Just starting out!!!

[Broomie14]

Hi all, iv previously tried and failed at this so now im going to try again. Whats is the best things to buy dont want to spend a fortune as im just starting.. iv seen a beginers kit on art of brewing for £ 22 but dont know if it would be suitable. I will be brewing in a reasonably cold room and would need a heating accessory iv had the imersion heater and dont think it worked to well... any info on equiptment and largers to brew would be great thanks...

 

[Leon103]

What kit do you already have and what is the budget?

What are you looking to brew and what method.

If brewing LAGER'S you don't need heating, you need cooler temperatures.

 

[Broomie14]

I bought the coopers beginers kit few years ago but ruined the lid when putting a hole in for an air lock so dont know of will be any good. I dont have a set price just dont want to be spending a fortune on things i dont need yet with just starting out. The last time i tried inwas told the temp had to be 21.5° and i know the room will be colder than that. As for method i dont have a clue. I wasent very sucsessful last time and dont know much about it to be honest

 

[Pawlo7671]

Welcome to the forum

Give this a read :

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=57526

As for the equipment you need, it just depends what you all ready have and what you need. The home brew company have loads of stuff for entry level brewers to more advanced and have a decent selection of beer kits.

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk

As for keeping your brew warm immersion heaters are normally placed outside of the fermentor in a water bath. There's a guide here :

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=66407

Cheers happy brewing

 

[Grizzly299]

I bought the coopers beginers kit few years ago but ruined the lid when putting a hole in for an air lock so dont know of will be any good. I dont have a set price just dont want to be spending a fortune on things i dont need yet with just starting out. The last time i tried inwas told the temp had to be 21.5° and i know the room will be colder than that. As for method i dont have a clue. I wasent very sucsessful last time and dont know much about it to be honest

Welcome and feel free to ask any questions that you wish. I know starting out can be quite daunting as there is so much information and it's hard to establish whether or not it applies to what you are doing.

My advice to anyone starting out is to try and get a firm understanding of the process, through reading or from watching videos. Everyone learns differently, so if you're more hands on and visual then watching youtube tutorials might help.

 

[caio]

I recommend trying the Homebrewtique brewing kit. It's basic but simple enough to get into it. You don't need anything else either, apart maybe from bottles and a stainless steel pot for the mashing.

Hi all, iv previously tried and failed at this so now im going to try again. Whats is the best things to buy dont want to spend a fortune as im just starting.. iv seen a beginers kit on art of brewing for �£ 22 but dont know if it would be suitable. I will be brewing in a reasonably cold room and would need a heating accessory iv had the imersion heater and dont think it worked to well... any info on equiptment and largers to brew would be great thanks...

 

[chub1]

You will end up with loads of clobber:lol::lol::lol:
I started out with a fermenting vessel already drilled out for and airlock and a tap at the base(now my bottling FV:thumb:, along with a hydrometer and jar ,a stick on thermometer,a kit of bitter,some sugar drops(used once threw em away,now batch prime with sugar)some brewing sugar(only used once,use ordinary sugar or Malt extract),Little bottler stick and some PET bottles an airlock and sterilising powder from Wilko's.
Now doing small batch extracts,partial mashes and BIAB's
Oh and have more than enough gear to stock a small shop:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
Happy brewing:thumb:

 

[Broomie14]

Thanks for the help im guna go and read up on a few things and see what my things are like that i have. Any info on what lager is best to do would be appreciated too thanks.

 

[Pawlo7671]

Thanks for the help im guna go and read up on a few things and see what my things are like that i have. Any info on what lager is best to do would be appreciated too thanks.

The coopers European lager gets good reviews and comes with a hybrid lager / ale yeast.

 

[Wabby]

Hi all, iv previously tried and failed at this so now im going to try again. Whats is the best things to buy dont want to spend a fortune as im just starting.. iv seen a beginers kit on art of brewing for £ 22 but dont know if it would be suitable. I will be brewing in a reasonably cold room and would need a heating accessory iv had the imersion heater and dont think it worked to well... any info on equiptment and largers to brew would be great thanks...

Get yourself down to your local homebrew shop if you got one. Most are well up for a chat and wont try ripping your arms and legs off.

