That explains why there are so many 2nd hand ones for sale then - I thought thy must be rubbish as everyone was trying to sell used ones!
New to the forum and also an avid amateur brewer. I brew allgrain using a brewmaster thingy. It has some semi-automatic functions for temperature control. I generally like all kinds of beer (except sour beer), but i tend to brew stuff i they don't sell in supermarkets. For the warm season i am going to brew mostly ales (higher fermenting temperature), so if anyone has recipes...
I’ll double check a few of my recipes on Brewers Friend for errors and edits and post them up here. It might take a day or two to get round to it.
There is a VERY good Norwegian microbrewery that has published some of their recipes. https://www.aegirbryggeri.no/om-aegir/heimebrygging_2/?offset1324=0 I have tasted (but not brewed) about half of them and they were all very good. I noted one peculiarity with some of their recipes. They do mashing in 2 stages ending with higher temperature. Enjoy.
Would that be the “Mash out” phase where you raise the temp to around 78oc? If so that’s a fairly common practice to make to sparge easier and extract the maximum of sugars from the grist.
Here’s the recipe for the last IPA style beer I made. Currently going down a storm! https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/988012/kona-big-wave.
My copy of Brew Dogs. Jet black heart. I have it kegged on 70% nitrogen 30% co2. 38psi @ 8oc. https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1005599/jet-black-fart
Too advanced for me. I put my brew in bottles with 1 and 1/2 sugarcube. It has worked fine so far. It would be cool with a beer tap on the kitchen counter but i got frowned at when i suggested it.
Even worse. Mines in the garage away from watchful eyes you can get coopers carbonation drops which are a good middle ground. Or try a priming sugar solution in your bottling bucket which is the most accurate and reliable way to carbonate your brews.
Had a small package from the Malt Miller this morning. This lot might keep me in beer for a week or three.
Little bit of an update on a couple of kit brews I made recently. Muntons Gold Old English Bitter; Bottled almost a month ago, has now started to develop a bitter taste and is a very nice beer. Not heavy and massively flavoursome but a nice session beer. Guess (and hope) it will continue to improve. Also, Muntons Gold Highland Heavy; Dry hopped with Fuggles and has now been in the bottles for a couple of months. Has developed a nice creamy head and is very flavoursome - spicy and bitter hops. I like it a lot but it is not one to guzzle - definitely a sipping beer. These modern kits are a vast improvement on the old kits I made decades ago from Boots the chemist. Don't ever remember making a bad beer right enough, but they were a bit rudimentary and not up to shop/pub bought quality. On the other had, these kits are better than most purchased beers. Not quite up there with all grain brews, but a lot less hassle. I am just about to place another order for more kits.
Impressive head retention and a handsome looking foamy head. I brew’d another stout on Wednesday which fell a few point short on OG. So I’m planning to use the batch to experiment with adding good quality Blood orange marmalade to get a subtle bitter orange flavour? And brewed another batch today with a mate who would like to try home brewing. So I’m a day or two I’ll have 40 litres bubbling away.
Marmalade in a stout will be interesting. I am looking (well, was looking) to sell my house next year, so for the past 18 months or so have been getting rid of belongings. At some point in the future I intend to start all grain brewing again - just don't want all the extra equipment at the moment.
I’m in the same boat. I’ve Self imposed and no more kit policy. Either beer or bike / workshop. Planning a move later in the year. And need to off load some of the crap I’ve accumulated over the last few bike builds I’ve done. The thought of moving the garage equipment out is terrifying.
BUMP - Apologies in advance folks. I'm going to dip my toe into churning out some home brew. To that end I have just bought the CAMRA how to Bible. If any of you out there want to off load some surplus starter gear and you live anywhere near the west of Scotland, I will take it off your hands. Cheers in advance BTD
Having moved house in November and been preoccupied decorating and the usual DIY cores. I’ve finally sorted the brewing area in the garage and got some ingredients delivered. So today’s the brew day. Only question is which beer to brew first? Brew dog Jet black heart clone? Kona Big wave Ipa clone? Or my own creation Tropical hop Ipa?
A word of warning if you’re using crown caps on your bottles - make sure the primary fermentation has ended before bottling and don’t use too much priming sugar. Year ago I had 40 pints of strong lager in crates on a shelf in my garage and around 2/3 of them exploded. Fortunately my car wasn’t in the garage at the time as there was sticky, beer-covered glass everywhere. 20 years later when I was lining the inside of the roof I found 2 bottle necks embedded in the roof timbers. I’ve used pressure barrels ever since. I now use Mangrove Jack’s kits with really good results. Later today I’m brewing their Belgian Saison with their liquid malt extract (ABV 6.2%). Should be good
If one liked drinking bottles of Old Speckled Hen, what would be the closest copy kit recommended please ?
Most of my brews go into Corny kegs so beers always on tap, and I usually rack to a secondary to dry hop and condition. So there’s no chance of exploding bottles
