[Wooden Spoon]

Thinking of starting to brew my own.


No idea where to start - back in the day I bought one of those kits and to be honest it really wasn?t very good.


Anyone brew their own? What do you make? How do you do it? How?s the quality? And any tips for a total novice?

[Paragon of Virtue]

To start I would give the malt extract kit another go, they have proper full cone hops in now so will be probably be better than what you remember. The Love Brewing shop that was on Chatsworth Road has a website still so that's where I would get something from.

Additionally you'll need all the stuff here: https://www.lovebrew...e-starter-pack/ and a plastic barrel to transfer it to for secondary fermentation and to let it clear.

If you're happy with that, it's definitely worth having a go with full mash, you can get kits for this too. It's similar to the malt extract except you're mashing in the grains with the hops and it will require you to boil them, similarly to an actual brewery. You can get expensive vessels for this which are better at controlling the temperature as you don't want it too hot, but I managed it on the hob with a thermometer and a big pot.

Finally you'll need something to store the beer in, I find it better to bottle as I can never drink the whole barrel in time. You can buy swing top bottles but I find it best to save any glass bottles, sterilise and cap them myself.

[hilly81]

Wooden Spoon, on 21 January 2025 - 09:41 AM, said:

Thinking of starting to brew my own.


No idea where to start - back in the day I bought one of those kits and to be honest it really wasn?t very good.


Anyone brew their own? What do you make? How do you do it? How?s the quality? And any tips for a total novice?

Don't write off the kits. They have come a long way over the years. I have given up the booze so don't brew anymore but I made some really excellent ales and ciders using kits. Made some alcoholic ginger beer as well which was genuinely delicious. As PoV says, get yourself a starter kit and give it a go. Have a look on eBay and Facebook Marketplace for 2nd hand kit as there is always people selling stuff and you can probably get a really good deal.

Best advice I would have, don't scrimp on the cleaning and sanitising and patience is key when brewing!

This post has been edited by hilly81: 21 January 2025 - 10:23 AM

[Holmesc1]

Boyes do home brew equipment form the vessels to bottles etc and even do the kits like non branded bitter, lager, stout etc to even ones by named breweries like Woodforde's of norfolk. Would love to do home brew myself if i had the room, i have a blade machine which is good for lager but no bitter sadly

[Wooden Spoon]

Thanks I will look at a kit then

[RN Blue]

Mate of mine has a still, makes all his own spirits for about ?4 a litre. His schnapps, vodka, gin, rum and Port are top line.

If ever his garage goes alight we may have to evacuate the village.