'd probably not be bothering with them, spare perhaps the hydrometer but I really don't see the benefit unless you're going for a specific ABV, and remembering this is literally intending to be cheap as chips, I'm not too bothered about going for a specific ABV.

Any comments on whether I'm literally being foolish by thinking I can go about it this way I would gladly appreciate, plus generally ANY comments on what I've written.

Two last things:
Is it worth going for a demijohn/carboy, or is a fermentation bucket just as good (and presumably cheaper)?
(Not appropriate for this forum section, but bunging it in, sorry!) Is it plausible to age the brew in the fermenter, then directly serve via siphoning, rather than aging by bottling?

Sorry for the long post, all help will be greatly appreciated

 

[Billyb83]

Hello mate,

Firstly I thought I would answer not because I am an expert but because I am a beginner so might be able to answer some questions from closer to your own knowledge level if you see what I mean. There are a lot of questions to get through but here goes!

A fermenter is required, its around £10 for a plastic bucket, you dont need an airlock or anything for your first go, they come with a lid, just clip it most of the way down but leave a tiny gap thats big enough for some gas to escape from.

All beer kits come with 1 or 2 cans and some yeast basically. For the cheapest ones I would suggest having a look in either Wilkos or morrisons and get a 1 can kit, then you need some sugar, which i always use brewing sugar at around £2 per kilo, however if you really want to be cheap (and some people would say with no loss of quality) you can use normal granulated sugar. Normally the instructions say 1kg but I normally do 1.5kgs (you could go for 2kgs if you really want to get sloshed but you would lose quality).

Sterilising powder isnt for quality its to stop it being undrinkable so you NEED that. I would say that a heater may not be necessary, wrapping in old blankets might keep you at the temp you need (around 20c).

unfortunately a Hydrometer is necessary as it will give you a better indication of when your beer has stopped fermenting which you need to know.

Now I think you are missing something as you then need to make your beer fizzy, unless you are willing to drink it flat. You need something airtight so either bottles or keg. With bottles you need caps and a capper. You can get the bottles free from pubs (or student unions) and the caps dont cost too much. I would say though if you are trying to cut down on effort a keg might be the best option, you would put it in there with a bit extra sugar, seal it up and away you go. Ive only ever bottled so might be better to ask someone elses advise about that but it does seem easier. I believe wilkos have a sale on equipment like that so maybe try there.

There isnt much difference between what you ferment in, as long as you sanitise it before use and it can keep germs out and beer in then your fine.

My first beer was a Geordie lager that cost me around 0.25p per pint without thinking about my equipment and that wasnt the worst pint of lager I have ever had so think its a pretty good idea, the only problem is it does take closer to 6 weeks in total and having 40 pints sat in the corner of your student house is going to be difficult I would imagine!

 

[Fil]

u Need:
a food grade bucket with lid
a thermometer and hydrometer.
a syphon
a kit
sugar/spraymalt/lme as needed

cleanliness and sanitation are not optional,

serving from the bucket would be flat dead beer and probably bad tasting if left long enough to mature due to cannibalistic yeast eating each other and causing off flavors, pop bottles are free at ur school from the table tops/bins i guess...

the kit will tel u drinkable in x days , double it at least,, leave in the bottles to mature at least 4 weeks in the cool after a week or 2 in the warm to condition.

yeast create heat when feeding so wrap up the bucket with blankets/sleeping bags, and while a little slower generally produce best flavor when at the lower end of the temp range the kit suggests, when at the top of the temp range they can start to create more off flavors.

go for a lager kit with real lager yeast and it will fermrnt happily at 12c.. most budget lager kits however come with ale yeast supplied, so check..

£30 should set u up with most stuff and a kit,


budget cleaner is unscented oxi laundry cleaner at about £2.50 per kg

cheapest sanitiser 10% thin bleach solution, BUT rinse well,

best value sanitiser imo starsan at about £10 a bottle BUT will last years.... its no rinse, and persistent so can be reused next brew..

do it proberly and enjoy the beer

 

[Dave1970]

As above, serving from the fermenter isn't going to work, your beer will be flat and nasty tasting. You need to either bottle or barrel.

