miles behind!!

[billy994]

Is it me (and it probably is) or are we miles behind the americans and canadians when it comes to the range of kit styles for things like BIAB, mini mash....the options they have just seem to be endless!! :hmm:

 

[Good Ed]

you may be right, there is a lot more choice of different malts and extracts, but we don't do too bad here, the Malt Miller carries a whole range of malts plus Weyermanns and Dingmans, so really there is nothing stopping anyone making great beer here

 

[billy994]

I agree with you there, i think some of it is watching youtube which just seems to be full of american and canadian homebrewers ( some of which are brilliant). I also dont want to be doing can kits this time next year, but with a glass top cooker (putting a big pot on it scares the heebies out of me) and not a massive amount of space, all the options with hops and grains and not knowing their characters or combinations..confsing is an understatement :hmm: :shock:

 

[dennisking]

Seem to remember someone on the Aussie home brew site saying it's so big over there because the beers are so bad and they don't have the diversity we have here. Some seem to have the romantic notion we have a pub on every street corner selling several ales. If only.

 

[billy994]

i had that aussie VB beer and i thought it not too bad....im lucky im within staggering distance of oxford CAMRA real ale pub of the year, it has a micro brewery called old bog which i can highly recommend, and a real ale festival with about 40 barrels every september .....it would be nice to step up from can kits....but where do you start..its a minefield out there :x :shock:

 

[dennisking]

That's the beauty of AG, the brewing world is your oyster.

 

[billy994]

thats the bit i want, variation, when you first started how did you know what hops and grains, the flavours and feel they gave to use?.....i dont have a real benchmark to go against apart from if its dark i will probably like it :thumb:

 

[Good Ed]

well it's all very simple really, it's easy to get a set up to brew 23L batches, you can buy Graham Wheeler's recipe book of british ales, buy a few malts and hops and you're off, producing better beers than you can buy.

 

[dennisking]

well it's all very simple really, it's easy to get a set up to brew 23L batches, you can buy Graham Wheeler's recipe book of british ales, buy a few malts and hops and you're off, producing better beers than you can buy.

+1

 

[billy994]

i will look for his book, my problem is a glass hobbed cooker and :pray: not alot of space........but im not giving up

 

[dennisking]

Brew in the bag, never done it myself but told it's good for limited space.

 

[billy994]

i have started looking at that, its the pot weight with grain and water on a glass ceramic hob that worries me, most of the youtube vids are on a gas cooker

 

[Good Ed]

can you brew outside?

 

[prolix]

those with gas burners have to

 

[Ceejay]

Doesn't breed to be done on the hob, just buy or make an electric boiler. I agree the home brew scene in the states seems to be ahead, but that's probably more to do with a larger population, therefore more brewers and a larger pool of knowledge. We can get all the same ingredients now, so no reason why we can't catch up. Just needs all of us to brew, read, drink and brew as much as we can. A lot of American breweries have started using English Malts and yeast

 

[billy994]

i wouldnt know how to even start making my own electric boiler....i can see a loud bang and smoke :shock:

 

[Good Ed]

do you have a budget of how much you want to spend to get a set up?

 

[billy994]

not really, i didnt see the point on a budget because of the restraints i have mainly cooker and space. Money isnt a problem, i can always buy as and when, or do a few bulk buys :cry:

 

[Good Ed]

I bought this a couple of years ago, they are local and it was a bit cheaper then, but money well spent http://www.hamstead-brewing-centre.co.uk/itm01597.htm I mash in the kitchen and boil outside

 

[billy994]

though having said that, i do have a garage which needs a good clear out, maybe i could crowbar some space from other members of the family