More beer for me

[Jacob]

Suddenly came to me in a flash: home brewing! Haven't done it for years.
Wondered about buying a complete kit - there seem to be many options it's quite an industry.
Any particular recommendations?

 

[MARK.B.]

Blimey that brings back some memories it must be 30 years since i last had a go at home brewing. I had some good brews but cannot remember the brands,probably dont even exist now.

 

[mikej460]

Try Wilko's

 

[Doug B]

If you’re going down a kit route try using spray malt instead of sugar makes a big difference to taste. Dead easy to do & there‘s some great kits out there these days, if you need any kit I can look out what I have left, not brewed any beer for years but you’re welcome to what I have, sadly my barrels have comfrey in down the allotment so won’t be any good now.

 

[John Brown]

Depends what your tastes are, I lean towards the dark side, so my favourites are St Peter's Cream Stout, and Munton's Docklands Porter.
But to be honest, Lidl sell two beers at £1.09 per 500ml, that I adore, and which are actually brewed by Wychwood in Oxfordshire. So I have not brewed much lately.

 

[Phil Russell]

Back in the 70's we used to brew 5 gallons every Monday night for the 2 of us. We lived in the hills of Wales then, Ponterwyd. Brewed from malt extract, bought in 56lb drum, sugar, hops and roast malted barley plus a few additives. We got very close to Guinness at one point. Hops and barley boiled up / simmered on the stove. Lovely. We drank it as we brewed it so it was a tad cloudy but no matter, our tankards stopped you seeing the clouds. Spent yeast at the end of the brew often went to feed a large 'Swiss Cheese Plant' in a pot. It grew very well.
Cheers, Phil

 

[guineafowl21]

I wouldn’t bother with any kit that requires sugar - you will get a thin beer that tastes like a kit. Look for all-malt, and some inclusion of real hops, not hop extract.

Young’s AIPA kit is an excellent start. Once you’ve got the infrastructure to do that, moving on to proper full-mash brewing is easier. I used to do it in an old Burco boiler, and have now moved on to the Grainfather system, 19L kegs in a hacked fridge (maintains 10degC ‘cellar’ temperature), beer pumps on the front, CO2 lines...

MaltMiller.com is a good site.

 

[Mark Hancock]

Jacob
Thanks for the reminder ... just finished the last barrel and need another kit

I got into it when the kids got me a home brew starter kit a few years ago for xmas ... loads on Amazon. You just need a basic kit i.e. bucket, siphon pipe and barrel. Most come with some unknown beer kit to start you off and then you can get your preferred type later .. I like St Peters IPA and Golden Ale. For sterilizing just use the baby stuff from Boots ... far cheaper and does the same thing.

 

[disco_monkey79]

Been home-brewing for almost 15 years, and still haven't got round to trying beer. I mostly make wine, and occasionally dabble with cider and ginger beer.

 

[thetyreman]

my dad used to make his own wine, might have to try making some beer, I've always wanted to try making slo gin.

 

[Cabinetman]

my dad used to make his own wine, might have to try making some beer, I've always wanted to try making slo gin.

Sloe gin is ever so easy, but ignore what everybody says about pricking the berries, I experimented and it works just the same without but takes 5/6 days longer.
I used to brew my own beer a lot! But that was 20 years ago, full works with an insulated mash tun and sparging. great fun and really good results, I set up a mini microbrewery – only five gals at a time but it was all there with a gravity fed system boiler water at the top and the hot water from the cooling used to wash out the equipment. so go for it, I’m another one from the Darkside ha ha. Ian

 

[Popey]

I've been all-grain brewing for about 18 months now. I used to make from kits, but the improvement in quality is worth it. I love that I get beer that is comparable with commercial offerings. It wasn't cheap though as I treated mtself to a Grainfather system and I don't regret it at all. The only downside is that my workshop space is shared with a fermentation fridge and kegorator.

 

[disco_monkey79]

my dad used to make his own wine, might have to try making some beer, I've always wanted to try making slo gin.

As cabinetman said, sloe gin is easy (and super tasty), you just have to have the patience to let it do its thing.
Blackberry whisky is made the same way and is awesome, and can transform the nastiest cheapest rough@rse scotch in to something genuinely yum.

 

[John Brown]

I think I overdosed on sloe gin a few years back. Not literally, but I became a bit bored with it. Made some redcurrant gin last year though. Couldn't find any other use for all the redcurrants...

 

[Jacob]

Thanks for all the comments!
Everything from "Lidl sell two beers at £1.09 per 500ml" which sounds promising, to the Grainfather system - which looks good but to get your money's worth you'd have to be permanently pissed!
Haven't had much beer lately, and it's good for the bowels, so they say.

 

[Mark Hancock]

Thanks for all the comments!
Everything from "Lidl sell two beers at £1.09 per 500ml" which sounds promising, to the Grainfather system - which looks good but to get your money's worth you'd have to be permanently pineappled!
Haven't had much beer lately, and it's good for the bowels, so they say.

You don't have to drink it all at once

 

[Jacob]

You don't have to drink it all at once

Force of habit. Must try harder!

 

[guineafowl21]

Thanks for all the comments!
Everything from "Lidl sell two beers at £1.09 per 500ml" which sounds promising, to the Grainfather system - which looks good but to get your money's worth you'd have to be permanently pineappled!
Haven't had much beer lately, and it's good for the bowels, so they say.

Yes, I think your answer is somewhere in between those options.

A decent kit, starter brewing pack, and a pressure barrel (bottles are too much hassle), and you’ll not look back.

 

[Doug B]

You don't have to drink it all at once

Where's the fun in that

 

[Garno]

Haven't had much beer lately, and it's good for the bowels, so they say.

Back in the day when homebrew was popular usually the day after a few pints my bowels could eject with so much force I could hit a barnyard door from 40 feet away. It may well have been good for the bowels but not so good for the underpants' .......... I shall say no more ...........