Hi everyone, just joined the forum recently and i've spent hours reading through it, what a great resource of information it is!
I've brewed a couple wines recently and now im set on doing a beer/ale and just had a couple questions.
I was looking at the Geordie kits in Wilkinsons, seeing as they're only a fiver each, and also the Edme ones and the Tom Caxton real ale. Which range would i be best buying from? are the Geordie kits rubbish? just wondered because of the low price.
I've noticed they also sell "beerkit enhancer", is that to use aswell as sugar, or as a replacement to sugar?
Finally, from what i've read, using regular sugar seems to be a no go on here! what should i use instead when making one of the above kits? and how bad would it be to use regular sugar?
Any other tips would be appreciated!
Thanks
First timer - few questions
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DEV
Hello and welcome
Don't be put off by the price of geordie kits, their all good for the price, I have used other kits to compare, and find that geordie are better than some kits that cost over twice as much, I started off brewing from kits as per instuctions and had good results, then brewing kits by adding enhancers instead of sugar, spray malts instead of sugar or both, then exstract brewing, then onto all grain, using everyones advice from this forum and jims beer kit site and links.
I hav'nt had to post for questions really because others have been asking all the stuff I need to know, but without this site I would'nt have had a clue. My advice would be to use a kit as per instructions for 1st brew, you will be impressed, so move on to adding spray malts, hops ect, for your following brews.
good luck
Don't be put off by the price of geordie kits, their all good for the price, I have used other kits to compare, and find that geordie are better than some kits that cost over twice as much, I started off brewing from kits as per instuctions and had good results, then brewing kits by adding enhancers instead of sugar, spray malts instead of sugar or both, then exstract brewing, then onto all grain, using everyones advice from this forum and jims beer kit site and links.
I hav'nt had to post for questions really because others have been asking all the stuff I need to know, but without this site I would'nt have had a clue. My advice would be to use a kit as per instructions for 1st brew, you will be impressed, so move on to adding spray malts, hops ect, for your following brews.
good luck
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5thelement
Hi Dev,
Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. I think i'll do as you said, just start with a basic kit and follow the instructions for the first one and keep reading the forum in the meantime and bulk up my knowledge for the next brew!
From what i gather it looks as though the beerkit enhancer is to be used instead of sugar, so if anything i might replace the sugar with that (assuming im correct)
Thanks again
p.s
Is it recommended i use spring water rather than straight tap water? or can you treat the water with a campden tablet to reduce any ill effects? or am i simply being too over cautious?
Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. I think i'll do as you said, just start with a basic kit and follow the instructions for the first one and keep reading the forum in the meantime and bulk up my knowledge for the next brew!
From what i gather it looks as though the beerkit enhancer is to be used instead of sugar, so if anything i might replace the sugar with that (assuming im correct)
Thanks again
p.s
Is it recommended i use spring water rather than straight tap water? or can you treat the water with a campden tablet to reduce any ill effects? or am i simply being too over cautious?
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sparky Paul
Yep, Beer Kit Enhancer (or better still, spraymalt) is a straight replacement for the sugar.
Personally, I don't like to add anything I don't need, so I think it's a case of suck it and see...
I never treat my tap water and have none of the problems that some others have. The quality of your tap water, and its suitability for brewing, seems to vary a lot, and depend whereabouts in the country you are... having sampled some of the tap water around the country, I'm not surprised people have problems.5thelement wrote:Is it recommended i use spring water rather than straight tap water? or can you treat the water with a campden tablet to reduce any ill effects? or am i simply being too over cautious?
Personally, I don't like to add anything I don't need, so I think it's a case of suck it and see...
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5thelement
Water here seems okay i guess i'll go ahead with it.
The mrs just got home and had a surprise for me, she went into Wilkos and got me the Geordie Scottish Export kit, so it looks like that's going to be my first beer! i'll probably pickup the beer kit enhancer to use though instead of regular sugar, can only make it better i guess.
Looking forward to getting the bucket now and getting it started
The mrs just got home and had a surprise for me, she went into Wilkos and got me the Geordie Scottish Export kit, so it looks like that's going to be my first beer! i'll probably pickup the beer kit enhancer to use though instead of regular sugar, can only make it better i guess.
Looking forward to getting the bucket now and getting it started
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MMBrewing
Thats a nice kit - it was the second i brewed and i pretty much followed the instructions to the letter (used the beer kit enhancer as well) I racked it off into a keg for a few days after the fermentation was done, added 50g of caster sugar to about a pint of the beer and then bottled the lot. It took about 6 weeks to be at its best but was drinkable from week 4.
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5thelement
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opentoideas
I have always just used sugar for my kit brews (and the cheapest available kit) and it has been a perfectly good pint - certainly far better than the rubbish many city pubs serve!
