Home Brew Newbie ... Did I Get The Right Stuff?

[shaunbrew]

Hey guys and girls!

I want to start by saying this place is a wealth of information and i'm glad i found it

I am new to the world of home brewed beer and after a short loitering period i became a registered member today.

After trying a friends Coopers pale ale recently i took an interest in home brewed beer. I have been brewing Japanese Sake for a few years now and my friends pale ale was a lot more drinkable than i remember home brew ever being so i decided to give it a go myself.

Today i purchased the following ......

Red Italian hand capper $25.00
Brew Celler Hydrommeter $?
Plastic tube thingy $3.00
200 white crown seals $?
500g Copper Tun wheat spraymalt $6.50
1kg Neo Pink sanatiser $6.90
1kg Brew Boost Light(750 dextrose + 250 Light Malt) $4.50
1kg "ultra Blend"(250 corn sugar + 250 light malt + 500 dextrose)$5.00
Copper Tun 50g Williamette 4.8% hop pellets $8.00
Copper Tun 50g Cascade 5.7% hop pellets $8.00
Safale US-05 yeast 11.5g packet $?
Morgans Royal Oak Amber Ale kit $17.00
Black Rock Pilsener Blonde kit $18.50


12 x long neck crown seal bottles(CUB) $?

Liquid Glucose 350ml $5.00

TOTAL = $115.00

+ 30l Fermenter including air lock, seals, grommets etc..
+ bottle wrinsing thing $49.00

This is everything i have bought and i was curious to know how my local brew shop compares(price wise) to others as i live in a low populated rural area.

Am i on the right track?
Have i missed anything?
Should i attempt adding anything i bought today to the kits i have purchased?
Does anyone have any tips as to how i should brew these 2 cans?

I usually brew my sake around 12 - 16 degrees so i'm fairly certain my temps should be ok when i get around to doing a brew.

My favourite commercial beers include Fat Yak, Little creatures Pale Ale, Coopers Pale Ale, James Squire Amber Ale, Tooheys Pils, McClarren Vale Ale, Mildure Breweries Cloudy Ale, Toohey Old and if i have no money...Extra Dry.

As you can see i like my Ales but i'm not exactly sure what it is that i like compared to something like Carlton Crown which i think is just watered down VB(icky). I'm not a big fan of the smelly armpit aromas of lagers like Cascade premium and most Euro lagers i have tasted either.

Can someone tell me what my favourite beers have in common other than mostly being ales?

I know i have asked a lot but i have tried to supply as much info as possible....let me now if i forgot anything?

Thanks!

hey mate good starting point. in comparison to urself i purchased the following :Equipment included:30 litre Fermenter with O ring, Tap, Sediment Reducer, Volume Scales, Thermometer, Grommet and AirlockBottlebrush Large480mm PaddleHydrometer CompleteLittle BottlerBeer Making ManualBench CapperConsumables included:1 x pkt Steriliser 250g100 x Crown Seals1 x 1Kg Dextrose1 x pkt Carbonation Drops1 x 1.7Kg Beer Kit (Thomas Coopers Australian Lager)
all this for $124 from www.aussiebrewmakers.com and anything over $100 is free postage just start off basic and work your way through, my advise is use coopers brew enhancer 2 as opossed to dextrose, welcome to the obsession,
shaun

 

[Caffeine Dealer]

To answer the question of what your favourite beers have in common, it looks like you enjoy a range of styles. Beers like Fat Yak, Little Creatures Pale Ale and James Squire Golden Ale are all American Pale Ales (or at least close attempts at the style) which tend to be quite hop-driven beers with a lot of late-hopping (flavour additions.)

It does look like you also don't mind a crisp lager (Pilsner, etc) and maltier dark beers. All are pretty easy to make at home. Have a look in the recipe database for APA's, Pilsners and Porters for ideas on what recipes you may like.

Another idea, instead of doing around 10 kit beers before going to grain, maybe look at extract brewing. Extract brewing is the same process as AG, essentially, just without the process of extracting the malt from the grain yourself. You just use un-hopped malt extract and add all of your own hops in a boil. This way you get complete control over the bitterness, flavour and aroma of your beer and it helps to have a good understanding of what hops add what to your beer when added at what time, for when you do eventually move into AG.

Thanks for that!

I had suspicions that my taste was for hop taste and aroma.
I used to like Tooheys Pils before they changed hops....don't know why they did that?!