Generic self-depreciating first post disclaimer!
Finally, after nearly a year of hmm'ing and hah'ing about getting in to brewing, I sunk costs in to a "starter kit" which included amongst various brewing paraphernalia, this Brewer's Spring Pilsner kit. I bought the kit around October 2013, but only got around to brewing it in January. I would've procrastinated longer, but the big bladder of wort was fast closing in on it's spoiling date.
Being only my second attempt at a discernibly drinkable end product, I followed the instructions of the kit by the letter... until I realised I was one 23L glass carboy short of a "starter" kit. Having learned to "make do" at a young age, I adapted.
Brew day - in a 30 minute epic panic, I think I managed to do everything quite close to the instructions (I did, however, forget to take the OG). I used the old standard Young's FV, but with a hole drilled in the lid for an aquarium heater set-up tuned to keep the temp at around 21C.
Primary Fermentation came and went - I left the beer in the FV for about 7 days in total, then transferred into my <glass carboy substitute> for secondary fermentation. I didn't want to top up to the top of another Youngs FV as the instructions directed as it would have been adding another 2-3L of water. That was an executive decision - watery, weak beer vs extra headspace and exposure to air which could've produced some nastiness - any advice on this decision would be greatly appreciated btw.
I left the beer in the FV for another 13 days (lucky number) at around 21C again before batch priming with the included priming sugar. I bottled using re-used glass bottles- oh how they pile up! I stored the bottles in the coldest room in the house to clear up.
Results - I've been trying one a week for about 4 weeks now. First week/bottle was rough! Pleased to see it has been getting better by the week however.
My first brew was a Coopers Brewmasters IPA and I definitely noticed some dodgy off-flavours - initial swig was pleasing, but a second after the swig you get the off-flavour. The beer improved with age, and the off-flavour dissipated, but never left. For this Brewer's Spring kit, however, it seems the off-flavours have gone after about a month, and the bottles are starting to disappear rather quickly. Good kit! A little expensive, but as MarkS says, grab it if it's on a knock-down price - which will happen as they have fairly short best before dates!
