New to brewing

[New_to_Brew]

Hi All,

After a few months of thinking about it I've decided to give home-brewing a go, this post is probably going to be long but I'd like to give as much info to people as possible in case anyone has any feedback for me, I've spent a lot of time watching videos and reading but still feel like i could do with more guidance. I've decided to jump straight into all grain as from what I've read it all leads there anyway and extract brews aren't as 'good' as all grain. My preference with beers at the moment is IPA's mostly (shocker i know) I drink sierra nevada, oakham ales citra, shipyard, hobgoblin ipa/ king and ruby, spitfire, newcy brown. I also enjoy lagers, Corona with lime, staropramen, peroni, Hophouse 13

I've set a low budget so i don't waste any money if I decide its not for me, buying things which could have another use if brewing is a failure (I'll keep trying even if i fail first time around). The funny thing is some of my equipment from my marine aquarium are going to be used, some of it expensive so I've saved some money here already

Equipment I've bought so far:

21 litre Stainless steel induction hob pot 30cm x 30cm £25
Stainless Steel thermometer £3
20 litre Balloon demijohn £30
x2 smart airlocks £3
Brew safe no rinse sanitiser £5
25 litre Marko outdoor thermos for mashing (additional insulation with foil tape) £20
Refractometer (from aquarium use)
75 gallon per hour RODI system (again from aquarium use) not sure about this, will i need to add minerals back in for brewing? right now the membrane is old so pumping out water which is 40tds, obviously those dissolved solids could be anything but does that matter?

What I'm also planning on getting:

DIY immersion chiller from copper piping and an old 1200lph aquarium pump (plan is to fill kitchen sink with ice and water then pump cold water through copper back into the sink whilst the pan is sat in it too)
PH test kit - Is this necessary for me as a beginner? I don't mind testing and adjusting this as again aquarium maintenance requires the same but if i dont have to id rather not
Small colander or pasta strainer which has to be 25 - 27.5cm for holding grains (don't see the point in spending £15 on a brew bag which wont be as functional or last as long as a stainless steel basket) seen one in ikea but need to check holes sizes, if not I'll make one from stainless steel
Whirlfloc tablets for clarity
Bottling equipment - Hoping someone has some old stuff lying around they wouldn't mind chucking my way, I've saved enough bottles (had a pissy week to stock up)
Syphon - not sure what to get here, there's auto syphons, silicone tubs and all sorts. I've got a battery powered syphon, would this be ok?

Plan is to do an all grain on my induction hob and ferment in my boiler cupboard, i haven't check the average temp in there but it seems like it would be around low 20's which if I've researched properly seems to be the average for yeast used in most brews? I might be way off here if anyone could let me know

I'll be brewing next week once my equipment has arrived, where's the best to buy grains, hops and yeast? theres a local brew shop near me but its in leamington and i bet the prices are ridiculous like everything round here

Let me know what you think and if I've overlooked anything or missed something, can't wait to start but don't want to muck it up

 

[SkyBlue]

Good evening!

I’ve been brewing for a couple of years and am in no way an expert (see my earlier post about wrecking a brew!) and use an all in one system for simplicity so do not use most of the stuff you listed in your post.

If the home brew shop in Leamington you mentioned is BeerTorrent I have to say they are brilliant. You may find ingredients cheaper on line but I buy all my stuff from there as their service is second to none and are very knowledgable.

 

[giampy]

DIY immersion chiller from copper piping and an old 1200lph aquarium pump (plan is to fill kitchen sink with ice and water then pump cold water through copper back into the sink whilst the pan is sat in it too)
Ok
PH test kit - Is this necessary for me as a beginner? I don't mind testing and adjusting this as again aquarium maintenance requires the same but if i dont have to id rather not

I think that a phmeter is essential to perform all the steps correctly. (Even to check the less important ones... the boil pH at 5.2 for the best protein coagulation for example.)

Small colander or pasta strainer which has to be 25 - 27.5cm for holding grains (don't see the point in spending £15 on a brew bag which wont be as functional or last as long as a stainless steel basket) seen one in ikea but need to check holes sizes, if not I'll make one from stainless steel
Ok
Whirlfloc tablets for clarity
ok
Bottling equipment - Hoping someone has some old stuff lying around they wouldn't mind chucking my way, I've saved enough bottles (had a pissy week to stock up)
ok
Syphon - not sure what to get here, there's auto syphons, silicone tubs and all sorts. I've got a battery powered syphon, would this be ok?

A battery powered syphon is the best choice, it allows you to use more care when transferring the wort and beer and avoiding muddy

Plan is to do an all grain on my induction hob and ferment in my boiler cupboard, i haven't check the average temp in there but it seems like it would be around low 20's which if I've researched properly seems to be the average for yeast used in most brews? I might be way off here if anyone could let me know

The best solution would be to have a refrigerator with a heating element inside. And a thermostat that regulates the heat / cold.
20 ° C is good for many beers but is not enough for saison. In this case you could take a garden cable:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elixir-Gar...ords=Cable+heater&qid=1573391232&sr=8-16&th=1
attach it to a wire mesh or a blanket. Then wrap the blanket around the fermenter. You need the thermostat with a probe. If the probe has a silicon cable you can insert it directly into the wort. Make a hole in the lid and put a cable gland connectors Ø 3.5 - 6 mm like this one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOOHUI-Wat...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
or use a thermowell.

 

[Banbeer]

Just sanitise everything and don't rush your beer and it should workout fine. Happy brewing.

 

[Birkin]

I have an immersion chiller that I bought off eBay for £30, they made a cracking job of it and it works a treat. I just use tap water, I have hose pipe attachments on the chiller and one of those tap adapters.

It works great, will will from the boil to about 20c in easily one round on battlefield 1, or less than half an hour.

When you brew, don't over think it, enjoy it. Yes do sanitise and yes do take care, but also keep in mind that beer has been around for hundreds of years and was brewed before sanitation was a thing.

It was safer than water, so even if you miss something the chances are it'll work out fine.

Don't forget to aereate your wort before pitching your yeast, I do this by pouring it between two buckets a couple of times!

My mash bin is basically two fermenting buckets, I cut the bottom 3 inch off one of them and drilled a load of holes in it, then made a thermal blanket out of windscreen frost protectors and duck tape. To be honest, the thermal blanket could be better, but it seems to hold temperature reasonably well. I need to make a better insulator for it really, but I've been thinking along the lines of turning my spare boiler into a mash tun in any case.

For infection risk, the place to take the most care is immediately after the boil, and before fermentation kicks off. It's that point where it's warm and the yeast hasn't started making the wort less hospitable to bacteria that is the highest risk.

And for what it's worth, my first brew was a Wilko tin can kit with the bare essentials.

It was horrid. After that I went straight to All grain and can honestly say, there is nothing to fear! I find it immensely satisfying when people taste my beer, clearly enjoy it and ask what it's made from.. I can say - grain, hops, yeast and water.