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Post by Yellow River on Jan 9, 2012 17:14:30 GMT
I was kindly given a home brew kit at Christmas and finally got round to brewing my first beer this weekend. Stage 1 is complete and the ale is bubbling away nicely in the fermenting vessel. ;D This particular kit is called 'Woodforde's Norfolk Wherry' which appears to have quite a good reputation, so looking forward to end result. Just wondered if there was anyone else on here who brews there own beer/wine/cider ? Any good tips?
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Post by malcolmnl on Jan 9, 2012 18:08:27 GMT
And your address is...?
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Post by Yellow River on Jan 9, 2012 18:17:07 GMT
Oxfordshire
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Post by Maurice Earp on Jan 9, 2012 18:30:09 GMT
A friend and I have approximately 50 gallons of cider brewing at the moment. Personally, I prefer Real Ales but when there was a glut of apples we had to have a go at making the cider. RobinShater can vouch for last years cider effort.
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Post by junior1 on Jan 9, 2012 18:33:23 GMT
May I reserve mr earp!
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Post by Yellow River on Jan 9, 2012 19:11:16 GMT
A friend and I have approximately 50 gallons of cider brewing at the moment. Personally, I prefer Real Ales but when there was a glut of apples we had to have a go at making the cider. RobinShater can vouch for last years cider effort. 50 Gallons!!! ;D ;D ;D How long will it last?
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Post by Maurice Earp on Jan 9, 2012 19:27:18 GMT
It is currently still brewing but we bottle it in 2 litre plastic bottles so will last indefinitely.
Last years didn't taste too strong but it had the desired effect!
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Post by Maurice Earp on Jan 9, 2012 19:27:49 GMT
Probably
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Post by collyox (banned) on Jan 9, 2012 23:32:11 GMT
Beardy wierdy juice
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Post by junior1 on Jan 10, 2012 0:36:45 GMT
Probably Good man...
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Post by Robin Shater on Jan 10, 2012 7:49:45 GMT
A friend and I have approximately 50 gallons of cider brewing at the moment. Personally, I prefer Real Ales but when there was a glut of apples we had to have a go at making the cider. RobinShater can vouch for last years cider effort. It was good, but hope to be able to judge if this batch is better.(hint,hint)
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Post by Robin Shater on Jan 10, 2012 7:52:32 GMT
Beardy wierdy juice Man's drink You'd best stick to fizzy pop.
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Post by carefreeoufc on Jan 10, 2012 8:50:44 GMT
I brew quite a lot actually regularly between 40 and 80 pints of lager, ale or cider. Best kit I have had so far was the St Peters IPA which after leaving for around 4 weeks to sit in the bottle was absolutely perfect. I generally either buy my kits from the hardware shop on Windmill Rd in Headington or alternatively from www.brewuk.co.uk which is pretty good. Another place good for kits is Wilkinsons from time to time. I bought one of the Geordie Lagers from there which was absolutely excellent. A word of warning though a lot can change between ones brew and another, for example a good mate of mine bought the Geordie Lager after my rave reviews. It did not end up so good and he blamed me (Not his hap hazard approach to brewing). If you decide to brew it and then bottle it Tim (The Priory) helped me out and gave me as many 500ml ale bottles as I wanted that had been drunk one Sat. This was last year just after Christmas I think when the bottled ale bar was going strong outside. In terms of cider, having finished the "real" stuff over Christmas I have used the Youngs Cider kit which is available from Wilkinsons. The missus and my mum both drink a fair bit of cider and really enjoy it. It is a bit like a perrry I suppose, very clear and sparkling like a wine closest thing to compare it to is probably a Thatchers Gold or similar. The last lot didnt have as much of an apple taste as I wanted so have started putting some extra concentrate into it these days. Anyway if you want any more information more than happy to help. Good little hobby really, I spend around £10-15 a month on brewing and that covers all my drink and friends too when they come over.
