What a perfect Christmas present I got from my wife... A home beer brewing kit consisting of equipment, accessories and ingedients (purchased from
I have followed the instructions very carefully, and have just bottled the first batch. I started the brew on Sunday 2nd Jan, and stirred the bucket once daily until Friday 7th when I added the Hop extract and finings. The 5 litre brewing bucket was in a dark cupboard around 23C (ranging slightly between
21 and 24) Two days after adding the finings and the last stir, I bottled (on Sunday 9th Jan) I have used washed and sterylised "Wychwood Hobgoblin" bottles and put proper crown tops on them. I have been very careful with the temperature, using a digital weather thermometer with Max and min memory to ensure the temperature is within range. The bottles are in a dark cupboard and the temp fluctuates slightly between 20C and 22C (normally around 21.4C).So far so good. The instructions says to leave them there for 5 days then move them to a cooler environment to clear.
I'm trying to be patient and let the process complete. It looks like the beer is turning clear near the neck of the bottles :-)
What results should I expect? Will it compare to beers I taste in the Rochford Beer Festival? Does anybody have any good recommendations for my second brew? (I usually prefer darker beer, eg porter, which to me has stronger taste and flavour).
I'm thinking of buying that dark "conkerwood" kit from Art of Brewing. Has anybody tried that one?
thanks for any feedback,
Brendan