Beginner home brew question

Con Con

Well what is the best way to start? I'm looking to make as simple a brew as possible for my first try.

I was thinking of getting a Coopers kit because it seemed to have everything and I would have something to compare my first brew to so I could see where I would inevitably go wrong.

However there is so much choice available that it is hard to tell, especially for an amateur, what is the best option for a first brew?

oblivious

Coopers have a good name, some of the best are the all malt kits such as

Brupak Kits 3Kg
or The Woodfordes Kits

oconn

Id say coopers stout with a kit enhancer for easiest start. get a beginners kit off www.homebrewwest.ie or www.thehomebrewcompany.ie , the coopers starter kit looks good and they have stuff on youtube showing it exactly done....read instructions on www.irishcraftbrewer.com and off you go....its pretty easy and the results will be VERY drinkable even for your frst time...

BeerNut

My only real recommendation is: don't make a "lager" kit. Chances are you'll be disappointed.

Though I second Oblivious's recommendation of the Woodforde's kits -- I've never had a bad one of those. I don't think I've had the Cooper's Stout, but stout generally is hard to mess up.

The beginner's how-to article oconn mentions is here, and remember that unless you're making a strong Belgian style do not add sugar to your kit per the instructions -- get some spraymalt (aka dry malt extract) instead.

And let us know how you get on. Good luck

Con Con

Thanks for the advice, guys.

Was never planning on brewing a lager. I think I'll stick to various ales and stout. You know, nice beers.

Went with this kit http://www.homebrewwest.ie/micro-brewery-woodfordes-system-4-p.asp

Getting excited now!

oconn

best of luck with it...

join the ICB site www.irishcraftbrewer.com. there is a LOT of very helpful and knowledgeable guys there..see the kit brewing section for the usual early hicups.....

ManFromAtlantis

anybody here brewing cider. ? this year the apple crop seems very bad. sorry if in wrong thread.

BeerNut

I've a batch on at the moment. I harvested the crop from Lidl where there was an abundance.

ManFromAtlantis

BeerNut wrote: »

I've a batch on at the moment. I harvested the crop from Lidl where there was an abundance.

might be a stupid question. but looking at 20 litre drum. how many apples would i need. i rem now that lidl did a bag of 10 small apples for 49 cent. never brewed before. thanks.

BeerNut

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

might be a stupid question. but looking at 20 litre drum. how many apples would i need. i rem now that lidl did a bag of 10 small apples for 49 cent. never brewed before. thanks.

It's not a stupid question, but unfortunately all I have is a stupid answer: I bought 23 litres of cloudy apple juice for a grand total of €22.77.

oconn

:D:D

you need ....Approx 20lb or 10KG of apples for a gallon, so about 40 or 50kg for 20 litres..
that would involve a LOT of washning / pressing etc etc....I have tasted the cider made from lidl apple juice and its grand... ( i dont like any cider but it can be nicer than blumers )

Carawaystick

Would it be a silly idea to use half a 3kg kit to make only 20 pints and use the rest after the first brew has worked or not?

BeerNut

I guess you could, but you'll presumably need extra yeast.

Con Con

OK, beer is on first day of fermentation after a slight delay of not hydrating the yeast. It hydrated fine in the wort though. But other than that so far, so good.

ManFromAtlantis

hope it goes well concon.

does anybody know if you can press apples and add to bucket (with yeast?) and add more juiced apples say 2 days later or should it alwys be done at the one time . thanks.

BaZmO*

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

hope it goes well concon.

does anybody know if you can press apples and add to bucket (with yeast?) and add more juiced apples say 2 days later or should it alwys be done at the one time . thanks.

I'd imagine you could, but you still have to wait the same amount of time for Fermentation to occur. Would you not be better waiting for 2 days and then adding it all together? Less work that way.

Good article on Irish Craft Brewer about simple Cider making. Although I think you need to be an idiot to try this method!

http://www.irishcraftbrewer.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=130&Itemid=62

ManFromAtlantis

well pressing apples tonight. first timer cider brewer !.
i was going to crush a few camden tablest add pint of hot water and rinse out container.
my question is this?
after using the crushed tablets do i need to rinse out any residue or is that just defeating the purpose.

also, does the press have to be sterilised? i was just going to clean down and let the first few apples run thru.
im paranoid about cocking up by not sanitizing properly!


im goinf to put juice into bucket 20ltrs (add yeast ) for a few days until alot of the bubbling has calmed down then siphon off into demijohn. i just have a length of piping and a bung. if i stick one end of tube inro demijohn and stick the other end into a half bottle of water this should work? shouldnt it as any escaping gas would go into half bottle of water and rise.

is any / all of the above reasonable.
thanks a mill for any tips.

oblivious

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

also, does the press have to be sterilised? i was just going to clean down and let the first few apples run thru.
im paranoid about cocking up by not sanitizing properly!

No, in fact that this is when endogenous yeast build up and inoculate the must (not from the apple skins) in a natural no added yeast method

If you are worried the camden tablets in the must will inhibit the nasty

ManFromAtlantis

just also wonderinmg . when i put the initial juice into a bucket for a couple of days .. do i leave the lid on tight or loose and why do i need to get an airlock going for the second stage when i transfer into a demijohn but i will have no airlock for the first couple of days in the 'bucket' again thanks.

Mantel

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

just also wonderinmg . when i put the initial juice into a bucket for a couple of days .. do i leave the lid on tight or loose and why do i need to get an airlock going for the second stage when i transfer into a demijohn but i will have no airlock for the first couple of days in the 'bucket' again thanks.

