Newbie Starting Up

Hi John, I got a brew kit from K Mart for Xmas. (Coppers), and didnt have a clue, but it comes with a video included and very good instructions. I made my first brew 2 days after Xmas and sat the fermenter next to the hotwate cylinder where it averaged 26 degrees.It finished bubbling 4 days later and then I left it for a day . Bottled it New Years Day and couldn't wait for 2 weeks to go so I sat one in the fride Wednesday afternoon and tried it 3 hours later. I was suprised how good it was and they say it will improve with age. I found reading the newsgroups informative.

John,

I'd suggest that you check out John Palmer's site

You'll get a good idea of what you'll need to get started and the background info to make use of it...:)

Also, I'd suggest that you check out the rec.crafts.brewing newsgroup, the info you pick up there will be invaluable...:)

Hope this helps...:)

SD

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spook wrote:

Find a homebrew supply store and buy from them. They can answer your questions a lot better than anyone at K-Mart. Then, look for a homebrewing club in your area.

Not to me, it does.

Phil

Definitely check out a homebrew store. They are in the yellow pages. FWIW I have a few listed in:

There are also quite a few links in there to the kinds of resources to get you going.

There are stacks of homebrew sites. For your first brew (I have only brewed a handful myself) you can get swamped with information overload. Just go to a store, tell them the kinds of beers you like, pick up a kit with whatever additions (eg malt) are recommended and go for it. While that is fermenting, there will be plenty of time to consider your next brew.

Yes beer comes out of the tap in a clockwise direction compared with the northern hemisphere.

go to a local home brew shop they will help you out in what you nead in a kit in regards to what type of brew you would like

its more 1 on 1 than good old kmart

just a thought for you

andy

Thanks all Esp sosman. I will check out The Brewers Den in Boronia as its just up the road. Cheers John

Since you're in Australia I'd have to recommend the Coopers kit, available for $50-80 (I got one for $45 on sale at Big W just before christmas). It comes with everything you need to brew and bottle your first run (equivalent to 2 slabs, so you make a profit on your first go), although you'll need to buy a bottle brush to clean out the (supplied) longneck PET bottles. If you're in Adelaide, check out Harris Scarfe's at West Lakes. They have a Coopers display with all the equipment, as well as the different "brew enhancers", etc, plus they have recipe cards for when you get a bit more adventurous.

The main thing you have to watch out for is temperature control. You have to keep the temperature under 30-32C, (or the yeast will die) so you may want to keep an air-conditioner or fan running in the room you ferment in.

Most of the Coopers kits like a temp between 21-27, but as long as you keep it below 30 you'll be fine.

Oh, and get some Coopers carbonation drops for bottling, they're like barley sugars, you drop one in for a stubbie (375ml), two for a longneck (750ml) before bottling.

Once you've done a run or two of the standard mixes (Lager, Ale, etc), I strongly recommend you try out something different like a ginger beer or UDL-style mix - it's a bit more expensive to make, but any home-brew supply store can help you select one.

Otherwise just follow the instructions.

You might want to have a look at our site.

Regards Vince.