First-timer questions (I have searched the forum first!)

[Sir Real Ale]

Hi there. I'm just getting into this lark and just have a few specific questions before I commence my first brew. I bought a load of old kit ("what a load of old kit!" ) off Ebay. For £60 incl delivery I got 3 fermentation bins, 1 Ritchie boiler, 2 belt heaters, 1 hydrometer, 3 Boots pressure barrels + 1 Sparklets pressure barrel (with spare Sparklets co2 capsules), various bits of tubing, 1 two-gallon aluminium dixie, 8 icepacks and belt plus insulation quilts for barrel. All soft-brush cleaned only apparently

Anyway - questions:

1) I've read somewhere that equipment should be replaced after 5 yrs or so. The above is much older (although hasn't been used for last 6 yrs or so). Have I got a good deal or should I have bought new?

2) I believe the approach with barrelling is to prime, fill up the barrels, wait, start consuming beer and then only use Sparklets capsules when pressure fails. Is this right? Will it inject all in one go only? Does this mean it is not 'real ale' as per Woodforde's Wherry instruction leaflet?

3) I've also bought Muntons Continental Pilsner - wanted brupacks lager but not in stock at HB shop. It says to ferment at 18-20deg not 12-18 as I've heard should be done with lagers. Is this because the kit has an ale yeast, not a bottom fermenting lager yeast? If so, should I purchase bottom fermenting yeast and use it instead?

4) HB shop guy said "don't rehydrate the yeast" I think because in his many years of experience this is where things can go wrong (with beginners?) - presumably due to infection. He recommends just pitching the dry yeast on top - any thoughts?

5) HB shop guy also wasn't too impressed by soda crystals + thin bleach cleaning approach and sold me some powder cleaner/sanitiser all-in-one jobby that I believe is supplied by Murphy & Son (see link below).

http://www.murphyandson.co.uk/Detergent ... ctants.htm

Am I going to end up regretting using this stuff or, given that I've bought it, should I give it a go and then go for the cheaper alternative next time?

Many thanks in advance.
SRA

[tubby_shaw]

Hi SRA and welcome to the forum
Lets see if I can answer your questions
1. Yes you got a bargain Some of my gear is over 20 years old and still working fine so don't worry about having to replace every 5 years.
2. Yes that's correct.
2a. It depends on the injector unit but those 8g sparklets bulbs normally empty in one shot.
2b. As far as I am aware so long as you are using CO2 for dispense only it is still real ale. If I am wrong do you really care? It will be a great pint brewed by yourself
3. It is possible that it is an ale yeast as 18 - 20 is the ideal range for ales.
It will certainly not hurt to purchase a genuine lager yeast and use that, you will be certain to get a cleaner flavour that way.
4. If you follow Daab's instructions here http://www.18000feet.com/brupaks/my_met ... s_kits.htm you will not go far wrong with making a starter and brewing your kit. Also if you make a starter you will know whether your yeast is viable or not
5. Homebrew guy has a living to make
Use your bought sanitiser, rinse very well, until you cannot smell any trace of chemical and you will be fine.
When you have run out buy soda crystals, cheap thin bleach and Betadine
6. Enjoy yourself

[maxashton]

Lucky bastard on that deal! Wish i'd thought to hit ebay when i started up again a few weeks ago!

Welcome aboard, and so forth!

[Andy]

Honoured to have a Knight of the Realm on our humble site...

From where in Surrey does one hail Sir ?

[Sir Real Ale]

Thankyou all for a warm welcome

Tubby-shaw - thanks for answers - v.helpful.

maxashton - well, I did bide my time and waited until there was kit in my area, but I do consider myself v.lucky (although my parentage is not in question)

Andy - I am Reigate, and am hoping to make some Strange Brew (minus the 'kill what's inside of you' bit) as per the Cream song - hence the 'surreal ale'. Well, I might experiment a bit once I'm in the stride of things anyway

Daab - I have indeed already read both of your articles and am therefore 1 million time more informed than I might have been. Thankyou very much indeed for this and all your other contributions that I have been reading through in the forum. Mr HB didn't like Soda Crystals, but maybe he'd never tried. I certainly trust that they will work - but might as well use the proprietary cleaner/sanitiser that I have got for now (I already purchased the Soda Crystals and Bleach though, hence why I was wondering on people's preferences).

SRA

[Jim]

Yep, Tubby's spot on re question 1 - I have fermenters that I bough in 1975 and they're still going strong.

[jogger321]

Hiya mate..well I got all my barrels down the local recycling shop at the tip for a quid each..(I did check they hadn't been used to store creosote or anything like that before buying) ..If you look on your boots barrels you will see a little circle on the plastic that gives the year of manufacture..I would guess they will be early 80's so nearly 25 years old..not bad eh??

If you stick with the brewing you will get fed up with the sparklets route which is pretty useless..Best route to go is to get a gas cylinder like sodastream or the other ones the h/b shops stock...Sodastream refills can be tricky to source these days..


Home brewing is today one of the best kept secrets around..People don't realise that the quality is so good now with the kits you can make a pint for around 40p.. The problem with h/b is the image from when it was really popular in the 80's and the quality of the kits was abysmal

[StrangeBrew]

Did someone call my name?

Welcome SRA...

Due to the age of your barrels it would be worth replacing all washers and 'O' rings and check tap threads and lids for damage. If needed, these can be bought at your local HBS. Once you're happy all is ok, fill 2/3 full with water and inject a CO2 sparklet to see if the barrel holds pressure. It's best to do this now with water rather than with your 1st brew!

[tubby_shaw]

Did someone call my name?

Welcome SRA...

Due to the age of your barrels it would be worth replacing all washers and 'O' rings and check tap threads and lids for damage. If needed, these can be bought at your local HBS. Once you're happy all is ok, fill 2/3 full with water and inject a CO2 sparklet to see if the barrel holds pressure. It's best to do this now with water rather than with your 1st brew!

Although I agree absolutely with what SB has just written, don't be too alarmed if it seems that your barrel has sprung a leak overnight
What I am trying to say is that plain water will absorb the CO2 that you inject and if it is cold it will be absorbed quickly which can give the impression that you have a leak
It can also be a PITA as the pressure drop caused may cause the lid to jam on tight
This has happened to me and it took me a while and a lot of heaving grunting and swearing before my feeble brain kicked in and I opened the tap to let the air in and equalise the pressure

[Sir Real Ale]

Good point about o-rings etc, definitely worth checking before I commence. Will also test the pressure, noting the possible problems.

Did have a quick look this morning for date of barrels but could not find little circle - only big circle at the front with Boots sticker on it - no date. Maybe a more thorough inspection when I'm not late for work is the thing to do. My guess is early eighties as well.

One final question then:

I don't want to blow a whole brew because of leaky barrel etc, so was thinking of bottling some of the 40 pints the kit will make. But how much should I be looking to bottle so there is still enough in the barrel to create adequate pressure?

[maxashton]

when i split between bottles and barrel, i generally bottle a gallon or so.

[tubby_shaw]

I personally would not want to put much less than 15 litres in a 25 litre keg without purging with CO2 first.
There will be a lot of ullage (air space above the beer) in the barrel and it will take the vast majotity of your priming sugar to build up to pressure for dispence if you go lower than 15 litres.