Thread: Wanting to start home brew

Go to BigW or K-Mart and get a Coopers Starter kit, it's much cheaper than going to a brew shop, once you have the starter kit and type of beer you want to brew then go to the brew shop and get a good yeast and Sugars.

Here ya go, this is the kit you need if you want to bottle your brew.

Get it from here or BigW, K-Mart whatever is easier or cheaper.
Coopers Brewery: Coopers DIY Beer Kit


Once you get the hang of it and an idea of whether you like it or not, (for some it's a pain in the arse) I'd suggest you look into a keg system.

Here's a directory of homebrew shops in Melbourne.
Home Brew Shop Directory - Australia - Victoria

Baz.

I'm only on my 6th round of brewing dirtdawg so am fairly new at it too. I picked up a brew kit from the local brew shop for $80, included everything but the bottles but I had plenty of spares and I prefer glass.

I'm in NSW though so not sure what prices would be around your neck of the woods. The only other thing I've brought is a better bottle capper - one of the one's that you bolt to the bench top - saved me a bunch of broken bottles.

Meg

One tip when using glass bottles, don't use bottles that are twist tops, over time the threaded tops will break.

Baz.

AussieHomeBrewer.com

Most, if not all, of your questions will have been answered in these forums.

In a nutshell though, not in order of importance (except for the first three):
1. Sanitation
2. Sanitation
3. Sanitation
4. Keep notes on what you've brewed - if you like a brew you could try and make another the same or close to it... Or if you've brewed crap you'll be able to avoid making the same mistakes twice.
5. Buy a better yeast than what comes under the lid if you're starting with extract brews. Different yeasts make massive differences to your beer (usually improvements that is).
6. Always aim to brew on the cooler side of the temp range for your yeast - you're much less likely to add off flavours and nasties that can induce hangovers to your beer.
7. Rinse and scrub your bottles out after you've consumed the beer, not the next day/week. Even worse is to wait til you're about to bottle the next brew as by then the sediment/junk that has adhered to your bottles will be ridiculously hard to remove. And that means you'll possibly cut corners and not do such a thorough job which in turn means you're more likely to have bottles which are infected...and these ones can turn into bombs.
8. Definitely invest in a temperature controller if you think you'll struggle to maintain consistent brew temps. I made mine for about $35. I'll post a link to the one I bought later...can't do it from my phone. The temp controller works best in an old fridge or chest freezer - it won't matter if the thermostat on them is stuffed as long as the compressor still runs and they get cold they can be used.
9. Always abide by the homebrewers unbreakable rule: you must be drinking beer when making beer. Not to do so is blasphemous to the beer gods.
10. Refer to Nos 1-3 above...

Keep the questions coming. There's no such thing as a stupid question when you're learning.

Originally Posted by bell1975

AussieHomeBrewer.com
9. Always abide by the homebrewers unbreakable rule: you must be drinking beer when making beer. Not to do so is blasphemous to the beer gods.

I though this was law only at my place! Excellent.

Plastic bottles are good to use to start off if you have them. Once you understand the completing fermentation and bottle priming process (and you therefore aren't going to blow your storage cupboard apart) you'll probably want to go to glass. As mentioned, it is soooo much nicer.

As a side note, I have nearly always used twist top bottles just because of their availability and haven't had too many dramas with chipping.

Another thing that hasn't been covered is that if you are using clear bottles (which incidentally are easier to keep clean), store them in the dark because light supposedly affects the brew (thus why most beer bottles are/were traditionally brown or green). This probably isn't critical short term; which is what your first brew will be at least because you're likely too drink it before it's properly ready like the rest of us .

James.

P.S. Nice to know you're into Land Rovers, MTB, and brewing bell1975! A man after my own heart .

how about one of these, someone needs to reveiw one for the forum.

Ha! I saw that in the junk mail last night. It looks like it would be a very user friendly option, but you'd need about ten of them otherwise you'd be rather thirsty most of the time.

Originally Posted by rainman

I though this was law only at my place! Excellent.

P.S. Nice to know you're into Land Rovers, MTB, and brewing bell1975! A man after my own heart .

Only the best things in life eh?!

I have been looking into the mini-keg setup that reuses spent Heineken 5 litre kegs as a way of avoiding the bottle filling/washing chore. Well, I've given up waiting for my old man to tire of his full size keg/beer gas setup and donate it to me...

The other thing to have a look at is the Brew-in-a-bag method. It's basically a simplified all-grain brewing method that produces truly outstanding results without all the different pots, kettles, cooling devices, etc.

We'll have to talk beer one day James. And maybe bikes. And Land Rovers...