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Post by Robin Shater on Jan 10, 2012 10:48:21 GMT
I brew quite a lot actually regularly between 40 and 80 pints of lager, ale or cider. Best kit I have had so far was the St Peters IPA which after leaving for around 4 weeks to sit in the bottle was absolutely perfect. I generally either buy my kits from the hardware shop on Windmill Rd in Headington or alternatively from www.brewuk.co.uk which is pretty good. Another place good for kits is Wilkinsons from time to time. I bought one of the Geordie Lagers from there which was absolutely excellent. A word of warning though a lot can change between ones brew and another, for example a good mate of mine bought the Geordie Lager after my rave reviews. It did not end up so good and he blamed me (Not his hap hazard approach to brewing). If you decide to brew it and then bottle it Tim (The Priory) helped me out and gave me as many 500ml ale bottles as I wanted that had been drunk one Sat. This was last year just after Christmas I think when the bottled ale bar was going strong outside. In terms of cider, having finished the "real" stuff over Christmas I have used the Youngs Cider kit which is available from Wilkinsons. The missus and my mum both drink a fair bit of cider and really enjoy it. It is a bit like a perrry I suppose, very clear and sparkling like a wine closest thing to compare it to is probably a Thatchers Gold or similar. The last lot didnt have as much of an apple taste as I wanted so have started putting some extra concentrate into it these days. Anyway if you want any more information more than happy to help. Good little hobby really, I spend around £10-15 a month on brewing and that covers all my drink and friends too when they come over. Are you looking for more friends?
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Post by alessandro on Jan 10, 2012 10:59:38 GMT
I once home brewed lager and was delighted when I came across the name Regal wihch I neatly applied to all the bottles. My inspiration had been the old Sega adverts. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXJyeS3Gi78
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Post by chuckbert on Jan 10, 2012 13:21:25 GMT
Although I prefer English ale, by far the best homebrew I ever did (repeatedly, in Scotland) was from an Aussie Coopers Ale kit, in bottles (my brother selflessly emptied and collected about 40 700mL Grolsch bottles for me) rather than a keg.
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Post by Yellow River on Jan 10, 2012 15:34:31 GMT
I brew quite a lot actually regularly between 40 and 80 pints of lager, ale or cider. Best kit I have had so far was the St Peters IPA which after leaving for around 4 weeks to sit in the bottle was absolutely perfect. I generally either buy my kits from the hardware shop on Windmill Rd in Headington or alternatively from www.brewuk.co.uk which is pretty good. Another place good for kits is Wilkinsons from time to time. I bought one of the Geordie Lagers from there which was absolutely excellent. A word of warning though a lot can change between ones brew and another, for example a good mate of mine bought the Geordie Lager after my rave reviews. It did not end up so good and he blamed me (Not his hap hazard approach to brewing). If you decide to brew it and then bottle it Tim (The Priory) helped me out and gave me as many 500ml ale bottles as I wanted that had been drunk one Sat. This was last year just after Christmas I think when the bottled ale bar was going strong outside. In terms of cider, having finished the "real" stuff over Christmas I have used the Youngs Cider kit which is available from Wilkinsons. The missus and my mum both drink a fair bit of cider and really enjoy it. It is a bit like a perrry I suppose, very clear and sparkling like a wine closest thing to compare it to is probably a Thatchers Gold or similar. The last lot didnt have as much of an apple taste as I wanted so have started putting some extra concentrate into it these days. Anyway if you want any more information more than happy to help. Good little hobby really, I spend around £10-15 a month on brewing and that covers all my drink and friends too when they come over. My beer kit came from Hops & Vines, Corn St, Witney. I paid their shop a visit a couple of days ago, the owner was helpful and appeared to know his stuff, looks like the shop specialises in all types of home brewing. I have been saving up my beer bottles and now have enough to make 40 pints of my first brew. According to the instructions it's about 1 week in the fermenting vessel then syphon into the bottles with a teaspoon of sugar, cap the bottles, and leave for a fortnight or so. If this is a successful brew I think I might give the St.Peter's IPA a go as you suggest, always good to get a recommendation. A couple of questions; I know it's important to sterilise the equipment thoroughly, should I sterilise the bottles after cleaning them out? Does the beer improve if you leave it longer than the initial two weeks in the bottle?
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Post by carefreeoufc on Jan 10, 2012 16:03:29 GMT
In terms of the process you are correct it is generally 1 week in the fermenting bin (I keep mine in the airing cupboard which is normally around 24 degrees. I am guessing you have a Hydrometer to check your ABV? best thing to do is check it at about 5,6 and 7 days when the readings are staying the same you are good to go and can begin syphoning. Personally I let mine drop to as close to 1000 as possible.
Cleaning is really important, I havent had a bad brew yet so will tell you how I go about it.
Stick all the bottles in the bath with hot water and a few spoons of VWF or similar steraliser (Youngs came with my kit initially).
Leave them for 15 - 20 minutes before shaking the water out of them.
Run the cold tap and fill each bottle with cold water and then swill/shake the cold clean water out of them.
