Anyone brew/brewed their own beer?

[eye1der]

i used to make full mash beers in my single days when i lived in a big house with my mates, i used a big tea urn for the mash and bottled it in grolsh(sp?) bottles, those with the stoppers fitted. used to make some pretty famous brews, hic! i think back and the best i made was from a recipy for greene kings abbot ale. this had a ABV of around 6 before bottle conditioning...very tasty!!
i dont drink beer now that much but have been thinking of brewing some country wines for a while now.. brewings pretty easy, one tip i would give to anyone starting is sterilise everthing and you wont go far wrong

[PaulG]

Its been quite a few years since i brewed my own, did a few kits first then moved on to hops and making from scratch, last one i did was based on a traditional honey ale, recipe suggested it would be around 6%, ran the sums after and realistically it was probably nearer 13%. Very nice when straight out of the fridge, if left to warm for a couple of hours the sweetness was a bit much, extremely potent either way.

A friend took a bottle home with him (1 litre coke bottle) assuming he had picked up a standard bitter (i had done bitter, the honey ale and a european style lager for our anniversary one year), got home with his other half who was in a very amorous mood, drank the bottle of honey ale and passed out lol.

The lager was a lot of fun, very crisp taste but it also ended a little too gassy, had to be very well chilled before opening or when lifting the cap both the cap and a jet of the lager would start washing the ceiling.

I definately agree that although a little more work is involved brewing from scratch gives a far nicer end product.

[HeyWayne]

Well I tried a glass last night. Managed a mouthful.

Cloudy, flat and not great.



Might wait a while longer.

[shirlthegirl43]

Well I tried a glass last night. Managed a mouthful.

Cloudy, flat and not great.



Might wait a while longer.

Oh dear Wayne - did you prime the barrel?

[HeyWayne]

Oh dear Wayne - did you prime the barrel?

Prime? Wassat?

[shirlthegirl43]

put sugar in it - causes a sort of second ferment which gives the beer fizz

[HeyWayne]

85g of the finest Silver Spoon.

[shirlthegirl43]

Very strange then. My only guess is that you knocked all the yeast out when you moved it. Try putting it someplace warm for a couple days then move it to a cool spot to see if it will fall clear.

[pdblake]

Has anyone tried embellishing a kit with their own flavourings? (got a birthday coming up and three kids with no idea what to get me)

I was thinking of giving a kit a try and possibly in future maybe getting a hop plant or two.

[HeyWayne]

Very strange then. My only guess is that you knocked all the yeast out when you moved it. Try putting it someplace warm for a couple days then move it to a cool spot to see if it will fall clear.

I syphoned a load of gunk (looked a bit like clay) into the bottom of the barrel (which I've since discovered was the wrong thing to do).

When you say "warm" how warm is warm?

To me - anything over 18/19C is warm, but I'm not normal.

[Brewer-again]

Heywayne, Hi! wayne ??

You have started on the path of one of the easyest and cheapest forms of pleasure. aside from another I can think of ???
Beer is basicly malt, hops, sugar and yeast.
Keep everythying clean, don't move the sediment around, it is dead yeast cells and can make your brew mousey tasting, not that I have ever sucked a mouse.!!!
When the brew has finished, is starting to clear, add priming sugar to make it fizz then bottle it. Leave it for a few weeks then drink it. Lovely.
The way to avoid the watching syndrome is to brew another as soon as you have bottled.
I make sure that after I bottle one brew I put another on. It helps keep the brew gear clean.

[Hazel at the Hill]

I make sure that after I bottle one brew I put another on. It helps keep the brew gear clean.

I like your style!

[HeyWayne]

I made enough of a mess syphoning it from the fermantation tub into the barrel - crikey only knows how much I'd waster trying to get it into 30-40 bottles, each with a narrow neck!

[shirlthegirl43]

I always put the container I am syphoning from on the worktop above the dishwasher - then open the dishwasher door and put the bottles I am filling on the door. Any spills are quickly cleaned up by shutting the dishwasher

[HeyWayne]

I think I need a longer syphoning tube! Worktop was too high when I tried that.