4 months in

[Donz]

So after about 4 years off brewing in the bottle from Kits, I started up again and quickly got a kegerator as the reason I stopped in the first place was **washing bottles**.
I got a lot of help from members here when my brews went bad and MLHBS has helped sell me anything they wanted to sell.
Disclaimer: I'm a metal fabricator and know very little about beer, exept for the fact that it is great to come home to and have a few after a long hot day, and if you can make a refreshing afternoon drink for under $20/carton.. why not.
I've done about 20 or so brew kits since being back (loosing 4 kits now) and have found some very basic rules to follow ... for a kit brewer, not wanting a heavy beer.
0. Brewing any kit over 25 deg C... IS BAD!
1. With every brew I've done, most of them have tasted like beer, while fermenting under 24 deg C.
2. Storing them at that temp, or higher, makes them worse,, they need to be kept cooler after carbonating.
3. Kegging straight after fermentation and cooling beer = better beer... and gets better as you drink it. .. taste is WAY better than bottles!
4. Don't use straight dextrose EVER!!.. you will get $%**)^&%#@ = not beer!
5. Only try dry enzyme on a brew that is WAY too malty for you if you want a light flavored rocket juice
6. Try everything, .... if you get 1 of 3 beers tasting good,.. you have not lost any $$
7. Have fun while you are brewing, don't stress, and invite people to see how you do it and have some beers.

I've lost 23 ltrs at a time due to brewing too hot( over 26 C)
I've lost 18 ltrs from using only sodium percarbonate to sanitize a keg ( sposed to be no rinse, but had too much in the dip tube left over)
I threw out 18 ltrs too early cos it was not tasting any good after gassing for 3 days, ( next one was the same but I left it for another week and it was awesome )
I know a lot of brewers have there fancy grain setups, but this is for the kit brewers like me.

So.. brewing from kits can be a great hobby, and if you stick with it, you will get good beer.
I've had many friends and even people I don't know, say that my beer is good, and for something that you can get out of a can for a few bucks and watch it brew away,... That's a damn good feeling!.. plus the damn good feeling from drinking it

 

[mtb]

Can't argue with you there.. although I'll be the first of many who would immediately suggest better temp control, ie an old fridge from Gumtree and an STC-1000. Consistent 18C fermentation temps for under a hunj if you find the right deal. It'll improve the bejesus out of your beers.

 

[Donz]

Can't argue with you there.. although I'll be the first of many who would immediately suggest better temp control, ie an old fridge from Gumtree and an STC-1000. Consistent 18C fermentation temps for under a hunj if you find the right deal. It'll improve the bejesus out of your beers.

Fully controlled brew temps are the next step, there are other options for the kit brewers to get started like towels and water bottles,..as I did in 35+ deg heat to bring it down to 24 deg heat and still got 3 of 5 brews good ... and thats straight from kit + 50% dex and 50%light malt

 

[Donz]

It is soo nice to have 20 deg C days at the moment ,, pushing out a lot more brews now with little care for temps,
Drinking a Coopers Mex CREV, with 500g dex, 500g light malt powder, 200g corn powder, and the dreaded dry enzyme.
fermented for 6 days and kegged under 30psi for 4 days.
A bit light on flavour and body, but refreshing enough to have 4-5 glases on a monday

 

[Lionman]

Get a big pot and BIAB.

Its even cheaper (if you buy bulk malt and hops) and the beer is even better.

And yep, get an old fridge you can temp control in. You can brew real lagers then...

Great to hear your enjoying your home brew.

 

[Shadime]

Great thread.

There are some fantastic recipes on this site and lots of great help.
Kits are so much better now days than years ago and adding some hops etc makes a big difference.

Definately having a temp cotrolled fridge makes a big difference to how a kit will taste.

 

[PaulG79]

Speaking from experience the fridge has made the most difference to my brews. They taste cleaner and more consistent now, I haven't had an off flavour since I got back into brewing using the fridge. Well not that I notice. Just don't drink the best beer you can find at BWS and then drink your home brew immediately after

This probably sounds bad but there are ways you can salvage some of those beers that are brewed too hot. I used to put ice in them in summer, or make a shandy - I mean it's that or chuck it right and even though it's dirt cheap who am I to throw out perfectly good alcohol. I only ever had one that was too infected to drink.