virgin brewer

[alexander taipan]

hello everybody this is my first post, nice forum. i've been thinking about brewing my own lager for a while now and it's time for the big step. the trouble is there's so much choice that i don't know what to buy, money is not an issue but i don't want to spend a fortune only to fail and leave it all in the garage to die. so maybe something that gives me a chance to make decent lager that i can expand on if it works out for me. i'd be grateful for any help.

 

[chillHayze]

I would opt for something like the Deluxe starter kit seen here: http://www.northernbrewer.com/starterkits.html

Also for a lager you are fermenting at colder temps. If you have a cellar or somewhere that stays sub 58 deg. F indefinatly that would be helpful. Otherwise you'll need a fridge to ferment in. Ales - you could do at room temp.
Check out www.howtobrew.com - a great resource.

 

[alexander taipan]

thanks i understand ales are easier, maybe it would make sense to do ale first just to learn the ropes and when i'm more confident i could move on to lager

 

[Pumbaa]

thanks i understand ales are easier, maybe it would make sense to do ale first just to learn the ropes and when i'm more confident i could move on to lager

yeah definetly start out on a ale. If you are looking for a lager like ale you may want to stick with a Kolsch of a American Cream ale. The set up Beerlover mentioned would be good recipie wise you may want to look at something like http://www.frugalwestallis.com/recipes.php or any of the other many places out there. The 2 recipies below may give you the type of beer you are looking for. Both are extract recipies with steeping grains but if you can make tea you can make these recipies. I put them below incase you had a hard time finding them in the link.

Taste of Koln Kolsch Style
6lbs extra light malt extract
1lbs German wheat malt
1oz Hallertau (50 min)
.5 oz Hallertau (10 min)
Wyeast Kolsch #2565

Honey's Cream Ale
6lbs extra light malt extract
.5 lbs honey malt
.5 lbs flaked corn
1oz Mt Hood (50 min)
1oz Willamette (1 min)
Wyeast European Ale #1338

 

[Beer Snob]

My first thoughts are similar to what has been said... ales are much easier to start with.... but then I read your post... you said money is not really an issue. I guess I have always thought ales were easier because thats what I have heard. But really... why is it easier? I've never brewed a Lager. Simply because I have no place to put a 5 gal carboy that will keep it at the temperature that it needs to be to lager. I am not aware of anything that is really different between brewing an ale from a lager outside of the fact that in aging you need to keep it a bit cooler then you would an ale. You can get a beer kit that is made for lagers just as you can for ales. Seems to me that if you get yourself a kegerator (a fridge that is big enough to keep a 5 gal carboy), that brewing a lager should be just as easy.

Again, I have not done a lager yet. But you said that money is not particularly an issue you just want to make sure it will come out. I believe the only diffeence in brewing the two is you need a cooler place to keep the lager.

Either way you go you will need the same brewing equipment. And either way you go you are going to have an incredible addiction on your hands Welcome to the forum!

 

[alexander taipan]

thanks very much everybody you're very helpful, beer snob the reason i'm gonna do ale first is cause if i mess it up it only costs me a few weeks but if i mess lager up then it costs me a few months but maybe after i do ale twice i'll try lager

 

[Beer Snob]

thanks very much everybody you're very helpful, beer snob the reason i'm gonna do ale first is cause if i mess it up it only costs me a few weeks but if i mess lager up then it costs me a few months but maybe after i do ale twice i'll try lager

Oh yes. The time factor is certainly there. Equipment is the same though, so the only thing you'll need to buy after is a place to keep things cool when you are ready. Eigther way your be drinking I dont know if there is a place close to you to buy things, but Austin looks to be a pretty good net store... free shipping if you spend $60 as well.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/

 

[alexander taipan]

i don't know where i'll buy cause i'm in Ireland and i don't know of anywhere that sells this stuff, thank god for the internet!!

 

[alexander taipan]

i just found a shop and before i buy i'll post what i'm buying and maybe somebody can tell me if it's ok. all prices are in euro


Qty Name Price Total
5 Gall. Plastic Fermenter 16.00
King Keg Top Tap 57.00
Replacement Seals for Delux Barrel 2.30
CO2 Cylinder 25.40
20 grm. Bubbler Airlock 0.75
Syphon Complete 3.75
Long Handled Spoon 2.00
Thermometer 4.50
40 Pint Homebrews Irish Ale 12.95
VWP Steriliser (500 gm.) 6.00
40 Pint Coopers Pale Ale 13.20




T O T A L S
Sub Total 143.85

Send By Postage Total
An Post/Courier 10.00 153.85

 

[Beer Snob]

i just found a shop and before i buy i'll post what i'm buying and maybe somebody can tell me if it's ok. all prices are in euro

Looking now at Euro places..... 143 comes to about $185 american. What you are looking for is an equipment kit. They usually contain everything you need, but so far the Euro places I've hit has a different definition of equipment kits then we do here.

