Your chance to explain your craft to an *****

[Pixelsmith]

Hello, I'm Tom and I'm a complete homebrew beginner. I've joined the forum in search of a bit of advice, having just been given a Coopers ginger beer homebrew kit for Christmas by my girlfriend.

Forgive me if I'm posting this in the wrong forum - I wasn't quite sure where to put a ginger beer request.

So, what I was wondering is if anybody knows of a complete and utter beginner's guide to using this kit, for somebody who is buying equipment for the first time.

What I have is: 
- 980g of Coopers Ginger Beer home brew concentrate, to make approx 20litres.
- 1kg brewing and winemaking sugar.

What I need is:
- Everything else. My lovely girlfriend was a bit crestfallen when I read the instructions on the back, as they reference first a fermenter, then a hydrometer and finally carbonation drops. She had hoped she had provided everything we would need to get ourselves drunk in one month's time.

I have looked around in search of guides but there's a lot of stuff which feels over my head - especially things suggesting better ways to make ginger beer than to use Coopers and white sugar. 

This is not an option. My girlfriend's present must be rendered a success at all costs (except, hopefully, spiralling financial costs, which are among my least favourite kinds of cost). 

So in summary, what I would dearly love help with is:

1) A total *****'s guide to making 20litres of Cooper's Ginger Beer (alcoholic version). Plus any cool tips - I've seen a recommendation to add a bit of root ginger, for example, but I lack the experience to assess whether that would be a delicious addition, or something which, handled improperly, may poison the ginger beer and kill everyone who drinks it.

2) A bit of buying advice for (a) a suitable fermenter with at least 20 litres of capacity, (b) a hydrometer (there's a £2 one on Amazon - any good?), and (c) carbonation drops (I had planned to buy a pack of Coopers own brand ones, which are about five quid). Ideally none of this would break the bank, and also ideally it would be something which would then be suitable for making more ginger beer via different methods (if those exist) and, ultimately, actual real manly beer for men.

(3) Some basic advice on the best kind of bottles to use. The Coopers container recommends Coopers PET bottles. Very convenient, Coopers! I see your game plan.

(4) The hope that I might return here through the viewing process and ask stupid questions when things are looking confusing (e.g. what are all the black bits floating in it / is it ok that the ginger beer tastes like soap / my cat fell in the fermenter, what do I do?)

I appreciate that most people here are probably busy making 23%abv barley stout in the Latvian style with hops they genetically spliced and grew themselves, so holding the hand of some buffoon with a ginger beer brewkit sounds like the equivalent of teaching a dog to play Monopoly. To those people I say this: OK. I understand. I've seen a dog playing Monopoly, and all it did was buy brown properties and stations. It was pretty depressing.

To anybody else: thank you in advance! And also Happy New Year (shortly).

Best wishes,
Tom.

 

[RobWalker]

brewing/coopers sugar is fine. it can get better, but it's more than adequate.

your minimum investment, really, is a fermenting bucket, a sanitizer, a length of syphon tube (a bottling attachment is very cheap and VERY VERY useful) and an airlock. your aim is to create a sterile environment that your product can ferment in without going off. to do so you'll need to sterilize the bucket as per the instructions on the sanitizer, make the kit up, seal the lid and place the airlock into the lid with water, which will let the gas produced out but none of the bad stuff in. hydrometer isnt really neccessary for kits as you're following instructions, but one to consider in the very near future if you enjoy it.

you can collect 500ml plastic bottles or glass bottles and they will do the exact same job as the coopers PET ones, just don't use "one way" beer bottles - sol bottles, for example - crap ones. I use bulmers/magners/ale brown bottles, although my cheap Kingstone Press ones havn't gone wrong yet!

Just make it up to instructions, let it ferment out, bottle it with some sugar to carbonate it (1/2tsp per pint is pretty common) then give it a few weeks to condition, clear and carbonate. once it's ready, you'll need to stand them still for a while before drinking, and pour into a glass avoiding the sediment at the bottom.

I have one tip for you - don't start fiddling with it. you've got enough to learn and get used to this time around, adding more to that is going to overcomplicate things. it's a decent kit so just make it up and enjoy it!

good luck, we're a very friendly forum so fire any questions this way! we have people from all walks of life and experience levels, and considering the most popular topics on here are about making wine from supermarket juice and vimto, you'll soon see that we're not quite to connoisseur level :)

 

[Springer]

:hmm: :lol:
Welcome to the forum Tom.
There is a good search facility on the forum.
My contribution, to your questions, read the instructions, wilkos do a fair fermenter and probably an hydometer as well, good idea to have one :thumb: , carbonation drops sugars, :? ordinary used and sanitised PET bottles........where were we......of to get on with my, "23%abv barley stout in the Latvian style with hops they genetically spliced and grew themselves" :lol: not really, the forum here is very helpful.
It hard to give a full answer, not a ginger beer man myself, but like the "fiery ginger beer", do a search, that I did in the summer, a few bottles left maturing in the rack, :hmm: ............good idea, ..........I'm off .
S
P.S. Robs there first, wish I could type with more than one finger, :lol: touch typist really

 

[dennisking]

The beauty of this site is no one will look down their noses at you. Most of the people on here started with kits, some will continue with kits as it suits the amount of time they have and they are happy with the end result. Others will take things further and find this the most rewarding and productive hobby known to man, warning it can become an obsessive way of life, but that's my problem. As for kit Wilkingsons are supposed to be good for the basics, fermenting bins etc.

