Wrong and ill advised post.
Homebrewing costs me the equivalent of approx. 40-50p per bottle (of which I make around 50 of during a batch) and its much nicer than some of the stuff I have paid £3.00 or more for in a store.
Home brew has come a hell of a long way. You can buy a premium kit for approx £24.00 which gives you 23 litres. Its no mystery as to why this hobby has taken off massively over the last few years.

We use coopers, think they Are fab and so easy to make, hubby prefers it to normal shop bought lager and likens it to craft beer. £10!when on offer in Wilkos which happened to be now!

​ You don't even need to buy premium. I'm perfectly happy spending £12 on a Coopers kit and it works out about 25p a pint.

Well done for mentioning the store name in title unlike so many other heat chasers!

Dude, you've talked me into getting an STC. I was going to get one before to make my DIY sous vide setup more robust as I currently use a dimmer plug with a slow cooker and did calibrations with a digital thermometer. I've got a huge and small chest freezer that I'm just using to store stuff in so I might as well use them for something noble.

Getting back to the bleach and vinegar thing, or starsan - Charlie Talley is a genius. He invented Starsan for the dairy industry so if you've ever drunk milk (the white stuff you see in shops) it's almost sure to have been in a truck or vessel sanitised with his stuff and no rinse. It breaks down into nutrients for the beer and he's been known to just straight out drink it to show it's safe as it uses chemicals (oOOohh NoOOOo, that word!) used to make pop. Yes, that fizzy stuff you see in shops.

The quantity of vinegar used is more than enough lower the ph enoughto make the bleach super potent but nowhere near the amount that would make the bleach off-gas chlorine. And it breaks down into salt. The tiniest amount. Cleaning with bleach and then swilling with water means you're adding back water that might actually have microbial contaminants.

18-21C for IPA, 16C for lager, somewhere in the mid 20's for Saison.
Each beer type has different rules.
See if you can find a book by Greg Hughes called "Home brew beer".
It has been my bible since starting and it's really simple to follow as a beginner compared to some others I got.

Ah ok, sorry yes. I had read about keeping the temp of the brew around 20-27d during fermenting. So yes i had already seen this type of heated mat type of thing which could be plugged in and used to keep the brew at the required temp. I guess the temp controlled fridge conversion is a much more sophisticated version of it. I wasnt aware of the 'crash cooling' but i will definitely be reading up on this.

Thanks again for the info...

Just be aware that a Kegerator is completely different to a converted fridge for fermenting in.
The former is to have your kegs stored in with the ability to rig up a system, allowing beers to be pulled directly from the fridge.
What I meant was adding a small greenhouse heater to a standard under counter fridge, and overriding the thermostat with an STC-1000 temperature controller. It's really easy, and it allows you to heat and cool in one environment, allowing a constant set temperature to ferment your beer. It is also great for "crash cooling" at the end of fermentation. I set mine to 1.5C for 2-3 days and all the suspended particles drop down to the bottle, helping to create super clear beer!
Temperature is really important, and most leave it to chance, in a cupboard for example. But if you want ultimate control, certainly consider this project :smiley:

Come join us here to learn all you need/wish to know:

http://forum.craftbrewing.org.uk/index.php

Thanks for the write up. Really appreciate all the information from everyone on this thread.

I had planned to convert an old fridge into a kegerator (seen a few youtube vids) after a few successful brews. Think I'm going to start off with a Coopers brew initially and work my way up to something stronger and better tasting.

It's worth asking on Freecycle or equivalent sites for anyone looking to give away equipment, most of mine came free from there or my Dad when he gave up due to the weight of a barrel.

For years I used a weak bleach solution as my only sterilant, it degrades fast (only the budget variety is really safe) and is easily rinsed off, plus has the added advantage of being obvious when still there - leave it a couple of hours and it should mostly have degraded. I would never add any acid to bleach, the chemistry is simple, it's not a good idea. Lets face it you don't want to accidentally harm yourself, making bleach that 'allegedly' is capable of killing anthrax spores.

