So im taking the leap!

Hi there, Names Cameron.

21 from West Yorkshire, been drinking ale since i was 18 and now decided I want to make my own. Hopefully starting with a stout, ive had a read of the how to's and hope i have grasped the instructions enough to actually made a brew.

Just deciding on what to buy at the moment. Not sure which is best value etc.

Was looking at some kits priced around £70 but saw some brewing gear in wilkinsons for a hell of alot cheaper. . Anyone help me with my shopping list?

Fermenting Vessel
Whats the difference in having a bucket with a screw lid and a pressure vessel? I want the easiest one for now.
I tried linking to ones im buying but its "Spamy"... Search wilkinsons site for Wilko pressure Barrel. Should i use that or the screw top vessel?

Airlocks
Im struggling to find airlocks for the above FV. All ones ive seen are for demijohns?

hydrometer
Thermometer
Trial Jar ( If i get the pressure vessel it has a tap, do i need a trial jar?)
Massive plastic spoon
Bottles - Should i use swingtops or bottles with caps?

Is this all i need? If there something im missing can you link to the item please? Doesn't have to be from wilkinsons :p

Also looking for a kit to make a thick, creamy stout as my first and then slowly go from there. Anyone know some or a recipe for one for future if i cannot find a kit for my first brew?

Hi and welcome to the forum.

That wilko pressure barrel you are talking about is what you would put your beer in to AFTER fermentation, not during. You will need a separate fermenter. You don't actually need an airlock - you can just use a fermenting bucket with a large flat lid rested on top - airlocks are only really essential if you are brewing somewhere where there are lots of bugs that might try and get in your brew - e.g. fruit flies can be trouble in the summer.

You mention bottles. Swingtops can be picked up free and are great. Obviously if you use bottles then you do not need the pressure barrel anyway. Personally I hate cleaning and sterilising/sanitising bottles so I always keg.

yep one 30 litre plastic bucket with lid and tap, to hold all your ingredients in.
Even better get 2.
Bottles are very good, the plastic PET ones are ideal. Try and keep them to 500ml size.
Big spoon. hydrometer and trial jar


Away you go buddy....

Ok, well might aswell get it all ordered.

Thanks guys, hopefully ill update on my first batch.

Also i work in a bar, with loads of empty swingtop bottles outside. Just sanitize them and use?

Hi and welcome :thumb:

grab those bottles.

Welcome to the forum :

gl0ckage said:

Also i work in a bar, with loads of empty swingtop bottles outside. Just sanitize them and use?

Click to expand...

Yep, grab them & soak them in hot water. Sanitise them when you need them and away you go :thumb:

Welcome. : yes grab them bottles.

Havent decided on a beer kit yet but im a little confused about the process.

Do i just put the warmed tin into the bottom of FV, add boiling water to tin to get everything out. Top up to the level with cold water from a height for aeration?

Wait until 18-22 degrees add the yeast onto the top, wait abit then stir in? wait 2 weeks for it to finish fermenting.

I will be using bottles, i want to use muscavado sugar. So i use a siphon to get it from the FV to my bottles, which have the sugar in them. How to i stop oxygen from the splashes?

I do want a keg at some point but funds at the moment aren't allowing me to spend £22 on one.

Also my FV doesn't have a tap to use a little bottler, should i drill a hole in the FV and attach a sealed tap? to use a little bottler?
If so how high should my tap be from the bottom?

best way to bottle is to get a wider bore siphon into a spare bucket (google amazon for a birdfeed bucket- also great wee fermentors for a fiver delivered and mix the sugar syrup in there (bulk priming - then can take ur time siponing into bottles (a siphon tap on the smaller tubing siphon helps, alot)

btw kegs are good but can be a real pain when they leak, i stick to the cooper better bottles £8 for 24 delivered:

http://www.innhousebrewery.co.uk/p44946 ... ttles.html

i should emphasis the sugar syrup as dissolving sugar into beer really is a PITA

Not bad for a nights work, good to work in a bar. If anyone in the Huddersfield area needs some give me a shout and I'll save some for you. Still trying to acquire the swingtops.

Hi Cameron,
Glad to see there's another home brewer! My missus is from Huddersfield. We go up there quite a bit to visit family. Which bar do you work in?
Dave.

gl0ckage said:

Havent decided on a beer kit yet but im a little confused about the process.