I generally do mine the day before I am due to bottle as I find combining it with the bottling itself becomes a bit of a drag after a while.
Give your syphon a bit of a steralise too and the caps you will be using, flush water through the syphon as well after steralising.
From a 5 gallon (25 litre) bin I would imagine you will get between 30 - 35 pints depending how much gets spilled when filling the bottles. (A little tip that makes the clean up operation easier is to stick the bottles in a large plastic box (sort of thing you get for a quid in £land then anything that spills can be poured down the sink).
Once the brew is in the bottle I use a level t-spoon of caster sugar (is much finer and was reccomended by a mate).
Cap the bottles and turn them upside down twice, stick them in the airing cupboard for a week (or other warm place to begin a second fermentation).
I generally leave mine around 3 weeks before drinking so all together between 4 and 5 weeks from fermenting to drinking. The IPA I had a left for longer and it was the best I have had so far.
Everything I have read says the longer you leave it the better it is. I would reccomend if you have the space collecting 80 bottles up, that way while one is sitting and clearing for a few weeks you have one that you can drink that is what I have been doing.
Me and a mate built a mash tun and the other bits last summer and are considering a 12th man beer for next season but we will have to wait and see. Gets much harder when using hops etc.
If you want any more info let me know, my Gran got me the kit last Christmas and I have stopped brewing, did a 7.5% lager for a summer party last year along with some 6% cider 120 pints all together which cost me about £40 quid to do was absolute carnage.
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Post by carefreeoufc on Jan 10, 2012 16:04:53 GMT
I brew quite a lot actually regularly between 40 and 80 pints of lager, ale or cider. Best kit I have had so far was the St Peters IPA which after leaving for around 4 weeks to sit in the bottle was absolutely perfect. I generally either buy my kits from the hardware shop on Windmill Rd in Headington or alternatively from www.brewuk.co.uk which is pretty good. Another place good for kits is Wilkinsons from time to time. I bought one of the Geordie Lagers from there which was absolutely excellent. A word of warning though a lot can change between ones brew and another, for example a good mate of mine bought the Geordie Lager after my rave reviews. It did not end up so good and he blamed me (Not his hap hazard approach to brewing). If you decide to brew it and then bottle it Tim (The Priory) helped me out and gave me as many 500ml ale bottles as I wanted that had been drunk one Sat. This was last year just after Christmas I think when the bottled ale bar was going strong outside. In terms of cider, having finished the "real" stuff over Christmas I have used the Youngs Cider kit which is available from Wilkinsons. The missus and my mum both drink a fair bit of cider and really enjoy it. It is a bit like a perrry I suppose, very clear and sparkling like a wine closest thing to compare it to is probably a Thatchers Gold or similar. The last lot didnt have as much of an apple taste as I wanted so have started putting some extra concentrate into it these days. Anyway if you want any more information more than happy to help. Good little hobby really, I spend around £10-15 a month on brewing and that covers all my drink and friends too when they come over. Are you looking for more friends? I am sure I can get rid of a few
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Post by collyox (banned) on Jan 10, 2012 16:43:48 GMT
I cooked up some beardy wierdy juice once (lager)and used those Grolsh bottles,i kept adding a little more sugar to each bottle for a while and it was feckin headwreck still tasted like homebrew tho....i suppose if ya a bitter drinker you'll be used to drinking dank swampwater so homebrewing would be ok. Grolsh bottles....the ones with the kinda rubber bung that can be resealed,gotem from a mate that worked at the old brewery in town
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Post by alessandro on Jan 10, 2012 17:06:06 GMT
Maurice - you could always just say something like "I like this thread"
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Post by Yellow River on Jan 10, 2012 17:09:22 GMT
