Well, just got back from the Hop and Grape in Darlington having spent a few quid on ingredients for my first AG beer.
John was really helpful and gave me loads of advice even though he was obviously run off his feet.
So, as i'm doing this on a budget (read - about £40) a couple of corners are being cut. Namely, I'm using two standard FV's and a budget keg - these were shown to John today and both FV's have been given the all clear by him. It seems as long as they have PP (poly-propelene?) stamped on the bottom they won't leach any nasties into your beer.
Next up is to replace the standard tap to a PP/heat resistant boiler tap.
John is making me a larger hop strainer which I'm also going to use as a grain strainer when mashing. Ok, this may not work, I can see the pit falls but it's worth a try. I did see a large SS serving plate today in Tescos which made me think of using it for a false bottom...
Next up is a couple of kettles courtesy of Tescos - £4.97 a pop. These have been taken apart and the lecky bits removed.
So, John says he should have the hop/grain filter and tap ready for tomorrow. The ingredients are bought - marris otter 4kg, crystal 500g, TW 500g, 2 x so4 yeast and a tub of isinglass, of and a pack of Goldings. These aren't all going into one brew btw.
As long as John has things sorted his end and I can get back through to pick them up I should be doing my first AG tomorrow !!
I will take pics but it will be via my phone so don't expect excellent quality.
Will let you all know how it's going/gone.
Steve.
AG Tomorrow (probably)
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prodigal2
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stevezx7r
Well it looks like todays first AG isn't going to happen.
I've been waiting for the call for John (hop and Grape) to say he has the tap and hop filter but no go as yet.
As it's quite late in the day even if I got the bits now I wouldn't be able to start as the kids will be home from nursery at 5.30 and the last thing I need to be doing is handling v.hot wort with them running around.
So, it looks like it could be either this weekend or next Wednesday.
I've been waiting for the call for John (hop and Grape) to say he has the tap and hop filter but no go as yet.
As it's quite late in the day even if I got the bits now I wouldn't be able to start as the kids will be home from nursery at 5.30 and the last thing I need to be doing is handling v.hot wort with them running around.
So, it looks like it could be either this weekend or next Wednesday.
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stevezx7r
RESULT !!!
OK, no first brew yet but, the most helpfull person in all of beer-dom (that would be John at the H+G) has personally dropped off my hop/grain filter and tap!
So, now i'm in a puzzle - do I - A - start fitting the elements, clean everything and start brewing or - B - leave it 'till tomorrow and start or - C - leave it 'till the weekend when the kids aren't around/the wife can watch them....???
Hmmm....what would Homer do.....
A truck load of Karma to John for going out of his way, if your reading this John, thanks again.
What to do, what to do. Tab time.
OK, no first brew yet but, the most helpfull person in all of beer-dom (that would be John at the H+G) has personally dropped off my hop/grain filter and tap!
So, now i'm in a puzzle - do I - A - start fitting the elements, clean everything and start brewing or - B - leave it 'till tomorrow and start or - C - leave it 'till the weekend when the kids aren't around/the wife can watch them....???
Hmmm....what would Homer do.....
A truck load of Karma to John for going out of his way, if your reading this John, thanks again.
What to do, what to do. Tab time.
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GTOrichie
That's pretty cool for him to drop it off, It amazes me how helpfull people are in the homebrew community.stevezx7r wrote:RESULT !!!
OK, no first brew yet but, the most helpfull person in all of beer-dom (that would be John at the H+G) has personally dropped off my hop/grain filter and tap!
So, now i'm in a puzzle - do I - A - start fitting the elements, clean everything and start brewing or - B - leave it 'till tomorrow and start or - C - leave it 'till the weekend when the kids aren't around/the wife can watch them....???
Hmmm....what would Homer do.....
A truck load of Karma to John for going out of his way, if your reading this John, thanks again.
What to do, what to do. Tab time.
If it was me I would wack your elements in and get it all ready for the big moment, that way you know it's all good to go and one thing less to worry about on the day.
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Horden Hillbilly
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Another good idea is to do a "dry run" first. Set your system up the way that you intend to use it on a brew day to see if there are any problems with your set up or to see if you can set it up a different (better) way.
It is far better to find out of a potential problem before you start brewing.
Nice to see that you received good service from H&G. They have also treated me with service which goes well over what you you would reasonably expect to receive, that is why I keep going back to them.
It is far better to find out of a potential problem before you start brewing.
Nice to see that you received good service from H&G. They have also treated me with service which goes well over what you you would reasonably expect to receive, that is why I keep going back to them.