Any Home Brewers On The Forum?

[BribieG]

I'm an extremely experienced home brewer - from 20 years ago - and thinking of getting back into it but I realise a lot of things have changed, for the better of course, in that time.

If any forum-ites are brewers a couple of questions:

A. Is it still worthwhile mashing your own grain malt etc etc or do the newer beer packs like Coopers do a reasonable job? when I was brewing the beer packs of the time were pretty woeful and boiling your own malt extract brew was messy and not much better.

B. I'm aiming for a very quick and streamlined system and wonder about whether the use of PET 2 litre bottles (e.g. Coke) is practical. The bottle sterilizing, priming, filling and capping was the worst chore and I would like a system where I always have ten or twelve washed out and sterile PET bottles that I can pop a priming 'lolly' into and fill easily. I make darker smoother beers and stouts with low carbonation so not likely to blow the roof off. I know a couple of guys with home kegging systems and they are also pretty high maintenance so just looking for a system that can live out in the laundry and take up a square metre of floor space.

Once you get going, what's the likely cost per litre nowadays?

Cheers.

Edited May 19, 2008 by BribieG

[Mr.Bitey]

Mmmm 2 litre beers......

Sounds like the go to me!

Qualifier: Hasnt brewed beer for 15 years and was crap at it then!

Cheers,

Bitey

[OakenShield1]

The newer beer packer LIKE coopers do a reasonable job.

I try to avoid Coopers, simply because I find their stocks very bland.

PET bottles leak air, and will lose some percentage of their fizz when 3 months are up. You are better off sterilising glass bottles and doing it that way.

The best bottles are the Grolsch

Some handy websites to have a look at are: Grain and Grape, Home brew and Beer, Country Brewer, and of course, the Brewiki

I am a novice, but my brother in law and I do our own beer, and we love it. Bottling is a ****, but we sterilise, bottle and seal all in under 2 hours.

Sugar drops are a must Heaps easier than the old measured method

Keep us posted and good luck

[mwd]

I do a bit of homebrewing nothing large scale.

I also prefer darker beers and stouts they do seem to turn out better than Lagers and Lighter beers which still seem to have a more homebrew flavour.

You probably know the taste.

I can vouch for Coopers kits seem pretty good quality and so far I have had 100% success rate and very good results.

I did try another kit on Special at K-Mart blew a few bottles in storage so never again. ( my fault for not checking with hydrometer though )

Morgans kits are also highly recommended "Mulloy's" Irish Stout I was told is excellent. Got it but not made any yet.

The Coopers Micro Brewery fermenter and bits and bobs is quite good and makes the chore of bottling very easy. ( check the website Coopers)

Tips I learned : keep the fermenting temperature down to low 20's C to avoid off tastes. ( Tough to do here in FNQ have to add ice in Summer when the tap water is 26C. ) I also use the small bedroom with Aircon on for the week or so fermenting time.

Coopers Stout makes a brilliant Black and Tan if you mix with VB or something similar.

Not counting the Initial Costs of Equipment its about $20.00 for 23 litres using proper brewing sugar or "Brew Enhancer" which I think is worth the $5.00 or so per Kg.

PS The Coopers Premium Selection are also highly recommended but I have yet to try them. They are on the list. Just not enough time available.

I think the modern yeasts are much better and temperature tolerant than what was available years ago give more consistant results.

Edited May 19, 2008 by mwd

[ajm1503559545]

I've done a few - just started one on the weekend in fact. Some a excellent (the James Squire Amber Ale for example) some aren't (Coopers Real Ale - really bland and tasteless).

The trick really is maintaining the temperature as mwd has mentioned. My parents have cellar (sloping block and plenty of space) and I store the fermenter and bottles there. Anything between 16 and 20 degrees is fine but too cold and the yeast won't ferment, too warm and it will spoil.

I buy my stuff from a local homebrew specialist store. The kits are fantastic although a lot more expensive than the K-mart Coopers stuff. The best thing about the kits are the sugars and malts they use. These work a lot better than plain sugar which is not recommended.

Also the priming sugar can be bought as single dose pellets which you drop in each bottle before filling - one for stubbies, two for long necks. No muss no fuss. Capping, cleaning etc, they're still a pain in the bum but since everything else is so simple these jobs don't seem so onerous.

All in all I've been really happy with the results so far. It's not massively cheaper but with a little effort you can make exactly the beer you like. You do need to be patient though and you do need to be prepared for disappointment.

[50mxe20]

Yes, Ive done a few.

Did a lot of experimenting with substituting other things for the sugar but in the end came back to the stock standard packs and methodology.

I tried other things than Coopers too and also came back to that.

I have a friend who goes the whole hog, doing everything from scratch, and he does a fine job but he would put 10 times the effort into it that I every do/did.

