First Brew

Hello

First post on the board and currently making my first brew. I've always been a real ale fan, been a CAMRA member for a few years and get to as many beer festivals as I can so I thought I would give a go making my own. This seems like the right place to ask a few queries I have. I bought a starter kit from Tesco "Youngs Brewbuddy Bitter" Bitter isn't usually my first choice for a drink but I thought it will do for my first batch (first of many I'm hoping) I've followed the instructions, left primary fermenting for around 6 days and then I've bottled it all up into 2l PET bottles. I've left them in a warm place for the past 3 days. It says to then to transfer to a cool place after 2 days for a further 2 weeks. Is this the best way to do it? Or am I better off leaving it in a warm place for a bit longer? I used brewing sugar for the initial fermentation and just bog standard granulated when bottling.

Thanks in advance!

I posted the response below to another new brewer who asked a very similar question - perhaps it will help you also.

Forget using the kit instructions, I think most experienced brewers on here will tell you that they are wildly optimistic and are designed to fool you into thinking that you can make a brew at home and be sat enjoying a fortnight later

Patience, whilst often difficult to practice, is really the brewers friend and the longer we let most elements of the process run, the better it is - some brewers will leave their brews in the primary fermenter for a month - I think a couple of weeks is ok in most instances.

Once you have bottled or kegged your brew, leave it in a warm place for 2 weeks to give the remaining yeast an opportunity to convert the priming sugar - this will up the ABV slightly and will ensure proper carbonation. After the 2 weeks, move it somewhere cool and forget about it for a couple of months at least to give the brew a chance to condition and mature.

By showing patience, you will (assuming you've practiced correct sanitation etc) be rewarded with a brew to be proud of - try to rush it as per the kit instructions and you will likely be disappointed.

You then move onto the next stage that most of us on here practice - the rolling brew cycle. This means keeping brewing new batches and putting them away as per instructions above. That way, you will always have something conditioning and will reach a point where, once you are starting to drink a brew, you will be replacing it with another that can sit and condition whilst you enjoy what you brewed earlier.

If you check out my signature below, most of what you see has been sat for 2-4 months since I bottled or kegged it.

FatCol

Thank you so much for the prompt response! I will do just that, I'll leave for 2 weeks in the warm and then somewhere cool. Was hoping to have some ready for a party on the 13th Sept