In terms of the process you are correct it is generally 1 week in the fermenting bin (I keep mine in the airing cupboard which is normally around 24 degrees. I am guessing you have a Hydrometer to check your ABV? best thing to do is check it at about 5,6 and 7 days when the readings are staying the same you are good to go and can begin syphoning. Personally I let mine drop to as close to 1000 as possible. Cleaning is really important, I havent had a bad brew yet so will tell you how I go about it. Stick all the bottles in the bath with hot water and a few spoons of VWF or similar steraliser (Youngs came with my kit initially). Leave them for 15 - 20 minutes before shaking the water out of them. Run the cold tap and fill each bottle with cold water and then swill/shake the cold clean water out of them. I generally do mine the day before I am due to bottle as I find combining it with the bottling itself becomes a bit of a drag after a while. Give your syphon a bit of a steralise too and the caps you will be using, flush water through the syphon as well after steralising. From a 5 gallon (25 litre) bin I would imagine you will get between 30 - 35 pints depending how much gets spilled when filling the bottles. (A little tip that makes the clean up operation easier is to stick the bottles in a large plastic box (sort of thing you get for a quid in £land then anything that spills can be poured down the sink). Once the brew is in the bottle I use a level t-spoon of caster sugar (is much finer and was reccomended by a mate). Cap the bottles and turn them upside down twice, stick them in the airing cupboard for a week (or other warm place to begin a second fermentation). I generally leave mine around 3 weeks before drinking so all together between 4 and 5 weeks from fermenting to drinking. The IPA I had a left for longer and it was the best I have had so far. Everything I have read says the longer you leave it the better it is. I would reccomend if you have the space collecting 80 bottles up, that way while one is sitting and clearing for a few weeks you have one that you can drink that is what I have been doing. Me and a mate built a mash tun and the other bits last summer and are considering a 12th man beer for next season but we will have to wait and see. Gets much harder when using hops etc. If you want any more info let me know, my Gran got me the kit last Christmas and I have stopped brewing, did a 7.5% lager for a summer party last year along with some 6% cider 120 pints all together which cost me about £40 quid to do was absolute carnage. Some great tips there, thanks a lot. The only problem I can foresee is my lack of patience once the ale has been bottled, will I be able to wait 3 weeks? ;D I'll report back on the results in a few weeks time. Cheers!
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Post by Belgian Yellow on Jan 10, 2012 17:13:25 GMT
Best tip if you want to brew the best beer is become a monk and come and live in a Belgian monastery!
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Post by Maurice Earp on Jan 11, 2012 20:17:17 GMT
Best tip if you want to brew the best beer is become a monk and come and live in a Belgian monastery! Aaahh, Trappist Beers.
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Post by stfconyourpitch (banned) on Jan 11, 2012 20:54:27 GMT
The only problem I can foresee is my lack of patience once the ale has been bottled, will I be able to wait 3 weeks? ;D This. This has always been my major problem with home brew. Invariably I run riot of the reasons that I was doing it in the first place - if it was price then straight down the pub for a few because it isn't ready. If it was flavour then well, it ain't really that nice (down the pub for something stronger and tastier after a few glasses of it). If it was to stay at home drinking then what the hell was I thinking in the first place?
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Post by Yellow River on Jan 21, 2012 8:50:09 GMT
Update; After fermenting away for 13 days, yesterday evening I syphoned the ale into the bottles with a little sugar as instructed. Second fermentation is now underway. I only have one of those old fashioned bottle toppers (the ones you use with a hammer! ;D) That was a bit scary at first, thinking that a bottle might explode any second, anyway I soon got the hang of it with no damage and the tops nice and secure. Unfortunately I didn't take a SG reading when the ale first went into the fermenting vessel, so I can't be sure of the exact ABV, however the instructions say approx 4.5%, that'll do for me. Incidentally I sampled a a bit of the ale at the bottling stage and although somewhat cloudy it was very drinkable So now another 3-4 weeks before the Grand Opening! In the meantime I will be brewing 40 pints of St.Peter's Golden Ale Cheers!
