How to make a premium beer kit, from start to finish.

[tubby_shaw]

Im trying to find a kit similar in taste to Newcastle Brown Ale, do you have any suggestions?

thanks

[quote="tubby_shaw":1gy02zic][quote="farmer giles":1gy02zic] At what point would you suggest is best to keg/bottle?

In your starter kit you will have a hydrometer, read the instructions on how to use it, then wait until the yeast has been pitched for at least 7 days, then take a reading and make a note of that reading.
Take another reading 24 hours later, if it is the same and in the range of 1.014 and 1.000 for a kit, then it is ready to keg or bottle, although it is beneficial to leave for another couple of days to allow more yeast to drop out of suspension.
If you wish to bottle then ideally it should be done at this stage :thumb:[/quote:1gy02zic][/quote:1gy02zic]
I don't I'm afraid, I very rarely brew kits now :)

 

[farmer giles]

Hi, just an update on my first homebrew, bottled wednesday after 9 days, it all appears ok but I think I have allowed some of the sediment to get in the bottles(some seem quite cloudy), how long would it be best to leave them for now??? it says I can try after 2 wks but like the best from it so dont mind waiting.

Thanks for everyones advice it has been most useful

Lee

 

[tubby_shaw]

Leave them at least 2 weeks, they should clear in this time :thumb:
If they don't give each bottle a slight twist side to side as the yeast sometimes clings to the side of the bottles.
Once they look clear give them another 2 weeks :

 

[farmer giles]

Will do that then, would it be ok to try a bottle now??? It was bottled on wednesday, Im starting to get impatient now lol

Leave them at least 2 weeks, they should clear in this time :thumb:
If they don't give each bottle a slight twist side to side as the yeast sometimes clings to the side of the bottles.
Once they look clear give them another 2 weeks :

 

[tubby_shaw]

Will do that then, would it be ok to try a bottle now??? It was bottled on wednesday, Im starting to get impatient now lol

I wouldn't bother tbh you will be disappointed
Give at least a week in the warm and a week in a cool place before trying :thumb:
Remember there is one very important ingredient that can't be bought

Patience

 

[The Drunken Dogg]

Fantastic guide mate, answered most of the Newb questions I had. Started my first kit of last night and have one or two points I'm not sure on.

1 - When Syphoning into a keg, is there any tips how to keep the open end up out of the sediment so it doesn't pull too much through to the keg.

2 - As I'm kegging my ale, what sort of lifespan will it have when it's:

a - uncracked
b - cracked and drawing pints
c - cracked and drawing pints with a CO2 floating blanket

I know it'll be an individual basis but any idea on time frames would really help me work out when and how much I'll need to brew.

(sorry the kegs I'll be using are the Youngs ones with the bottom tap)

Many Thanks

 

[tubby_shaw]

If you buy a syphon kit then it will come with an adaptor for the end which well help you to avoid the sediment.

As for shelf life uncracked in the keg 6 to 9 months, if you keep adding o2 about the same time but as soon as you let air enter you have about a week to drink it in

 

[The Drunken Dogg]

Thanks Tubby, so I can get quite a long shelf life then if I keep it topped up with CO2. Not that it will be in there any more than a couple of weeks. :drink: How often would I need to top up once I've drawn beer from it? Sorry for the newb questions but I'm so used to getting 4-5 days from my polypins from the brewery, that I've no idea about this.

Much appreciated

 

[JABB]

If the brew is put in a Corny keg, once the gas is at 2psi and a tap fitted and in use, how long will the contents last?

 

[Moley]

If you give your Corny a blast of carbon dioxide before racking your beer to it, then fit the lid, open the pressure relief valve and gently open the gas valve for a few seconds before closing the PRV, any oxygen should have been purged from the keg.

Do that and your beer will keep for several months.

The problem with conventional pressure barrels (bottom tap) is that when carbonation pressure drops, air can get back up through the tap, then your beer will start to deteriorate fairly rapidly. As you can't dispense from a Corny without using CO2 pressure, that problem doesn't arise.

