Discussion
I've made beer in my cupboard using a bucket and a beer kit. Cost probably 20 quid for equipment (bucket, thermometer etc). Maybe 10 - 15 quid for a beer kit (yeast, sugar & beer wort) which will make you 40 pints.
Takes about a week to ferment. Then you stick it in bottles (or a barrel tho i've not done that). Usually takes about 1 week to carbonate & then another 3 to mature. Typically tastes better the longer you leave it after that. I bought a 10 quid kit that tasted rubbish after 4 weeks, was pretty reasonable after 3 months, like proper beer after 6 months. Very difficult to not drink it though! "I'll just have a test-beer to see how it's getting on..."
I believe you get a better result from doing everything from scratch, but you need more kit for that.
This is beerkit brewing:
http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/kits.htm
Here's the forum
http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php
Takes about a week to ferment. Then you stick it in bottles (or a barrel tho i've not done that). Usually takes about 1 week to carbonate & then another 3 to mature. Typically tastes better the longer you leave it after that. I bought a 10 quid kit that tasted rubbish after 4 weeks, was pretty reasonable after 3 months, like proper beer after 6 months. Very difficult to not drink it though! "I'll just have a test-beer to see how it's getting on..."
I believe you get a better result from doing everything from scratch, but you need more kit for that.
This is beerkit brewing:
http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/kits.htm
Here's the forum
http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php
My dad brews his own beer. And some of it is remarkably drinkable. (Some of it is dreadful, and I'm never quite sure what propertion he throws away!) He gave me the necessary kit to brew my own last Christmas, and I made a batch which finished a couple of months ago.
Suffice it to say that it was awful - utterly undrinkable. But I'll give it another go (must do so soon) and see if I can improve on it.
I seem to recall that there is a PH-er who has made his own for a number of years and sounds like he's a dab hand at it. I'm sure he will post on here soon.
OLi.
Suffice it to say that it was awful - utterly undrinkable. But I'll give it another go (must do so soon) and see if I can improve on it.
I seem to recall that there is a PH-er who has made his own for a number of years and sounds like he's a dab hand at it. I'm sure he will post on here soon.
OLi.
used to brew beer in the 7-9% region, no kits, just malted barley, hops, yeast, water and not a lot else
very nice and took a good few hours to make well, in keg for a month, degassed, siphoned to another drum, washed out yeast, poured back in and a co2 cyclinder to keep it fresh. could be drunk too quickly
so make wine instead, mostly fruit meads these days, as the wine I make is sulphite free, only used 1 kit in 20 years or so
very nice and took a good few hours to make well, in keg for a month, degassed, siphoned to another drum, washed out yeast, poured back in and a co2 cyclinder to keep it fresh. could be drunk too quickly
so make wine instead, mostly fruit meads these days, as the wine I make is sulphite free, only used 1 kit in 20 years or so
Scraggles said:
so make wine instead
Me & mrs k have been doing this for a year now. No kits, just seasonal hedgerow stuff, but we're lucky to have a good "larder" nearby i.e. wild plums and damsons, sloes, wild cherries, not to mention the usual stuff like dandelion, elderflower, gorse flower, clover flower, blackberry, and elderberry.I fancy having a go at home brew beer, but it seems awfully complicated.
MonkeyMatt said:
I have just made a batch of Summer IPA (60 pints!) and have added rose petals, elderflowers, and honey! Im looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
The last batch a Spiced winter ale turned out very well indeed!
That sounds like a very interesting brew! should have quite a sweet, pronounced fruity aroma/flavour to it. Let us know how it goes The last batch a Spiced winter ale turned out very well indeed!