 

[chub1]

Get yourself down to your local homebrew shop if you got one. Most are well up for a chat and wont try ripping your arms and legs off.

Good if your local shop is a decent one and indeed if there IS a local one!.
Alas my local'ish shop leaves a lot to be desired and the guy running it is less than helpful:twisted:

 

[Old_Bob]

Welcome, looks like your getting loads of great advice.

As long as you have a fermenting vessel, heater if the room is cold (check on what you mean by cold), hydrometer, tube to siphon the beer with, and some way of storing it (ie glass bottles, pressure barrel or old 2 litre pop bottles (PET Bottles)) I think equipment wise you should be good to go.

Stick with the kits first as they tend to be nice and simple/easy and will get you off the ground and help to improve confidence.

Ask for help on kits before you buy as someone here will have brewed it before and will be able to advise you.

Patience is the key followed by more patience for good luck.

I'm sure you'll be brewing in no time.

I'd just check your room temperature before starting your larger as you be able to get away without a heater, as already mentioned. For beers I imagine you may well need one though.

Good Luck :thumb:

 

[Robsparky99]

Ebay is your friend on this one. I got a brand new coopers lager kit with FV and all the basic bits for �£25 delivered! (This is all my backup equipment) Keep an eye out for people who buy the kit and then bottle it.....lol and then sell it off cheap.

As for the brew fridge which is a must (if you have the space), look out on Facebook marketplace/ebay/gumtree for FREE fridges, a couple of extensions leads, a tubular heater and a �£10 temperature controller.

Scrounge/beg for free stuff - clean it/tart it up and away you go!

 

[Broomie14]

Last time i went to one the woman just tried to give me leaflets and dodnt seem intrested in helping but i wol have another drive there on friday.. thanks

 

[Broomie14]

Got a beer fridge in my garage (all insulated in and now a cinema room) this is were i will be storing it while brewing also so its not room temp but thanks il keep my eyes open for stuff.

 

[Aphid]

Hi all, iv previously tried and failed at this so now im going to try again. Whats is the best things to buy dont want to spend a fortune as im just starting.. iv seen a beginers kit on art of brewing for �£ 22 but dont know if it would be suitable. I will be brewing in a reasonably cold room and would need a heating accessory iv had the imersion heater and dont think it worked to well... any info on equiptment and largers to brew would be great thanks...

I started out just last November and faced the same dilemma - wanting to buy 'sufficient' kit without going over the top. This is just my take on things, brewing from kits, not grain.

I kicked off with a Microbrewery starter kit on the basis that it came with a beer kit (Woodfordes Wherry) and some basic equipment - fermenting vessel and lid with pre-bored hole, airlock, long plastic stirrer, hydrometer and plastic jar, length of syphoning tube, sterliser, LCD thermometer, pressure barrel, barrel cap with Co2 bulb injector and holder. That said, I have never used the packaged steriliser nor the syphoning tube, instead opting to buy a non-rinse alternative and a syphoning pump, both worth every additional penny. And a £1 turkey baster (for hydrometer samples) and thermometer from Wilko. With the benefit of hindsight I would also have swapped the PB for bottles.

As a basic temperature control I have had great success with the trug and aquarium heater described here: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=66407
Trug cost £4 from Wilko and aquarium heater about £9 from local pet shop.

Purchases that quickly followed were a bottling bucket with wand attachment for bottling together with a few boxes of PET plastic 500ml bottles. I also made an easy case for buying a bottling rack and pump action bottle steriliser.

I now have 3 FVs in all which suits all my needs and these can be bought quite cheaply. My bottle collection - glass rather than just PET bottles - has grown massively, too. Once you get into bottles, I would thoroughly recommend a table top bottle capper. Like many on the forum, I also put together a brew fridge some time ago...but that can wait a while.

Good luck, buddy! It can be highly addictive, and your brewing kit will evolve very quickly. :thumb:

 

[Broomie14]

I hope so like i said i tried few years ago and failed misserably but now i want to try again haha thabks for the advise

 

[Bernie]

Bottling wand takes much of the tedium out of battling.

Give the fermenting vat a clean afterwards then it's almost ready for the next brew.

Rinse the bottles straight after drinking and then drain them dry then put them away with a dust cap.