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Viper2789

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Hello,

I want to start homebrewing and I'm overwhelmed by all the new information!
I want to brew lager or something like Amstel (my favourite is Coors lol). Yes I have tried ale/bitter/cider and don't like them, well I'm not too bad with fruit ciders lol.

So what do I need to buy? I have seen kits in the range and Wilko and no idea if they are any good.

I have a 20ft x 8 ft shed (summerhouse) in my backgarden with a fridge and freezer in where I plan to keep it out of the missus' way lol.

Thank you for any help lol.
 
Have a look at the discount codes thread in the sponsors forum and search their shops for starter kits, you then save 10% or 5% depending on which shop you use.
 
the basic essential equipment is a big bucket, a hydrometer, a siphon tube, and a thermometer.
things like scales, a funnel, a jug and a big spoon you can borrow from the kitchen ;)

wilco's and home brew shops all sell starter kits which contain all the necessary bits.

The big gotcha and hidden cost is with the cleaning and sanitising chemicals, the collective wisdom of forums such as this reveals generic unscented laundry oxi to be the best vfm cleaner available. (soaps n detergents leave persistent residues which are beer head killers)

and no rinse sanitisers such as videne or 5star starsan.. initially seems expensive to buy (£12-£15) per 8oz bottle bit thats a good few years worth ;)

The lager kits available from coopers get good reviews, check them out to start with and if not getting you the brews you want, once you have mastered kit brewing you can look at perhaps extract or AG options which should allow you to brew more authentic clones of what you like..

the essential skills to acquire are an almost OCD approach to cleanliness, and patience ;)
 
Viper2789 said:
Hello,

I want to start homebrewing and I'm overwhelmed by all the new information!
I want to brew lager or something like Amstel (my favourite is Coors lol). Yes I have tried ale/bitter/cider and don't like them, well I'm not too bad with fruit ciders lol.

So what do I need to buy? I have seen kits in the range and Wilko and no idea if they are any good.

I have a 20ft x 8 ft shed (summerhouse) in my backgarden with a fridge and freezer in where I plan to keep it out of the missus' way lol.

Thank you for any help lol.
Click to expand...

I found this recipe idea for an AG Coors Light Clone. Not perhaps my cup of tea, but here it is. The recipe is for 19L, as most US ones are.

http://www.fermentationriot.com/recipeviewer.php?beerID=71

Without temperature control, there is little chance of directly replicating this, but since you have a fridge, you could quite easily have a realistic stab at it. The corn and rice adjuncts could easily be substituted, at least in part, by cane or beet sugar as they bring little but tasteless ABV to the table.

Getting a proper Lager yeast (if you can fridge ferment at 12-13C) is the main task, then perhaps hops like the Hallertau Hersbruckers? You can get this stuff, for sure, but the main thing is the temperature control.

If you want to start with an extract / kit brew, then a Wilko Lager kit plus some actual lager yeast and hops might be a plan?

Just give us a shout when you have an idea on what is next.
 
Step one is how will you control temperature of the brew? In the house the central heating is good enough to start brewing, but in a shed you will need some heating, be it a fish tank heater, or a simple bulb in a fridge it will need some heat.

As the area is reduced where we are heating you also get into the cooling problem. Again in the house no real need the house will absorb any heat from fermenting, but in a fridge for example the area is too small for most of the year to heat only, so you have to use the fridge to cool.

My wife bought a berry cider kit from Wilko all you did was fill with water and add yeast and you got 20 pints. It took longer than instructions, but it worked, so start price is around £20. But that needs doing in the house, i.e. around 20°C.

You can move in stages, the fermentor is nothing more than a bucket, it costs around £14.50 from Tesco Direct with screw lid. And you need a syphon tube another couple of quid. You don't NEED a hydrometer, or temperature strip, or air lock, but better if you do have them. Using plastic pop bottles you can feel if bottled too early. So once temperature sorted rest is easy.
 
Viper2789 said:
Hello,

I want to start homebrewing and I'm overwhelmed by all the new information!
I want to brew lager or something like Amstel (my favourite is Coors lol). Yes I have tried ale/bitter/cider and don't like them, well I'm not too bad with fruit ciders lol.

So what do I need to buy? I have seen kits in the range and Wilko and no idea if they are any good.

I have a 20ft x 8 ft shed (summerhouse) in my backgarden with a fridge and freezer in where I plan to keep it out of the missus' way lol.

