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Guest cookoff013

Bit of advice needed please.

 

I'm just about to start brewing 40 pints of 5% apple cider from a cheapo kit of juice concentrate which says to add 1.5kg of sugar.

 

I'd like to jazz it up a bit and was thinking of making a type of cider/mead combo and upping the alcohol level a by 1 or 2%. Would I be better off substituting some or all of the sugar for honey the start of the ferment, or fermenting it as usual with brewing sugar then adding in some honey near the end of the process to keep the fermentation going and give it some extra flavour? When finished I'll be decanting the brew into a pressure barrel and letting it sit for 2-3 months or as long as I can resist it.

 

Thanks.

 

google it, i just did because i`ve never had / tasted honey cider...

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Honey is a funny ingredient to brew with - it tends to ferment all the way out and leave you with no "honey" character, and what is there gets swamped by the flavour of the beer or cider, just strength. You need a lot of honey to water in a mead for example to get honey character above the mead flavour.

 

I know that when the big boys make a "honey" beer, the honey flavour comes as a non fermentable flavouring. Give it a go though, you never know. You could have a go at making a dry cider (not hard) and then adding honey but arresting fermentation with a campden tablet at the right point to give you character and balancing sweetness (very hard).

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That's helpful - thanks.

 

Honey is a funny ingredient to brew with - it tends to ferment all the way out and leave you with no "honey" character, and what is there gets swamped by the flavour of the beer or cider, just strength. You need a lot of honey to water in a mead for example to get honey character above the mead flavour.

 

I know that when the big boys make a "honey" beer, the honey flavour comes as a non fermentable flavouring. Give it a go though, you never know. You could have a go at making a dry cider (not hard) and then adding honey but arresting fermentation with a campden tablet at the right point to give you character and balancing sweetness (very hard).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Honey is a funny ingredient to brew with - it tends to ferment all the way out and leave you with no "honey" character, and what is there gets swamped by the flavour of the beer or cider, just strength. You need a lot of honey to water in a mead for example to get honey character above the mead flavour.

 

I know that when the big boys make a "honey" beer, the honey flavour comes as a non fermentable flavouring. Give it a go though, you never know. You could have a go at making a dry cider (not hard) and then adding honey but arresting fermentation with a campden tablet at the right point to give you character and balancing sweetness (very hard).

 

This is my exact experience, I did a honey type all grain ale a while back and there was no taste of honey whatsoever. The yeast strips it right out and you end up with a higher alcohol content but no honey flavour.

 

Might try again at some point but I think the only way to get the honey flavour might be to cheat.

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Hi All,

I was on the cusp of joining the home brew forum when i noticed this thread so i don't think i will bother for now as some PW brewers look rather skilled. I tried brewing about 15 years ago but i wasn't really interested in the brewing just the beer, that combined with a house with a poor temperature lead to complete failure. In my current house i have much more favourable conditions and am interested in mastering the process of brewing some quality ales, not just drinking them!

 

So...

On Thursday(10/3) i began a woodfordes sundew kit, as kits seem to be the best place to start with learning the basics and it seems to be where most people start. I followed a combination of the instructions on the box and some tweeks i have picked up from various web sources which were brewing short(2 litres) and using a better yeast(muntons gervin). 3 days in my fermentation vessel has been sitting between 19-21 degrees celcius and fermentation is well underway, from the outside of my FV i appear to have about 15mm of krausen(?) and my air lock is bubbling away happily, the bubbles have slowed considerably but are still going as i write. The contents seems to be lightening up in colour in the FV as it ferments.

 

During the process so far i have discovered my first mistake, in my excitement on brewday i forgot to take the OG reading so am brewing blind at the moment, my plan is to wait for the bubbling to stop and then wait until i reach the 3 day consistent SG reading before transferring to barrel, Does this sound ok??

 

Also another tweek i intend to use is the substitution of priming sugar for DME, i have seen differing opinions on how to use DME, am i correct in thinking i substitute gram for gram? so between 50-80g for a 5 gallon barrel?

 

All responses and help is gratefully received and i look forward to contributing to this thread during this and future brews. And picking brains further.....

 

Cheers and happy brewing

 

Ollie

 

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Guest cookoff013

I don't bother taking og readings.

Usually ferment for 14 days big brew or 10 for a normal.

 

I would use sugar for bottling.

 

DME and sugar are not interchangeable gram for gram.

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Your process is sound Ollie, no drama with not taking the readings. It's nice to when brewing all grain as it's an indication that what you're doing is correct. Plus it's just nice to know where you're at with the final abv. I'm sure you'll have an idea after drinking a few pints :-)

Can't help with the dme for priming sorry, I'd normally go with the standard half teaspoon for 500ml if bottling or 80g per 5 gallon as you mention. Using white granulated sugar. Used priming drops in the bottle with success too, only one drop per 500ml though as I don't like it too fizzy.

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  • 9 months later...

I have been brewing for years, normally with satisfactory results!

