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#Post#: 18--------------------------------------------------
Where To Start
DIR By: diaboliq20
Date: October 30, 2013, 5:18 am
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In this section I'm going to be posting up beginners guides for
brewing everything from beer and wine kits to spirits and
brewing beers and wines from scratch.
Stick with me on this one, as I have limited time at the moment,
and will be posting as and when I get the chance.
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I suppose I should start by pointing out the different types of
home brew that are out there.
As a beginner, I started out with commercially available beer
and wine kits, and to be honest, I still regularly brew these,
as they are just as good as any bought ales, lagers, and wines.
I then moved on to home brewing from scratch having gained a
basic knowledge and understanding by using the kits in my early
days of brewing.
So we have:
Beer Kits
HTML http://www.fhstores.co.uk/our-store/home-brewing/beer-kits/
Wine Kits
HTML http://www.fhstores.co.uk/our-store/home-brewing/wine-kits/
Spirit Kits
HTML http://www.fhstores.co.uk/search/spirit
Alcoshot Kits
HTML http://www.fhstores.co.uk/search/alcoshot
Home made fruit and vegetable wines and meads
Home made beers and ales
I will try to cover the basics of each of these disciplines on
this board.
Lets start with the basic equipment that you will need no matter
what it is you want to brew:
Steriliser!!! - this is your best friend. It is VITAL that all
equipment is sterilised prior to brewing to prevent infection in
your brew, and creating an off taste, thus spoiling your whole
brew. It must also be rinsed thoroughly to prevent a TCP like
taste forming in your brew.
Fermenter. This can literally be anything so long as it is
clean. A bucket, a bin, a demijohn a carboy, a fermentation
bucket, or a wide neck fermenter. I personally use a wide neck
fermenter fitted with a bored bung and a bubbler along with a 25
litre fermentation bucket for syphoning into.
Bung and bubbler. though not necessary for a lot of brews, it
is better to use these as you can easily see when fermentation
is taking place, and also when it is stopping. You could
equally use a loose fitting lid or sterile cloth to cover.
basically anything that prevents air getting in, while still
letting the gasses that build up to escape.
Beer Paddle/Spoon. A good long (usually 16") handled paddle or
spoon for stirring in sugars malts and yeasts
Syphon. This will be to syphon away your finished product for
bottling or barreling leaving behind any sediment and floating
yeasts.
I use a 23litre auto syphon with a tap for this, as it is quick
and easy to use, and leaves no mess.
There are also a range of filters out there including the
electric minijet mentioned by davo.
Filter. Again, not necessary, but I find it is a valuable part
of my kit when making wines where clarity is key.
Thermometer. Essential!! It is very important when brewing to
understand the yeast you are using, and that it requires to be
kept within tolerant temperatures. As a rule of thumb this
temperature should be a constant 18-24 degrees during
fermentation.
Different yeasts react to different temps. For example, a lager
or cider yeast will ferment at much cooler temperatures than
that of say a red wine or an ale yeast. This is due to the way
the yeast cultures have developed over the years.
Temperature though is very important in ANY fermentation. Too
hot, and you kill the yeast through heat shock. Too cold, and
the yeast simply will not ferment out your sugars. So ALWAYS
make sure that the wort or must is at the right temperature
BEFORE you add your yeast. This is the most common error when
starting out in home brew.
Heater. The subject above brings me on to this. If you have a
room that can be kept at a constant temperature as mentioned
above, then this is not a necessity. I would advise getting one
though. There are different types available. A brew belt which
wraps around the outside of your fermenter.....not ideal but
will do the job. There are heater mats which sit underneath
your fermenter....again, not ideal as neither of these provide
an even temp across your wort. My favoured heater is an
immersion heater. I use an electrim 75 which comes fitted with
a bored bung and sits nicely in the wide neck fermenter lid. As
the name suggests, this one is immersed in the brew and is
thermostatically controlled so it keeps a constant 21 degrees.
Ideal for speedy fermentation every time.
Hydrometer. Some might argue, but I say this is an essential
piece of kit. you have to ensure that fermentation has
completely stopped before moving on to bottling/kegging, as this
may result in a build up of gas, and exploding bottles/barrels.
It also allows you to track the development of alcohol in your
brew. If the hydrometer reading has remained constant for 48
hours, then fermentation is complete.
To Be Continued........
#Post#: 20--------------------------------------------------
Re: Where to start
DIR By: diaboliq20
Date: October 30, 2013, 12:11 pm
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updated the above
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