Thank you for any help lol.
Click to expand...

welcome to the forum :)

now you tell me that you have tried ales, bitters and ciders... but i think there is more for you to experience, the commercial brews and main ones that are on tap at most brewery owned pubs are not too desierable. next time there is a 'festival' on at a pub thats within walking distance of your house :whistle: give them a go, and in the future try some home brew of a local member with a possible bottle swap etc and your tastes will sway trust me...

as for equipment i would say just get a starter kit and if possible get a king keg to barrel your first brew as its easier, safer and more enjoyable for your first brew as you can 'sample' it sooner and get an idea of how long things take to carb up (get a good amount of carbonation- this equates to head - which im sure everyone loves)

the reason why i suggest a king keg is because i have not had any problem with my 2 :)

the youngs 1 i got with my starter kit is unfortunatly a glugger ( it lets air in as it lets liquid out and leaks as the pressure increases :nono: )

i wish you many happy adventures on your quest :thumb:
 
Wow lots to take in.
So I bought a starter kit from the range and I'm attempting to brew a lager which is flavoured with tequila and lime.
I'll let you know how it goes!

It's in the shed atm, but my shed is more like a summerhouse and the temp doesn't fluctuate as much as a small shed.
I'm looking to buy a barrel thing....I saw Wilko sell them - are they any good? Also I was surprised by how much stuff Wilko had for homebrewing.

Next mission is rose wine for the missus, sisters and mother lmao.
 
Have you actually started the kit yet? If not I recommend you get a couple of packs of this yeast to use instead of the kit yeast. This is a good quality lager yeast which doesn't require much in the way of temperature control compared to some, it'll improve your beer no end.
 
Pressure barrels are great for bitters and ales that you expect to have less condition/fiz in them, but beers that you prefer to serve colder and with a higher level of condition bottling is the cheapest route.

if you become hooked ;) then perhaps using real kegs that can contain the pressures needed to maintain higher levels of condition may be of interest but that will involve a bit more of a financial investment..
 
Right I'll bottle it then as its the first time (excuse the pun) :D .

Any particular bottles I should buy?
 
Viper2789 said:
Wow lots to take in.
So I bought a starter kit from the range and I'm attempting to brew a lager which is flavoured with tequila and lime.
I'll let you know how it goes!

It's in the shed atm, but my shed is more like a summerhouse and the temp doesn't fluctuate as much as a small shed.
I'm looking to buy a barrel thing....I saw Wilko sell them - are they any good? Also I was surprised by how much stuff Wilko had for homebrewing.

Next mission is rose wine for the missus, sisters and mother lmao.
Click to expand...

what kit did you get + how did you find putting it together ?
 
Viper2789 said:
Right I'll bottle it then as its the first time (excuse the pun) :D .

Any particular bottles I should buy?
Click to expand...

as i said in my previous post on here i realy would get a top tap'd king keg with a floating syphon - reread what i put there please

as a first time brewer i truely recommend using it as i have been brewing for a good long time and have now only just gone to bottling as i have never needed to and didnt know enough about it:whistle:

getting proper bottling equipment and having enough patience to do it is something that i highly doubt you will currently have

that and financially it makes more sense to get the pressure barrel
 
Just to offer a different opinion, I would not get a King Keg, for the following reasons:

(1) If you like lager you want it fizzy and pressure barrels have a release valve which will release the CO2 well before its carbonated enough.

(2) They are big and probably won't fit in your fridge, so you won't be able to chill it. Warm and flat is the opposite of what you want for a lager.

(3) Kegs can be a pain in the ass - I've had issue with both the King Kegs I've used, not holding pressure, leaking, having to syphon off the beer to change the tap and reprime. Ugh.. just not worth the effort when you can just fill bottles, cap them, and just leave them to carbonate and condition.

(4) Kegs can be expensive - the King ones are £50 each.

(5) You have to finish a keg before you reuse it. With bottles, once you've had a beer, you can reuse the bottle straight away for your next batch if you need to.

As for which ones to get, there are a number of different options. Most my bottles are re-used, which I saved up or took home from parties. You can also ask your local pub for their empties, most are happy to oblige, or just raid a bottle bank. Just avoid the Wychwood ones, as they can be a pain to get the caps on. When starting out, you can always just buy some cheap 17p sparkling water from the supermarket and use them as a stop-gap while you build up your stash, just make sure to keep the beer somewhere dark as otherwise the beer can go skunky in clear bottles. When starting out I also bought some glass bottles. The shorter 500ml ones sold by The Homebrew Company and Ballihoo are the best. The Wilko ones are a bit cheaper, but can glug a bit when pouring so can disturb the sediment. Cheaper still are screw-top PET bottles, which some folk swear by, but I sterilise mine in the oven so they don't work for me. Alternatively there are swing-tops, which are more expensive, but you don't need to buy caps or have a capper.
 
