Where to start

[LarryF]

Welcome aboard Uberboy, I couldn't agree more with what's already been said. I've been doing kits since January and I'm just now starting with BIAB all grain brewing. Kit brewing and reading the forum has taught me a world of information. My starting kit cost me £38 online, a couple of boxes of PET bottles at £13 for forty and three kits in the Tesco sale with beer enhancer will set you back about £105 - £110 and you're good to brew 120 pints of beer. Once you've got the equipment your beer's costing you 35p a pint or there abouts. If you decide to kick it all off with kits you can't go wrong having a read through this first.

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=527868#post527868

Good luck Uberboy and feel free to ask anything you want, the only silly question on here is the one you didn't ask.

 

[brewbeard]

So much great advice. Only thing I have to contribute is a good foundation is key cant build a good working knowledge with out the fundamentals. I made the mistake of going big and bombing like 3 recipes. Lucky the guys at my local brew store are awsome and set me strait. Aim small miss small.

 

[Uberboy]

Well, after considering what you guys recommend, going to give brew kits a try. Any suggestions on the best starter kit to buy?
As for a beer kit, I was thinking of doing a milk chocolate stout, if anybody has any done this previous, advice given would be most appreciated.

 

[Redron]

I think it is great to be at your stage, starting out in brewing, it is exciting but you don't yet know how much it will grab you! I started with a kit and 80 kits later..in two years...I jumped into AG. I love AG, but everything I know now was honed in kit brewing and I can't imagine that I would be as comfortable in AG brewing if I didn't have such a background. The basics of sanitisation, fermentation and the use of hops were understood without the added pressure of understanding mashing and the rest. My personal advice would be to start with kit brewing, there are great kits out there, and practice.

Wise words indeed....

 

[brewbeard]

Well, after considering what you guys recommend, going to give brew kits a try. Any suggestions on the best starter kit to buy?
As for a beer kit, I was thinking of doing a milk chocolate stout, if anybody has any done this previous, advice given would be most appreciated.

If you have a local brew store they may have some parshal mash recipe kits I've done a cew brewers best fun easy and comes with everything

 

[Spapro]

Wherry is a pretty good starter kit, so this kit with FV, bottle wand, PET bottles etc. would get you up and running:
http://www.home-brew-online.com/sta...ordes-micro-brewery-with-bottles-wherry-p1670

Then add a spare FV with lid - never come in wrong and lets you get 2 brews on at once:
http://www.home-brew-online.com/equ...-fermenting-vessel-25-ltr-lid-no-grommet-p690

To get you to �£65 for free delivery then this capper and some caps for bottling using emtpy glass beer bottles might be handy:
http://www.home-brew-online.com/equ...bottle-crown-capper-metal-with-100-caps-p1737

This barrel is brilliant, when I need another keg I will buy this instead of a king keg top tap, much better lid with a better seal and a pressure guage to you can its carbing up ok:
http://www.balliihoo.co.uk/balliiho...sure-indicator-co2-bulbs-bulb-holder-p-5.html

Other kits worth a look:
Coopers kits are easy and generally turn out good and quick to clear/condition - need to add 1 kilo of brew enhancer to the one can kit.
Festival kits - premium 2 can kits

 

[LogicalBrew]

Wherry is a pretty good starter kit, so this kit with FV, bottle wand, PET bottles etc. would get you up and running:
http://www.home-brew-online.com/sta...ordes-micro-brewery-with-bottles-wherry-p1670

As a fellow newbie - I can vouch for this kit (I choose the option with a pressure barrel rather than bottles but otherwise the same). Only thing I changed, on the advice of a HB friend, was to substitute the packet of yeast that came with the kit for a packet of Gervin Ale Yeast (from same supplier) - avoids the problems some people have with the fermentation getting 'stuck' on the Wherry kit. Because I am brewing in the garage, I also added a heating pad and a ITC/STC-1000 temperature controller (~£11 from Amazon or Ebay). I'm still learning a lot and using these kits means that I don't get too upset if things don't turn out perfectly.

Good luck and enjoy

LB

 

[jeg3]

I've been brewing now for 2 years and started brewing all grain in March this year. More planning is required, but I love the process and the results.

My advice would be to start small and make incremental changes. I got a few AG brews under my belt before I started looking at mash temps, what the yeast contributes, water treatment and fermentation temp.

We never stop learning, and for me there will always be something else to tinker with. But for now I've got mash temp locked down and am starting a journey on yeast.

What I learned early on is good sanitation is king. And when experimenting change one thing at a time. It's difficult to tell what change had caused what when mash temp, grain bill, hops, boil time, fermentation temp and yeast are all infinitely variable.

I'm sure you'll have a whale of a time.