Home brewing

[courtjester]

Has anyone had any experience with home brewing, and does anyone have any hints or tips?

I'm not as interested in brewing normal beer, but I'm keen to have a go at alcoholic ginger beer and apple/pear ciders.

 

[Jackfrost]

Yeah. It's a piece of urine just make sure you sterilise everything well and don't put the yeast into the mix until water temps drop to around 20. I found Coopers Pale Ale to be the best mix and my brother has done Ginger Beer which is really nice too

 

[HugeJohnson]

First time I tried it it tasted like arse, couldn't work out where I'd gone wrong, I sterilised everything and followed the instructions step-by-step but just tasted terrible. Then I realised I didn't put any sugar in! Mind you the instructions didn't say anything about adding sugar..

 

[radiojake]

hops are the key

 

[Jackfrost]

hops are the key

I think he's referring to the 'dump and stir' setups

 

[Caesar]

Don't buy a kit. Ask every male in his 20s that you know if they have a second hand one they want to get rid of.

My ex-housemate's is sitting in the garage right now.

 

[radiojake]

I think he's referring to the 'dump and stir' setups

I don't think hops are mutually exclusive from 'dump and stir' set ups...

 

[Catfish Alley]

Big fan of it. The cleaning and sterilization process is the key. It doesn't matter if you're doing regular beer or ginger beer/cider. It's a fun little hobby and can save you a lot of money. Once you have the bottles you have to rinse them and keep them dry. That's the only pain really.

 

[courtjester]

Big fan of it. The cleaning and sterilization process is the key. It doesn't matter if you're doing regular beer or ginger beer/cider. It's a fun little hobby and can save you a lot of money. Once you have the bottles you have to rinse them and keep them dry. That's the only pain really.

So do you use glass or plastic bottles? Lots of sites say that glass explodes to easily.

 

[Catfish Alley]

So do you use glass or plastic bottles? Lots of sites say that glass explodes to easily.

Glass for sure. Never had them explode before. Originally I just used bottles that I saved over time. Recently I bought a bunch of 650ml bottles though and it makes it easier to bottle.

 

[00Stinger]

I went through a stage where I brewed my own for about 9-12 months. It was fun and I made some good drops especially apple cider. A hint for apple cider, if you use real apples add additional sugar, otherwise it tastes like ass.

The only problem I ever encountered was that I couldn't get the alcohol content above about 4.4%

 

[Norwegian Blue]

So do you use glass or plastic bottles? Lots of sites say that glass explodes to easily.

Go glass. I've been homebrewing for 20 odd years and I've never even heard of one exploding. Once your brew has finished in the fermenter you put it in the bottle with a teaspoon of extra sugar to give it the carbonation and head. As long as the fermentation has finished before you bottle it, that extra sugar won't cause anywhere near enough pressure to create any risk.

I've never tried the ginger beers or ciders you want to do but I've drunk plenty at a mates, who brews them because his wife doesn't like beer. They're top notch.

 

[Jackfrost]

Oh and start collecting Coopers long necks by far the most superior bottles. This was my favourite part of brewing

 

[Julius Seizure]

I don't, but I enjoy having friends that do. Drinks at their place are always top notch

Serious question, would it be best to have a rarely used room to leave it in? I'm fairly keen to get some going but unsure if I'll have the space.

 

[Catfish Alley]

Serious question, would it be best to have a rarely used room to leave it in? I'm fairly keen to get some going but unsure if I'll have the space.

Yeah, a garage would be best if you have one. As long as the room doesn't get too hot.