Huge hello from Carleton, Skipton :D

[jay_jay]

Hi

I am new to the world of homebrew and believe the best place to start is right here - thank you all for the very useful information that is accessable on this site :)

I have been lurking in the shadows for quite a long time and have finaly decided to give the brew world a go.

If I am honest, the wife has been making wine for a few years (of which I enjoy lol), and this has spurred me in to action.

I have, and still are, torn between using a FV and then 4 co2 mini kegs or straight to bottles. I would be using the HB for socialising every now and again and can quite imagine going through a keg or two at a time; so storage isnt a great concern but price is.

Botttles and kegs work out the same in terms of cost (or at least they did before the local pub offered to give me free bottles!) but party side of me is taken with the idea of kegs :P

Which is best??

This brings me on to my final question, does anybody know a nice 'light' european lager around 3-4% as the HB i would like to make is for socialising not for getting wasted.

I know I could always add less sugar but I dont want to experiment with my first attemp if I can avoid it.

Once again, fantastic site with a wealth of information (of which I have read posts that cover my questions (kind of) but not definitive) - huge thumbs up

Jay

 

[Vossy1]

Welcome to the forum Jay :thumb:
If you think you may be in the hobby for the long term it's well worth considering using corny kegs for serving, bottling large amounts is very tedious.
I can't help on the lager front I'm afraid, never made any as kits

Once again, fantastic site with a wealth of information (of which I have read posts that cover my questions (kind of) but not definitive) - huge thumbs up

Glad to hear we're of service

 

[Mark1964]

Hi welcome, is that pork pie shop still there in Skipton, best porkers ive ever tasted :thumb:

 

[jay_jay]

Hi welcome, is that pork pie shop still there in Skipton, best porkers ive ever tasted :thumb:

It is but they dont serve with alcohol ........ yet :P

Funny enough, I was looking at corny kegs earlier as there are few available for the £50 mark. While i believe they are ideal for storing of the HB, i think they may prove a tad heavy to move around if socialising at friends.

However, i imagine i shall buy a few of them in the coming 12 to 18 months to act as storage tanks

So would you say its best to brew straight to mini kegs (such as http://www.leylandhomebrew.com/item2606.htm) or put up with tedious bottling??

Im more of a bitter drinker (well, scotch and mash :)) but my buddies prefer lager and im not that anti-social to bring a keg of bitter and drink it all lol

 

[Runwell-Steve]

Hi, Welcome to the forum :drink:

Corny kegs are not really that heavy, they only weigh 4Kg empty, and hold 19 litres of beer, so thats only 23Kg in total.

They are by far the easiest and most trouble free method of dispensing beer.

You do need a gas bottle, regulator, some beer line, gas line and a beer tap as well to go with them.

 

[shocker]

Welcome . its all here and loads of good people to help you on your way . These mini kegs you speak of - which system would that be ? And how set are you on lager ? And how much of a lager purist are you ? Do some searches on this site about the "L" word and those last two queries will start to make some sense !

Any , good to have you with us :thumb:

 

[jay_jay]

I dont 'mind' drinking lager but im a wine and top shelf drinker at heart. I prefer a pint of bitter if given the coice over lager though.

As for purist, i like to drink neat top shelf, quality above quantity and nothing less than perfect :P

But, that said; tthe HB will not be soley for me and i have to cater for friends . . . . i like to be nice :)

However, Im sure they will drink a decent bitter if its offered for free . . . . I would!

The kegs i was thinking about are the steel 5l ones from layland home brew (link above) which are air top presured.

I have a small budget (hey, christmas just passed and two young children who asked for the world and expected it!!) of £60 to buy a FV, mini kegs or bottles to hold 40 pints and the alcohol kit (obviously lol) so all and any help/advice welcomed.

My main desire is to brew a very light beverage of between 3-4% as its for family social gatherings and as an ex-marine, I can drink like a fish but my friends cant and it would be nice is we could all keep drinking while socialising without incidents on their half :P