Having said that, after reading all the posts on here I am now experimenting with spray malt. at the moment I have just started drinking a Geordie bitter made with sugar which is my baseline for comparison
from the taste I had after fermantation, substituting the sugar for malt extract has produced a noticably richer beer. I am lookig forward to it having conditioned enough to compare the 2 side by side as although it seems like an improvement it over doubles the cost but early results seem to make it worth it in my mind.
as others have said try each option, sugar - taste how the kit says to brew it, beer enhancer - see if you like/notice the difference and if you like the difference, all spray malt (beer enhancer is about 50:50 spray malt and brewing sugar).
half of the fun of brewing is the experimentation
Having said that, after reading all the posts on here I am now experimenting with spray malt. at the moment I have just started drinking a Geordie bitter made with sugar which is my baseline for comparison
from the taste I had after fermantation, substituting the sugar for malt extract has produced a noticably richer beer. I am lookig forward to it having conditioned enough to compare the 2 side by side as although it seems like an improvement it over doubles the cost but early results seem to make it worth it in my mind.
as others have said try each option, sugar - taste how the kit says to brew it, beer enhancer - see if you like/notice the difference and if you like the difference, all spray malt (beer enhancer is about 50:50 spray malt and brewing sugar).
half of the fun of brewing is the experimentation
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5thelement
Thanks for the advice, i think i'll stick with the enhancer for the first one and use that as my base, even the cost of the Geordie kit and the beer enhancer still only works out to be 19 pence a pint lol so no big deal really cost wise.
I see you have some corni kegs aswell, damn do those look tempting or what! must resist...
I see you have some corni kegs aswell, damn do those look tempting or what! must resist...
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opentoideas
the price is for the most part not an issue, I think you would be hard pressed to spend supermarket prices per pint on home brewed beer let alone pub prices5thelement wrote:Thanks for the advice, i think i'll stick with the enhancer for the first one and use that as my base, even the cost of the Geordie kit and the beer enhancer still only works out to be 19 pence a pint lol so no big deal really cost wise.
I see you have some corni kegs aswell, damn do those look tempting or what! must resist...
for me (tight ar#ed Jock
) its more is the extra cost worth it - georgie kit + sugar + ~£6, georgie kit + DME =~£12what I am hoping to find out is not so much if its better (I am fairly certain of that) but is it 2x as good? if not then perhaps I will try a 2 tin kit which is naturaly going to be more expensive, but will it be better?
so many options to play with
- and even the worst still result in 40 pints of beer 
the cornies are nice - the more I use them the more I am liking them. they are expensive with all the extra bits you need to get started but once you have the gas and taps its cheap and easy to add capacity...........
only problem is you will never have enough
best of luck with your first brew
let us know how you get on-
5thelement
Tight arse jock here aswell lol exiled in Liverpool :p
Where about are you? im from Edinburgh originally.
Fair enough about the extra cost, i'd usually just use sugar myself but after reading some posts here i started to think twice about it, but im sure it would turn out fine eitherway.
Corni kegs sound good, i'll resist the temptation for now though lol
Cheers
Where about are you? im from Edinburgh originally.
Fair enough about the extra cost, i'd usually just use sugar myself but after reading some posts here i started to think twice about it, but im sure it would turn out fine eitherway.
Corni kegs sound good, i'll resist the temptation for now though lol
Cheers
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scott6
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opentoideas
5thelement wrote:Tight arse jock here aswell lol exiled in Liverpool :p
Where about are you? im from Edinburgh originally.
Cheers
in exile too!Montrose origonaly and Bristol now
always had to worry about heating brews back home but down here have found cooling to be more important
never thought that would be a problem 
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evilsoc
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fivetide
Quick doable tips to guarantee better kit results:
- Clean and sanitise everything that's going to touch your beer and rinse more than seems reasonable in hot and cold
- Half a campden in your liquer
- Aerate as much as your arms will allow and then a bit more
- Rehydrate your yeast or make a quick starter and paddle in after pitching
- Ferment for 10 days minimum at constant temperature in right range
- When barrelled or bottled, condition for a week at same temp as ferment then a further four weeks minimum at a cooler temperature (more for beer above 1.040, an extra week at least per .010)
- The longer you leave it (within reason) the better it will be, otherwise only the last pints will be up to scratch
- Fresh hop addition either at the start for depth/bitterness or in the barrel for flavour will always improve basic kits
- Keep all your vessels out of sunlight or put in black bin bags
-Get another kit on as soon as you have put this one out to condition. A pipeline of beer stops you fiddling with the conditioning ones!
- Clean and sanitise everything that's going to touch your beer and rinse more than seems reasonable in hot and cold
- Half a campden in your liquer
- Aerate as much as your arms will allow and then a bit more
- Rehydrate your yeast or make a quick starter and paddle in after pitching
- Ferment for 10 days minimum at constant temperature in right range
- When barrelled or bottled, condition for a week at same temp as ferment then a further four weeks minimum at a cooler temperature (more for beer above 1.040, an extra week at least per .010)
- The longer you leave it (within reason) the better it will be, otherwise only the last pints will be up to scratch
- Fresh hop addition either at the start for depth/bitterness or in the barrel for flavour will always improve basic kits
- Keep all your vessels out of sunlight or put in black bin bags
-Get another kit on as soon as you have put this one out to condition. A pipeline of beer stops you fiddling with the conditioning ones!