Starting a new brew, all help and advice greatly received

[Hale]

Hi all, just wanted to introduce myself as is the custom of these forums though I am new to a brewing one. My name is Matt and have always loved drinking good ale especially local ones but also trying out new ones too. My brother had been brewing for a couple of years and I've loved the results on every occasion especially the one he's working on right now! I've been to a couple of CAMRA beer fests locally here in Dorset which have inspired me to get off my bum and start brewing myself. I've been bought many lovely books on the subject and now it's time to put theory into practice! My brother and brother in law have produced some great beers using the premium malt extract kits so this is where I will start too. I have borrowed my brothers fermenting kit and aim to purchase a pressure barrel this week as the kit is in its way in the post ad I type! I have a science background which I hope will be usefull both to myself and fellow brewers who may have a question or to that I may be able to help with. The kit I ave purchased is "Di and Danny's golden ale kit" which seemed to have fantastic review plus it comes with a bag if dried hops which other similar kits did not. Really looking forward to getting started and would very much welcome any advice you seasoned pros may be willing to give. chat soon!

Matt Hale

 

[RobWalker]

be super cautious about sterilizing and cleaning, it can really screw up your brew if not!

I find the least annoying method is to let fermentation finish, add finings and clear in the primary FV, then what you're dealing with is almost clear beer, ready to keg or bottle.

treat your water with Campden 24 hours before brewing if possible too. 1/2 tab is enough for 5 gallons and it will neutralize any chlorine in your brew which can cause off flavours. other than that, good luck!

 

[Hale]

Thanks very much for the info Rob.

Would using bottled water be beneficial? The thinking being that these are supposed to be chlorine free and have zero microbial content?

Do I need to use a specific brewing sterilisation compound or will something like Milton do?

Thanks,

Matt

 

[puravida]

I second Rob's post.
For quite a while I was brewing beer that had a distinctive 'homebrew' whiff to them. Drinkable, but not great.
I changed the way I sanitised and instantly the beer quality went through the roof.
Milton is fine to use. I don't use it myself but others do.

There are lots of ways to do it and everyone here will have their preferred method.

Mine is:

- wash kit out with hot water and remove any crud with a wet cloth. It should 'look' clean at this point.
- add three scoops of 'oxi-clean' to the fermenter and fill up with hot water until the foam reaches the top (as in the laundry stuff)
- chuck in all my brewing kit then fasten the lid and swirl around for a minute or two, remembering to release any pressure as it builds
- rinse with hot water throroughly 2-3 times until you can no longer smell the oxi-clean
- mix up 5L of 'Star San' no rinse sanitiser in the clean fermenter and swirl all the kit around. Fasten the lid and shake to make sure it is all covered.
- pour the star san mix into a jug or spary bottle for using later
- the kit is ready to use

I've never used bottled water but I know some do. I add half a camden tablet to my brewing water to remove excessive chlorine.