I would not use anything that didn't need rinsing off, especially if it contained Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, which is considered a hazardous chemical, with absolutely no research seemingly available, although in the concentration you'll get in Star San, it's probably safe, but I personally would rather make wine and beer with as few contaminants as possible.

Whether it worries you I guess is personal, I also eat organic veg. so you know where I stand, lol. I've never had a batch of beer or wine go off (in 32 years of brewing), so I'm not sure how easy it is to get contaminated brews.

mike

Thanks so much, op. I ended up with 28 beer kits, 10 wine kits and all the brew-enhancers. So I'll double up on some of the kits and do some blending rather than just make 1,120 pints.

There's still about 20 beer kits (Geordie Bitter, Mild and Yorkshire), 4 cider kits and loads of wine kits, mostly white (Chardonnay, sauv blanc), 2 cab sauv red 30 bottle and loads of 6 bottle kits.

What a haul!

brew-schools!!

http://londonfieldsbrewery.co.uk/homebrewing-classes

http://www.wharf.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/brew-your-east-end-london-10899645

Your initial outlay (whilst kit brewing) will be your biggest spend tbh, but once you have made your investment on the kit, you can use that even if/when you decide to step up to BIAB/All Grain (Google these terms, you'll be itching to get in to it eventually!!).
Personally, I went ahead and bought the following:

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Equipment-Only-Starter-Kit-5-Gallons.html

All you need on top of that is a kit you like the sound of. The likes of Youngs, Bulldog and Festival are in the higher bracket of quality, but Coopers and Wilko own brand believe it or not, also get the thumbs up from lots of kit brewers, and they are at the lower end of the price scale.
Whatever you choose to buy in terms of equipment, just make sure you have at least one bucket to ferment in, a hydrometer to measure your ABV%, siphon tube and/or tap to transfer the beer (rack) and a thermometer. On top of that, the bottling wand is your best friend should you wish to bottle. All of that stuff in the link above will see you good, and as I said earlier, if/when you turn to BIAB/AG it is all still usable.

If you don't want to spend as much on your kit, scour ebay etc as people are always getting rid of gear they no longer use. Just be aware that used equipment comes with its potential issues, i.e. hairline scratches in plastic buckets can become sites of infection which will ultimately ruin your beer time and time again... which will most likely put you off right from the very beginning!!

Also, invest in some Star-San solution. Sanitation is KEY when it comes to brewing, and this is a "no rinse" solution, meaning, you mix up the right amount, rinse it all over your equipment and then bam, you are good to go. No off smells or tastes, you are just ready to make beer.

Oh, and consider converting a regular under counter fridge in to a temperature controlled vessel. Its super easy to do, and you can control your beer fermentation temp properly which will ultimately lead to better tasting beer. Too cold, and the yeast will struggle to do its job effectively, but too hot and your beer will impart off flavours etc...

Any other questions, just fire them at me!

I wasn't


I wasn't, either, but got on a train and the DLR and bought 30 quids worth. 14 beer kits and 5 wine. All in a rucksack. I got on the scales when I got it and it weighed 44 kilos. Rah! Didn't have time for a 10k today but I think this balanced it out.

If you can't get Star San then Charlie Talley, the guy that invented it, says you can make up a no-rinse solution with thin bleach, water and vinegar - use white vinegar. You need 80 parts per million sodium hypochlorite which works out at 80 milligrams per litre.

and DON'T ADD the vinegar and bleach directly together, put one in the water, then the other.

Vinegar is always the same no matter the strength of your bleach - it's to reduce the ph which makes the killing power of the bleach go up between 80 and 200 times and increases the availability of the 'deadly bits' from 20% to 80+%.
Vinegar = 1.6ml per litre | 7.2ml per gallon | 36ml per 5 gals

Tesco thin bleach is 1.5% sodium hypochlorite = 1.5g/litre and so these ratios work
litre: 5.33ml bleach
gallon: 24ml bleach
5 gals: 121ml bleach

Morrisons 0.9% bleach
litre: 8ml
gallon: 36ml
5 gals: 183ml

References here:
Charlie Talley talks about bleach and vinegar - go to about 18 minutes in. His ratios are based on a 5% bleach and he says 1oz each of bleach and vinegar in 5 gallons. That's us gals, so 19 litres and on oz is about 30ml.