Bottles are cheapest -you're looking at £8 for a crown capper and 80p for 50 caps from Wilkinsons...bottles you could get for nothing from a pub or perhaps a Student Union.

I'd also keep an eye on your local Freecycle, I've seen homebrew kit on there occasionally - you might be able to really do it on the cheap!

 

[Dward93]

Sterilising powder isnt for quality its to stop it being undrinkable so you NEED that. I would say that a heater may not be necessary, wrapping in old blankets might keep you at the temp you need (around 20c)

Haha, I feel I should explain, I appreciate that it IS needed, but if you wanted to go barebones try-your-luck, you COULD get away without it. Let me make it clear, I would most definitely be sterilising! And when I said no heating, I practically mean it, this house tends to hover around the 13 degrees mark, dropping to below 10 at night.

Anyway... I think you guys might be right, I may be missing something here. As far as I understand it, you transfer from the fermenter to bottles/keg/etc to allow it to age (and carbonate with the additional sugars). If using a bucket, could you not just add sugar, pop the lid on tight and carry on like that? Or is there a fundamental procedure in between the fermenter and bottles that I'm missing?

Thanks for all the feedback all!

 

[chrig]

The bucket will not hold the co2 in due to the pressure, it'll pop the lid off in no time. Once you start pouring then from the tap then you will start letting air in to replace the beer.. Which in turn will spoil the beer.

You can use 2L pop bottles to carbonate and age the beer, just pour four pints in one go.. I'm sure that won't be an issue, I know how hard my younger course mates hit the Beer hard :lol:.

Get another three lads involved and you can get all the equipment and a good kit for under a tenner each.. Your next ones will be a lot cheaper

 

[Dward93]

You can use 2L pop bottles to carbonate and age the beer, just pour four pints in one go..

I didn't even think about that possibility, I'll have to try it! I'm more than happy to do that, anything to save the pennies.

I see what you mean about pouring from the fermenter as well; I'll be trying out the pop bottles way then (I really see no reason not to).

If anyone else has some hints or tips to throw at me, I'm more than happy to receive them!

 

[Billyb83]

I think the pop bottles are perfect for what you want and you can get 17p water from most supermarkets if you cant find enough iron brew ones. Also you need to add some more sugar to the bottles while you are topping up with flat beer so it carbs up. Have a look on the forum for amounts, for a lager you want around 120g of sugar, for bitter you want around 80g.

Good luck. Let us know how you get on!

 

[Gethin79]

I think the pop bottles are perfect for what you want and you can get 17p water from most supermarkets if you cant find enough iron brew ones. Also you need to add some more sugar to the bottles while you are topping up with flat beer so it carbs up. Have a look on the forum for amounts, for a lager you want around 120g of sugar, for bitter you want around 80g.

Good luck. Let us know how you get on!

That's for the whole brew amount...not per bottle!!

 

[Chris_1984]

Thought I'd throw in my two pence, seeing as I got hooked on brewing at uni and it's the only habit I've continued!

Here's my top 4 tips:

1) Cheap fermenters can be got either via Freecycle/Freegle, etc. Or you can get a cheap food grade bucket from £5 on Amazon
2) Wilkos thin bleach is ideal for sterilising as is their tiny homebrew steriliser for bottles/equipment
3) Experiment with whatever cheap sugar you can find. Light/dark brown, caster, granulated, treacle/golden syrup.
4) Cold student homes are ideal for lager. My first student kit was a lager.

 

[Dward93]

1) Cheap fermenters can be got either via Freecycle/Freegle, etc. Or you can get a cheap food grade bucket from £5 on Amazon
2) Wilkos thin bleach is ideal for sterilising as is their tiny homebrew steriliser for bottles/equipment
3) Experiment with whatever cheap sugar you can find. Light/dark brown, caster, granulated, treacle/golden syrup.
4) Cold student homes are ideal for lager. My first student kit was a lager.

