New Brewer Looking For Some Advice

[Sav2]

Hello fellow brewers,

My name is sav and im about to take up the hobby of home brewing. Its something that ive wanted to do for a long time and finally decided to go for it. Now im still a newbie but i have been doing a bit of research and reading some of the posts on the forums and was just wanting a bit of advice.

Im wanting to start off by using cans like the coopers stuff, then once ive gained a bit more experience and knowledge move up to the big boy stuff . From alot of the posts and articles that ive read on the net, alot of people recommend the coopers DIY kit for a beginner, just wondering your thoughts on it or if theres something a bit better to get started off with. Alot of the posts said that most of gear can be used once you move on to the bigger stuff.

Also if anyone can recommend a good home brew shop (ive personally owned my own business, and i always like to help out the little independents guys instead of giving my money to guys Big W and Kmart). I live in sunnybank in brisbane.

Thank you to anyone that takes the time to read my post, your advice is greatly appreciated.

Sav

 

[bum]

Hi, Sav and welcome aboard.

The Coopers kit will service you well. There is nothing in it (execpt maybe the first tin) that you won't continue to use throughout all your brewing days. You can get a more tailored (and possibly cheaper) kit from a LHBS but for ease of getting started it is hard to go wrong with the Coopers kit.

Congrats on wanting to get the fundamentals under control first too. Excellent foresight on your part. I learned so much brewing kits that I may have missed starting out in AG earlier because I was able to focus on one thing at a time instead of everything at once.

Happy brewing!

 

[rotten]

Gday and welcome mate.

Coopers kit is a great place to start, just dont ferment at the temp recommended on the tin 18-22c max for an ale. Other than that keep reading and learning. You will learn as much as you seek. Craftbrewer would be your best bet for a LHBS in my opinion in your area, they are a national at least online and walk in store.


You will get much more advice, good luck

 

[dammag]

A condensed version of successfull kit brewing is sanitation!!!!!, temperature control, quality yeast, use the newest cans of goop you can get your hands on and use quality fermentibles.

I have been back into kit brewing for a couple of months now and have learned so much off this site. I have to say that using those above rules I have made some very drinkable and enjoyable beers so far.

Get a Coopers set up, research some good methods and make some good beer!


Damian/

 

[Rowy]

Craftbrewer at Capalaba would be your best bet...........don't think he sells goop though

 

[mwd]

Just a thought if you are close to Craftbrewer then consider a fresh wort kit (FWK) as a really simple way to dip your toes into the black art and get a good idea of how good beer can be.

 

[Sav2]

Just a thought if you are close to Craftbrewer then consider a fresh wort kit (FWK) as a really simple way to dip your toes into the black art and get a good idea of how good beer can be.

Thanks heaps for all the great advice guys, much appreciated I'm going to pick up my kit next week can't wait to get into it.

In regards to the temperatures, what's the best way to keep it at good temps? From what I've read especially with lagers they need to be kept nice and cool, and also need to be aged a bit more than what the kit recommends to get really good results

 

[Bribie G]

At the moment if you are fermenting in a garage with a concrete floor, or in a laundry etc etc the brew will hold at the moment around 18 which is ideal. From September onwards you will really need to be thinking about temperature control using a special fridge with a temperature controller. Not too expensive to get into with a second hand or even free fridge if you have the space.

Don't worry about lager fermenting at the moment, the Coopers ordinary range come with ale yeasts anyway (even the Coopers "Lager") B)

Cross that bridge whenever - you are getting into it at the right time of year.

One immediate improvement you can make is to get a pack of Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 and add that instead of a kilo of white sugar. It will give a much smoother and less harsh beer than using plain sugar. Available in supermarkets where the tins are sold.

The major learning curve is sanitation, sanitation sanitation. And get a heap of kitchen roll for handling everything, resting items on, etc. Your best friend.