Acidifying bleach increases killing power. Nobody mentions how long the acidified solution is stable for but hospitals will make up solutions like this fresh every day. The bleach destabilises faster when it's less concentrated and at lower ph. And at this price it's crazy cheap.

Wilkos kits are pretty good... and fairly cheap too!

This is a pretty nice kit:

http://www.tesco.com/direct/coopers-mexican-cerveza/213-2163.prd?skuId=213-2163

Done this a couple of times and loved every bottle.

You'll need a fermenting bucket, steriliser, syphon tubes and either a pressure barrel or around 40 bottles + a bottle capper (and caps, of course). I prefer to bottle mine - you can't fit a keg in a fridge, and I find the bottles hold the fizz far better. Personal opinion though, others may differ.

Bucket

Steriliser

Syphon

Bottle capper

That was from a quick search, you may find it all a bit cheaper elsewhere if you look, don't have time to dig much out currently. I'm sure others will gladly offer advice though!

To anyone who has difficulty adding, subtracting and dividing, the rest of us who can do simple arithmetic, it's not.

I personally am quite partial to the Wilko's own brand kits, may not be up there with the best, but can hold their own in most company, are cheap and easy to brew. I especially like the pilsner variety, which you can keg and be drinking within a couple of days, so long as you tell yourself it's a weissbier ;-)

mike

Evil dog is the way to go. Roughly £25 on Amazon and makes 40 pints of a stunning double IPA (7.5%) in roughly two weeks. 63p/pint, so at the premium end of hombrewing kits, but well worth it.

Ive been interested in home brew for a while and just had a garage clean out over the weekend so finally got some space to start.

Can anyone suggest a good beginners kit which pretty much has everything i will need? I saw the Coopers lager kit on Tesco which was OOS - been waiting for a promo on other sites but not found anything under the £70 rrp.

Love the idea of having a summer BBQ with a kegarator in the garage with my own home made beer.

Also anyone reccomend a kit whch resembles the taste of a good Spanish type lager i.e Morreti, San Miguel or Estrella type of taste?

Star-San should be your new best friend. Food safe and completely "no rinse" required!

Yea I know... should be alright, not overly concerned, but having been a while, I'm just a little nervous!

We use coopers, think they Are fab and so easy to make, hubby prefers it to normal shop bought lager and likens it to craft beer. £10!when on offer in Wilkos which happened to be now!

​ Difficult to cock up unless you don't sterilise properly...which reminds me I need to get some VWP for my next batch of Stout :smiley:

Same here, love the stuff. Got a week and a bit till my current batch is ready. First I've done in 2 years though, so I've probably cocked it up... :smile:

Thanks for backing up my point!!
Its nothing like the 70's, and even though I've not done a Coopers yet (Festival Razorback was my fave) I've heard great things about them!

DO HOME BREW!

​ You don't even need to buy premium. I'm perfectly happy spending £12 on a Coopers kit and it works out about 25p a pint.

Wrong and ill advised post.
Homebrewing costs me the equivalent of approx. 40-50p per bottle (of which I make around 50 of during a batch) and its much nicer than some of the stuff I have paid £3.00 or more for in a store.
Home brew has come a hell of a long way. You can buy a premium kit for approx £24.00 which gives you 23 litres. Its no mystery as to why this hobby has taken off massively over the last few years.

do the barrels fold up to briefcase size for the train home?

all had reduced stickers on them (yellow) that's why i thought probably store specific tried to put anyone off making a journey just for this

It's just like the 1970s. Except it's cheaper to buy proper beer than its making it

Well done for mentioning the store name in title unlike so many other heat chasers!

was looking at homebrew section in my local a couple of hours ago. nothing reduced, but didn't scan anything.

was this a yellow sticker attached to the item, or was it scanned using the normal barcode?

Ah just got back from there before seeing this post...

worth a look if you're going to a teso anyway