thinking about starting home brew - queries

Good Evening,

I am a new member to your site. I've recently been considering home brew but I have a few questions I hope someone can help with.

I've had a look on my local brew shop website at the different starter kits, I think I would be looking for a kit where I could bottle the end product to give away as presents etc, rather than keeping it in a keg for personal use.

It may be a silly question but how long does the beer stay OK in the plastic/glass bottles for, before going flat or having a large reduction in quality? Would I need somewhere cold to store these bottles once brewed?

I'd also be interested to find out how long it takes to go from 'start' to 'bottle' in these brew kits?

Could I just keep the fermentation tub in a back room while fermenting, or would it be best to be kept in a cold shed?

Are there any fumes or a large amount of aroma given off during fermentation? I would likely need to keep the fermentation in the back room as I don't have a lot of space. I am just trying to find out if I have the facilities to be able to do this really.

Finally, is there much scope in these kits for experimentation in the future. Eventually I would like to add my own grains and hops into the mix to create my own custom beers. I'm sure that's the goal for most really.

Many thanks :)

Space and equipment....if you do "kit" brews you will need very little space to brew . You will need space to store both equipment and beer. Ale usually likes around 20 degrees for fermentation,any cooler and it slows or stops,very much higher can affect the brew. Lager can go much lower to around 14.
Lower abv brews can last up to a year bottled,higher say 7% plus can last much longer.
You could still keep things in a tighter space if you do some part mash with grains but you would need grain storage,secure and dry. Another option for full grain would be an automated system that mashed and boils all in the same vessel. These take up much less space than a three vessel system,but still need keeping somewhere .

Hi @wardheed welcome to the forum, the beer will stay carbonated for a long time, years in fact and usually get better with age.

From start to finish your looking at 3 weeks and then if you leave them longer the better the end product.

To ferment the beer needs to be at around 18 - 20 deg C unless you are doing a lager with a lager yeast then it will need to be around the 12 - 15 deg C mark.

Depends on what you are brewing but lager lets off a rotten egg smell whilst fermenting.

you are going to be able to experiment with kits by adding different things like hops and flavours but to use grain this would have to be AG not kit as the grain releases the sugar and this is the wort, the wort is what you have in the kit.

@banbeer @Clint

Thank you both very much for your reply, that's cleared a few of the issues up. I'd be looking at beer so I think I might give a brew kit a go first, they are relatively cheap looking online. If they don't smell too much, then I have a small amount of space in the back bedroom I can use, which should be warm enough, especially heading into spring.

Once I get a grip, I could slowly begin to experiment as you say with hops and flavours before seeing if I want to go into it more.

Think i'll get a kit when I get paid next, so thanks very much. No doubt i'll be back on here for advice and to see what others are up to with their brewing.

Thanks again

:)

I’ve brewed kits with the fermenting vessel sitting on the sideboard in the back room and never had any bad smells.

As a very rough guide (and a minimum); 2-3 weeks in the fermenting vessel, 2 weeks in the warm (having added sugar for secondary fermentation) and 2 weeks in the cold. My latest beer has been out in the shed for six weeks and it’s tasting good. Leave them alone if you can - they do mature and improve.

Regarding bottles, I like the PET (plastic) ones. These can be used time after time and the Cooper’s ones are as good as any and pretty cheap. Apart from not having to faff around with a bottle capper as you do with glass bottles, what I really like about the PET ones is that during secondary fermentation, you can feel the bottle ‘tighten’ as the pressure inside increases. This tells you that the beer is carbonating.

As for experimentation, people add lots of things to their kits. Doing a dry hop or making a hop tea are obvious ones. I’d highly recommend looking through the kit reviews on this website - you’ll learn a huge amount. Look at the St Peter’s Cream Stout thread. Someone added coffee and soft brown sugar and it sounds so good that I’m going to copy it this summer for a Christmas 2019 drink!

Good luck with it all and if you have any queries (which you will) there are some brilliant people on here who will give you the best advice.

Good luck and enjoy it!

This is an insight into kit brewing.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...de-to-brewing-your-own-beer-from-a-kit.57526/
You can make quite drinkable beer from even the basic kits but 'premium' kits costing about £20 for 23 litres usually deliver better results. However there are ways to improve a basic kit and many homebrewers do this including adding extra hops, and grain in the form of steeps or even small volume grain mashes.
After kits many new to brewing then move on to all grain (AG) brewing or some to extract brewing which sits between kit brewing and AG.
As others have mentioned brewing at the right temperature is important and apart from relying on room temperature other methods are available for keeping the brew at the right temperature, preferably without big temperature swings, and these include brew belts, pads, water baths and brew fridges which are standard fridges modified for brewing so that accurate temperature control can be achieved.
Some beers can be drunk within two or three weeks of starting a brew, but many homebrewers prefer to leave their beers several weeks before they start to drink them in quantity. One rule of thumb often used is 2 weeks in the FV, 2 weeks to carbonate, and 2 weeks to condition, but this does not suit everyone, and all beers. Finally some beers may need months before they peak but this is unusual.

@GhostShip

Thanks very much for your reply. I'll definitely have a look at the reviews before purchasing. I had been thinking about recyclable plastic bottles for environmental reasons, so good to hear they will work out. Cheers

Some of the lager kits are very quick to do...

