Hello from Forres, Moray

[mgmick]

Back brewing after about 25 year break. Mostly do dark beer and white wine kits but have also made cider, perry and plum wine from trees in the garden. I'd quite like to look into some "proper" brewing but there doesn't seem to be much of a scene up here and with postage costs it's a bit pricey trying to learn by trial and error.

Cheers
Mick

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Morning Mick, and welcome to the forum :-)
Having a quick look at the Member Map it seems as if there might be at least one other brewer not too far from you

 

[The Baron]

Welcome to the forum Mick.
I am sure it has changed in 25 years which you may notice if you have come back to it after that long a break.
I have stayed brewing and it has changed massively

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Mick if by 'proper' brewing you mean all-grain, then it (can be) simpler than you might imagine and you don't necessarily need much kit.
Have a look at this thread: have-a-go-at-simple-ag.51779

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[mgmick]

Hello and thanks for the welcome.
I've had a look at the map and see that there's a member in the vicinity of Keith. That's about 25/30 miles from me.

As you say Baron, there have definitely been a few changes during my brewing break. The 2020 lockdown is what inspired me to come back. I think a few folk must've returned then because it was a real struggle getting kits and equipment. Boots had stopped selling stuff and the Homebrew Shop in Elgin was long gone. Everything had to be delivered and the only place I could find that did free delivery for larger orders was a shop in Edinburgh, but he's now closed down too.

Regarding "proper" brewing, the thing that's holding me back is my uncertainty that I'm mastering kits first. Just like 25 years ago, there is a taste to all the beers I make which very much identifies them as "homebrew". As I've always operated in isolation I have no idea if that taste is supposed to be there or if I'm doing something wrong. The beer is always drinkable but that taste thing nags at me so I need to find out that my Lego builds are ok before I move on the Meccano set. Maybe my near neighbour in Keith will taste it one day and till me if it's Lillian Gish or not. )

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Maybe my near neighbour in Keith will taste it one day and till me if it's Lillian Gish or not. )

Well that's the benefit of the forum: I've yet to meet any member on here who turns down a bottle swap, and it's cheap to do: you can use Royal Mail 'click and drop' to send a 500ml bottle from only £2.90 (plus the cost of the bottle-wrap )

There's no need to 'perfect' extract brewing before moving on to All Grain - in the same way there's no need to perfect using public transport before learning to drive - you'll be fine, and we are all here to learn (and talk about our successes and failures)

 

[Wobbly13]

Mick as @The-Engineer-That-Brews says all grain brew in a bag is a great way to get into ‘proper’ brewing with minimal outlay & great results.

 

[JonathanMSE]

Hello and thanks for the welcome.
I've had a look at the map and see that there's a member in the vicinity of Keith. That's about 25/30 miles from me.

As you say Baron, there have definitely been a few changes during my brewing break. The 2020 lockdown is what inspired me to come back. I think a few folk must've returned then because it was a real struggle getting kits and equipment. Boots had stopped selling stuff and the Homebrew Shop in Elgin was long gone. Everything had to be delivered and the only place I could find that did free delivery for larger orders was a shop in Edinburgh, but he's now closed down too.

Regarding "proper" brewing, the thing that's holding me back is my uncertainty that I'm mastering kits first. Just like 25 years ago, there is a taste to all the beers I make which very much identifies them as "homebrew". As I've always operated in isolation I have no idea if that taste is supposed to be there or if I'm doing something wrong. The beer is always drinkable but that taste thing nags at me so I need to find out that my Lego builds are ok before I move on the Meccano set. Maybe my near neighbour in Keith will taste it one day and till me if it's Lillian Gish or not. )

Hello!

I'm in Inverness and brew all grain... probably badly.

 

[mgmick]

Thanks all, I will look into this all grain method and see how it goes. I have to admit that the thought of exchanging bottles by post had never occured to me. One area of concern though would be the sediment. I've always treated it a bit like nitro-glycerine and tried my utmost to avoid disturbing it. How do you deal with that problem?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Thanks all, I will look into this all grain method and see how it goes. I have to admit that the thought of exchanging bottles by post had never occured to me. One area of concern though would be the sediment. I've always treated it a bit like nitro-glycerine and tried my utmost to avoid disturbing it. How do you deal with that problem?

Personally I keg my beer, and just bottle some off (under pressure) when needed. However when I’ve received bottle-conditioned ones from other people I just stick them in the fridge for a few days and then pour it with care.
At the end of the day however I don’t mind a bit of sediment :-)