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Post by Yellow River on Feb 15, 2012 18:10:56 GMT
Well I know you're all very keen to hear how I've been getting on. As it was Valentine's Day I decided this was the ideal time to crack open and sample my first pint of home brew, and they say romance is dead. ;D Like a lot of other newcomers to brewing at home, I started with the Woodforde's Wherry kit. Thirteen days in the fermenting bin, placed next to a radiator in the kitchen, the temperature wavered between 16-18c, however it appeared to ferment out ok. Bottled and placed in a warm room for 7 days before transfering to the garage. Three and half weeks after bottling, and I can genuinely say that the result exceeded my expectation by some distance, I'm very pleased with the end product, it really is a good honest ale. and all for less than 60 pence a pint! Mrs Yellow River was also suitably impressed and said it was as good as many of the bottled ales you can buy. Praise indeed! Everyone needs their ego massaged now and again If I was being a bit picky I'd say that the ale was a little 'thin' just lacked a bit of body, however perhaps this well improve whilst it's in the bottle? unfortunately I didn't take the original SG so I don't know the ABV, but I'd guess at around 4 - 4.2% even though it says 4.5% on the packaging. So will I have the patience to let my brew improve with age? I can see myself getting through this batch in fairly quick time. Anyway thanks to carefreeoufc for some sound advice. Even though I'm a beginner I've quickly realised that cleanliness, correct temperature and patience are very important. So what next? Well the second brew (St.Peter's Golden Ale) has already been bottled and I have a sample 6 bottle kits of Rioja & Sav Blanc in the demi-johns bubbling away nicely. Just kits for the time being, but it looks as if I've been bitten by the brewing bug. ;D
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Post by Yellow River on Apr 26, 2012 16:05:02 GMT
Well it's been a while, so I thought I'd let you know about my 2012 brewing exploits. (so far) Woodforde's Wherry - 39 pints. St.Peter's Golden Ale - 36 pints. Cooper's Aussie Lager - 39 pints. St.Peter's Ruby Red - 39 pints. These kits have all turned out really well, and all have improved with age, well worth leaving for a few months if you've got the patience. Of these 4 I'd say that the Ruby Red is my favourite just beating the Wherry into 2nd place, I happened to brew the Ruby Red with bottled spring water, wonder if this made a difference? Currently conditioning a Better Brew I.P.A. kit, 40 pints clearing nicely, looking good. I've also had a go at 2 wine kits - California Connoisseur's Sav Blanc & Beaverdale's Rioja Red, amazed at the results, I'd no idea you could produce a wine of this quality from a kit, could easily pass for a £5-£6 bottle from your local Supermarket. It's not been all plain sailing though.....I made up 25 bottles of Cellar7's Cab Sauv, which to be honest is disappointing, it has rather an artificial fruit smell to it, doesn't taste too bad despite the fact that I bunged some oak chips into the fermenting vessel, that'll teach me to stick to the instructions in the future. ;D It will be left for a few months in the garage to see if it improves with age. I currently have 2, one gallon demijohn's on the go, one with grape/orange juice wine and the other with grape/apple juice wine, bubbling away as I write. In the next exciting installment I'll let you know how they turn out.
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Post by carefreeoufc on Apr 26, 2012 16:25:14 GMT
All sounds good, have been lazy myself having trained for my JOGLE trip so didnt have the time for brewing. Now that is done I am pleased to say I have two ready to start this weekend myself.
One being the Edme Irish Stout from Wilkinsons and also the Youngs Cider which I have done a few times and normally turns out well. The summer is round the corner which means plenty of space to keep bottles outdoors and the party season is upon us.
Doing 40 pints of the Geordie Beer lager which turned out really well last time too so should have 120 pints ready to drink over my birthday weekend which should be good.
Got a lot of cleaning of bottles and sterilising on sunday before beginning. Glad yours is going well! The St Peters is a class kit, am going to get some more of that at some point myself. Need to pop to the shop in Headington for a few more kits. Am also planning on making proper cider this year as I have 8 apple trees in my Grans garden to pick from.
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Post by Yellow River on Oct 12, 2012 15:59:36 GMT
Over the summer I've been experimenting with a few different brews. Several bottles WOW (Wurzles Orange Wine) has been made and drunk! Basically you make can 6 bottles of amazing homemade wine for around 40 pence a bottle using 1 litre of orange juice and 1 litre of white grape juice, 800 gms of sugar, topped up with water, tannin, pectolase, yeast chuck into a demijohn and away you go. Various versions of WOW can be made by swapping the orange juice for a litre of say apple juice or a mixed fruit juice, so long as it's 100% juice there shouldn't be a problem. A really good rose can also be made using the same method, just exchange the white grape juice for red grape juice, and the orange juice for something like cranberry. Turbo Cider was also made in the summer, 4.5 lts of the cheapest apple juice you can find (60p from Aldi) pour into demijohn with pectolase, tannin, malic acid and yeast, leave for several months to bulk condition and next year you'll end up with a cider to be proud of. Another brew that wont be ready 'till next year is my Blackberry and Elderberry wine (1 gallon) and another gallon of just Elderberry wine, both still bubbling away as a I write. I haven't forgotten my favourite drink either (Real ale) Better Brew's IPA, Yorkshire Bitter, Czech Pilsner , Woodforde's Sundew have all been brewed since my last post. The BB IPA in particular is a cracking pint - highly recommended. ;D Currently bottle conditioning one of my favourite kits - Woodforde's Wherry, however this time I brewed it slightly short of the recommended amount of water, so should end up with a slightly stronger beer, also added extra 250 gms dried spray malt and threw in 30 gms of Cascade hops towards the end of the fermentation....reckon this is going to be a lovely hoppy drink ...can't wait to try it.
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