Newbie - Please Help!?

[Johndunlop1980]

Hi There,

Apologies if this is in the wrong category.

I'm going through to Edinburgh (from Glasgow) tomorrow to pick up my first ever set of gear and kit to start home brewing. Since Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is my favourite brew I'm going to try the Youngs Premium American Pale Ale kit.

I was thinking of purchasing two, and doing the first one exactly to the instructions, but with the second one I was thinking of purchasing my own hops selection (cascade) for dry hopping, some Irish Moss, some different yeast, and possibly some sort of enhancer, to add to make it a bit more interesting.

Could someone please advise on the above? Am I off my head for thinking this is possible? Should I just stick to the kit instructions and that's that?

Also, if I list my intended kit purchase below would someone tell me of im forgetting something? I'd greatly appreciate any advise. Cheers in advance.

Bottle Filling Stick
Star San Sanitiser
Bubble air lock with rubber bung
40 Glass Beer Bottles
Crown capper and caps
Bottle brush
Long spoon
Heat belt - brew belt
30L Fermenting Bin with wide screw lid and optional tap.
Muslin bags
Auto siphon with clamp
Plastic funnel
Plastic u-bend
Siphon tube - 2m
Thermometer
Hydrometer
Measuring jug
Trial jar
Stick on thermometer
Cascade hops - 100g
Beer enhancer - 1kg
White labs - California Yeast
Irish Moss
Youngs Premium American Pale Ale x 2

Total - £224

 

[Smileyr8]

Since Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is my favourite brew I'm going to try the Youngs Premium American Pale Ale kit.

Well congratulations on getting started, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is also one of my favourite brews, it appears you have a very comprehensive list of kit, I can't think of anything you are missing. I often add DME (usually pale) to boost strength, quality and mouth feel.
I have not brewed the kits you mention so can't comment as to how they turn out or what you may need to add to get to your goal, good luck and keep us informed.

 

[Slid]

I was thinking of purchasing two, and doing the first one exactly to the instructions, but with the second one I was thinking of purchasing my own hops selection (cascade) for dry hopping, some Irish Moss, some different yeast, and possibly some sort of enhancer, to add to make it a bit more interesting.

I don't really understand the desire for Irish Moss, which I understand to be a clarifying agent used by AG brewers. This kit does not require a boil and will drop pretty clear as is. Also query the need to swap out the yeast.

The American Pale Ale genre might lend itself to almost any amount of dry hopping and Cascade has certainly worked for me, so you might want to consider that option, depending on how you feel the kit turns out.

To be fair, though, i don't think there are many who have been less than satisfied with this kit, so good luck with your brewing experiences.

You certainly seem to have covered all the bases! :hat:

 

[Johndunlop1980]

Thank you both for your reply, I will leave out the Irish Moss as I've clearly misunderstood it's uses a bit. I'll try the pale DME too. Greatly appreciate the help. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[Slid]

Siphon tube - 2m

I bought a 2m siphon tube and ended up hacking about 50cm off it in the end. In practice, I found it was too long and ended up coiling up out of the receiving FV. Difficult to explain how this might happen theoretically, but it happened a few times in practice. You need no more than enough to reach the bottom of the secondary FV.

Had a very nasty experience with racking a stout in #1 Daughter's bedroom, which went all over the place.

Sorry to sound a bit picky, but the whole brewing experience is about little details.

 

[Smileyr8]

Siphon tube - 2mI bought a 2m siphon tube and ended up hacking about 50cm off it in the end.

Always better to have a little more than you need, you can always trim, shorten add less whatever. There is nothing worse than finding out you are the tiniest little bit short and having to make a second journey to collect something.

 

[Yeastmaster]

I would add a second fermenter. Fit a tap to one and use it a a bottling bucket (Makes batch priming easier). The other one (which you ferment in) doesn't need a tap but I'd stick a fish tank LCD thermometer on it (one that goes down to 10C or less so that you can keep tabs on temperature when you brew lagers.

You also need suitable water to dilute your star san with. I use deionised water from halfords.

 

[Johndunlop1980]

Thanks, I will do. Ive not read anything about using deionised water, is that really important? I'll pick some up tomorrow anyway.

 

[kodak79]

Rather than a brew belt I'd recommend an immersion probe. I used to use a belt for years and since I got the self regulating heat source I can't believe how I managed before.

 

[kodak79]

And I second Yeastmaster's suggestion of a second fermenter to aid bottling - love brewing, hate bottling!

 

[clibit]

I use tap water with Starsan. It depends on your supply. If the Starsan turns your water cloudy, it's no good.

 

[pms67]

The water in Scotland absolutely fine buddy don't worry about that.
You could swap one of the Pale Ales for the IPA and get a taste for different hop combinations.
Ask if they sell patience in the shop as once you brew it will be hard to wait 3 or 4 weeks to try a brew !
Good luck

 

[Yeastmaster]

Thanks, I will do. Ive not read anything about using deionised water, is that really important? I'll pick some up tomorrow anyway.

You can use any water that doesn't go cloudy with star san. Deionised or distilled works for me but I've read about others who use tesco ashbeck, although I haven't personally tried it (but will soon because it's cheaper).

Scotland is supposed to have softer tapwater so that could be fine. Give it a go and if the solution goes cloudy chuck it and try an alternative.

 

[Johndunlop1980]

Luckily I'm away in London working for a couple of weeks immediately after I'm due to bottle the first batch so that'll be a couple of weeks where my mind will be off the beer a wee bit. I'll let you all know how I get on. Thanks again for all your advice.

 

[Yeastmaster]

Fingers crossed for you johndunlop! Exciting times!

 

[Brewski]

+1 for Tesco Ashbeck for use with Starsan.

I used it yesterday for the first time - I added 7.5ml of Starsan to a 5L bottle of Ashbeck and it stayed as clear as a bell.

 

[Yeastmaster]

+1 for Tesco Ashbeck for use with Starsan.

I used it yesterday for the first time - I dissolved 7.5ml of Starsan in a 5L bottle of Ashbeck and it was as clear as a bell.

Hi Brewski - thanks for the update; that's great news! Ib remember we had a discussion on this a few months ago.

I had a brilliant (I think) Idea for star san solution today: rainwater. No minerals whatsoever so should be super soft and low Ph. If you live in a big city you can run it through the Britta if you're worried about air pollution.

I'll experiment and post my results on the original sanitation thread.

 

[Brewski]

Hi Brewski - thanks for the update; that's great news! Ib remember we had a discussion on this a few months ago.

I had a brilliant (I think) Idea for star san solution today: rainwater. No minerals whatsoever so should be super soft and low Ph. If you live in a big city you can run it through the Britta if you're worried about air pollution.

I'll experiment and post my results on the original sanitation thread.

Hi Yeastmaster. Yes, I remember our discussion - it was a great help and I finally put the theory into practice yesterday when I kicked-off my first brew.

It'll be interesting to see how Starsan reacts with rain water, keep us updated.

 

[Yeastmaster]

Let's hope it turns out better than my experiment with the water from my tumble dryer! :-)

Congratulations on your first brew!

 

[Johndunlop1980]

Sorry to be a pest folks, I've just been thinking....I've purchased the aquarium heater but have only one grommet filled hole in the lid of my FV. Do I try and squeeze both the cable and the bubble lock into the same hole (seen this on a YouTube video), do I arrange for another hole to be added, or do I have this cable up over the lip of the vessel and tape the potential small gap between the lid and vessel over with something like duct tape? I also have a digital thermometer which poses the same problem but I'm less worried about this as I have a stick on thermometer that I could use instead.