 

Regarding you post OllieOllie, I also dont bother with OG readings used to, but just now kind of throw it all in and it normally works. My advice is dont stray to far from the instructions on a kit, I have tried various things to beer kits including dry hopping, different types of DME, brew enhancer etc etc. I found that my best brews are often the ones I have thought least about, just started drinking a simple Tom Caxton best bitter that has been in the King Keg for a couple of months. It is excellent whilst probably not as good as an all grain brewer would get its a damn sight better than most of the commercial ales that you buy in tins or bottles in the supermarket! I like the keg far more than bottling, as its easier the bottling process is a pain in the **** to me and I like to be able to pull of a few pints from the keg as and when needed. I used normal tap water for this one and a box of Coopers medium Brew Enhancer I bought from Wilkinsons, the only thing I would advise not scrimping on is sanitation, I have had a few foul tasting brews mainly because I have rushed the cleaning process. So its lots of boiling water and no rinse steriliser for me when I start a brew off. I have done the Woodfordes kits before but not the Sundew I had great results with their Wherry beer that is a top notch pint!

 

I would also highly recommend the St Peter's kits they have also worked very well for me, but if I want a cheap brew I often knock up a Tom Caxton Best Bitter to make sure I always have a keg or two ready in the garage!

 

Never cared much for any of the Coopers kits I have done, but thats just personal taste.

 

Good luck!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have often contemplated having a go at home brewing but never had the time to give it a go, can anyone recommend a really good first starter kit that will introduce me to the world of brewing with a nice tasting end product. Also to the pros here can you also recommend a forum dedicated to brewing that is new user friendly?

 

Many thanks and look forward to reading the reply's

 

Jamie

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Kitwise, I know that the Woodfords range is excellent, especially the Wherry - its a long time since I kit brewed though so I'll have a word with my mate who runs a homebrew store to see what's good now.

In terms of forums, jimsbeerkit is a good one, and there are lots of good US forums.

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Guest cookoff013

just buy a 2 can kit, its well worth it. for that extra tenner, it gives you more options than a can and bag of sugar.

 

i learned from books and my mate.

the one thing that he told me is, to aerate the wort, make the yeast multiply and dominate the culture.

 

essentially, we drink yeast poo.

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Kitwise, I know that the Woodfords range is excellent, especially the Wherry - its a long time since I kit brewed though so I'll have a word with my mate who runs a homebrew store to see what's good now.

In terms of forums, jimsbeerkit is a good one, and there are lots of good US forums.

+1 for the Woodfordes Wherry kits one of the best beers I have ever brewed. Also for a single can kit the Tom Caxton Best Bitter is great, but use 1KG of medium spray malt instead of sugar for the fermentables.

 

I agree though that the 2 can kits (like the Wherry) deliver a far better beer.

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+1 for the Wherry - Absolutely idiot proof!!

 

Avoid the ones in Wilkos that promise drinkable booze in 14 days - They turn out exactly how they sound!!

 

The Brewferm kits are good for Continental Beers, Festival and Muntons for ales and there's a new lot doing the rounds called American Ales that will give you an APA.

 

Big shout out for the Magnum cider kits as well - Really tasty and serveable cider

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Cheers all so far, also as i use youtube for every hobby i take on is there any particular good channels to watch? I ran a 400ltr marine tank with amazing sps corals with the help of youtube for many years...

 

How does this kit look? is this what i should be looking at?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Woodfordes-Micro-Brewery-Home-Brew-Real-Ale-Beer-Kits-FULL-RANGE-/281165850292?var=&hash=item4176ca66b4:m:mVH20_pmQ_rd6nAUlz64-aQ

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You can stop Welton Hurst kegs leaking with ptfe tape on the threaded parts. In my opinion they are the best of the plastic pressure kegs, having used a few kinds.

I've never had any joy with a pressure keg getting more than a pint out at a time without loosening the top off and letting air in, there by shortening the life of the barrel. Even when they're gassed up, you pull out a couple of pints and it all stops until everything equalises. I've switched to cony kegs now and bottle some as well, but you ever had a decent solution?

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I've never had any joy with a pressure keg getting more than a pint out at a time without loosening the top off and letting air in, there by shortening the life of the barrel. Even when they're gassed up, you pull out a couple of pints and it all stops until everything equalises. I've switched to cony kegs now and bottle some as well, but you ever had a decent solution?

 

I bought caps with S20 valves allowing me to re-gas as the pressure dropped. There is also some fettling that can be done by gently glass-papering the top of the neck of the barrel to eliminate any high points to generate a better seal.

 

I now use cornelius kegs too and agree that they are by far the best way of storing and serving homebrew.

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  • 1 year later...

Hi

Im just looking to start out and trying to decide what starter kits to buy..

How long does beer last in pressurised barrels? (I can’t drink 40 pints over a weekend anymore) I’m thinking bottles may be the way forward? Any ideas how ling beer can live in bottles? 

Bizarely by fluke I picked up a Wherry Kit and St. Peter’s kit on my recent travels so it sounds like the wherry is the best one to start with

Can I brew in the garage or is it too cold?..

Im interested in starting due to the economics and variety available 

Thanks

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