Lent my brew kit to a mate and it never came back so I have not done one for awhile.

Back to drinking VB!

[ajm1503559545]

Back to drinking VB!

Plenty of things I prefer to VB but I'd take the green cans over the Coopers Real Ale that I made. It might be sacreligeous to say this, I may even get ousted from the State, but VB just isn't my idea of good bear.

[stahc]

Plenty of things I prefer to VB but I'd take the green cans over the Coopers Real Ale that I made. It might be sacreligeous to say this, I may even get ousted from the State, but VB just isn't my idea of good bear.

is it anyones??????????????????

you're welcome up here AJ

[50mxe20]

Plenty of things I prefer to VB but I'd take the green cans over the Coopers Real Ale that I made. It might be sacreligeous to say this, I may even get ousted from the State, but VB just isn't my idea of good bear.

A good bear is a Grizzly.

There are lots of good beers on the other hand.

I don't really understand why I like VB. No accounting for taste I guess.

I drank the "green death" when I lived in South Australia.

(ie, Southwark).

And I've never lived in Victoria, although I was in Canberra for 5 years.

[swordfish805]

I'm an extremely experienced home brewer - from 20 years ago - and thinking of getting back into it but I realise a lot of things have changed, for the better of course, in that time.

If any forum-ites are brewers a couple of questions:

A. Is it still worthwhile mashing your own grain malt etc etc or do the newer beer packs like Coopers do a reasonable job? when I was brewing the beer packs of the time were pretty woeful and boiling your own malt extract brew was messy and not much better.

B. I'm aiming for a very quick and streamlined system and wonder about whether the use of PET 2 litre bottles (e.g. Coke) is practical. The bottle sterilizing, priming, filling and capping was the worst chore and I would like a system where I always have ten or twelve washed out and sterile PET bottles that I can pop a priming 'lolly' into and fill easily. I make darker smoother beers and stouts with low carbonation so not likely to blow the roof off. I know a couple of guys with home kegging systems and they are also pretty high maintenance so just looking for a system that can live out in the laundry and take up a square metre of floor space.

Once you get going, what's the likely cost per litre nowadays?

Cheers.

Bribie, IIRC aren't you moving to the Phillippines? Why home brew, just drink this.

[ajm1503559545]

is it anyones??????????????????

you're welcome up here AJ

*phew* I half expected this thread to be a pile of cinders by the time I got back to it. I've said similar things in certain circles and been damn near lynched for it

Anyway, my beer(s) of choice atm are the James Squire Amber Ale and the Pilsner Urquell so these are the latest ones I've had a stab at reproducing. The Amber is about 80% close after 8 weeks in the bottle and I reckon it would do well with another 4-6 weeks. The Pilsner has just gone in the fermenter so a couple of weeks to do that then about 6-8 weeks in the bottle. I'll get another going in the next couple of weeks as well and I wouldn't mind trying one of the Coopers brewmaster ones - the IPA looks promising.

Overall I reckon it's not a bad little hobby to have. Fortunately for me the old man is pretty keen on a drop and helps out with the bottling and checks the SG for me each night. Better yet he's not much of a drinker and three long-necks will last him the week

Mmmmm..... reckon it might be time for a froffy now

[mello yello]

*phew* I half expected this thread to be a pile of cinders by the time I got back to it. I've said similar things in certain circles and been damn near lynched for it

You mean in the High ( high pitched falsetto voice ) Definition Forum

Not in the OT mate

just check your luggage for Xrays and grab a Club Chair and remember to spell my name with a dubya

[ajm1503559545]

*pfffissst*

*pour*

*sip*

*slurp*

*aagh*

me=>

[mello yello]

*pfffissst*

*pour*

*sip*

*slurp*

*aagh*

me=>

We aint burpin ya though

[mwd]

Interesting thread we got going brewing v home theatre.

Very interested in trying James Squire Amber is this the like HD to SD.?

I am in full agreement with ajm Coopers Draught is crap. I had a Scottish buddy make Coopers Dark Ale with Spray Malt and it was SO good much better than the commercial product. Coopers Stout is top notch too without a lot of extra effort.

I may be be a total luddite but I think VB is well drinkable with a good malty flavour the best of the common nationals the non premiums.

But I am open to to suggestions most Queenslands brews do not cut it and boutique brews are way too expensive for normal use.

I quite like Boags St George but it got a severe slagging in the Beer Tasting Website. Everybody has different tastes which makes life interesting.

I just like saving water getting ratted is better than watching TV.

[ajm1503559545]

Very interested in trying James Squire Amber is this the like HD to SD.?

Hehehe much the same comparison.

