N00b brewer from Brisbane's Eastern Suburbs

[PattyT]

Hey all,

Thanks to the admin for approving my membership.

I'm Pat from Thornlands in Brissy.

Grew up with my dad brewing his own and felt like getting a little creative so decided to get my own gear and start brewing.

First brew went down with the help of a really good mate on Sat so am hoping to be drinking it may day long weekend!

 

[PattyT]

Forgot to mention. My first brew is a Mangrove Jacks golden lager and I plan to do a cider run immediately after bottling this beer batch.

The local brew shop is great! Across the road from work (literally) so will make things quite easy to keep the ball rolling.

I'm also interested in trying out partial mash and mash cider brewing in the future but will get the gist of my gear and it's limitations first!

 

[Grott]

Welcome aboard. It is a good idea to get familiar with your gear and procedures then venture out if you wish. There's tons of info on here but if unsure, ask.
Happy brewing and watch out for dad, he'll be after yours now.

 

[Brewno Marz]

Welcome fellow Brissie brewer. I'm new to brewing as well and new to this forum too. I've found that everyone on this site is friendly, encouraging and most enjoy a bit of banter to lighten things up. Don't hesitate to ask for advice...

I'm interested to hear about your cider run...I'm keen of brewing a batch of cider too.

 

[Brewnicorn]

Welcome PattyT. I'd totally second grott's thoughts there. There's a million things to learn but step by step you'll master it. Great forum here and some great minds around to feed off. Good luck and let us know how the brews turn out.

 

[PattyT]

Cheers guys. I'm not planning on rushing into adventures of partial mash too quick! I'll get a few good kit based batches through my gear first and go from there!

 

[angus_grant]

I'd recommend purchasing stand-alone beer yeasts to use instead of the yeasts provided with the kits. You know exactly what yeast is going into your brews, what characteristics it will produce at certain temperatures, etc.

Read up on controlling fermentation temperatures. Get yourself an old fridge and a temperature controller, and your beers will improve out of sight.

I reckon those two changes are the best bank for buck for improving your kit beers, and the knowledge/equipment will be used in kit/extract/partial mash/all grain brews. And your ciders as well.

Welcome aboard the slippery slope of brewing "on the cheap"