 

[Springer]

Well I never, just spotted it a few post down, over nearly 18,000 views and over 400 posts, get reading Tom. :lol:
Fiery ginger beer
S

 

[calumscott]

Hi Tom and welcome!

Everything that Rob said. I would get the hydrometer and a trial jar though. They are both dead cheap and take a bit of guesswork out. The "little bottler" is the best bit of kit I own, cost a smidge over £7 and makes bottling a breeze.

I have to admit to a bit of :rofl: when I read your bit about "spiralling costs". You do know that you are just about to make your own beer don't you? And that it'll taste really good? And that its a lot of fun? And really satisfying to make as well as drink?

Anyway, to basically rip Rob's post you need (prices are my local shop's):

5 gallon fermenting bucket and lid - £9
sanitiser/steriliser (I use VWP, others suggest other products for various reasons but it's working for me) £2 for a little pot.
Little bottler - £7
Airlock - £1
Brewing Sugar - £2 per kilo
Bottles - collect your own

So basically for another £20 you're off and running. Keep us posted on how you go!!

 

[Walker]

little bottler, yes yes yes

also tesco direct sell coopers PET bottles £7 for 24, you need 2 boxes, can pick up at local tesco if you're uk, reusable and ideal for ginger beer

got flu cant say more hope it helps , enjoy!

 

[RobWalker]

Don't forget that once you're making proper beer you're looking at what, 15 quid for 40 pints?

 

[oldbloke]

Several of the online homebrew shops can do you a basic equipment kit, and the bundling of all the bits generally means you get a good price, you get all you need, and you get it all at once.
You should Google around to see who has what, of course, but when I started (with wine) I got a complete basic setup (including hydrometer) for what I believe to have been a good price from BiggerJugs.co.uk. Maybe use their equipment kits as a benchmark to compare other people's prices against. If you have a local homebrew shop they'll be worth checking too.

You can use ordinary sugar instead of carbonation drops.

One word of warning: this hobby is great fun but startlingly addictive.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

I think you might be better off finding your Local Homebrew Shop and just ask what you need. Everthing has been covered in the above posts, but dont expect to be drinking this in anything less than 2 months.
Its also a good idea to post your location as a ten minute "walk through" with a experienced brewer is a lot easier than trying to work it out for yourself. Once youve seen a kit brewed youll realize how easy it is.

Now the hard sell....Ive got 16 Grolsch Swingtop bottles for sale in original crate, and wait for it....theyre full of Coopers Ginger Beer. Now dont get me wrong this is a very nice drink, its Im just a bit bored drinking it. They have been conditioning for 15 weeks. I can let you have the 16 bottles and crate for £10.00 plus half the price of the Coopers kit, (Icant remember how much the kit was). Or you can have the bottles and crate and you just leave a £10.00 deposit, lpus half the price of the kit.

HTH Johnnyboy

 

[shocker]

Hi Tom and welcome ! Heres a link to Coopers own site and step by step for their ginger beer....

http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-g ... inger-beer

....but DO bear in mind that one of their aims is to imply that you need more of their products to get the best from it . So , if you are in doubt , ask here . People will explain alternatives and products if needed and where to buy them at the best price etc .

Look forward to seeing you round the boards ..

shocks :

 

[cumbrian brewer]

hi Tom welcome, the kit will work out fine if you follow the above tips, another helpful tip is buy tesco plain water in 2l bottles i think its about 17p per bottle you can bottle it in them and use the water in your brew. I also collect pepsi max and coke bottles for smaller amounts. I normally carbonate with disovled white suger in each bottle if you have a poke about the amounts are on the site. ALWAYS STERLISE YOUR BOTTLES.

I have done this kit and it taste good, another tip would be to listen to the guys on here, and you will always get a reply on most brews of time once bottled leave it a fews weeks and then another couple, get plenty of different stuff on like WOW and Ribena wine, keep cost down by buying plastice 5l bottles of water and using these as DJs cut a hole in the top and away you go. I started about 6 months aga and put loads of different stuff on, It has saved me a load of money so far just give it time and you will get good results. All my parents and family drunk free over christmas and not one complained about the taste. I even had a Bevadale Merlot kit with Christmas dinner and nobody blinked an eye.

The guys on here will help you if and when needed. :