TBH I didn't expect a great deal from this brew but the result has been excellent. Worth the effort so far.

[chalkeroochy]

Knew a bloke that brewed beer in a garbage bin next to his arm chair in the lounge room, he used a tea towel to keep the wild yeast out. But due to his serious bouts of thirst, it never got to bottling stage before various top ups with sugar and water, and when bottled he regarded 1 week as more than adequate cellaring.

[swordfish805]

I am in full agreement with ajm Coopers Draught is crap.

I may be be a total luddite but I think VB is well drinkable with a good malty flavour the best of the common nationals the non premiums.

You're not a luddite, but you might be American - see a doctor quickly and get your taste buds replaced.

VB, flavour? not in the same sentence please!

[mwd]

You're not a luddite, but you might be American - see a doctor quickly and get your taste buds replaced.

VB, flavour? not in the same sentence please!

Thanks for the kind words.

I am feeling better already. Good job I got to Dublin for a Guinness or two all those years ago.

Anybody make a VB homebrew kit ?

[Thudd1503560234]

I quite like Boags St George but it got a severe slagging in the Beer Tasting Website. Everybody has different tastes which makes life interesting

I've also seen Redback Crystal take a pounding in the reviews but gee it isn't half bad IMO.

Little Creatures Bright Ale FTW though!

[BribieG]

Bribie, IIRC aren't you moving to the Phillippines? Why home brew, just drink this.

Actually my brew of choice in the Philippines will probably be Red Horse extra strong beer, at 7% alcohol (e.g. VB is 4.7%). At about $1.20 for a litre bottle I won't be home brewing!

Thanks for the tips, and I'll be using PET for regular brews but if I get back into full grain I'll definitely stock up on some glass bottles.

Bought a fermenter yesterday - pleased to see that at $30 for the fermenter, tap, extractor 'pipe' and airlock it's still quite affordable. The Mrs is partial to the occasional Scotch & dry or Lemon Russki premix, whilst not being a teen binge drinker - so as a gesture to the Treasurer I'm putting a batch of alcopop through at the moment.

Got a nice sounding ginger beer recipe off a brew forum, it's a bit more sophisticated that granpa's old recipe and includes items like a couple of bottles of Bundy ginger cordial as well as fresh ginger. I'm brewing it to about 7%. I'll post if I survive . Cold snap in Bris at the moment so I got up in the middle of the night to wrap the little fella in towels and a hot water bottle . Airlock going like a train today.

Calculated that it's going to cost less than 50 cents a litre.

[ajm1503559545]

Little Creatures Bright Ale FTW though!

I really want to try this but the stuff is so bloody expensive and I hate buying 6 packs for ~$20 when a box of 24 JSAA is usually under $50. One day I'll splash out a whole $3 and buy a stubbie

[BribieG]

Plenty of things I prefer to VB but I'd take the green cans over the Coopers Real Ale that I made. It might be sacreligeous to say this, I may even get ousted from the State, but VB just isn't my idea of good bear.

One of the things I don't like about most Fosters Group products such as VB, Carlton Draught etc is that ever since the late 70s, rather than boiling the 'wort' with real hops in the traditional way they just squirt in a dose of hop extract. AFAIK the exception is Carlton Crown, and it shows in the flavour. Whilst hop extract is a good bittering agent - and probably accounts for the harsh bitter 'twang' of VB - it's a bit like comparing instant coffee to proper espresso.

Put it this way, before Australia became 'swamped' with International brands in the last 10 years, Fosters (CUB) could depend on a generally working class market that would drink their products uncomplainingly. Now, for almost the same price, we can enjoy traditionally brewed beers from countries such as Germany that have pure beer laws, not allowing the use of grains other than barley malt and using fine traditional hops.

To take another 'beverage' example, ten years ago at Maccas you drank their sour lukewarm drip brewed coffee without complaint because thats all there was and nobody knew any better. Nowadays I'm sure that nobody would bet their house on which is most popular: Maccas drip brewed or Gloria Jeans ??? (Not forgetting Macas own espresso which I reckon is one of the nicest)

I think something similar is starting to happen with beer.

[ajm1503559545]

I think something similar is starting to happen with beer.

I think you're spot on BG. CUB beers just have a taste that doesn't really appeal to me. I like to change what I drink each time I buy something but I tend to go back to the two or three that I know I will enjoy.

Taste is an personal thing and everyone has a budget but I'd much rather spend the extra $8-10 for a box of beer that I really enjoy rather than the stuff that's cheap.

But, as a mate's Dad once told me, "There's no such thing as a bad beer. It's just that some beers are better than others".

[50mxe20]

I went on a diet, swore off drinking and heavy eating, and in fourteen days I lost two weeks.

Now, that's a classic quote!