Home-Brew Lager Beer :O

[Sittingduck]

Anyone got any experience or good tips for Home Brewing Lager?

My flatmate and I decided we would like to give it a go so I have just ordered a n00b home-brew kit and a 40 pint Lager mix.

http://www.brew-it-yourself.co.uk/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=545

http://www.brew-it-yourself.co.uk/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=62

Please don't tell me that I have wasted my hard earned £25 for 50% stake in this business because home brew tastes awful... figured it was worth a punt for this low outlay

 

[Milo]

You can cause some fairly spectacular pyrotechnics if you are not careful I believe.

 

[Sittingduck]

Cheers for the Offer CoG... the starter kit comes with 24 one litre bottles though
I think home brewing beers is something a lot of folks have thought about but never really get round to. This is certainly the case with me and my flat mate Oscar. Why not give it a bash!

 

[Sittingduck]

Exactly

After batch #1 the price will be roughly 30p per pint to make, as subsequent kits are just over a tenner with the sugar.

User76 - I'll have to see how batch 1 turns out and we did some research and figured out that it would be a minimum of 6 to 10 weeks end-to-end. Perhaps we need to plan for longer though! Also, we rent the flat and it's not exactly a palace so we'll risk bottles and the odd explosion

Cheers for the tips...

 

[Royalrider]

Made a few brews over the years. The best tip I can give is keep the temperature constant. People think 'I'll stick the brewing bin in the airing cupboard where its warm' or up near a radiator. Unless the boiler is on at a constant temperature all the time they are the worst places as the temperature fluctuations are too great. Wrap the bin in a blanket/sleeping bag etc away from direct heat. It will be great. Most lagers can be brewed at fairly low temperatures. Bitter needs a bit higher.

 

[Globalti]

Why lager? You could save yourself the effort by just bottling dilute urine.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I used to brew all my beer from the malt. It's more difficult than using kits but the results are generally better, especially if you're using cheap kits. As far as I remember, when you "mash" malt (ie steep it at around 66 degrees centigrade for 1 1/2 hours) you release two different sorts of sugar: maltose (which ferments and provides the alcohol) and dextrose (which doesn't ferment but adds body and flavour). A cheap kit will rely on cane sugar for the alcohol and as a result, will be very thin and weedy ... in short, how most people think of home brew. But it's perfectly possible, given a little time, to make CAMRA - quality beer at home, with a relatively small outlay. After all, you can buy all the ingredients that the professional brewers use.
Good luck with your first brew!

 

[Rhythm Thief]

If you are interested in getting in a bit deeper, have a look at Graham Wheeler's books. They're excellent, with lots of recipes and plenty of information on the history and the technicalities of brewing. Just key his name into Amazon, there's loads on there.

 

[Fnaar]

I used homebrew bitter kits when I was a student... must admit I never looked into the technicalities of it (a la Rhythm Thief); I just followed the instructions, found loads of bottles from gawd knows where and waited... (I went out and did other stuff for a few weeks, you understand). It never tasted like 'real' beer, but it mostly hit the spot, and saved me and my flatmates a few bob down the pub...

 

[Over The Hill]

If you are unhappy (and who would not be) paying £3.70 for a beer in a pub then it seems far easier to just buy it in Tesco for about 90p a can. No effort and you get a reasonable drink.

So you save £2.60 per drink (I know most cans are a bit short of a pint).Why then go to such a fuss saving the additional 60p and going for home brew?

The like for like comparison is not home brew v pub price it is home brew v cheapest shop price (Unless your local landlord it happy for you to take your own in to savour the jolly pub atmosphere or get away from the wife for free).

 

[stephec]

I used homebrew bitter kits when I was a student... must admit I never looked into the technicalities of it (a la Rhythm Thief); I just followed the instructions, found loads of bottles from gawd knows where and waited... (I went out and did other stuff for a few weeks, you understand). It never tasted like 'real' beer, but it mostly hit the spot, and saved me and my flatmates a few bob down the pub...

That's me as well. Last time I bought a forty pint kit they were about three quid a time from Boots, and they never tasted as good as cans or bottles of bought beer.

The Boots' barley wine kit I made still gets talked about to this day though, it was lovely, and like rocket fuel.

 

[Cheddar George]

It has crossed my mind to give home brew a go, but then i can pop down the local brewery and get a 36 pint container for just over fifty quid - and that is quality beer (Butcombe).

I am still attracted to trying home brew, if only to save the money going to Alistair Darling, so i might still give it a go.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

The like for like comparison is not home brew v pub price it is home brew v cheapest shop price (Unless your local landlord it happy for you to take your own in to savour the jolly pub atmosphere or get away from the wife for free).

Depends if all you're bothered about is the price. If you want good quality beer cheaply, homebrew (from the malt or quality kits) is a good way to go, if you've got the time.

 

[Sittingduck]

Money isn't the main driver... thought it would be something fun to try and reasonably cheap for a lot of beer

Thanks for all the tips and coments. Will let you know how it turns out (with pics)!

 

[redcogs]

i brew quite often. we have five gallons of bitter ready now, so pop round if you want a glass or two.

Rhythm Thief's advice is sound, the best brews involve from scratch sparging and the likes. That said, it isn't at all essential, and there are plenty of perfectly respectable kits available, some of very fine character indeed.

Try wine making as well - blackberry is absolutely wonderful - freely available 'grapes' from the hedgerow!

Prosit.