New Here!

[Jay1979cliff]

Hello Everyone,

Never brewed before and am looking at purchasing the equipment to start next week.

I used to drink Lager, but find it so boring and tasteless these days, that I turned to real ale a couple of years ago.

I mainly try to drink it on cask when my local has it in - unfortunately, they change the types on offer on a weekly basis so if I find one I like, its gone in days. The stuff in the Supermarkets ain't bad, but you can tell it has lost its freshness.

I'm hoping that if I can get a good batch going it will save me money and allow me to have a nice pint of something I actually enjoy drinking!

Am hoping to do a batch once a month, but am confused by whether I should bottle them or leave them in the keg? The bottles would be more convenient (especially if I want to go around to friends houses, etc) - but not sure if its one or the other re: bottle or keg.

Cheers :drink:

 

[dennisking]

Hi Jay, you can learn all you need to know here.

 

[Hollow Legs]

am confused by whether I should bottle them or leave them in the keg? The bottles would be more convenient (especially if I want to go around to friends houses, etc) - but not sure if its one or the other re: bottle or keg.

Cheers :drink:

Hi Jay and welcome, as whether to bottle or keg it's a personal thing, clean,sanitise one vessel(keg) or clean sanitise bottles.
I prefer bottles but others will tell you the opposite.
This is a great forum to ask questions on, and as a newbie myself have had some cracking advise.

Good luck

Colin.

 

[orange]

Hello Jay. For me it's Keg. I struggle to clean and sanitize 40 bottles. I do however enjoy a lager or a cider with some fizz in it. I hear the faint cry of a cornelius keg. Noooooooooo :)

 

[Stunned Monkey]

I'm a relative noob - and the thing that kicked me into action was seeing a demonstration on YouTube of the Coopers starter kit. Everything you need in one box to make 5 gallons of beer for £65 including 45 500ml pet bottles. Then you buy your next kit and use the same stuff again. (get a tub of sanitiser too)

So for the first attempt, I'd suggest the Coopers kit - once you add up the cost of everything it comes with, it's a steal and the fermenter's more than just a bucket with a hole in the lid. (well, you know what I mean!)

The bottles do get a bit tiresome, but whilst getting bored washing them all out, remember that the 10 seconds it takes for each one equals almost a pint of beer.

I will be moving to kegs once we move house and I've got more than two square feet in which to brew!

(just supping a pint of my third brew - a Milestone IPA with some added spray malt, dee-lish! I can't think of a hobby that costs so little for so much reward!)

 

[luckyeddie]

Welcome to the forum.

Why not do both?

Brew a 40 pint kit, put 30 pints in the barrel and bottle the rest. That way, you can drink some and save some for a few months down the line - a bit like having your (yeast) cake and eating it.

 

[Hollow Legs]

a bit like having your (yeast) cake and eating it.

And the first prize goes to..................wait for it...........Lucky Eddie :rofl:

Only Joshing LE