Hi there from sunny FNQ

[Matto-FNQ]

Hi everyone,

Long time homebrewer, first time poster. I've been loving the advice on this forum, so wanted to sign up and learn more.

I've been involved with homebrewing for many years - a friend bought be a home brew kit for my birthday 17 years ago, and I've mucked around with it on and off ever since. We brewed beer for a while, but I never had a great deal of luck. After I met the girl who's now my wife, I got into the spirits side of things - her family were big into it. That was a lot of fun, but eventually my tastes turned back to beer. A couple of mates live just down the road, and they're heavily into homebrew, and the great results they've been having spurred me into action once again.

I've been brewing beer again for the last few months, but it's not been great. Being in Cairns, I suspect the temps are just too hot and the fermentation is running away too quickly. So I've been keeping my eyes out for a second-hand fridge on gumtree to set up with a temp controller. At the same time, the boys have been extolling the benefits of their keg systems, and I'm getting sick of opening an uncarbed bottle or having them mysteriously leak everywhere.

As you'll see, I'm about as far from an expert homebrewer as you can get, but the tips and people here are awesome, so I'm looking forward to getting back into it properly and improving the brews.

Cheers!
Matt

 

[Brewnicorn]

Welcome Matt. Lots to learn & lots to teach us I hope. Good luck with the fridge search. I’m in the same boat myself so here’s to the slippery slope of bigger better breweries. Cheers

 

[Lethaldog]

G’day Matt and welcome, you have made a good move coming here as there is a wealth of knowledge here and a great bunch who are willing to share it,
I’m in FNQ also and can tell you that it’s near on impossible to brew good beer up here without temp control and a fridge I mean even the water coming out of the tap is 30c + but temp control is important anywhere when fermenting for accuracy and minimizing fluctuation which is very important when brewing and once you get that sorted then you need to start looking at good quality yeast and products that go into your beer, I’m an all grain brewer and if that’s your thing then I can also put you onto a group that bulk buys grains etc but I’m gonna take a stab in the dark and assume that you brew kits (coopers etc) if that’s wrong I apologize but if not then your thinking is on the right track, get your temp control sorted first and you will be well on the way, make sure you are anal about sanitizing and well the kegging thing speaks for itself! WARNING: once the bug sets in it can be a very expensive uphill run but with great rewards!

Cheers
Leigh

 

[Matto-FNQ]

Thanks guys - it's a good crowd here for sure.

Welcome Matt. Lots to learn & lots to teach us I hope. Good luck with the fridge search. I’m in the same boat myself so here’s to the slippery slope of bigger better breweries. Cheers

2 fridges purchased and on the patio. Thanks Facebook! It is a slippery slope, isnt' it? Good luck in your fridge search Brewnicorn.

G’day Matt and welcome, you have made a good move coming here as there is a wealth of knowledge here and a great bunch who are willing to share it,
I’m in FNQ also and can tell you that it’s near on impossible to brew good beer up here without temp control and a fridge I mean even the water coming out of the tap is 30c + but temp control is important anywhere when fermenting for accuracy and minimizing fluctuation which is very important when brewing and once you get that sorted then you need to start looking at good quality yeast and products that go into your beer, I’m an all grain brewer and if that’s your thing then I can also put you onto a group that bulk buys grains etc but I’m gonna take a stab in the dark and assume that you brew kits (coopers etc) if that’s wrong I apologize but if not then your thinking is on the right track, get your temp control sorted first and you will be well on the way, make sure you are anal about sanitizing and well the kegging thing speaks for itself! WARNING: once the bug sets in it can be a very expensive uphill run but with great rewards!

Thanks Leigh!

At this stage I'm focussing on just brewing kits and getting a decent, repeatable and drinkable result from them. Keen to look at grain down the track, but it's a bit more advanced than where I am right now! Will let you know when I get to that stage through - it sounds like you really know what you're doing.

I suspect you've hit the nail on the head for my biggest problem - the temp control up here. I'm hoping that I'll sort that quickly, and then just keep getting better from there.

Good to have met a fellow FNQer!

Cheers,
Matt