Total Newbbie

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Bailz

New Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2012
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone i have recently began reading up on home brewing due to my love of real ales only prob is i nobody to ask my questions lol so thats were you guys come into it. can someone please guide me to a decent cheapish starter kit that i can go out and puchase it will need to have everything with it this will make it easyer for me

cheers Bailz :cheers:
 
Hi and welcome to the forum, im a bit new myself -only just started doing AG and never went down the buy everything in one go route. The best advice if your not worried about cost is find a local shop and ask them-wilkinsons (also online) also do cheapish stuff as do the sites sponsors im sure. i started by ordering champagne yeast and nutrient off ebay and played with turbo cider type recipes in a 5l tescos value water container till i was sure i could pull it off, then malt extract kits (using equip from wilkos and kits from an online store) then made my own AG equipment...this way is good as any failures are cheap and smallish-biggest tip, bleach and triple rinse everything GOOD LUCK
 
Hi and welcome.

Both coopers and young do beginners kits. Try one of them before you spend big bucks. Think the coopers beginner kit is gd as it comes with bottles as well.
 
Starting off with nothing... I would suggest you purchase a starter kit that comes with everything for your first brew.
Something like ....

http://www.tesco.com/direct/diy-beer-st ... g_213-7435

not this one precisely shop around and yuou can get it cheaper.

It might look expensive but by the time you have hunted around for all the bits and pieces its not a bad way to start.
The items are re-useable and will last you many many brews

Welcome to home brewing
 
Thats the one. On my mobile so couldnt find the link lol.

I know from myself starting up recently that I wish I had of found this one first.

Good Luck :thumb:
 
There is a coopers starter kit on ebay at the moment, think its 40 quid at the moment with no bids so id message him and make an offer
 
The Youngs larger kit is £7.97 in Tesco at the moment. Should be about £30
 
Right, thought someone else might chime in, guess the kit u need depends on your ambition and budget, knowing both would be useful... Anyway for a malt extract kit u will need at the bare minimum, a fermenting vessel of approx 25l, ideally with an airlock or good lid, something to boil the tins in_big pot, a bit of pvc tubing to siphon (unless u like tipping stuff) and lots o plastic screwtop bottles( u can get presterilised 2 l ones with free lemonade in supermarkets for 17p a go). Also a bit of bleach is much better than any sterilising solution, especially campden tablets these just dont do the business.
Also useful is a hydrometer for checking its really done but not essential.
Also dont bother with glass bottles-they can explode if u get it wrong and screwtops r cheaper in my opinion and work a treat as u can easy tell when their done, Really dont bother with pressure kegs, i heard u get a few good pints then its pretty flat and rubbish beer after:
in summery: this plus some airlocks(rubber bung kind), malt kit, vaseline, bleach, pvc tubing/siphon and plastic bottles thats it! these starter kits r just an excuse to sell some useless tat (money better spent on malt) and can ruin a good brew! If u want clearer beer some gelatin sheets from tescos also work well (shouldnt be an issues with kits-again ideally from a online source as more likely to have new yeast in them).
http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/home-brewi ... y1IA%3D%3D
 
quote.

these starter kits r just an excuse to sell some useless tat

I strongly disagree. Looking at the list of items in the Coopers DIY kit which includes a tin of your chosen brew. A conservative estimate it would cost you £70-£80 to buy the items individually.
The new Coopers fermenter included is one of the best on the market at present IMHO innotive and sturdy it does the business. Yes the hydrometer trial jar lets the kit down ( mine was bent ! ) However I stand by what I said for a complete newbie starting these starter kits bear looking at. At least you get precisely the kit required to make your first brew a newbie is quite likely to forget items or buy inappropriate ones. I even got a tub of steriliser in mine.
The initial money spent is not wasted as the kit fits into any additions and brewing style you decide to go on with.

quote. campden tablets these just dont do the business.

That's untrue Campden tablets are recognised as one of the foremost cleaners sterilisers in the business and have been successfully used by generations of home brewers.
I agree Bleach is good to use.

quote
Really dont bother with pressure kegs, i heard u get a few good pints then its pretty flat and rubbish beer after:

although I don't use kegs ( prefer bottles ) I think that is a far reaching assumption and would suggest you are listening to folks that are not looking after or using their kegs correctly.
 
hmm, guess i rocked the boat a bit there, did come over a bit strong, its just i feel as a cash strapped student (and being after cheaper options), buying bottles and stuff just cos its in a starter pack can be a bit of a waste of money and/or beer (if a pressure keg get contaminated etc its a bit off putting for a beginner) AND yes never used a pressure keg so wouldnt really know, just sounds like a bad idea for me. Though i stand by the campden tablets not being ideal, if they were its what hospitals would use, as it stands bleach is faster(campden takes a while for fumes to build), better (can actually dissolve/remove mild debris) and doesnt require a internet or lhbs to provide it (though is bad if its left in the brew, so can do some harm which campden can't-why given to beginners).
 
star san all the way for me! Im done with rinse off sanitizers, the take too long and i have had a few flat uncarbonated brews because i didnt rinse my bottles well enough
 
Welcome to the forum Bailz :cheers:

wilsoa1111 said:
Also a bit of bleach is much better than any sterilising solution, especially campden tablets these just dont do the business.
Camden tablets are used for treating water before brewing, not for sterilising.
 
joey1002 said:
Camden tablets are used for treating water before brewing, not for sterilising.

Campden tablets are made of Sodium Metabisulphite which can be used as a sanitiser :thumb:
Personally I hate using it like that because it tents to remove your nasal linings in the process :lol:
 
eskimobob said:
Campden tablets are made of Sodium Metabisulphite which can be used as a sanitiser :thumb:
Personally I hate using it like that because it tents to remove your nasal linings in the process :lol:

Ahh ok, not heard of them being used that way. It's not something i will be trying either. :)
 
Hi, welcome.

I started by pricing up various starter kits which contain all the equipment neccessary to start a brew. But then I did some shopping around for the items seperately and saved myself about £10 by buying just these items.

Most kits come with a small sachet of sanitiser or about 100g of it, I decided to purchase the 400g VWP with my kit, I also opted for a fermenter with a tap (most starter kit fermenters don't have a tap).

By doing this I created a starter kit for myself that was fully customised to my needs (and in my opinion, better than any kit put together by any homebrew supplier) and contained higher quantities of the 'perishable' items you find with starter kits.

As a plus the supplier I chose to order from accidentally included 2 cider kits, so I got 80 pints for the price of 40.
 
Back
Top