New to the brewing scene- Newcastle

[Spinxy90]

My birthday just passed and my wonderful partner picked up on me mentioning i'd like to brew my own beer. So what does she get me, a home brew kit

She got it from Home Brew Inn in Charlestown. A Mangrove Jack's kit with their Blonde Lager inside. Also got me a table capper and some plastic bottles.

The brew is going along nicely now and has been since last Saturday, so 6 days of fermenting away, keeping a close eye on the wort and its temp! Have had it wrapped in a blanket for the cooler nights as well as purchasing a heating band to go around it.

Its been pretty constant sitting between the 24-21c which i believe is good for the process. The fermentation has slowed down quite a bit compared to when it started, with the occasional bubble coming through the airlock.

The packet for the brew said to let it ferment for at-least 8 days. When do i definitely know that fermentation has stopped? the current gravity is about 1.0115.

Hoping the first batch will be a success, but am prepared if it doesn't! Hoping to be bottling into glass bottles once i get a collection going from myself and family/friends.

Hoping to use the forum as a basis for wealth of knowledge.

 

[geneabovill]

Welcome to AHB. Good to see another local brewer.

Funny, my homebrewing career started off exactly the same...

 

[manticle]

21 is better than 24, especially in the first few days.
It's done when two things have happened.
1. It's reached a gravity range you'd expect, given ingredients and a few other factors. Stuff like malt extract or maltodextrin will have a higher final gravity than all dextrose for example.
2. It remains at that gravity for at least 2-3 days. If it drops at all, leave it another 2-3 days till it stops. Factors such as temp will come into play too so keep it constant at this point.

If it doesn't turn out great, there's many tips on making a kit beer (and other processes too) improve out of sight.

 

[wogdog]

Yep welcome local brewer sound like u are right on track yeh little lower in the temp would be better if u can do it in a cooler place.. If u wanna spend a few bucks set up a old fridge if u can get ya hands on a free one even chuck a thermo contoller on it for cheap an ferment to a controlled temp all yr round. Tho sounds like u r ready to bottle tho. Dnt forget sterilize ya bottles too. Good luck u won't look back

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Spinxy90

Take the trip to see Mark ( MHB on here for PM's ) at Mayfield.

He will sort you out and provide invaluable advice to making great beer.

Support him, an he will more than support you.

http://www.ubrew.com.au/web/index.asp

 

[geneabovill]

^ What Ducati said. Mark is a genius when it comes to beer. Be prepared to get your beer geek on when you stop in there.

 

[flaggycreek]

Hi Spinxy
I'm in whitebridge and quickly converted from tins to brew in a bag
All you need is a cheap malleys boiler like this one

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Water-Boiler-Malleys-/161282006594?pt=AU_Business_Industrial_Farming_Agriculture_Farming_Agriculture_Equipment&hash=item258d281e42

I got one off gumtree for $50. Then get a stc controller for about $20 + box from jaycar. I can show you how to put it all together if you like
The biab stuff is awesome, I don't buy beer any more and genuinely prefer the stuff I make. Once the brew is boiled you just ferment like a normal brew. I also use a fermenting fridge, which is a tuckerbox freezer running on a stc controller. I have 100 l of beer brewing at present.

Mark is a legend at brewing, but is oriented to all grain / brew in bag people. He has awesome software, brewbuilder which you just select the beer you want and he cracks all the grain and makes up hops into correct weights etc.

pm me if you want to have a look at my set up. I'm no expert but seem to make nice beer.

Andrew