Absolute Beginners

[Barm]

Hehehe - very wise: this recipe does have a habit of going off like a mini-vesuvius! Sound advice - after you've pitched the yeast, just snap the brewing bin's lid on in 2 (opposite) places only (do not seal it all the way round!!), and drape an old towel over the top - this will allow excess gas pressure to safely escape, and catch any expelled foam if things get a little over-vigorous.

[dedken]

Hi there,

I live in North London as well and often go to Laxton's pharmacy which is in Broxbourne, Herts to get quality bits and pieces (otherwise Wilko's in Wood Green will do!) They have a a lot of stuff, but unfortunately no-one there for advice on Saturdays or after 4.30 Mon-Fri. I went to Mattock Lane pharmacy once and they only have a limited stock. Also I wasn't entirely convinced the guy knew exactly what he was talking about. For advice I go to Cheers Homebrew in Cheam, Surrey. It's it bit of a trek but Richard who runs the shop has an astonishing font of knowledge which he is always willing to impart whether in person or over the phone.

[chivelegs]

Thanks for that, I may well pass through Cheam at some point for work, so I'll make sure I drop by. the Mattock Lane shop was OK for me as a beginner, but it is only a local neighbourhood chemist shop with a few bits and bobs of homebrew gear.

Happily, the first batch of Coopers Bitter was not bad at all. I tried one bottle after only 5 days secondary fermentation and i'm impressed. I've been served far worse in pubs and hopefully it'll get better over a few weeks. Next up is now a Brewferm Tarwebier as I've been asking neighbours to collect 500ml bottles over Christmas and the keg will be full for a while.

[fractureman]

brewferm needs about 3 months in the bottle mate. the keg will be gone before you know it,

[chivelegs]

Blimey! The Coopers Bitter from the keg is really quite good. Much better than bottles, but that may be due to it being left in the cool cellar rather than in the kitchen for a couple of weeks.

Brewferm Tarwebier is fermenting now and thanks to the expert advice I found here it only took me twice as long to make it,
(unless you include the 24 hours letting the chlorine evaporate off the tap water beforehand, then it would have been much longer.)

[Barm]

hehehe - look who's hooked! Another convert, methinks.

Many reckon that maturation happens faster/better 'in bulk' (ie in the keg) rather than in bottles - but undoubtedly the regime of conditioning/maturing 'in the warm for a week, then in the cool for as long as you can keep your mitts off' is a good one.