Calling all home brewers!

[TheAngryDog]

My gf got me a tin of coopers home brew lager for Xmas.

I've never done home brewing before. What do i need? Where can I get it from? How do I do it?

Cheers

[Turn7]

http://www.art-of-brewing.co.uk/acatalog/AoB_OnLin...__20.html#a308

And then either a King Keg type barrel or bottles....

[Malx]

With the coopers tin all you need is a Fermentation bin and bottles/barrel.
This is the pack I started off with http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/beginners-kits/beer/...
I then bought more bottles and barrels etc.

I prefer to use sugar rather than the carbonation drops that come with these kits but to start with there is nothing wrong with them.

Which coopers kit did you get?

Home brew is very good, and cheap

[scottri]

Keeping the brew the right temp while fermenting is important so you might want to consider some sort of heating device. I use an immersion heater for wine.

[Turn7]

Sorry, didnt realise my earlier link didnt work.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete-Home-Brew-Lager...

As mentioned above, fermentation bin, sterliser,big spoon, airlock and some form of heat is advisable.

[TheAngryDog]

Thanks guy's I'll take a look at the links.

The Coopers I got is this one http://www.brewbitz.com/Coopers-Australian-Lager-H...

[Hammer67]

Thanks guys, I`ve been meaning to have a bash at home brew so have ordered a Coopers kit for Mexican. I do like a bottle or 2 of Corona.

[Turn7]

Sterilisation is the key. Make sure EVERYTHING thats involved is sterilised, and once the lid is on the fermenter, keep it shut and warm.Heat belts or similar will guarantee fermentation.

I would alSo add that most of the kits Ive done have always been better if allowed to ferment longer.

Most say 7 days, I reckon 10/12 is more like it.

The better kits (certainly as far as Ale goes) are usually dearer and are two can affairs , and I would advise using brewers sugar (more like glucose) tahn table sugar.

As with everything tho, YMMV.

I do have a large quantity of PET plastic bottles that I used prior to buying barrells, that need rehoming FOC, will just need a clean and sterilise.

[giblet]

A few of my mates are planning to get involved in home brew soon. Wanting to get a few test batches done before trying to make some decent pale ales for a mates wedding in July. I don't drink but the whole process is interesting to me. Any helpful threads or pointers to read up on which I can show them?

[Turn7]

It depends what level of brewing you want to go for.

Im happy with kit brewing using malt extracts, some go a bit further, and then you can go all grain brewing.

The best compromise for me, is something like the design a brew system. This utilises standard extracts, but with the addition of varioue "tea bags" of hops added for varying times.
I made a really, really good Hobgoblin clone using this system.

Check out Jims beer kit for all the info you could ever need....

[DocArbathnot]

I bought with a Wherry starter kit and went from there. I prefer keg beer to bottlea and have 3x kegs on the go at any one time. This saves the temptation of starting a brew too early.

I've only tried the premium kits, I don't want to risk anything below par considering the time taken to brew a decent pint. I'm on Festival kits at the moment.

[Hammer67]

Just knocked up 40 pints of Coopers Irish Stout brewed in the time honoured traditional manner: a kit from the internet, the darkest sugar I could find in Sainsburys, a tin of black treacle and tap water. Around 5.2% alcohol and surprisingly drinkable, a cross between Guinness and liquorice allsorts.

Don`t be fooled by the bottle, Corona it ain`t.