If fermentation is happening you'll need to leave the lid loose so the pressure doesn't build up or the lid will loosen itself. As for the airlock on the second stage, I've seen someone use perferated tin foil instead of an airlock. You don't have to use it but it adds a layer of safety, nothing will get in unless it's already in there or you take the airlock off. Also the fermentation is usually less vigorous in the secondary so there's a larger chance of anything floating in the air making it's way in to the demi rather than be pushed away by the outflow of CO2.

azzeretti

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

just also wonderinmg . when i put the initial juice into a bucket for a couple of days .. do i leave the lid on tight or loose and why do i need to get an airlock going for the second stage when i transfer into a demijohn but i will have no airlock for the first couple of days in the 'bucket' again thanks.

Is that a can of worms I here a opening?

There is a couple of different ideas on this. Some cider makers will leave the must completely open during primary fermentation. That is for more than one reason but mostly to trigger spontaniously fermenetation and also to allow the must aerate. Some will close it up tightly and either add an airlock or a run-off tube to allow the CO2, produced during fermenation, have an escape route so the pressure doesn't build up in the barrel and blow up!

I'll be honest, I didn't read the whole thread, so I am unsure if you are introducing controlled yeast or hoping for a wild fermentation. If adding your own yeast, close the lid tight and add an airlock. This is also recommend for the start of secondary in case the yeast is roused in the racking process and kicks off again.

Carawaystick

I was going to use Milton to sanitise the fermenter/bung/Airlock - With the bung and Airlock in a smal bowl.
I was gonna rinse the airlock &bung with boiled water from a kettle and
then do I just pour out the milton solution out of the fermenter and rinse it with some more boiled water from the kettle?

Do I just rinse til it smells no more of Chlorine or will the single rinse do?

oblivious

Carawaystick you can make a no rinse Milton solution with 30mls of Milton and 30mls of distilled vinegar per 20 liters of water. But do not add the vinegar to the bleach and give it a few minutes to work.

ManFromAtlantis

anybody familar with the fruit press on sale by homebrewcentre. it works on a turn ratchet system and pushes down blocks of timber onto a board.
i cant for the lfe of me seem to be able to get it working easily. the whole thing seems to move and dislodges the timber supports. thanks.

Carawaystick

oblivious wrote: »

Carawaystick you can make a no rinse Milton solution with 30mls of Milton and 30mls of distilled vinegar per 20 liters of water. But do not add the vinegar to the bleach and give it a few minutes to work.

fill the fermenter with water, add 30 mls of Milton,
then do I wait til it does it's magic and add the vinegar,
or add the vinegar to the water right after the milton goes in?

BaZmO*

Carawaystick wrote: »

or add the vinegar to the water right after the milton goes in?

this one.

But it's not Milton your using it's Thin Bleach and White Vinegar. Thin Bleach is the same as Thick Bleach but the thick bleach has a thickner added so that it clings to surfaces. Obviously you don't want this to happen because you're trying to create a non rinse solution.

It doesn't matter what order you put the Bleach or Vinegar into the water, just don't mix the two together. Mixed neat this will create Chlorine Gas which is very dangerous!

I've started to use it instead of Milton and so far so good. Plus it's much cheaper.

rubadub

Just so there is no confusion milton is 3% sodium hypochlorite solution, and most "bleaches" are 5-6% sodium hypochlorite, and can have thickeners & perfumes. Tesco do a thin unperfumed bleach and I think it is 6% so it is really just double strength milton.

Milton is just overpriced to cash in on worried mothers who would not dream of washing babies bottles with the same stuff they clean toilets with! it probably undergoes stricter purity testing etc, but for homebrew it would not worry me in the slightest.

But avoid the thickened and/or perfumed stuff, and some bleaches might have other fancy stuff added, like detergents or it could be hydrogen peroxide based, these days a few things are called "bleach" which have no sodium hypochlorite at all. The cheapo stuff is usually what you want. Tesco value bleach is what I get.

2L for something like 60cent, cheaper than water!

slayerking

rubadub wrote: »

Tesco do a thin unperfumed bleach and I think it is 6% so it is really just double strength milton.


2L for something like 60cent, cheaper than water!

Are you sure its 6% sodium hypochlorite??
I've a bottle of it that I intend on using as a no rinse with vinegar, the only thing stopping me from using it is that its says on the back "contains less than 5% sodium hypochlorite"!!!
I'll prob chance it next time I'm bottling anyway, sterlising and rinsing bottles is such a task!!:mad:

rubadub

slayerking wrote: »

Are you sure its 6% sodium hypochlorite??
I've a bottle of it that I intend on using as a no rinse with vinegar, the only thing stopping me from using it is that its says on the back "contains less than 5% sodium hypochlorite"!!!

Sorry you're right, just looked at mine and it says the same. Most bleaches are around 6%. No big deal though, its not an exact science, just use a small bit more.

Carawaystick

It's just I have Milton and I'd need to buy thin bleach.

I think there's some magic getting the milton to stay clear- normal bleach clouds up at low concentrations.


Wa stalking to someone at Farmleigh, who uses tap water straight out of the tap to top up the fermenter. he reckons it's grand and already sanitised by the chlorine in it. And his beer always turns out fine.

ManFromAtlantis

crushed apples.
put juice into container added yeast left 3 days .
frothed up a bit.
transferred to demijohn and put on airlock.
container is only half full . is this a prob?
also how long would anyone recommend to leave in this container? and when to bottle. thanks again.