Do i just put the warmed tin into the bottom of FV, add boiling water to tin to get everything out. Top up to the level with cold water from a height for aeration?

Wait until 18-22 degrees add the yeast onto the top, wait abit then stir in? wait 2 weeks for it to finish fermenting.

I will be using bottles, i want to use muscavado sugar. So i use a siphon to get it from the FV to my bottles, which have the sugar in them. How to i stop oxygen from the splashes?

I do want a keg at some point but funds at the moment aren't allowing me to spend £22 on one.

Also my FV doesn't have a tap to use a little bottler, should i drill a hole in the FV and attach a sealed tap? to use a little bottler?
If so how high should my tap be from the bottom?

Click to expand...

Hi there Cameron,
Couple of things. Starting with your sentence starting "Do I just" what you need to do is open he can of malt and sit it in a pan on the stove with water in it. Bring to a simmer and leave for 10 mins. This will make the malt extract more fluid and easier to pour. In another pan melt your sugar with a couple of pints of water and bring to a boil, again leave it for 10 mins. Combine the content of the sugar pan and the can into your FV and bring it up to the 23L brew length by adding cold water. Check both the temp and the SG, the temp should be as close to 20Deg C as possible, the reason for this is that most Hydrometer are calibrated to 20 Deg C, however, you can adjust the SG reading up or down depending on the reading you get - see the calculator section at the top of the homepage. The SG will give you the starting gravity and from it you can calculate your ABV once you know your final gravity (at the end of fermentation).

Simplest way to fill your bottles is to get another FV and add your priming sugar to it then transfer your brew gently without disturbing it too much into this FV. attach a length of tube to the tap and then your are ready to fill your bottles.

If you want to fit a tap to your FV then ensure that the tap is high enough so that it doesn't touch the ground when the FV is sitting on the floor. The diameter of the hole you require is 26mm if you are using a standard white plastic bucket tap, check as this diameter may vary depending on which tap you have.

Suggest you look at getting a copy of Graham Wheelers Brew your own British Real Ale (Stacks of recipe's in it) AND/OR John Palmers book "How to Brew", he explains brewing in simple language but explores all the issues around the craft.

Hope this helps!! Every body develops an approach which fits either their pocket or their domestic situation. If it works for you then that's the right way for you.

Have fun and let us know how its going.

I work in lloyds bar at Kingsgate. We don't sell many bottles but from a quiet Wednesday night having 14 bottles is ok for free :-) we have a lot and I mean a lot of 33cl bottles if you decide on using them.

First brew is going on now :-)

What reading is this? Same reading below and on 100ml.

Brew is in the vessel, do I use dextrose for priming? Or actual priming sugar if it exists?

Hi Cameron,
That reading looks like 1037. Are you trying for a session ale at about 3.5%.

Supposedly the kit says 4%, i added 1kg of dextrose so not sure what its going to have ABV wise. I'm not to fussed about the ABV this time around. but for a few more brews im hoping to keep it at 5% roughly.

The brew is fermenting nicely, has a head on it. Although the kitchen was 24 degrees this morning.

Hi and welcome!

Where about in the kitchen are you keeping it? I find if I want a cooler ferment I leave in on the floor, we've got laminate and it gets quite cool. Might help. As for priming sugar, you can just use normal sugar you put in tea much better than dextrose as I always fine it sticks around the top and leaves a mess. I do prefer the coopers carbonation drops, they are fairly cheap and are a blend of the right sugars and you just pop one or two in depending on the size of your bottles/how fizzy you want it and even better no mess! How many litres are sand in your FV that will have an effect on the abv% easiest way to may it stronger and more flavoursome is to make a litre or two less than what the kit recommends.

It's on the floor near the entrance to my living room. Cant move it anywhere else due to space and theres a giant radiator on one of the spare walls (turned off though). We have like vinyl so it's pretty cold but because i have a 8 month old the heating is on and off every hour.

Might look at the drops. but was going to just batch prime it in the other bucket i have. Easy enough for sugar as i bake alot and have loads of it lying around.
kitchen smells like yeast when i walked in today. Getting excited :)

I put 24L in the bucket. Ive ordered 2 more bins (4 total) so i can get another brew on, will reduce the amount to 23l or so for the next one.

Thanks for the help Dave and LeithR