Hello from SA

[AlpacaBloke]

Hi Everyone,

Checking in from the Fleurieu in South Australia on a miserable rainy day

Not a complete newbie - I'm still bottling from my trusty plastic fermenters but I have progressed to experimenting with mixed grain and concentrate - does that qualify me for P plates or do I need to do my first all grain brew first?

I'm a pom originally so got into brewing because, as a campaign for real ale member for many years back in the old country, I was having a hard time finding commercial beers that hit the spot - it you can't buy it, make it.

The holy grail for me would be a Deuchars Caledonian IPA clone, not how you get it in bottles, not even as I've had it in pubs, but as I remember it back in 2002 as supreme champion winner at the British Beer Festival (even if I did make myself sick on pork scratchings on the day).

I'm not even thinking of attempting that until I'm a lot more proficient at the craft - it just might be a life's work....

Finally, if you've not seen it - anyone got a sodastream? :wacko: http://bit.ly/fizzybeer

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Welcome AlpacaBloke. Nice to see an SA brewer here.

Plenty of great info here and I'm sure if you are wanting to move to AG, that you will, like me, do so on the information of this forum. I was an extract brewer when I joined (and a bad one at that) and not that long has passed in between but I can make my own beer. If Deuchars Caledonian IPA (great beer BTW) is your holy grail then this is the place to learn how to be good enough to attempt it (heck, you'll probably beat it).

It's a slippery slope though!

 

[AlpacaBloke]

Thanks for the welcome!

Trying to decide what the next logical step on the journey is - BIAB or Kegging

So reading the conversations here and making a nuisance of myself at my local Country Brewer

 

[Moad]

Welcome aboard!

I didn't last long bottling beers before I went to kegging. The beers improved significantly for me when I went to AG so tough call where to go first. You can get into AG pretty cheap with BIAB so maybe both?

As the Lord RG has said, it is a slippery slope...enjoy

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Why not go both. Use the cheap methods liketo make AG beer, start kegging and slowly build your brewery once you are up and running.

 

[AlpacaBloke]

You may well be right.

Although having lost another 2 hours of my life last night cleaning and bottling an APA with a dark english ale hot on its heels. kegging has a very strong appeal.

I'll be researching a cask-conditioning approach - my favorite pub had no beer delivery system, not even a beer engine - just kegs on a rack behind the bar with taps hammered into them. It was run by a wonderful elderly lady (Nellie Willson) and the regulars would bring the kegs up from the cellar for her at the start of the evening.

I'd be a very happy little brewer if I could make something that tasted anything close to that...

 

[Killer Brew]

Good to see another South Aussie on here, welcome! I'm also an advocate for BIABing having made the switch from extract to the stovetop fairly early on. Can be done very inexpensively to start with a 20L S/S pot from BigW and a mash bag from your LHBS. Will be interested to hear how the cask conditioning goes.