Take a look at this page.... equipment wise, what you should be buying should look something similar to one of these kits. Whatever book they give you, be sure to look through and and get a feeling for if you like it.....understand it.... you know.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/starterkits.html

I'm still looking

 

[alexander taipan]

this is the shop if it helps
http://www.thehomebrewcentre.com/equipment.htm#fd

 

[Beer Snob]

I just sent BlightyBrewer an email. He's from the UK and has been brewing a bit. He's gotta know a place that has equipment kits there.

 

[alexander taipan]

is this any good
http://www.art-of-brewing.co.uk/acatalog/intro.html

 

[Beer Snob]

I know BlightyBrewer is also on Jim's Forum, which is based in the UK. I was looking at Jims home page in the photo section and it looks like the same equipment that you linked to. Perhaps the norm for UK is plastic where glass carboys are more over here in the states. This is a link to Jim's homepage where I saw the pictures.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jim.dunleavy/index.htm

Sorry I cant tell you if the kits you linked to are the better ones there... some of the iteams are different and I am not familiar with.

 

[alexander taipan]

ok thanks a million

 

[BlightyBrewer]

Hey alexander,

I just got Beer Snob's email. I understand you are after a kit. The better online shops in the UK are Hop and Grape, Leyland Homebrew, and Easy Brew. They all stock beginner's kits, which typically include a 25L plastic fermenting bin, racking cane, syphon tube, spoon, thermometer, hydrometer, pressure barrel and a quality ale kit to start. This is how I started, and it set me back about £60.

Hope this helps.

BB

 

[mysterio]

Really brewing a lager isn't particularly hard, it just takes ages. You probably won't be drinking your first homebrew for a couple of months. Try a pale ale which could be done in 3 or 4 weeks, and you'll probably love the results. If you can get the low temps, though, don't let anyone put you off making a lager.

As for UK websites, I use hop and grape and they're great.

EDIT: After a quick look on their website the equipment second from the top looks ok. You can then choose what beer kit you get with it, and there's a lager one. £36 all in. Once you've done your first batch you'll soon want to expand with a 5 gallon glass carboy and a pot big enough to boil about 3 or 4 gallons. You will be mashing and sparging in no time :rockin:

 

[alexander taipan]

thanks everybody you've all been a great help to me

 

[Beer Snob]

Do people in the UK bottle. When I was trying to help find a site I noticed that the Pressure Barrels appear to be the norm over there.

 

[alexander taipan]

i haven't even bought a kit yet never mind did a brew and i'm already sure i won't bottle but probably cause it seems like a lot of work to clean all the bottles fill them and cap them when all i need to do is keg it and empty it!!!!

 

[Beer Snob]

For some reason, I've never seemed to get into kegging. Always bottled. Usually clean my bottled after I pour it so I dont have to clean them later... just sanitize them. Kegging would certainly make sharing your brew difficult. I'm big on giving brews as gifts and the like..... Wouldn't mind something small though... like the Party Pig. Then I can bottle half the batch... best of both worlds

 

[alexander taipan]

yea i think you should stick to bottles, giving kegs as prezzies could be expensive but you'll be veryyyyyyyyyyyy popular!!!!!

 

[Beer Snob]

Hey Alexander What was the decision?

 

[alexander taipan]

decision???????

 

[Beer Snob]

decision???????

Yeah what did you decide to get and brew Or you still thinking?

 

[boo boo]

i haven't even bought a kit yet never mind did a brew and i'm already sure i won't bottle but probably cause it seems like a lot of work to clean all the bottles fill them and cap them when all i need to do is keg it and empty it!!!!

I'll drink to that..........

 

[alexander taipan]

Yeah what did you decide to get and brew Or you still thinking?

i'm gonna brew ale twice or maybe a little more, then lager all from kits and when i feel comfortable enough i'm gonna go the whole hog. Right now i'm living in a two bedroom apartment with my girlfriend and 10 month old daughter so i don't have the room but i'm buying a house so as soon as i find and buy a suitable house i'll start brewing.
:rockin:

 

[Beer Snob]

Sounds like a great plan... new home... new hobby