First time home brewer

[Stekings]

I was searching on the internet about my plan to brew my own beer. I have no idea where to start and am hoping this forum will give me some suggestions.

What brew kit should I buy cause there is a whole range of them out there with dfferent prices etc.....

How can i brew in winter? people tell me it is not a good idea to start brewing in winter...

any suggestions and ideas will be good

[ashy]

Steks,
as per the email I suggest anybody interested in buying a home brew kit this time of year is too hold off for a month as there are always specials out for fathers days. Coopers always have specials on their kits which includes everything you need for a start kit right down to a batch of pet bottles. I think in SA you can pick them up for around the 60 buck mark this time of year. Home brew shops are great for ideas, info and special ingredients but are a bit pricey on their home brew kits.

As for brewing in winter there are no problems. I live in the South east of SA which can get F#$^*&g cold at this time of year but I have no problems. With a heat belt for 40 bucks it keeps the brew at a good temp.

Good luck

Ashy

[Quentin]

Hi Stekings

I've just got into the homebrewing caper, too & have done 6 brews so far and all have turned out superbly.

I bought myself a Brewcraft "Multipurpose heating panel for the homebrewer" and it works really well. Have even had to turn it off during the day on occasions. When it's been really frigid at night, I've just wrapped a towel around the fermenter and with the heat pad going evereything has been working just fine.

Hope it goes well

Cheers

[Oliver]

Hi Stekings,

It's a good suggestion by Ashy to hold off until Father's Day for the specials around that time.

If I was to suggest a micro-brew kit to purchase, I'd recommend the Cooper's kit, which has a lot going for it, not least of which is a superb fermenter. As Ashy says, it also includes everything you need to make your first brew.

One good way to go about brewing in winter is to brew lagers, which will ferment down to 12C or so. Ale yeasts, which come with most cans of concentrate including many "lagers", stop working much below 18C. But if you use a lager yeast you can avoid the need for a heater if you can keep the fermenter inside, wrapped in a blanket and somewhere relatively warm.

I can tell you confidently that Cooper's Pilsner, Cooper's Thomas Cooper's Heritage Lager and Goldrush Pilsner come with a true lager yeast. If you want to brew another beer and you're not sure about the yeast, just buy a sachet of lager yeast such as Saflager and use that instead of the yeast that comes with the can. There's no reason you can't brew any beer with a lager yeast; it's just that the flavour will be less fruity and the body a bit lighter than if brewed with an ale yeast.

Importantly, also remember that yeasts work slower the colder it is, and thus your beer could take two weeks or more to ferment if it is down around 12C with a true lager yeast (it will never ferment with an ale yeast at these temperatures!).

Cheers,

Oliver

[morry]

Yep, I would also recommend the Coopers kit. Ive seen several other kits sold by brew shops which are more expensive but dont really give you anything extra. The coopers kit gives you EVERYTHING you need to brew. Enjoy!