Hello from the allotment

[Plotmaster]

Hi everyone, I'm Jack aka plotmaster

Based in Sheffield I'm in my first year of allotmenting and at the start of lockdown decided to try my hand at brewing beer

Quickly finding I was useless at brewing from grain I decided to utilise the many wild fruits growing on the allotment. As well as blackcurrant wine I've made a passable rhubarb wine too, with a couple more brews on the go

I take a very much experimental approach to brewing and always aim for low costs and unusual flavours. Especially fond of making Finnish 'kilju' and flavouring with fruits from the allotment

 

[AXW123]

Not sure I know what kilju is - please elaborate!

 

[An Ankoù]

Not sure I know what kilju is - please elaborate!

It's fermented sugar water with, perhaps, something chucked in to give it a bit of flavour. It's not pronounced /kill you/ for nothing!

 

[An Ankoù]

Welcome Plotmaster. Glad to see you're old school and going for the best stuff you can make at the lowest possible price. It's very easy to get carried away and the kit becomes more of an end than the beer.

Quickly finding I was useless at brewing from grain

I don't think you've given it long enough. Certainly there are skills to be learned, many of which can be gained from making wine, your kilju, and other alcoholic stuff. I'd suggest you give grain another later on- it's certainly the cheapest way of making decent beer and there's plenty of good advice on this forum.

 

[terrym]

Welcome Jack
There's a few other forum brewers in Sheffield so I'm sure any of them will help first hand. Failing that my advice to any new brewer is start simple by brewing a kit or two to get your technique right. There's plenty of kits to choose from and most will turn out an acceptable (or better) beer. Then move on to AG if you want to. In the meantime this might help
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...de-to-brewing-your-own-beer-from-a-kit.57526/And our resident horticulturist @Clint has a thread going on about the comings and goings on his plot with others who also have an allotment like me chipping in from time to time.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/polytunnel.76522Finally with an allotment you can grow your own hops if that appeals, many on here do that too
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/hop-plants-rhizomes-growing-report.69518

 

[Keats]

Welcome to the forum, Jack.

Whereabouts is your allotment? I’ve got a plot at Hagg House in Walkley. Made some raspberry wine earlier this year and had a good crop of damsons so will be making wine from those in the next week or so.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Gerryjo]

Hi and welcome to the forum...

 

[Clint]

Welcome Jack
There's a few other forum brewers in Sheffield so I'm sure any of them will help first hand. Failing that my advice to any new brewer is start simple by brewing a kit or two to get your technique right. There's plenty of kits to choose from and most will turn out an acceptable (or better) beer. Then move on to AG if you want to. In the meantime this might help
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...de-to-brewing-your-own-beer-from-a-kit.57526/And our resident horticulturist @Clint has a thread going on about the comings and goings on his plot with others who also have an allotment like me chipping in from time to time.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/polytunnel.76522Finally with an allotment you can grow your own hops if that appeals, many on here do that too
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/hop-plants-rhizomes-growing-report.69518

I'm a tryer..

 

[Ginger_NutZ]

I use extract kits for beers and make meads near Hillsboro.

 

[Britannia]

Also got an allotment, so far this "lockdown" year made 36 bottles Blackcurrant, 18 bottles Plum, 18 bottles Apple & Blackcurrant, as well as 6 ten litre all grains, mostly SMaSH brews, but very drinkable, whatever gets you though the night.

 

[Keats]

I use extract kits for beers and make meads near Hillsboro.

I’ve not made mead before but fancy having a go. Do you have a “go to” recipe and method?

 

[Plotmaster]

Wow sorry haven't been active for last few days! Lots of replies here so...

Welcome to the forum, Jack.

Whereabouts is your allotment? I’ve got a plot at Hagg House in Walkley. Made some raspberry wine earlier this year and had a good crop of damsons so will be making wine from those in the next week or so.

It's one of the sites in Meersbrook Park, Norton Lees. It's the bigger end of the scale at 300 sq metres.

Welcome Plotmaster. Glad to see you're old school and going for the best stuff you can make at the lowest possible price. It's very easy to get carried away and the kit becomes more of an end than the beer.

I don't think you've given it long enough. Certainly there are skills to be learned, many of which can be gained from making wine, your kilju, and other alcoholic stuff. I'd suggest you give grain another later on- it's certainly the cheapest way of making decent beer and there's plenty of good advice on this forum.

True, once I get some of the more basic techniques down I'll try my hand at beer again.

 

[yrhendystu]

I take a very much experimental approach to brewing and always aim for low costs and unusual flavours. Especially fond of making Finnish 'kilju' and flavouring with fruits from the allotment

I brew with kits and bottle in 2L lemonade bottles, I love the low tech approach. Initially I just bought the cheapest lemonade and poured down the drain. Now I buyt the Lidl "premium" lemonade at 45p a bottle and dump the full fat lemonade on the slurry after bottling a beer kit. Then add ginger, lime, orange, apple or whatever else. It tastes great and is as cheap as you want to make it. You can add sugar if you want to bump up the % but with just the sugar in the pop it comes out at around 3% before priming.