New Brewer.

[vicelore]

Hey guys..

well im very impressed by this little site iv stumbled apon and please to be a part of it.

well im very interested in home brewing. as i am a avid beer lover. iv been reading allot of info off the net about home brewing.

as far as i have seen i am best to start from a packet based brew ?? as most the articles iv read say this is the way to go.

i understand that the main challange of brewing for the 1st time is keeping the fermentation tank a solid temperature.

so i am lookin for a place to buy a good starter kit. with all the stuff needed to make my 1st brew. ferm tank, air lock etc. then my plan was to ebay me a fridge or 2. and get the fridge mate hooked up to one ?? does this sound like a good start ?

any sugestions on brands would be greatly appreciated. as i dont want to be replacing this stuff in 2 months.

my next question is should i be goin bottles or a keg. i just read a article on kegging home brew and sounds like a good option for me .
any good setups for sale in kit form ?

thanks allot for this guys . looking forward to your replys.

Cheers

 

[SJW]

Nice to have u on board Vicelore.
The first thing u need to do is update your profile to let us know where your from.
The only advice I can give is to keep it simple and start off slow. Dont rush in with all the bells and whistles too soon as it will take at least 12 months of solid brewing before I would recomend going all grain.

Steve

 

[RobB]

Hi Vicelore,

Definitely add your location to your profile. People can then send you to the best shops in your area and you'll probably be invited to the odd brew day.

Start slowly. You can easily blow a lot of cash on stuff which you won't be using in twelve months.

I can thouroughly recommend reading John Palmer's book "How to Brew". It's what got me into brewing. This time last year I hadn't made a single beer, not even a kit. After three or four extract brews, I'm now brewing all-grain beer and loving it.

The third edition of the book is about $35 and worth putting on your Christmas list, or you read the first edition free online at howtobrew.com.

Bewteen Palmer's book and this forum, I get all the answers I need.

Good luck. You'll love it.

Rob.

 

[vicelore]

Thanks guys.

well i defently understand goin slowly and not spending lots of cash straight up. i was a very active member of a 4x4 site i was interested and have built up a great 4by over a year and a bit just from forum help.

I would of thaught the stuff i put down would be fairly cheap and nessaccary to brew any type of beer at a decent level. i wasnt really big on the cooler bag idea. no offence to anyone using it. plus a old fridge would be pretty cheap off ebay.

I will defently look into a book but i have been doin allot of reading on the net and been to a beer appreciation course that taught me a fair bit ( well as much as it could in 4 hours and 10 beers ) lol. that was at the belgan beer garden BTW and was a great day.

Anyone got any beginer threads you would reccomend me reading to get intouch with some lingo and basic brewing practices as allot of threads iv read are fairly indepth with terms that mean peanuts to me.

Cheers again guys and thanks for the quick replys.

 

[Fents]

Another nothern suburbs!

your next stop should be Greensborough Home Brewing Supplies. (03) 9432 0283 - 20 Louis Street, Greensborough.

Dave there sells a great starter kit - everything you will need to make 23 litres of great kit beer...you even get detailed instructions!

Go and see him, he's a top bloke and will shoot the breeze with you about anything brewing related for hours.

 

[vicelore]

Thanks Fents.

i just looked up that place. Its over a hours drive there. do they have a website ? maybey they could post me a kit to save me the trip ??

that is just the type of info i was after tho.

Thanks

 

[mitysa]

Hi vicelore

You could try brew n grow in frankston or narre warren brew shop


mike

 

[Katherine]

You could just buy a coopers starter kit, works just as well as any other fermenter. Just put the lager tin away until you have more experience. There around $75.00 and you can buy them at K Mart or Big W.

 

[crozdog]

You could just buy a coopers starter kit, works just as well as any other fermenter. Just put the lager tin away until you have more experience. There around $75.00 and you can buy them at K Mart or Big W.

+1. It'll give you everything you need for your 1st brew including bottles. You'll use it all again and again (except the can of goo, the "sugar", the kit instructions and the video B) ). The other things I'd recommend you buy is some unscented napisan (for cleaning your fermenter post fermentation), a spray bottle & a no rinse sanitiser, cause sanitation is the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rule of making good beer. Fermentation temp control is 4th ;-) so if you can afford a fridge and fridgemate to ferment in you'll get a better product from day 1.

Save up for a keg system, but in the mean time get some more bottles, make a few Kits (there are some easy ways to make em better in the K&K sub forum including adding steeped grains & hops). As your knowledge & experience grows you have further options including liquid yeasts, extract brews; mini-mash/partial BIAB (do a search here) & all grain brewing. One thing to remember is that brewing requires time, patience and planning.

There is plenty to learn and experiment with, but getting a good understanding of the processes and practices involved is invaluable. That can be gained in numerous ways including by:
- reading Palmers "How to Brew",
- trawling AHB - revive old threads if you are still unsure;
- post questions here,
- hook up with a brewshop that folks down your way recommend,
- See if you can meet up with other AHBers in your general area - you'll learn a lot from em & have fun swapping brews and critically evaluating them :beer:

Most of all you will learn the most by actually making beer . It will raise a bunch of other questions you didn't realise you wanted answers for too so be prepared for the ride....

