Home Brew Noob

[Guru]

I use an old fridge that isn't turned on. I put containers of ice in it each day to try and keep the temp down. Unfortunately, this isn't really adequate when the temp gets above 40deg. Luckily the last week here has been 30 or less so have had a brew in fermenting, wasn't game to do one prior to that when it was over 40 for a few days.

[Troy Destroy]

Found a cheap fridge (apparently working) with measurements 1535mm x 585mm. Any idea if this would be big enough to fit a standard, plastic, fermenter in?

[Mad Dog]

Ought to do nicely if my mm to inches is correct. That ought to be about 23" wide. A six gallon carboy is about 14"

[emnpaul]

Should do the job nicely. Working fridge gives you the option of fitting a Temp Mate to accurately control your ferment temperature, if finances allow, or failing that a plug in timer to cycle your fridge. Any spare space could be used to keep your beer cool.

[Troy Destroy]

I bottled the brew on 21st of December & cracked the first one around 4th January. Tried it again on the 11th and still a bit cidery/green. Going to leave it for a few more weeks before trying again. Ended up with 30 tallies full and found a home for them on tiles under the laundry sink as swmbo didn't like the idea of a fridge.

Thinking of doing up a stout so it will be ready for winter as my second brew. Recipe calls for cracked roasted barley. Anyone used this with a kit before that might have some tips?

[Flux]

Have a read of this http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter13.html subject should help you along nicely, infact if I could offer advice buy the whole book it will absolutely help you in the direction you are seeking.
Best of luck.

[Oliver]

Hi Troy,

The main thing is not to overdo it. Adding too much of any of these specialty grains can easily ruin a beer.

Start with, say, 250g of roasted barley. You might also want to think about doing a combination of chocolate malt, black malt and roasted barley.

If you do a search you'll find a few threads with others' experiences. Even the all-grain recipes you'll find will give you an idea about quantities.

I assume you were thinking about starting with a stout kit? The other option is to use a Coopers Lager kit or other lightly hopped kit as the base then add some grain and hops to achieve a stout.

Cheers,

Oliver