Hello from Germany

[Jamesman]

Hi everyone, I'm from Liverpool living in Germany. I want to start brewing because I can't really get any British beer over here so I thought I'd try and brew my own. In the past I've done a few kits but nothing serious. This time round I'd really like to get into all grain. I've got no brewing kit at the moment. I'm just reading all I can before I take the plunge. Cheers.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum

 

[cushyno]

Welcome Deutsche Scouser!

 

[chopps]

Welcome! Dont forget to fill in the forms. Germany’s a bit different when it comes to homebrew.

Old thread here :German homebrewing regulations

 

[Jamesman]

Ha, thanks everyone. They've got forms for everything over here.

 

[StJayJay]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Gerryjo]

Hi and welcome to the forum...

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hello and welcome, are you red or blue nose

 

[Jamesman]

Hello and welcome, are you red or blue nose

Hi, I'm a red. The season hasn't really gone to plan but you never what happens in the Champions league. "it's a funny old game".

 

[An Ankoù]

Welcome Jamesman. There's nothing as good as a good pint of English beer, whether it be mild, bitter, stout, or imperial tripe shandy. All grain is definitely the way to go. Stouts and porters are the most forgiving for the complete newbie, in my experience.

 

[Jamesman]

Welcome Jamesman. There's nothing as good as a good pint of English beer, whether it be mild, bitter, stout, or imperial tripe shandy. All grain is definitely the way to go. Stouts and porters are the most forgiving for the complete newbie, in my experience.

Hi An Ankoù, exactly right. I usually get home 3 or 4 times a year and have a few pints but because of covid I haven't been back since Feb 2020. German beers are lovely but I'm craving the English stuff now.

 

[phillc]

Welcome Jamesman. Where in Germany are you? I'm in Austria and happy to help with any info regarding "local" homebrew supplies shops. Just send me a message on here. Good luck with the adventure.

 

[Jamesman]

Welcome Jamesman. Where in Germany are you? I'm in Austria and happy to help with any info regarding "local" homebrew supplies shops. Just send me a message on here. Good luck with the adventure.

Hi Phillc, niceone thanks a lot. I've found a few online but not that many. A few in Belgium aswell. Ive been reading through the forum a bit and getting pretty overwhelmed by all the info. The thing I've learned is I know next to nothing. It's a steep learning curve.

 

[hughjamton]

At least you'll have a good cheap supply of flip top bottles to use, trouble is you might have to drink the beer first.

 

[An Ankoù]

ur

My experience is that it's still cheaper to get your ingredients from Ireland. I found the Belgian suppliers, to be generally a bot dearer and the delivery charges very high. As you're a beginner, keep it as simple as you can. Brew in a bag or three-vessel brewing and plastic fermenters. Don't get involved with expensive kit, pressure fermenting, transferring under pressure, etc, etc. Geterbrewed and thehomebrewcompany both do a basic starter kit. You need to decide where you're going to brew and your volume size. UK and Irish suppliers also crush the malt for free meaning you don't have to invest in a malt mill. Crushed malt is good for at least a couple of years if you keep it properly.
Keep it simple. Start off cheap. Learn the basics of brewing rather than advanced techniques downscaled from industry,
That's my advice.
Get a decent book like Greg Hughes or, even better, an older edition of Graham Wheeler (The new one's not very good)

 

[Jamesman]

At least you'll have a good cheap supply of flip top bottles to use, trouble is you might have to drink the beer first.

Ha, I know. What a chore.

