Newbie Wilko starter kit help

[Mark_wato]

Hello people.

I have just recently got a 20pint wilko homebrew starter kit on the go...

I followed the instructions in the kit which, I thought were very poor and had me asking lots of questions?!?!

( I am a total newbie, however done some homework )

I'm on day 5 of my fermentation so far, I have not yet dared to look into my FV yet. however I had a starting gravity of 1.044..

Just basically looking for any feedback from anyone who has used this kit in the past and any tips or tricks people could provide before I transfer to the barrel they supplied? ( on Sunday according to instructions )

Also I'll try post a picture of the instructions can anyone tell me anything I should do/ hints tips and tricks ?

Sorry if I'm quite vague, I am enjoying this being my first brew and already have my eye on creating some mead however I do have a habit of worrying!

Thanks in advance for an advice

 

[Graz]

Don't worry, sounds like you're heading in the right direction. Generally the fermentation times given on beer kits are pretty optimistic and it's generally better to leave it for at least 2 weeks before transferring to whatever you going to serve it from (keg, bottles, cube thing in your case). 2-3 weeks is optimum for fermentation to complete and the yeast to clean up.

I tend to have a little peek at mine after a day just to ensure a healthy fermentation has got underway i.e. there's a good layer of froth (krausen) on top of the beer but after that I'll leave well alone taking a gravity reading after a few weeks to see if it's ready.

Only other thing I'd say is to be careful when transferring to the serving container using the syphon, they'll be a big layer of sediment on the bottom of the fermenter so try not to stir that up too much or suck any of it up.

If you like it I'd advise getting a 25 - 30 litre fermenting bucket and moving onto 40 pint kits, maybe a pressure barrel or kit for bottling.

Good luck and welcome. :thumb:

 

[chub1]

As Graz said:thumb:
If you are going to bottle get yourself a little bottler stick and another FV,you can buy them together as a unit, FV will have a tap and the stick just pushes onto it. You can syphon off into the spare FV and bottle from that via the little bottler-so easy.:thumb:

 

[Mark_wato]

Cheers guys!

Nice one,

Do you recommend I leave it in the bucket for another week then?

And also what's better bottling or transfering it to a barrel or 'cube' in my case

 

[Sandimas]

The instructions with most kits tend to be ambitious time-wise, most of us leave brews for at least 14 days before doing anything with them. Bottle too soon and you could have exploding bottles if the fermentation hasn't finished.

Bottle or barrel, your choice really, the beer tastes different both ways. You'll get more of a real-ale experience from the keg, but bottling allows your to stash them away out of sight and leave to condition ....if I keg I find it too tempting to drink the beer :grin:

 

[JMuRRay]

I too have purchased this kit, and I've Gotta second your opinion on the instructions! From what I've seen, the kit is very basic, and I think it's definitely worth buying a heating mat, and bigger fermentation barrel, and a better keg. My 'Cube' had a hole it, and needless to say cleaning up was not fun. If anyone could recommend or show their setup, I'm sure us newbies would be glad to see what we're aspiring too!

 

[chub1]

I too have purchased this kit, and I've Gotta second your opinion on the instructions! From what I've seen, the kit is very basic, and I think it's definitely worth buying a heating mat, and bigger fermentation barrel, and a better keg. My 'Cube' had a hole it, and needless to say cleaning up was not fun. If anyone could recommend or show their setup, I'm sure us newbies would be glad to see what we're aspiring too![/QUOTE


Get yourself a 25 litre fermenting vessel, one with a tap at the bottom along with a little bottler stick ,if you want to bottle,those are freely available on good old fleabay.A syphon, another 25 litre fermenting vessel,thermometer,airlock and hydrometer can all be got from Wilko's pretty damn cheap.Stick on thermometers to go on the outside of the FV's are cheap as well, loads on fleabay.
Pretty well it really for making kits and will also stand you in good stead if you progress onto extract and AG. Can't speak about kegs as i bottle all my beers!
Anything i have overlooked will soon be picked up by some eagle eyed poster:lol:

 

[Fil]

I too have purchased this kit, and I've Gotta second your opinion on the instructions! From what I've seen, the kit is very basic, and I think it's definitely worth buying a heating mat, and bigger fermentation barrel, and a better keg. My 'Cube' had a hole it, and needless to say cleaning up was not fun. If anyone could recommend or show their setup, I'm sure us newbies would be glad to see what we're aspiring too!

Very True Cleaning isnt Fun..