1) I'll be keeping an eye on Freecylcle then, but I'll probably dive in and buy a bucket to begin with.
2) That's handy, I have a feeling I'll be visiting Wilkos a lot if I make this a regular hobby :lol:
3) I've been planning to simply use granulated. Is there any advantage to the "brewing" sugar? I assumed it was just a marketing ploy.
4) That's interesting. I thought that 20degrees was nigh required for brewing? This house gets cold, really cold, but if you're telling me I don't need to buy a heater, that's another few quid saved.

 

[Chris_1984]

Without wishing to get too scientific, brewing sugar (IMO) gives a smoother taste than granulated.
And make sure before you add yeast that the wort in your fementer feels warm to the touch (if you don't have a thermometer on hand) before adding yeast. Add it above 30 degrees Celsius and you run the risk of killing it.
Wrap it in blankets/sleeping bag to keep it relatively warm...

 

[LeithR]

Not quite the right time of year yet but don't forget car boot sales, I'd start checking them out now tho'. I have picked up some very useful bits and pieces for home brewing at car boots, these in company with Freecycle/Freegle should get you all you want eventually.

I'd also suggest you need to decide how you want to brew, brewing kits you will not need a boiler except a kettle. For all grain you need to decide if you are doing extract, partial mash, All grain or Brew in a Bag - this is a form of all grain brewing but simplified, you need a boiler but you put the grain into a bag for the steeping step and then remove it into a bucket and carry out a simple sparge in the bucket. You will need all the grains etc but you will get good prices from the sponsors (see top of page) I use the Malt Miller a fair bit and Rob's prices are good and the grains etc are of high quality. I find the this form of AG brewing brings excellent results and it is cheaper than kit brewing per brew - unless you can buy them on sale fro Wilko's or Tesco's.

I've been using ordinary T&L granulated sugar for brewing for many years while experimenting with other types of sugar including brewing sugar, this is well worth while research but it is more expensive than basic sugar. If you can tap into a cheap source of ordinary sugar that's the best place to start.

Ditto the idea of using bottles from the students union etc... bottles should be free to you, try and get brown ones as daylight will cause the beer to go off and taste awful, its called skunking you don't want this.

Once you have decided on how you want to proceed put a new thread in the wanted section of the forum and somebody local to you may be able to help you with your needs.

Good luck with your brewing, by 3rd year you could be living in party central.

 

[LeithR]

Not quite the right time of year yet but don't forget car boot sales, I'd start checking them out now tho'. I have picked up some very useful bits and pieces for home brewing at car boots, these in company with Freecycle/Freegle should get you all you want eventually.

I'd also suggest you need to decide how you want to brew, brewing kits you will not need a boiler except a kettle. For all grain you need to decide if you are doing extract, partial mash, All grain or Brew in a Bag - this is a form of all grain brewing but simplified, you need a boiler but you put the grain into a bag for the steeping step and then remove it into a bucket and carry out a simple sparge in the bucket. You will need all the grains etc but you will get good prices from the sponsors (see top of page) I use the Malt Miller a fair bit and Rob's prices are good and the grains etc are of high quality. I find the this form of AG brewing brings excellent results and it is cheaper than kit brewing per brew - unless you can buy them on sale fro Wilko's or Tesco's.

I've been using ordinary T&L granulated sugar for brewing for many years while experimenting with other types of sugar including brewing sugar, this is well worth while research but it is more expensive than basic sugar. If you can tap into a cheap source of ordinary sugar that's the best place to start.

Ditto the idea of using bottles from the students union etc... bottles should be free to you, try and get brown ones as daylight will cause the beer to go off and taste awful, its called skunking you don't want this.

Once you have decided on how you want to proceed put a new thread in the wanted section of the forum and somebody local to you may be able to help you with your needs.

Good luck with your brewing, by 3rd year you could be living in party central.

 

[chrig]

I use 500ml pet bottles whilst I build up a stock of glass ones very easy to collect 40 of them. Clean as soon as you get them and disinfect with weak bleach solution the morning you plan to make your kit.

5L plastic water bottles make cheap plastic demo johns, for when you start making sparkling 'wow' for the ladies

 

[dennisking]

Hi and welcome. Let us know were you a based. There is always a chance someone will have odds and sods they are happy to give away.