 

[Jamesman]

My experience is that it's still cheaper to get your ingredients from Ireland. I found the Belgian suppliers, to be generally a bot dearer and the delivery charges very high. As you're a beginner, keep it as simple as you can. Brew in a bag or three-vessel brewing and plastic fermenters. Don't get involved with expensive kit, pressure fermenting, transferring under pressure, etc, etc. Geterbrewed and thehomebrewcompany both do a basic starter kit. You need to decide where you're going to brew and your volume size. UK and Irish suppliers also crush the malt for free meaning you don't have to invest in a malt mill. Crushed malt is good for at least a couple of years if you keep it properly.
Keep it simple. Start off cheap. Learn the basics of brewing rather than advanced techniques downscaled from industry,
That's my advice.
Get a decent book like Greg Hughes or, even better, an older edition of Graham Wheeler (The new one's not very good)

Thanks for the advice. I was gonna ask about a decent book. I'll check those out. I'm not far from Düsseldorf. I forgot to say before. Cheers.

 

[BartonMillBrewer]

Thanks for the advice. I was gonna ask about a decent book. I'll check those out. I'm not far from Düsseldorf. I forgot to say before. Cheers.

Hi, welcome to the forum. If you are new I would highly recommend treating yourself to a 30l microbrewery. They cost between £350 - £500 but as you mash and boil all in one machine it saves on space and you can control the temperatures and times very accurately.
I bought one of these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/beertorr...251427?hash=item1a8444ce23:g:ilgAAOSwn7Zep9zOand have been very pleased with the results.
You'll still need a fermenter but the 25L plastic ones are a great starting point. Buy 2 as you'll need them both. You'll also need a syphon with a tap as an easy, cheap way to bottle. If you can collect the flip top beer bottles they save buying a crown capper and caps.
It's worth buying a no-rinse disinfectant for cleaning equipment and a bottle tree to hang bottles on to dry before bottling.
Above all experiment and have fun.

 

[Jamesman]

Hi, welcome to the forum. If you are new I would highly recommend treating yourself to a 30l microbrewery. They cost between £350 - £500 but as you mash and boil all in one machine it saves on space and you can control the temperatures and times very accurately.
I bought one of these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/beertorr...251427?hash=item1a8444ce23:g:ilgAAOSwn7Zep9zOand have been very pleased with the results.
You'll still need a fermenter but the 25L plastic ones are a great starting point. Buy 2 as you'll need them both. You'll also need a syphon with a tap as an easy, cheap way to bottle. If you can collect the flip top beer bottles they save buying a crown capper and caps.
It's worth buying a no-rinse disinfectant for cleaning equipment and a bottle tree to hang bottles on to dry before bottling.
Above all experiment and have fun.

Hi, thanks for the advice. I have looked at the all in one systems. Brew monk, Hopcat, robobrew etc. As far as I can tell most of them are the same product with a different name. I've watched quite a few YouTube videos of people brewing with them.I do fancy buying one but I'm just wary at the moment because I don't really know enough. It's interesting about the fermenters. Are certain ones better than others? Don't they all do the same job? I presume the more expensive ones are better quality? Cheers.

 

[obscure]

Hi, thanks for the advice. I have looked at the all in one systems. Brew monk, Hopcat, robobrew etc. As far as I can tell most of them are the same product with a different name. I've watched quite a few YouTube videos of people brewing with them.I do fancy buying one but I'm just wary at the moment because I don't really know enough. It's interesting about the fermenters. Are certain ones better than others? Don't they all do the same job? I presume the more expensive ones are better quality? Cheers.

First welcome to the forum.

With regards to fermentors most are in reality the same thing a big bucket you can ferment in I like my stainless steel fermentor but a plastic one would do the same job at a fraction of the price. Of course their are pressure fermentors which I am yet to try so cannot comment on those.

If your just starting out with All Grain have you considered doing a small batch on the stove, the outlay is minimal and you can produce some pretty decent beer this way most recipes can be easily scaled down.

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/have-a-go-at-simple-ag.51779/
This thread was what inspired me to give all grain a go, you may also want to consider BIAB brewing which makes it even easier. I don’t doubt that more complicated techniques or all in one machines produce excellent beer but when you get right down to it you can produce decent beer with nothing more than a big pot, a net bag, a heat source, a thermometer plus a bucket to ferment in (plus your grain, hops, yeast and a sanitiser).