 

[farmer giles]

Hi, I brewed my first batch around 2 months ago, its horrid, cloudy and looks like snakebite, has a weird after taste too, any ideas where Ive gone wrong or what Ive done wrong???

Thanks

[quote="farmer giles":239nrhva]Will do that then, would it be ok to try a bottle now??? It was bottled on wednesday, Im starting to get impatient now lol

I wouldn't bother tbh you will be disappointed
Give at least a week in the warm and a week in a cool place before trying :thumb:
Remember there is one very important ingredient that can't be bought

Patience [/quote:239nrhva]

 

[Phillorgan]

Hi all,
I have been brewing from kits for around 12 mnths now and have had success all the way through. :thumb:
When I got my first kit I was lucky enough to stumble across this forum and particulary this thread before I brewed it :mrgreen:
The most important thing I have taken on board is the fact you need to clean thoroughly everything that comes into contact with your beloved brew
I enjoy a good pint of real ale and am a great fan of the wetherspoons pubs all over the country as the prices and the variaty are really good, so I like to think I know a good pint when I have one, and the results I have had so far have exceeded all expectations. :
I have bought the Geordie kits from Wilko's and ordered Coopers, Tom caxton and John Bull kits mail order and found better results with brew enhancers, all in all the advice on here is second to none and if followed carefully with good cleaning of equipment and the use of the campden tablets I think everyone should enjoy success!!! :
GOOD LUCK!

 

[Vossy1]

Good to hear you're enjoying the journey so far P :party:

 

[brizleciderarmy]

Brilliant howto:

At the stage where you blast some co2 into the barrel to purge the air, i noticed that the co2 canister you use in the picture looks much larger than the standard 8gram bulbs that i am familiar with. What type of c02 system is it? And can it be controlled? Eg: 1 second bursts. Or does it let the gas out all in one go?

 

[Moley]

I assume this is the bit you're referring to:

Once all the beer was in the keg a burst of gas from an S30 cylinder was added.

Tubby kegged the beer, closed the cap and gave it a blast of gas. As CO2 is heavier than air, that will settle to form a protective layer on top of the beer, then he eased the cap open 5 minutes later to allow the oxygen floating on top of the carbon dioxide to be expelled.

That's an S30 cylinder, which you should be able to get from most specialist homebrew shops, and yes, it is controllable.

You screw it most of the way onto its connector until the pin valve touches, then give it an extra part of a turn for a second or so to release some gas, then unscrew.

 

[brizleciderarmy]

Thanks Moley. I will most likely invest in one of these.

I just noticed as well that it clearly says above the picture that its an s30 cylinder too. To much of the home made i think :drunk:

 

[MrO]

Hi folks,
Im nearly ready to brew my 1st kit (Coopers - Real Ale), hopefully tomorrow or early next week... anyone familiar with this kit, is it an ok one?

Im very happy i found this forum and more importantly this thread.

I dont have and campden tablets with the stuff i bought. Am i better to wait until i get some or use supermarket bought water? Also when the beer goes from the FV into the keg, ive got bottles so im guessing i just bottle it but what about the co2 that gets added to the keg, i cant do that to bottles?

Thanks for any advice and i hope you dont get fed up with my questions as im sure there will be more...

: MrO

 

[carl_saint]

I didn't used a Campden tablet for my first 2 kits and there was no problems. I'm using them now but can't tell the difference. I guess it depends on how chlorinated your tap water is. As for bottling, bottle with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and cap straight away. This will produce your CO2 in your bottle.

 

[MrO]

Thanks Carl :thumb:

 

[Markus]

Tubby kegged the beer, closed the cap and gave it a blast of gas. As CO2 is heavier than air, that will settle to form a protective layer on top of the beer, then he eased the cap open 5 minutes later to allow the oxygen floating on top of the carbon dioxide to be expelled.

I didn't do this after Kegging 4/5 days ago. Is it too late?