New member.

[Sozzled Sab]

Hi everyone
My name is Chris and I live in beautiful North Wales.
I have been ag brewing on and off for around for around 10 years and I have mostly been delighted with the results.
I use very basic equipment and would just like some hints and tips on tweeks I can make to improve my brews.
I don't want to get to much into the technical aspects at the moment.
All I need to do now is decide what to ask first.
See you all soon.

 

[An Ankoù]

Welcome Chris,
I'm a great believer in basic equipment- for me, it keeps you closer to the actual brewing. What sort of stuff do you make?

 

[Sozzled Sab]

Hi
Almost always British ales, I did make make a cider once but that was from a kit. I prefer a good scrumpy but that would need a press and lots of Apples.

 

[The Baron]

Hi Chris I too am a advocate for basic equipment especially to hone brewing skills before going into possible science and technical equipment.
Welcome

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Hi Chris and welcome :-)
Can you say a bit more about what equipment you're using, and whether there's anything specific you'd like to improve in your brews?

 

[Stevieboy]

Welcome! My AGs are as basic as they get, when I can be bothered. Nothing but a boiler and some buckets and a wort chiller.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum Chris.

 

[Gerryjo]

Hi and welcome to the forum..

 

[Sozzled Sab]

Hi Chris and welcome :-)
Can you say a bit more about what equipment you're using, and whether there's anything specific you'd like to improve in your brews?

My equipment is as basic as it gets, I use what is supposed to be a mashing bin as a hot liquor tank, a picnic box box with extra insulation as a mash tun and a home made boiler.
As to advice its things like yeast types and starters, hop additions and general problems I have had in the past and what I could have done wrong. I have mostly been chuffed with my efforts but I'm sure I could learn a lot from from you guys.
Onwards and upwards.

 

[Worf]

Hi Chris. Welcome to the forum.

I too am a 'keep it simple' kinda guy. Been at it for a bit more than 10 yrs & will be interested in seeing the Q&A you generate.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi and welcome, i would say mine is pretty basic 35L brewzilla kettle and fridge are the dear bits and cornys and i brew in plastic buckets, i went to cornys i can't abide bottling

 

[Sozzled Sab]

Hi and welcome, i would say mine is pretty basic 35L brewzilla kettle and fridge are the dear bits and cornys and i brew in plastic buckets, i went to cornys i can't abide bottling

Yes I totally agree on the bottling, it's a thankless task. Also I'm not too keen on bottled beer but that's just me, I guess we' all have our preferences.

 

[user 43495]

I used to live near the batham's brewery in the west Midlands and would simply pop in with my jar and spoon (Tommy Cooper comes to mind!). However I'm now in mid Wales and although I befriended a couple of small commercial brewers locally, Nottingham was their favourite choice almost exclusively, none using wet yeast. Nottingham is great but costs a fortune in sachets and a 500g bag is likely to go off and become useless half way through unless you are brewing sufficient quantities to get through the whole bag in less than 12 months. That's a lot of brewing. However the far cheaper Gervin dried yeast is, or so I have been reliably informed, Nottingham yeast! I tend to use this for all my beers with very good results. On the thorny issue of water treatment, all I concern myself with is ensuring the ph of the mash is as close to 5.2 as i can get it. This depends on your water supply and the ingredients in the mash tun. The 5.2 ph helps to maximise the extract effieniency.

 

[The Baron]

I used to live near the batham's brewery in the west Midlands and would simply pop in with my jar and spoon (Tommy Cooper comes to mind!). However I'm now in mid Wales and although I befriended a couple of small commercial brewers locally, Nottingham was their favourite choice almost exclusively, none using wet yeast. Nottingham is great but costs a fortune in sachets and a 500g bag is likely to go off and become useless half way through unless you are brewing sufficient quantities to get through the whole bag in less than 12 months. That's a lot of brewing. However the far cheaper Gervin dried yeast is, or so I have been reliably informed, Nottingham yeast! I tend to use this for all my beers with very good results. On the thorny issue of water treatment, all I concern myself with is ensuring the ph of the mash is as close to 5.2 as i can get it. This depends on your water supply and the ingredients in the mash tun. The 5.2 ph helps to maximise the extract effieniency.

Jar Spoon Spoon Jar