 

[Katherine]

It'll give you everything you need for your 1st brew including bottles. You'll use it all again and again (except the can of goo, the "sugar", the kit instructions and the video

You could use the sugar in your coffee or tea! LOL! I think they have updated from video to DVD now...(its incredibly boring to watch) I think alot of people get turned off making home brew because they use the lager kit. Whatever you do dont follow the temp recommendations of the Coopers kit.

One of my best buys so far was a beer tree for hanging your bottles on. There around $35.00 and hangs 70 bottles.

 

[vicelore]

thanks allot for all the replys guys and girls.. its Great reading your responses.

on my ride home in the car i gave Dave a call from that shop and he said that he would sell me a kit with everything i need for 75 bucks... i dont think it has bottles but me and the girl friend will make short work of that problem. i think dans still has the sale on for kronenberg. i think i read that light will affect beer allot with out a additive to protect it. so i should keep on the kronenberg becuase of its dark bottle or a simular bottle ??

anyways.. Dave told me i could get the kit that includes everything i need and he also had the thermastat up from the fridgemate. around 100$ i think.

so i think ill be buyin the kit, a thermastat and maybey a bottle capper and caps. and keep a eye out for a cheap fridge in the trader/ebay.

am i headin down the right track ?

oh and i hear allot about not trying to make lager, is there any reason behind this ? i think it needs to ferment for longer and at a lower temp but is that the only problem ?

Cheers guys thanks again

 

[vicelore]

No one have a opinion on my plan ? im really open to anyones experiance.

Cheers

 

[pokolbinguy]

he also had the thermastat up from the fridgemate. around 100$ i think.

Are you saying he wants $100 for a fridgemate??? They aren't that expensive... look here, you will have to do a little bit of handy work yourself wiring it up but with about $10 worth of other parts and 30 mins of your time you should be laughing. ..... the other $40 can go towards your brew.

Good to see another person being lured into the brewing world, goodluck and most of all ...enjoy.

Pok

 

[schooey]

Couple of things from my experience mate..

You can bottle into to any colour of bottle, as long as you store them in a dark place, but yeah, darker bottles are preferred. Back when I was bottling, I used to have some clear tallies that I would bottle one or two of out of a batch so I could see how it was clearing etc. I have never bottled into PET so some other guys here that have may have some advice on that.

The brewing lagers and temp control thing go hand in hand. Once you get brewing and get familiar with techniques etc, one of the more significant ways you can improve a brew is to have it ferment at a constant temperature. The temperature will vary between style and recipe. The reason people often advise to avoid doing lagers first up is it can be a tricky process. Knowing when to rack into secondary and chill down to lager is a bit of a learnt skill and gut feel thing for want of a better bunch of words. Search 'lagering' or 'lager' here and you will find a stack of info a kangaroo dog wouldn't jump over, and all worth reading.

I reckon you are better off getting your gear from your local HBS, that way you can have a chat with the owner and he'll usually set you on the right track, That way you can go back with problems and ideas and have someone with some real experience to guide you along and usually save you some cash along the way. You don't get that at K Mart or Big W. Good luck and happy brewing

 

[Mitternacht Brauer]

No one have a opinion on my plan ? im really open to anyones experiance.

Cheers

Hi Vicelore, if your in Somerville try the "Acme homebrew company" in town . not far from Mitre 10 . Jewls owns the place and is very helpful with anything beer related . Number is 03 59775784 to get address . I know where it is but not the address . Good luck

Btw three years ago I had never drunk a beer but after a trip to Germany for work ( five week bender ) and a stay with some of the relo's there I started brewing and am starting to do partials now with the gear accumulating for all grain at a fast rate . becareful ,very addictive . Brewing gear seems to be attracted to you once you start brewing .

 

[schooey]

Are you saying he wants $100 for a fridgemate??? They aren't that expensive... look here, you will have to do a little bit of handy work yourself wiring it up but with about $10 worth of other parts and 30 mins of your time you should be laughing. ..... the other $40 can go towards your brew.

Good to see another person being lured into the brewing world, goodluck and most of all ...enjoy.

Pok

I think he maybe meant the thermostat the next model up from the fridgemate pok? The DEI 105 maybe? It's around $95 ?

 

[pokolbinguy]

No one have a opinion on my plan ? im really open to anyones experiance.

Cheers

Sounds like a solid plan.

I wouldn't hesitate on buying the coopers kit from your local bigw or similar, given it includes bottles etc it is a great start, and if they are on special they should be around the $50 mark. (I have seen this before).

a fridge is a great idea with a fridgemate attached... you will wonder how you ever brewed with out it... took me 18 months or more to get one and wish it was the first thing i bought. Keep you eye out on ebay, i picked my fridge up for $5

Make sure you have an area where you can spread out a little bit, being cramped is annoying and makes it harder to get everything clean.

O and the other rule is..... always, ALWAYS have a beer in your hand when brewing

Pok

 

[pokolbinguy]

I think he maybe meant the thermostat the next model up from the fridgemate pok? The DEI 105 maybe? It's around $95 ?

This one here??,

they are a neat looking unit, i have put mine together but yet to use it.... got to finish building the ag set up ....... not enough hours in the day.

Pok

 

[schooey]

Nah, that's the HLT controller insn't it? This one here

 

[pokolbinguy]

Nah, that's the HLT controller insn't it? This one here

Whats the difference between that and the fridgemate??? the probe and look?

Pok