I did a Coopers Aussie lager and it was fermented and bottled in 5 days at 7% ABV..! Completely clear and ready to drink a week after that.

Don't get me wrong it tasted better after 2-3 weeks in the bottles but not totally necessary.

Whilst the fermenting process does produce a litte aroma, it's not enough to stink an entire house out.
I brew in a spare bedroom about 12 feet square and can really only smell anything for the first vigorous day.
Besides that, I quite like the smell of reassurance.

If you do start with kits, don't buy a cheap single tin kit, you may be dissapointed and quit after the first brew.
Start another thread and ask for peoples opinions, which kit they prefer and why.
Pay that bit extra and get a decent kit.

As for equipment, buy a good quality 5 gallon brewing bucket.
Look after it, it will last you a life time.

Start saving beer bottles, ask freinds and family to save you some.
Youl'l need around 40+ for a 5 gallon brew.
Grolsh bottles make bottling easier, and speeds up the process somewhat.
You just have to suffer drinking 5 gallons of the suff to obtain enough bottles.

keat64 said:

Whilst the fermenting process does produce a litte aroma, it's not enough to stink an entire house out.
I brew in a spare bedroom about 12 feet square and can really only smell anything for the first vigorous day.
Besides that, I quite like the smell of reassurance.

If you do start with kits, don't buy a cheap single tin kit, you may be dissapointed and quit after the first brew.
Start another thread and ask for peoples opinions, which kit they prefer and why.
Pay that bit extra and get a decent kit.

As for equipment, buy a good quality 5 gallon brewing bucket.
Look after it, it will last you a life time.

Start saving beer bottles, ask freinds and family to save you some.
Youl'l need around 40+ for a 5 gallon brew.
Grolsh bottles make bottling easier, and speeds up the process somewhat.
You just have to suffer drinking 5 gallons of the suff to obtain enough bottles.

Click to expand...

Whatever happened to 1.5 litre Grolsh bottles, they were great.

Welcome Wardheed.

Grolsh isn't great.
Yak.

I have about 3 x 1 litre swing top bottles and find them a bit big for one person.
If you pour the entire contents, it goes flat, if you don't then you disturb any sediment.
OK for 2 people though

There are usually some interesting German beers in swing top bottles at German street markets. Might have to wait till Xmas to find one though. I am still using Fischers Alsace "Grolsch-type" beer bottles I picked up when taking the kids camping in France (nice beer, too, it was). The youngest 'kid' is now 35...

keat64 said:

Grolsh isn't great.
Yak.

I have about 3 x 1 litre swing top bottles and find them a bit big for one person.
If you pour the entire contents, it goes flat, if you don't then you disturb any sediment.
OK for 2 people though

Click to expand...

Victor Churchill said:

There are usually some interesting German beers in swing top bottles at German street markets. Might have to wait till Xmas to find one though. I am still using Fischers Alsace "Grolsch-type" beer bottles I picked up when taking the kids camping in France (nice beer, too, it was). The youngest 'kid' is now 35...

Click to expand...

Hi time you visited France again, then. We still have Fischer and their 65cl swing-top bottles. Not a bad beer, just a tad sweet for my liking. Page 24 (don't ask) is a very drinkable drop also in 75 cl swing tops.

wardheed said:

Good Evening,

I am a new member to your site. I've recently been considering home brew but I have a few questions I hope someone can help with.

I've had a look on my local brew shop website at the different starter kits, I think I would be looking for a kit where I could bottle the end product to give away as presents etc, rather than keeping it in a keg for personal use.

It may be a silly question but how long does the beer stay OK in the plastic/glass bottles for, before going flat or having a large reduction in quality? Would I need somewhere cold to store these bottles once brewed?

I'd also be interested to find out how long it takes to go from 'start' to 'bottle' in these brew kits?

Could I just keep the fermentation tub in a back room while fermenting, or would it be best to be kept in a cold shed?

Are there any fumes or a large amount of aroma given off during fermentation? I would likely need to keep the fermentation in the back room as I don't have a lot of space. I am just trying to find out if I have the facilities to be able to do this really.

Finally, is there much scope in these kits for experimentation in the future. Eventually I would like to add my own grains and hops into the mix to create my own custom beers. I'm sure that's the goal for most really.

Many thanks :)

Click to expand...

Hi Wardheed. I don't think anybody has answered this part of your question. You can keep beer in bottles literally for years without it going flat. If its a big, rubust, hi-gravity beer then it'll improve for keeping; if it's a bitter or a lager or a mild it'll still be alright 3 to 6 months later and drinkable after a year. A lager will will keep for ages. Very hoppy beers like double IPAs and the like will undergo a gradual change in their hop character even after a month. Not necessarily a bad thing, but they won't be so "hoppy".
The main thing is not to overcarbonate. Use the carbonation table from Brewer's Friend and be prepared to wait 4-6 weeks for a bottle to come into condition.
There are some beers that I won't bottle in glass, the main one being those fermented with Belgian wheat beer yeast. This yeast, and some other specialist yeasts will continue to metabolise the sugars that were not converted to alcohol during initial fermentation and you'll end up with a very overcarbonated bottle. I use PETs for these.
Just ask yourself how you'd store the "real ale in a bottle" beers that you get from the supermarket or the offie- your beer is little different to that.