Starting Out

[strange-steve]

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.

A good lager can be made without temperature control if you use the right yeast, I remember reading Brulosopher compared a split batch fermented with w37/70, one at 16° and the other at 26° and the difference was barely noticeable. Quite amazing really.

 

[Personal91]

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 😂.

all in good time muhahaha:twisted:

 

[Viper2789]

Temps in the shed are good....between 22 and 18.

BTW, went into Sheffield Tap and tried a pale ale.

I couldn't drink it lol

 

[GlentoranMark]

Only came to this thread but I may start a thread at some point about if I had to do the whole thing over again.

You've made the right start, I'd also buy a can kit with all equipment for brewing.

I'd jump straight into all grain after this, following Clibit's guide. I wish I'd done this sooner. The only extras needed will be a thermometer and a muslin bag.

Next step would be a fridge, essential if you want to brew lagers and not a big expense if you pick one up on Freecycle or Gumtree. Space is the only issue but that gives you an excuse for a man cave :)

Followed by a boiler and chiller (buy the false bottom for the boiler), it makes a big difference.

Finally I'd consider Mini Kegs and Corny kegs.

I've done some of those steps the other way around but if I done it in that order I'd have saved myself a lot of time.

It also sounds expensive and it can be but if you take things slowly it doesn't have to be that way. Add little bits at a time and buy things like your thermometer from China <£2 but delivery can take 6 weeks)

A Can kit can cost £10 upwards for 40 pints while a simple SMASH lager can cost as little as £7 for the grains, hops and yeast and will taste so much fresher and better.

That's a quick summary of how I'd do it but the kits are a great place to start. If you've no bottles use 2L fizzy drink bottles. They can be a pain to use but they're cheap and disposable.

It's not rocket science but I'm sure you've many questions and this forum is a great resource. We all started somewhere.

 

[stevey]

I'd just like to add my 2 penn'orth. - Find a local homebrew shop and buy from them. The one I use stocks just about everything I need, at prices that usually compete very well with mail order when you take delivery into account.

They can also give you advice on the spot, usually being homebrewers themselves; where wilko and range staff know very little about what they're selling.
Also I think it's much better to actually look at what you're buying, rather than be disappointed when it's delivered and is nothing like you thought it would be.

About the pressure barrel thing, I used to bottle but now almost exclusively barrel my beer. I have 4 PB's now - 3 budget ones and one king keg, I find the budget ones are much easier to seal and hold pressure better. The top tap is a PITA in my opinion, the only way I've got it to seal is by using load of PTFE tape.
Of course cornies are the way forward, but a bit more equipment is needed. You'll never be short of things to spend the money you save on beer on. :wink: :