I would definitely do a few more Kit brews first , bloke . That way you can sort some of the basics and not get too disappointed if stuff doesn't quite work to begin with . I'm on the iPhone but I'd also suggest doing a google search for how to brew by John Palmer . Necessary reading for all brewers .That's good to know, as I'm still waiting on my bottles and it looks like I'll have them next Saturday at the earliest! Harder than I would have thought to gather enough, haha! It will have been in the barrel for a month exactly if all goes to plan..
I'm almost tempted to go all grain next.. worth it you think or should I do another kit beer first?
Mate , i cannot absolutley fault your enthusiasm , but i really think that before you head to spending a fair whack of money ( that as a student you can't probably afford) on buying malt extract ( which can be expensive) , you should do a few more kits. I really think that in the long run , your brewing will be better and you will make better beer. You've made a couple of errors that you need to fix with your next batch.This alone will help you make better beer , but there is still plenty to learn... As suggested 6 weeks in the primary is far too long. You also need to buy a longer spoon , by the sounds of it. You may also need to get some more bottles , as you say.Interesting- I hope it's only a mild case of it then, as it certainly was kept too long as I tried to acquire bottles (I'll get most of them before starting my brew next time!), but definitely not too hot. The first four days I kept the heater on at 22 degrees but after that it just sat in our bathroom, where I never once saw it go above 18 degrees and usually it was a fair bit lower than that.
Looking forward to my next brew! I think I might be brave a try a partial extract, see how it goes. Any suggestions on a recipe? My favourite beer of all time is Coopers Pale, followed by Cascade Pale (which I believe is actually a lager?) followed by James Squire Golden Ale.. but I'm always open to new things also!
Bloke,I think that is probably good advice really.. I tend to get overly-enthused and ahead of myself a lot! I'll source some more bottles and then put on another kit batch, maybe the same one again to see if they taste much different with a little more experience! I didn't really malt extract and the like was much more expensive, obviously a lot more to learn.
In regards to your questions.. I've just been cleaning with hot water and dish-washing detergent. for sanitiser I've been using Sodium Metabisulphate, just filling whatever I'm sanitising up with cold water and letting it sit for two hours with the sanitiser in it. And yes, I do have a hydrometer and I'm pretty sure I'm using it correctly. Just filling the tube 3/4 up with beer and floating the hydrometer in it after a quick spin to see where it sits?
When it does come to cleaning all my gear, I've been having a really hard time getting all of the gunk out of the airlock and tap.. is there a trick to this or does it not really matter to have a little brown still in there when you sanitise (I'm assuming it does matter)?
Thanks for the informative post!
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