For fermenting you need a vessel you can clean that should hopefully contain the brew. But you may well still get an escaping krausen, (explosion of live yeast foam spilling out of the bucket/FV.. so Dont sit a FV on the best living room carpet

for my big brews 50l+ i use a SS thermapot,

and for 5 gallon brews i use vessels i can fit in my small brewfridge..

the small necked vessels last longer as the temptation to stuff gear inside them is way less than with a bucket, and its crucial you dont scratch and scar the fv's inner walls as that provides a foothold for unwanted nasties in a brew.

for conditioning your options are open, home kegging is thriving Kegs are High pressure vessels generally made from Stainless steel and not to be confused with plastic pressure barrels. but bottling is probably the best budget option as by carefully evaluating the priming charge in the bottle you can condition to any level, Pressure barrels work well for low/moderate conditioned beers but anything requiring a high level of condition will come out under conditioned from a pb as they can contain a limited level of pressure.

a home kegging system involves a regulated gas supply, a means of temperature management, and a balanced tap system as well as the kegs, so is a bit of an investment.. Bottles are free

 

[JMuRRay]

Very True Cleaning isnt Fun..

For fermenting you need a vessel you can clean that should hopefully contain the brew. But you may well still get an escaping krausen, (explosion of live yeast foam spilling out of the bucket/FV.. so Dont sit a FV on the best living room carpet

for my big brews 50l+ i use a SS thermapot,

and for 5 gallon brews i use vessels i can fit in my small brewfridge..

the small necked vessels last longer as the temptation to stuff gear inside them is way less than with a bucket, and its crucial you dont scratch and scar the fv's inner walls as that provides a foothold for unwanted nasties in a brew.

for conditioning your options are open, home kegging is thriving Kegs are High pressure vessels generally made from Stainless steel and not to be confused with plastic pressure barrels. but bottling is probably the best budget option as by carefully evaluating the priming charge in the bottle you can condition to any level, Pressure barrels work well for low/moderate conditioned beers but anything requiring a high level of condition will come out under conditioned from a pb as they can contain a limited level of pressure.

a home kegging system involves a regulated gas supply, a means of temperature management, and a balanced tap system as well as the kegs, so is a bit of an investment.. Bottles are free

Wow! That's a lot of information to take in! Thanks a lot! You'll have me studying this for some time! I don't wish to impose, but might I pick your brain some more? I think I understood the whole of primary fermentation, but after I'm totally lost as to where brewing sugar comes into the mix after bottling or kegging the beer? Again, thanks a lot for the info! Can't believe the amount of help I'm receiving from the forum community! You lads are brilliant!

 

[Fil]

brewers sugar, brew enhancer and similarly labeled products are very expensive versions of simple sugars like sucrose (tate n lyle) which when used result in a thinner dryer beer with less body.

brew enhancer may also contain some DME in the mix ( dried malt extract) but not in a significant enough proportion to really enhance the brew imho.

you can use sugars to increase the original gravity of the brew prior to fermentation, and when naturally conditioning a brew in the bottle or in a pressure barrel you wait til all the sugars in the brew have been eaten by the yeast (primary fermentation) and you then add a very small in proportion amount of sugar to prime the brew for conditioning, its just enough food for the yeast to munch on and produce the life, or fizz of the brew,

 

[JMuRRay]

thanks again mate! I'll be sure to keep all that in mind! You've been a really valuable insight into home brew! I'm sure if I stick around the forums I'll learn a lot more useful info!

 

[Mark_wato]

Thank you so much to all!

This forum is so good! The information is so helpful and has been a really good tool for referring to!

Needless to say I think I'm getting my head around it now. My first brew is conditioning away nicely in my 'cube' and it smells lovely. Before I added priming sugar ( in with the cube) my final gravity reading was 1.012 - 1.014 which I read is pretty standard for this kit so looking at 4.72 ish proof..

I haven't tried any yet.

I have got myself a large FV and large keg. I'm not sure Wether to get another large FV with a tap or not and Wether to just use the keg? Do people just fit there own taps?

Just delivered yesterday was a bulldog evildog double IPA kit so I'm excited to try this out before I decide what my Christmas brew will be!

I'm loving this new hobby. And this forum too! Cheers all

 

[Rockuronium]

I've been brewing a short while myself, mostly kits and Supermarket Wines (WOW's) and it's extremely addictive. Check out the WOW's (Supermarkets Juice Wines) they are cheap to make and the variety of flavour's are endless. :

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpkXCowv2Ys[/ame]

--------------------------
DJ1 Raspberry & Apple WOW
DJ2 Fiery Ginger & Chilli Wine (WOWish)
Bottled: Brewferm Ambrioux
Bottled: Brewferm Xmas Beer
Drinking: Cooper's Mexican Cerveza