Evenin' all!

[Uist Brewer]

I'm Calvin; and I'm a home brewer currently living on South Uist. Hmm: username does what it says on the tin.

I'm very new to brewing and have used a couple of kits so far - all-grain stovetop ones (4.5 ltr); I have absolutely no experience with malt extract or other kits and I set out on the back only of the instructions in the kits themselves, plus Greg Hughes's Home Brew Beer and also James Morton's Brew, the latter of which I picked up in Shetland recently alongside a visit to the Lerwick Brewery.

I've lurked on the forum for a couple of weeks since I chanced across it, but the wealth of information and the sheer amount of activity has been great and I've found out a huge amount of really interesting stuff that I didn't know - like no-chill, how to dry hop and about the merits of various all-in-one systems - so I thought it was about time I stopped lurking and started participating. Over time, I hope to be able to give a bit back, too.

I've brewed just three kits so far - an IPA and an APA courtesy of the now-defunct craftbrewbeer people in Kirkcaldy; and a Black IPA courtesy of brewuk.

The first two were decent enough beers for a first go, with the exception that they had a terrific amount of trub in each bottle, which gave the bottom half a completely different character to the top half, and so I put the equipment away for a while; the black IPA - a fine kit - which I've used to relaunch my brewing career has been one learning experience from start to finish. Having attempted to bottle today, I have learned that it is indeed not possible to dry hop with dried leaf hops in a demijohn I never knew there was going to be so much debris from just two of the little devils. As before, a lot of sediment, too, and therefore a lot left behind in the dJ - which I put down in all cases to an over-enthusiastic press through the sieve in the attempt to get as much wort into the boil pot as possible.

Next up, while what remains of my black IPA bottle conditions, will be a California Common then a Brooklyn Beer Shop Elvis Juice and both will be mashed (and sparged) in a bag in the attempt to get the sediment out of my life. No squeezing.

Once we get a bit more used to living with CV (and I've learned a bit more about the art of brewing from stove-top kits), I'm hoping to upgrade my equipment to an all-in-one system and to buying 'proper' raw ingredients which, in these current times, looks a bit of a challenge, at least from the outlets that I know. Still, learning to walk before you can run isn't a bad idea...

 

[Session]

Hello! Welcome aboard - despite having brewed for few years I’m pretty new here myself. It’s a great forum and I’ve already learnt a huge amount from many helpful fellow brewers.

I started doing tiny batches on my stove so I know what starting small is like, and the difficulties of keeping small batches consistent. Just by continuing to brew I found I learnt loads. I’m sure you will too. Whenever I move to a new system or try a new way of doing things I find it always takes me 3-4 brews to iron out any problems, and the more you brew the better you’ll get your workflow.

Give me a shout if I can help with anything.

 

[Banbeer]

Welcome to the forum and happy brewing

 

[cushyno]

You need a strategy for the trub and cloudiness. I'm still trying to figure that one out myself after almost 2 years. I don't use gelatin or finings, but cold crashing and time seen to work reasonably well.

I have the same two books as you and working through a few recipes. There is a wealth of experience and info in this forum. Keep reading and asking questions, someone else has invariably been there before.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum thumb

 

[Uist Brewer]

Thanks guys for the welcome and for the offers of help.

The trub issue is definitely a worry. It had settled well in the bottles in the first two kits so - although I didn't then know about cold crashing - I must have done something right (with the black IPA, I'm definitely following the 2+2+2 formula). It was/is just the sheer amount of it, both in the bottles and in the demijohn, which has taken me by surprise. I was hoping this time round that Irish Moss would have helped (it may have done, a bit...); while use of a bag (or, at least, some sort of film) and colander next time, rather than a wire sieve, will definitely stop me pressing so much liquid out.

There's definitely a place for stovetop brewing and, even with bigger kit, I'll probably still use a 4.5 ltr brew to test out a few recipes before going big. The disadvantage is that the time commitment is sizable and the return is small (compared to bigger batches which are relatively not so much heavier on time; at least, up as far as bottling); while even testing gravity from batches of this size takes out a substantial amount of product.

But it seems brewing beer is a good thing to do if you like problem solving