Greetings from the Wyre Forest of Despair

[Berk]

Well, it's not really that bad, although I do despair about my home town.

Hello there. I found this forum while doing some research about home brewing, so far the information has been helpful and concise, so I thought I'd sign up and say hello.

I first started brewing a few years ago when I was a student in Northampton, I had a little success with some kits. Well I say success, the results were drinkable after you choked down the first pint. Then we moved and the kit got packed away, and my father in law had his pressure barrel back, so the brewing got put on hold for two years. I've just got into brewing again after finally getting around to using the kit my sister in law bought me for my birthday in December. She got me a kit with an FV, syphon, stirrer, 40 clear plastic bottles, some steriliser and a hydrometer. I already have an FV and a hydrometer from my last foray into brewing, and last week I went out and purchased a pressure barrel, a couple of kits, a testing tube and turkey baster, and some brewing sugar. I also stole my father in laws pressure barrel back.

With these I've now got two Wilko's kits fermenting that I started yesterday. One is the Wilko Apple Cider kit, that is primarily something for my wife to drink as she doesn't like beer. The second is the Wilko Dark Velvet Stout, which I fancied the look of as something a bit different.

So that's a little about where I am with it all now. I'll doubtless be back with more questions as I go along.

 

[joe1002]

Welcome to the forum :

 

[dennisking]

Hi and welcome.

 

[Papa G]

Hi, welcome to the forum :

 

[Berk]

Thank you for the welcomes, and hello to each of you.

 

[CaptainMallard]

Hello, and welcome to the forum! :thumb: Sounds like you're off to a good start. Here's to many more :

 

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Welcome to the forum - I've only been doing this for a month but this place teaches me something new every time I brew another effort. The things you don't find out from kits!

 

[Berk]

Thank you for the welcomes CaptainMallard and ClarenceBoddi*ker (sorry, it wouldn't let me make the post with your full user name, it asked me to remove the bad words first).

I think I'm off to a good start, I'm struggling to maintain a good fermenting temperature though thanks to living in an old Victorian house with single glazed windows. I think I'm getting there though. It's true about learning from the site though, I'm picking up something every visit, even if it not quite relevant yet, it's ticking over in the back of my mind and fermenting new plans for home brewing.

 

[BIGJIM72]

Oh globbits-you will be fine!

 

[Moley]

Thank you for the welcomes CaptainMallard and ClarenceBoddi*ker (sorry, it wouldn't let me make the post with your full user name, it asked me to remove the bad words first).

:lol: I didn't know the filter looked for words within words.

Just testing to see what it tells me when I say a big hello to ClarenceBoddicker and any members from Scunthorpe.

I'm struggling to maintain a good fermenting temperature though thanks to living in an old Victorian house with single glazed windows. I think I'm getting there though.

I know what you mean, at least our big old house is mostly double glazed now but fermenting anything at this time of year necessitates some form of FV heater.

But does yours have a cellar?

Welcome to the forum :


Edit: Looks like you can get away with stuff when you've been here a while, now that's bloody weird.

 

[ClarenceBoddicker]

and a big hello back from ClarenceB! I won't use my full username for fear of offending!
I've just noticed the reference to Sc***horpe. Very funny.

 

[Berk]

But does yours have a cellar?

Welcome to the forum :


Edit: Looks like you can get away with stuff when you've been here a while, now that's bloody weird.

Thanks for the welcome.

We do have a cellar, two infact, the house is built on a bank so you come in the front door at ground level, then go down through the rear cellar to the back garden. The front cellar is underground, but tends to feel chilly, I'll have to stick a thermometer down there and see what temperature it sits at. I know the rear cellar is cold as it has no heating, and the front cellar gets the cold air from it, but I'll have to check and see properly.

I have plans for the rear cellar, as it comes complete with a sink and power (it's where we keep the washer, drier and freezer). So with a little thought it could work nicely for AG brewing, but that is a project for the future.

As for Sc*nthorpe and the like, I think that is a restriction imposed on new users, the same for links and the like. It keeps telling me I look too spammy for a new user when I try and do things like that.

Edit: I've just seen you'r location says Kiddy, Moley. I wonder if you can guess what my home town that I despair about is. I'll give you a clue, it starts with K and ends in er.

 

[Moley]

You should find your cellar temperatures don't drop much below 10C in the middle of Winter but don't get much above 14C at the height of Summer, which is perfect for storing your wines or beers. I certainly wouldn't brew down in mine.

As to location, that was going to be my next question to you, I guessed you wouldn't be far away.

I know what you mean about despair, apart from pound shops, 99p shops, B&M Bargains and charity shops, the place is becoming a ghost town.

 

[Berk]

Ah, I didn't realise you were talking about storage, I was still stuck on fermenting in my mind. That is my plan though, when the beer and cider is ready for storage they will be transferred to the front cellar which even has handy shelves and a corner counter for the barrels. :thumb: I even had the thermometer down there for an hour, a nice cool 10 degrees.

I lived away from Kiddy for a few years, and moved back in December, the state of the town centre was shocking to see. We don't even have a dedicated book store any more now, what does that say about the place? I was very pleased to come home to find a brand new pub on Station Hill though, and one that only serves real ale and cider to boot! Fantastic. Me and my wife also found a new reptile shop the other day, which has given me some ideas for using the heat mats and ministats for fermenting my brews. That will have to wait though, as my wife fell in love with the snakes and we ended up going back yesterday and walking out with a baby corn snake and starter kit.

 

[grandelf]

Hi

I only joined the site myself this week, also have two brews from Wilkos on the go, an IPA and a Lager.

Lucky my airing cupboard seems to stay within the 20-26c range during the day, so I am now 24 hours into my 1st brew!

Still need to source a lot of bottle!

 

[Pjam]

Still need to source a lot of bottle!

Your Local!

 

[Berk]

Hello grandelf, nice work having a good airing cupboard with free space. I suspect it might not be appreciated if I moved all of the towels out of ours and started moving shelves. I'll stick a thermometer in there tomorrow though, and see what it looks like.

Grabbing bottles from the local sounds like a good way forwards, I might have a chat with the landlords next time I'm down, or get my in laws to speak to their local's landlord, he already puts aside 2l plastic bottles for them, a few extra glass bottles wouldn't hurt. :

 

[mattyhall22]

Hello and Welcome :