Lord Geordie Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 I am thinking of buying myself a home brew setup for my Birthday and want to go the whole hog. I have seen the fermenting bin and the pressure barrel etc. I have found a few kits to start off with (norfolk ale "Wherry") sounds nice and a few others. What I want to ask is about Bottling! I have seen a pack of 6 brown glass bottles for sale for about £3.50 and the capping tool and caps for about £7 IIRC What I want to know is are the tops of ALL beer bottles the same size such as (brown ale) or the bottles like Speckled hen and bishops finger and spitfire etc?? I want to know as I can get a lot of these locally from people I know and if they are all the same it will save a bit of money on bottles. I am also thinking of giving the wines a bash too as the GF likes a nice bottle of wine now and then. Anyone brew their own ales etc and if so are there any nice ale kits to try? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluke2 Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 http://www.wine-on-line.com/ this isnt far from you pretty good and wilkinsons at chester le street sell the cheapest bottles and caps,my brother uses the wine bottles with the dimple in the base for beers and wines both the caps and corks fit he raids peoples recycle bins for them . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holly Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 just ask your local to save you magners bottles 1 pint crown corkers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holly Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 forgot to mention wine google wurzels orange wine its the bees been brewing it for the last 3 yrs 42 p a bottle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty_Harvo Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 Hi mate, When I brewed wine over the Christmas I just got my empties from our local and gave them a wash and sterilised them before use, put them to one side for the next Easter batch. But am planning on brewing some ale for me and cider for the misses so keep me updated on how it goes Cheers Matty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 Pressure barrels, thats the way forward, that way you don`t have the problems with sediment in each and every bottle you just get a couple of pints in the barrel that are tainted. However if you don`t want to go down that route, try getting a hold of grolsch bottles and the like evn if the rubber tops are perished you can buy them cheaply. Woodefords wherry is a great starting point, just don`t go down the route of cheap kits that require sugar to be added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 try geordie brew, when you get it right its as good as any home brew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 (edited) try geordie brew, when you get it right its as good as any home brew. :no: Why can you get an ENHANCER KIT for Geordie kits but not for Woodefordes etc ? With the twin can kits you don`t need sugar or malts to get the alcohol or flavour Edited February 26, 2011 by henry d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 LG Yes, the bottle tops are all the same size. Make sure you go for brown bottles, as these give the beer a measure of protection against sunlight. Clear or green bottles do not, and you will end up with that "skunked" flavour that you often get in cheap lager. H is right about the kits, the Woodefordes ones are superior to just about anything else out there. You can make decent enough beer with the other kits and kit enhancers, but even then the enhancer is 50% brewing sugar, which will lead to "thin" tasting beer and dreadful hangovers. If you do decide eventually to get a pressure barrel (I have 4 ), take my advice and take the time to prep it before putting beer in it. Use very fint sandpaper to make sure the lip of the hole at the top is completely smooth. Unscrew the tap at the bottom and put some plumbers tape on the thread, and then refit it. Put vaseline on the o-ring in the lid, and on the threads of the cap. Nowadays they all come with a fitted inlet for adding gas. Get one of the gas cylinders and pressurise the empty barrel and leave it over night. If it still holds its pressure by morning, it is ready to put your beer in. The other absolute neccessity when brewing is cleanliness. Everything that the beer is going to come into contact with (except your glass) MUST be sterilised with something like VWP. Without wanting to sound like an alchy, I do lots of brewing. If you (or anybody else for that matter) needs any help or advice, feel free to pm me at any time. Happy brewing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 I'm with Zapp on this, Woodfordes kits are leagues ahead of the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeoncatcher Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 hi i brew my own beer would not use a kit .make mine from malt extract brown surger . well worth buying a book by c.j.j.berry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 I wouldnt touch the beer recipes in the C J J Berry book with a barge pole. If you are looking at advancing from kits to partial mash or all grain, then there is only one book and that is "Brew Your Own British Real Ale" by Graham Wheeler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highseas Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 i dont do much beer brewing now but do have a pressure cooker pocheen still i decant that into pickled egg jars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricko Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 For bottling i use empty (and sterilised) plastic 2 litre fizzy drinks bottles, have done for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 LG Yes, the bottle tops are all the same size. Make sure you go for brown bottles, as these give the beer a measure of protection against sunlight. Clear or green bottles do not, and you will end up with that "skunked" flavour that you often get in cheap lager. H is right about the kits, the Woodefordes ones are superior to just about anything else out there. You can make decent enough beer with the other kits and kit enhancers, but even then the enhancer is 50% brewing sugar, which will lead to "thin" tasting beer and dreadful hangovers. If you do decide eventually to get a pressure barrel (I have 4 ), take my advice and take the time to prep it before putting beer in it. Use very fint sandpaper to make sure the lip of the hole at the top is completely smooth. Unscrew the tap at the bottom and put some plumbers tape on the thread, and then refit it. Put vaseline on the o-ring in the lid, and on the threads of the cap. Nowadays they all come with a fitted inlet for adding gas. Get one of the gas cylinders and pressurise the empty barrel and leave it over night. If it still holds its pressure by morning, it is ready to put your beer in. The other absolute neccessity when brewing is cleanliness. Everything that the beer is going to come into contact with (except your glass) MUST be sterilised with something like VWP. Without wanting to sound like an alchy, I do lots of brewing. If you (or anybody else for that matter) needs any help or advice, feel free to pm me at any time. Happy brewing Cheers Zap (pun intended) Went to visit a Micro Brewery today (friend of a friend) who makes ales etc and has a few on tap in some pubs. Had a few samples Man some of it was amazing. I was doing a bit of snooping etc and he can get the alloy mini casks that hold about 8 pints IIRC and can get them for me for about £3.50 each if I decided to use a few for a get together. I would LOVE to eventually make a Beer from scratch from the mash right through to the bottling. Thanks again and IF I need any info I will give you a hollar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Cheers Zap (pun intended) Went to visit a Micro Brewery today (friend of a friend) who makes ales etc and has a few on tap in some pubs. Had a few samples Man some of it was amazing. I was doing a bit of snooping etc and he can get the alloy mini casks that hold about 8 pints IIRC and can get them for me for about £3.50 each if I decided to use a few for a get together. I would LOVE to eventually make a Beer from scratch from the mash right through to the bottling. Thanks again and IF I need any info I will give you a hollar No worries Making beer from grain looks very involved, but is in fact easy peasy. I can talk you through it when you decide to take the plunge. If you are good at making stuff you can build your own boiler, mashtun and wort chiller yourself for about £40. All Grain brewing is also much cheaper than the kits. The initial outlay on equipment aside, I am probably paying about 20-25p per pint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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