Hello from Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia

Really liking this forum. I discovered it while searching for an Apfelwein recipe last year and have lurked a little since then. I'm still pretty new to home brewing but seem to be brewing a lot these days so thought it was time to get posting.

Hey johnnyspade. Welcome. I'm in Kentville and new to brewing too.

Ah, nearly neighbours. Have to been to the Wine Kitz in New Minas? Pretty decent selection of brewing supplies there. They carry Festa Brew kits as well which, if you haven't tried them yet, should be on your brew list. They make a quality beer.

I have primarily been visiting B and C Brewing Centre in Coldbrook. To date I have made only from cans. Coopers, Black Rock etc. Festa Brew is likely the next brew this weekend. I brew with a friend in his garage. We are currenlty working on setting up draft systems so we dont have to bottle.

Good luck guys, I have brewed from cans and brewhouse (similar to Festa Brew) off and on for years, then last fall got back into brewing, and shortly after I discovered extract recipes from Noble Grape in Halifax. My beer has never been so good, all you need is a large pot and about an hour's time (allow 2).
The beer is incredible but I think I will likely take it a step further this fall and go all grain.

I do have a Festa brew kit sitting here waiting for me but I have a feeling it will be mylast kit beer ever.

Cheers

Festa Brew may put you off the extract kits, it really does make a nice beer and they seem to make one for every taste.

I'll add my plug for Noble Grape. I've only ever been to the Dartmouth location but they have everything there. It's one of the only places I have found that you can buy grains and hops as well. The staff is excellent as well and they haven't seemed to mind answering all my stupid questions.

I started out making cider, living in an area with an abundance of apples, and just started with beer last year. I am looking to brew my own and saw a Chocolate Chile Porter in another thread I thought sounded interesting. I think it's going to be the next concoction in the fermenter.

Sledhead, if you haven't been, you should try one of Randy's beers from Sea Level Brewing in Port Williams. Every time I'm up the valley I grab some to take home.

I'm sticking with the fail safe kits for now with the inclination to all grain in the future. My brother in Fredericton brews all grain and he has been encouraging me to take the plunge.

I agree with the Noble Grape comment - they have everything including a wealth of knowledge and patience.

I've had Randy's beers quite a few times - always enjoyable.

sledhead said:

I'm sticking with the fail safe kits for now with the inclination to all grain in the future. My brother in Fredericton brews all grain and he has been encouraging me to take the plunge.

I agree with the Noble Grape comment - they have everything including a wealth of knowledge and patience.

I've had Randy's beers quite a few times - always enjoyable.

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Great way to start. The absolute best way to improve the "fail safe" kits is temperature control and time.
Brew your beer at the lowest end of the yeast's temperature range. that could mean brewing in spring and fall or brewing in a fermentation chamber (a fridge with an external thermostat) could mean brewing in your basement, whatever.

I am building a fermentation chamber out of a chest freezer I got for free and a digital thermostat (Johnson A19). Noble grape sells a thermostat as well. Basically you plug your freezer into the thermostat and set it for whatever temp you want. 15-18 C usually.Quite often as fermentation begins, you may want to lower the temp even more as fermentation generates some heat as wel (2-3 C normally)

By brewing cooler you will get more professional results, fruity flavours etc. Your Festa Brew kit comes with some basic instructions, but the yeast that comes with it, will list the best temp for that particular style.

And Time, well, if you tste your beer and it does not tast great, leave it alone for 2 more weeks and try another, not quite right? 2 more weeks. Some beer might be quite drinkable after 2 weeks but might be incredible after 5 months. Some will not improve.

Welcome to the site from a fellow NSian..now living in NB.

Though I do all grain, I have had the oppertunity to try a few Festa Kits and
like the man said.... they make an excellent beer.
I have tried the Cervesa, the Czech Pils, and the Continental Lager, all of which were
fermented using not the S-23 yeast supplied, but rather, using W34/70 at 10c.
Perfect and to style. I have had the West Coast Pale Ale that a brewing buddy in Prospect, NS sent me and have to say it is compareable to my own. A nice drop.
And as for Noble Grape, another satisified customer here.

boo boo said:

Though I do all grain, I have had the oppertunity to try a few Festa Kits and
like the man said.... they make an excellent beer.
I have tried the Cervesa, the Czech Pils, and the Continental Lager, all of which were
fermented using not the S-23 yeast supplied, but rather, using W34/70 at 10c.
Perfect and to style. I have had the West Coast Pale Ale that a brewing buddy in Prospect, NS sent me and have to say it is compareable to my own. A nice drop.
And as for Noble Grape, another satisified customer here.

Click to expand...

I have the cerveza kit sitting here right now, but I bought a package of Wyeast California lager which I am hoping to brew at the appropriate temp when I get my new brewing room put together.

I bought a Cream Ale Festa kit and 'brewed' it this morning. Very simple.

I also got my keg fridge operating this weekend and I am now struggling with getting some carbonation into the beer and getting the right pressure coming out the tap.