Are ok....so PET bottles are best or just glass bottles? I have collected some glass bulmers ones so far.
Screw top or cap?
 
Wilkos Cerveza was enjoyable after 3 months in the bottle as was the coopers Cerveza and European Lager kits.
 
IainM said:
Just to offer a different opinion, I would not get a King Keg, for the following reasons:

(1) If you like lager you want it fizzy and pressure barrels have a release valve which will release the CO2 well before its carbonated enough.

(2) They are big and probably won't fit in your fridge, so you won't be able to chill it. Warm and flat is the opposite of what you want for a lager.

(3) Kegs can be a pain in the ass - I've had issue with both the King Kegs I've used, not holding pressure, leaking, having to syphon off the beer to change the tap and reprime. Ugh.. just not worth the effort when you can just fill bottles, cap them, and just leave them to carbonate and condition.

(4) Kegs can be expensive - the King ones are �£50 each.

(5) You have to finish a keg before you reuse it. With bottles, once you've had a beer, you can reuse the bottle straight away for your next batch if you need to.

As for which ones to get, there are a number of different options. Most my bottles are re-used, which I saved up or took home from parties. You can also ask your local pub for their empties, most are happy to oblige, or just raid a bottle bank. Just avoid the Wychwood ones, as they can be a pain to get the caps on. When starting out, you can always just buy some cheap 17p sparkling water from the supermarket and use them as a stop-gap while you build up your stash, just make sure to keep the beer somewhere dark as otherwise the beer can go skunky in clear bottles. When starting out I also bought some glass bottles. The shorter 500ml ones sold by The Homebrew Company and Ballihoo are the best. The Wilko ones are a bit cheaper, but can glug a bit when pouring so can disturb the sediment. Cheaper still are screw-top PET bottles, which some folk swear by, but I sterilise mine in the oven so they don't work for me. Alternatively there are swing-tops, which are more expensive, but you don't need to buy caps or have a capper.
Click to expand...

Viper2789 said:
Are ok....so PET bottles are best or just glass bottles? I have collected some glass bulmers ones so far.
Screw top or cap?
Click to expand...

I have never had problems with my king keg barrels ( i now have 2 and am thinking about 3rd for winter time )

as a first time brewer i would recommend the pressure barrel as you are not going to have the patience it requires with bottles

i have never had problem with carbonation with my king kegs as when you add it to the barrel you add a good amount of sugar, i have never had to use CO2 OR NO2 bulbs to add pressure - just add more sugar when absolutly needed and then leave it in the sun a few hours :D

Unless you invest in the right capper the first time you will have to buy again

i have recently bought a bench capper from geterbrewed and i was impressed with it, alot of the cheaper/hand cappers i hear and read members complaing about continusly to the extent that some hand cappers HAVE TAKEN FLESH from the formites!!!!

im not affiliated nor do i get commision from king keg or the maker but im just a friendly fellow homebrewer trying to help you onto the path of brewdom!
 
Viper2789 said:
Are ok....so PET bottles are best or just glass bottles? I have collected some glass bulmers ones so far.
Screw top or cap?
Click to expand...

some people swear by these plastic bottles but just think about coca-cola in plastic bottles and then when you try it in glass bottles....

...i rest my case
 
I use old plastic pop bottles, it needs 12 to bottle a whole fermentor with 2 litre bottles so does not take as long as with glass bottles, and if you make an error and bottle too early you can feel mistake without opening bottle, and you can pour what you want and re-seal to next day. However do not use for real cider, found with cider it eats into the plastic, impossible to clean once filled with cider you just throw away.

Swing top bottles should in theroy release excess pressure automatic, but I got some from Ikea and the released the when it was not excessive.

When bottling you need a tap and two lengths of pipe so pipe goes to bottom of the bottle, other wise the beer will foam up as your filling, if you fill from bottom up then it is far easier.
 
I got my bottles by having a party and asking people to bring them.

I use an fv with a tap and bottling wand. If you want to get more fancy then getting a bottle tree and rinser is a good idea and will save time.

Making a real lager is hard without temperature control but many of the kits use a clean ale you can use at room temperature. I reckon you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I've seen plenty of people move over to ale after lager through brewing. We'll convert you yet haha 😂.
 

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