MotorhomeFun Home Brewing Chat

[Wildbill]

hi thinking abut starting a home brew thread where you can share your
home brew experiences Disasters and recipes.
I have started a brew its a traditional IPA using grains and the mashing method
I know most will just use kit's but there is so much to be shared among us
from beers
stouts
ciders
and wine
so don't be shy let's know abut you brewing experiences good or bad
bill

 

[Wildbill]

my cider press

 

[Wild Oggie]

I started making home brewed wine and lager about 3 years ago after tasting a friends brew which was absolutely fantastic.
Beer wise, I only brew lagers and have tried most that are on the market from local home brew shops+tescos and wilcos. My favourite is coopers european lager around £10 to £15 I just add 1 kilo of brewing sugar £1.50 from wilkos plus 500 g of malt extract £4 wilkos. Which turns out at 5.5% alc. For 40 pints. And tastes brilliant. The hardest part is leaving the brew to mature (lager) for 12 weeks for a perfect taste.
Wine I love making red wine kits (30 bottles) again I just add 1 kilo of brewing sugar sometimes an extra half kilo to bring the alc to about 13 to 14%. Beaverdale kits are quite a nice easy starter.
Just made 20 litres of elderberry wine @ 14% which is great fun every autumn, that will mature in the garage for 12 months, if I can leave it that long!
Brilliant hobby

 

[Wildbill]

when I get my kit for brewing beer out agene I will post it up when it is in action with video
bill

 

[ukbill]

im sorry but i have never brewed anything but im willing to be the official taster

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[Wildbill]

im sorry but i have never brewed anything but im willing to be the official taster

a very important job

 

[Wild Oggie]

im sorry but i have never brewed anything but im willing to be the official taster

And that was my mistake (or not) it went something like this:-
bloody hell did you really make this yourself?
YEAH IT'S DEAD EASY
so how much a pint did it cost
ABOUT 40P A PINT AND A LOT OF LOVE
and the wine?
SAME £1.50 A BOTTLE ANYBODY CAN MAKE IT

I was hooked

 

[RS_rob]

I started out probably at least 8 years ago looking for a cheaper alternative but having had some experiance from my parents & grand parents making wine.
I wanted to make lager so I started out with a kit & the basics all you need & a keg.
Well I got lager but it didnt have the fiz & at the time I was a genera haulier so on my routes I sought some advice & that was adding some more sugar & yeast to re start the fermentation process & hopefully get some more gas into it.
well the result was something that tasted like lagerish but had the kick of strong whisky & as a regular drinker 1.5 pints was all I could handle as I was on my back, well lets say if i drink 3 pints of this stuff i was comatized..................

Ive since dabbled in everything even moon????????????????????????????

 

[Wildbill]

sparkling apple wine
4 gallons of frozen apples yielded 1.5 gallons of apple juice that a brought to the boil and removed the scum from the top with chive
will now allow to cool and take a hydrometer Redding

 

[rangi]

Has anyone used Honey instead of Sugar? I used to have a mate that did, but it was so long ago I've forgotten the ratio, Honey for Sugar that he used.

Someone mentioned using Demerara Sugar I found that made the beer very bitter, I used the "Soft Brown Sugar" instead, it darkened the beer but didn't give it that funny taste

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[Wildbill]

the soft brown sugar lb. for lb. I use to just ade honey till I had a good hydrometer Redding for final alc by volume of 14%to 15% start at around 90sg 240 grams per letter approx. it's is not a exact science just brew and enjoy
bill

 

[Wildbill]

the soft brown sugar lb. for lb. I use to just ade honey till I had a good hydrometer Redding for final alc by volume of 14%to 15% start at around 90sg 240 grams per letter approx. it's is not a exact science just brew and enjoy
bill

this is for my wine you want to be starting a cider around 30/50 for 6%to7% which is a strong one but nice
bill

 

[DBK]

I used to make a lot but stopped a good few years ago. I never tried mashing grains as it was too difficult to keep the temperature constant on the electric cooker we had but I suspect you can get better equipment these days.

Bottles were best for keeping the beer but a pain to wash out and fill. The plastic barrels much more convenient but I had a few brews go off in them.

