Hello from Scotland

[BigYin]

Hi folks,

Quick introduction - family man with wife, 3 wains, and twa dugs :mrgreen:

Asked for, and was given, a brewing starters kit at Christmas time by my sister.

First brew was a Scammonden dark, and to bottle it I looked on this very forum for suggestions on cheap bottles, and ended up buying HEAPS of Asda fizzy flavoured water in the 2l plastic bottles. :lol:

After that brew, which worked very well I think, I started on a 'Coopers Ginger Beer', followed the destructions, and used the 1kg of brewers sugar that came with the starter kit, but weren't needed for the two-can Scammonden Dark brew. The ginger beer fermentation went on, and on, and on. There was continuous yeast activity, and although the fermenting barrel was in the hot water cupboard, it was that very, very cold time of the year, and I suspect the very low night time temps were one of the main problems.

I also made the mistake of overdoing it on the sugar when I bottled the ginger beer.

The result is an overly yeasty brew, that is so fizzy it basically just turns into froth when it's poured

So, it's currently being donated to fertilise the strawberries and lettuce in the garden :lol:

I now have an Admirals Reserve brew conditioning in bottles, and I'm working on attaining enough bottles to start another brew sooner rather than later - maybe a red ale :hmm:

Cash is tight, or I'd have invested in a King Keg by now, but that'll have to wait for the time being.....

So, I'll be dropping in here from time to time, see you about :

 

[Samarith]

Welcome to the forums, BigYin. :

I'm keeping my greeting simple because the grandma police are about.

 

[Cussword]

Welcome BY :drink:

 

[Moley]

I'm keeping my greeting simple because the grandma police are about.

Only when given an open invitation :lol:


Welcome to the forum BigYin :
The three wains fits but I didnae ken about the twa dugs.
Love your work, but I'm a bit surprised to find you brewing your own.
Still, I suppose everyone gets a bit strapped for cash from time to time.

 

Welcome to the Forum BY.
I use 500ml bottles, that way you don't have to pour out 2 ltrs each time, or am I being silly?

 

[BigYin]

yes, and no... er...

I got the 2l bottles as a quick fix to let me bottle the brew.

Now I've had time to collect 500ml bottles there's no reason to go back to the 2l bottles. They are a pain really - you have to pour out 2 pints, or if you pour out one pint, the sediment mixes up with the beer left in the bottle when you stand it back up, so the next pint isn't so nice..

I collected what I thought was LOADS of 500ml bottles, only to find myself very short of them to do a second brew :cry: Still, good excuse to drink for more beer - I'm only doing this for the bottles :whistle: :drink: :drink: :drink: :drunk:

 

[Dunfie]

Hey BigYin, looks like you are on the right track. Welcome to the forum. :thumb:

 

[abeyptfc]

Hey BigYin, looks like you are on the right track. Welcome to the forum. :thumb:

hi, whereabouts in Dunfermline do you stay? I stay over next to Culross, is there any brew shops about here?
mark :

 

[abeyptfc]

yes, and no... er...

I got the 2l bottles as a quick fix to let me bottle the brew.

Now I've had time to collect 500ml bottles there's no reason to go back to the 2l bottles. They are a pain really - you have to pour out 2 pints, or if you pour out one pint, the sediment mixes up with the beer left in the bottle when you stand it back up, so the next pint isn't so nice..

I collected what I thought was LOADS of 500ml bottles, only to find myself very short of them to do a second brew :cry: Still, good excuse to drink for more beer - I'm only doing this for the bottles :whistle: :drink: :drink: :drink: :drunk:

hig bigyin hows it going? r u a falkirk bairn?
I was buying alot of stuff from ebay and they are selling 24x 500ml Plastic bottles for £12 which was a bit steep, I noticed at tesco they are selling Highland Spring water, 24 x 500ml for £5.50, just empty out the water,(probably wouldnt even need to sanitise the bottle but probably aswell as to, you could even fire the water into your brew to top it up, I'm not sure if there is any difference with putting your beer into clear bottles or brown bottles, maybe someone could answer that?

 

[Samarith]

Brown bottles prevent the beer 'skunking' if exposed to light.

Clear or green bottles are fine as long as you store the beer in the dark.

 

[Dunfie]

Hey BigYin, looks like you are on the right track. Welcome to the forum. :thumb:

hi, whereabouts in Dunfermline do you stay? I stay over next to Culross, is there any brew shops about here?
mark :

hi, I'm down below the Glen near the rugby club.

There aren't any hbs over this side of the water. Edina Homebrew in Leith is the best one or online are you best bets.

There is a few brewers over in Dunfermline so just give us a shout if you need any advice or help. :

 

[BigYin]

Hey guys - I'm actually just outside Falkirk.

Don't seem to be any homebrew shops here, or Stirling, only the one in Edinburgh.

I've so far ordered all my kits online - in fact I ordered another one yesterday from http://www.thethriftyshopper.co.uk/ as the main pain with byuing kits over the net is the high shipping costs - and while some places offer free postage for orders over £40, theses guys do it for orders over £25 :drink: :drink: :drink:

One of my mates at work uses the Edina place in Edinburgh and rates it very highly indeed :drink: - it's just not so handy for me as I commute into Edinburgh by train, and the shop is frustratingly that bit too far from the station or my work to be practical, so it would necessitate a special trip in, and frankly I never get the time to do that (family man, wife, wains, dogs, and for a short time just now, hens too : )

 

[BigYin]

I was buying alot of stuff from ebay and they are selling 24x 500ml Plastic bottles for £12 which was a bit steep, I noticed at tesco they are selling Highland Spring water, 24 x 500ml for £5.50, just empty out the water,(probably wouldnt even need to sanitise the bottle but probably aswell as to, you could even fire the water into your brew to top it up, I'm not sure if there is any difference with putting your beer into clear bottles or brown bottles, maybe someone could answer that?

I went down that route before, only with 2l plastic bottles, but honestly I SO much prefer using proper glass beer bottles - and *ahem* of course they need emptied first :drunk:

Lidl sometimes have decent offers on - HobGoblin for £1 - not so bad :drink:

I actually ordered some beer bottles from the Thrifty Shopper site - £9.77 for 15 - which allows me to complete my next brew shortly, and gets me on the way to the final total I want that will allow me to be drinking one brew, while another matures, and when I'm halfway through the one I'm drinking, there'll be enough bottles to do another one :drunk:

 

[Frisp]

bigyin. just a thought, try chillin the ginger beer to within an inch o its life afore ye pour it. That should help trap the Co2 in the liquid a bit better and make it a wee bit less lively...

If ye want broon bottles, scrounge them off the boozers. Magners, and Bulmers bottles hold a pint, bang them in the dishwasher to get rid o the labels (magners labels just fall off easy) and any crud stuck to the inside. The fresher the bottle the better, they tend to go manky if left much more than a few days with dregs inside, Oh and before you collect them check for fag ends and **** stuffed inside them... and buy a crown capping machine. bingo bottled pints.
Use Milk crates to store them, they hold a dozen at a time.....

 

[BigYin]

The pub closest to me closed years ago - maybe because I never visited it :wha: :whistle:

I like the milk crate idea, although not sure how to get a hold of them?? Not exactly a common sight around here :wha:

 

[Frisp]

If you keep your eye out you will find them. Im not talking about the ones to hold bottles, its the ones they carry the 2 and 4 ltrs plastic bottles round in, they are tall enough to get pint beer bottle in,

alternatively you could keep your eye out for old beer crates,, there are some around being used as stepping stools by tradesmen etc. sometimes you will see them discarded during garage clear outs.

I also have acquired a couple of old lemonade crates.