Hope you've brewed it up strong and well hopped it, as per proper IPA!
used to get several pounds of barley, mixed varietys and heat in water to 55C or so for a few hours to extract the sugars, or you can save a few hours and get a kit
heat that with the hops, or it might have hops already, so might just be a case of dissolving the syrup in hot water and pouring into fermenting bin for a week and adding yeast
remove the froth scum daily, decant into a barrel, ferment for a month, drain into a tub, clean keg, pour back, pressurize with co2 and drink within a month
easier than making wine, not got cherries locally
heat that with the hops, or it might have hops already, so might just be a case of dissolving the syrup in hot water and pouring into fermenting bin for a week and adding yeast
remove the froth scum daily, decant into a barrel, ferment for a month, drain into a tub, clean keg, pour back, pressurize with co2 and drink within a month
easier than making wine, not got cherries locally
Forthright MC said:
MonkeyMatt said:
I have just made a batch of Summer IPA (60 pints!) and have added rose petals, elderflowers, and honey! Im looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
The last batch a Spiced winter ale turned out very well indeed!
That sounds like a very interesting brew! should have quite a sweet, pronounced fruity aroma/flavour to it. Let us know how it goes The last batch a Spiced winter ale turned out very well indeed!
Hope you've brewed it up strong and well hopped it, as per proper IPA!
zcacogp said:
MonkeyMatt said:
added rose petals, elderflowers, and honey!
Sounds delicious, but how do you make sure that the petals and elderflowers don't contain bacteria that will grow in the beer and make it taste bad? Oli.
taldo said:
motco said:
Here's one I brewed earlier... 
that looks ace! i cant help but think if i had a crack, it would turn out looking like a glass of mud!Art of Brewing Go to the premium beer kits and the very first kit AoB bitter is the stuff. Get a keg, bottles are hassle. Cleanliness is paramount - I use sodium metabisulphate to sterilise the equipment, about one/two teaspoons per pint of water and wash out the barrel and fermentation vessel with it and keep it for next time. If it doesn't make you cough with the sulphur fumes it's not strong enough! I ignore the instructions and pour the wort from the can into a large saucepan with a kilo of granulated sugar, boil two kettles of water and add to the pan (wash the tin out with hot water into the brew) and then boil the result on a hotplate for ten minutes taking care as it will boil over violently at first if you don't moderate the heat. Once it's no longer frothy in the pan it's probably ready but I give a bit longer anyway. Put cold water in a fermenting bin to half way, pour in the hot wort, top up to 25 litres and pitch with the yeast. Leave it in a warm place for ten days and if it's still bubbling, even slightly, leave it a bit longer. The I draw it off through a tap just above the yeast layer in the bottom (you can syphon with a glass tube with a short 'U' on the end to keep the opening above the yeast) into a barrel. I use Kwik Clear finings and don't prime the brew but it's usually got a good natural condition if the keg is well sealed. It's usually clearish after a few days, but a couple of weeks will see it crystal clear. The first couple of pints drawn off may be cloudy as yeast settles in the barrel tap. I do not use a float system in the barrel as it's harder to clean. Cheers! 
Does it taste as good as commercial beer? Well there's so many to campare it with but I actually prefer it to some hand pumped beers, but not others. It is very quaffable and having a keg in the larder will mean you'll drink far too much! Don't be tempted to use more sugar than the kilo - it won't taste better and might even make it too strong for the yeast and damage the brew. I've been brewing from kits since the early seventies and over the years the quality has improved dramatically. My daughter's partner brews from raw ingredients but that's is hassle. I like the drinking, not the brewing! I only occasionally add the extra hop extract that comes with the kit, but try it, you might like it.
Does it taste as good as commercial beer? Well there's so many to campare it with but I actually prefer it to some hand pumped beers, but not others. It is very quaffable and having a keg in the larder will mean you'll drink far too much! Don't be tempted to use more sugar than the kilo - it won't taste better and might even make it too strong for the yeast and damage the brew. I've been brewing from kits since the early seventies and over the years the quality has improved dramatically. My daughter's partner brews from raw ingredients but that's is hassle. I like the drinking, not the brewing! I only occasionally add the extra hop extract that comes with the kit, but try it, you might like it.
Edited by motco on Friday 25th June 18:19
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