 

[Wildbill]

y

I used to make a lot but stopped a good few years ago. I never tried mashing grains as it was too difficult to keep the temperature constant on the electric cooker we had but I suspect you can get better equipment these days.

Bottles were best for keeping the beer but a pain to wash out and fill. The plastic barrels much more convenient but I had a few brews go off in them.

you wisent drinking it fast enough and you have to keep the barrel pressurised with co2 to protect it from the air if you do that it should keep till end of barrel
bill

 

[Wildbill]

I used to make a lot but stopped a good few years ago. I never tried mashing grains as it was too difficult to keep the temperature constant on the electric cooker we had but I suspect you can get better equipment these days.

The only temperature you need to rely worry abut is the strike temperature + 10 TO 15 F
150-158F, depending on the style of beer being made. The infusion water temperature varies with the water-to-grain ratio being used for the particular brew.
A cold box makes a good mash ton for 5 gallon brew
But kits are so good nowadays it's not worth bothering with
unless you are like me and just want to do it because I can.
It is a pane but I enjoy it
bill

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[DBK]

My best ever brew had honey in it. It was called Yuletide ale and I used yeast from the bottom of a bottle of Guinness.

Honey is approximately 20% water so 5 kg of honey will add 4kg of sugar - and it is invert sugar so in theory will ferment well.

 

[Wildbill]

My best ever brew had honey in it. It was called Yuletide ale and I used yeast from the bottom of a bottle of Guinness.

Honey is approximately 20% water so 5 kg of honey will add 4kg of sugar - and it is invert sugar so in theory will ferment well.

thank for that as I did not know I always just use the hydrometer when using honey to get the SG right I find that best way
bill

 

[Wildbill]

My best ever brew had honey in it. It was called Yuletide ale and I used yeast from the bottom of a bottle of Guinness.

Honey is approximately 20% water so 5 kg of honey will add 4kg of sugar - and it is invert sugar so in theory will ferment well.

to retrieve the yeas from a gunnes bottle cill it down in fridge for a few days poor off the beer till only 1" left then aide sugar honey or syrup few grains of cyritrick acid
air lock levee till for a few days till started poor in to brew works every time.
I am using a gunnes culture for my brew just now and for my cider
bill

 

[DBK]

to retrieve the yeas from a gunnes bottle cill it down in fridge for a few days poor off the beer till only 1" left then aide sugar honey or syrup few grains of cyritrick acid
air lock levee till for a few days till started poor in to brew works every time.
I am using a gunnes culture for my brew just now and for my cider
bill

Pour off the beer? I drank it! But I like the tip about chilling it first, it should fizz less and not disturb the sediment.

 

[Wildbill]

Pour off the beer? I drank it! But I like the tip about chilling it first, it should fizz less and not disturb the sediment.

chilling it also gives a firmer sediment and reduces the gas effect and I drink it to

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

I've just bought some brewing kits for my next batch Bill,
Brew packs Belgian Christmas beer
Morland old speckled hen extract pack
Coopers stout
Coopers European lager
Coopers dark ale.
I've tried all the coopers, and find these three the best.
All from http://www.brewuk.co.uk/
Free shipping over £65 too.
I use them all the time.

There all arriving tomorrow so while Bevs giving away Belgian truffles and Florentines at Hilsborough arena , on Saturday .
I shall be stinking the house out !
Ralph.

 

[Wildbill]

I've just bought some brewing kits for my next batch Bill,
Brew packs Belgian Christmas beer
Morland old speckled hen extract pack
Coopers stout
Coopers European lager
Coopers dark ale.
I've tried all the coopers, and find these three the best.
All from http://www.brewuk.co.uk/
Free shipping over £65 too.
I use them all the time.

There all arriving tomorrow so while Bevs giving away Belgian truffles and Florentines at Hilsborough arena , on Saturday .
I shall be stinking the house out !
Ralph.

and they will al be ready for Christmas
bill

 

[Baycott]

My son bought be a Youngs brewing kit for my birthday. Never having brewed before I followed the instruction to the letter. After first fermentation I siphoned it into the barrel supplied (with added sugar to kick second fermentation) and left it for the required time.
However when I drew the first pint there was no pressure in the barrel and the beer was cloudy.
Turns out the cap/seal was leaking so I tried again with Vaseline on the seal as advised by local brew shop. Also fitted an O2 cartridge.
Still there is no pressure it must have leaked out. It has been over 4 weeks now ( we went to France in the MoHo) so I guess it's spoiled.
I want to try again but am wary of using the barrel. Can I syphon directly into bottles? Might be a bit more fiddly but should work I think.
I really want to get a brew going for Christmas.
Any suggestions for a beginner?
Cheers
John

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

and they will al be ready for Christmas
bill

Yep.
Just for when these 3 I've got on the go now, are finished.
Timing is king

 

[Wildbill]

My son bought be a Youngs brewing kit for my birthday. Never having brewed before I followed the instruction to the letter. After first fermentation I siphoned it into the barrel supplied (with added sugar to kick second fermentation) and left it for the required time.
However when I drew the first pint there was no pressure in the barrel and the beer was cloudy.
Turns out the cap/seal was leaking so I tried again with Vaseline on the seal as advised by local brew shop. Also fitted an O2 cartridge.
Still there is no pressure it must have leaked out. It has been over 4 weeks now ( we went to France in the MoHo) so I guess it's spoiled.
I want to try again but am wary of using the barrel. Can I syphon directly into bottles? Might be a bit more fiddly but should work I think.
I really want to get a brew going for Christmas.
Any suggestions for a beginner?
Cheers
John

use pet bottles they work well plastic coke bottles I use swing top boteles this are a lot of mesing around but find them brilliant

You can also use beer bottles but you will have to get a crown caps (beer bottle tops)
any home brew shop sells them.
I used to just condition a Bach at a time
the best way to do that is work out how much sugar for say five gallons of beer
dissolve in boiling water aide to beer mix up ade to bottles you don't then have to ade to ade sugar each bottle reduces messing around
bill

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[Wildbill]

Well I think it's started to ferment

 

[Baycott]

You could be right Bill

 

[Wildbill]

A

My son bought be a Youngs brewing kit for my birthday. Never having brewed before I followed the instruction to the letter. After first fermentation I siphoned it into the barrel supplied (with added sugar to kick second fermentation) and left it for the required time.
However when I drew the first pint there was no pressure in the barrel and the beer was cloudy.
Turns out the cap/seal was leaking so I tried again with Vaseline on the seal as advised by local brew shop. Also fitted an O2 cartridge.
Still there is no pressure it must have leaked out. It has been over 4 weeks now ( we went to France in the MoHo) so I guess it's spoiled.
I want to try again but am wary of using the barrel. Can I syphon directly into bottles? Might be a bit more fiddly but should work I think.
I really want to get a brew going for Christmas.
Any suggestions for a beginner?
Cheers
John

Did you put the vale together right have a look at all the rubber parts to male sure they are all in place there are two seals on the valve inlet and relief if ether are not siting properly it will leek back.
And enuer you have a good seal valve to cap common mistake to miss out cap seal there could be a rubber washer on the valve screw assembly or
or orings
then pressure test with co2
Make up solution of washing up liquid pore or spray I use spray bottle over valve the cap tap if no bubblies jobs a good one
bill

 

[Wildbill]

A

Did you put the vale together right have a look at all the rubber parts to male sure they are all in place there are two seals on the valve inlet and relief if ether are not siting properly it will leek back.
And enuer you have a good seal valve to cap common mistake to miss out cap seal there could be a rubber washer on the valve screw assembly or
or orings
then sterilize every thing strip down tap the lot sterilize I use commercial brewery stuff
but ordinary diluted bleach is ok or Milton


bill

 

[Wildbill]

A

Did you put the vale together right have a look at all the rubber parts to male sure they are all in place there are two seals on the valve inlet and relief if ether are not siting properly it will leek back.
And enuer you have a good seal valve to cap common mistake to miss out cap seal there could be a rubber washer on the valve screw assembly or
or orings
then pressure test with co2
Make up solution of washing up liquid pore or spray I use spray bottle over valve the cap tap if no bubblies jobs a good one
bill

.

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