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[waspy]

As above? I thought i'd have a go, it's something i've never done before & i quite fancy making my own
Just something simple for  someone simple :-?
Can you also recommend where to buy one from for a good price, i can't say i've ever noticed any whilst out n about :-/

Help appreciated

[Jimbob]

Wilko's sell all the gear.

Never done it 'properly' though

[bob.dent]

Done the beer making thing when I was younger and I think I got the kits from Boots, but don't know if they still do them.

Last time I tried it I thought I'd add a bit of extra sugar to increase the alcohol content, then once it was bottled I put them in my Mum's airing cupboard to ferment. Trouble is, the extra sugar made the fermentation process a bit lively and blew the tops off the bottles. Mother wasn't too happy about all the clean washing that was in there ended up soaked in beer.  [smiley=evil.gif]

[waspy]

Uhm I know what you mean Bob. My parents made some Elderberry wine when i was a kid & that did the same
Thanx Jimbob, i'll have a look in Wilcos

[waspy]

Just had a butches on Wilcos site & it looks promising, they sell the stuff
I can almost taste it

Thanx Jimbob again

[Jimbob]

No worries, often wander round wehn I want something, always a rack dedicated to it all, wine and beer mixes, casks, bottles, pipes, gas demijohns the works!

[Tony H]

I've made home brew for a number of years and found that Geordie or Unican lagers are good. It's all down to personal taste though. Once you've found on you like you can "tweek" it by increasing or de-creasing the sugar to alter the flavour and alchohol content
Tony H junior likes a drop of cider now and again so we have been experimenting with home brewed cider using the cartoned apple juice and it work a treat. It tastes very dry though however a splash of lemonade makes it very palatable.
The one thing that is very important with home brew be it wine beer or cider is everything need to be scrupulously clean to prevent contamination of the brew.
As for bottles I find that the plastic ones that have held carbonated drinks are ideal as they will withstand the high pressure created with the secondary fermentation.

[Andy B]

It always seems to be a dear do when we go there. SWMBO will say something like ...'we only need a ??' then when you get the trolley to the till, it's overflowing with bits and pieces that she's seen on the way round.
We have the same thing at Costco!  :-?      

[Kevin Wood]

Done the beer making thing when I was younger and I think I got the kits from Boots, but don't know if they still do them.

Last time I tried it I thought I'd add a bit of extra sugar to increase the alcohol content, then once it was bottled I put them in my Mum's airing cupboard to ferment. Trouble is, the extra sugar made the fermentation process a bit lively and blew the tops off the bottles. Mother wasn't too happy about all the clean washing that was in there ended up soaked in beer.  [smiley=evil.gif]

Been there, done that, only my mate's dog was mad enough to drink it.

Got one of these for Christmas the other year. http://www.brew-it-yourself.co.uk/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=47

You can do the whole lot in one container - fermenting and storage. It's a bit of a temptation when it's sitting in  the corner of the garage though...hic!

Made some Woodforde's wherry from one of these kits. Turned out nice. http://www.brew-it-yourself.co.uk/shop/catalog/index.php?cPath=22_26

Start off the simple way with the kits and then you can work your way up to mashing your own at a later date (look for old Burco boilers on Ebay).

Kevin

[waspy]

Thank you chaps for the info

[Jimbob]

Anyone remember those just add water home brew 'bags' you used to get  

[Marks DTM Calib]

I used to brew it properly using malt, hops etc.

My tip with the brew kits is to either use a qine yeast or a better quality brewing yeast as it guarantees it ferment all the sugar so you dont get some swwet shite at the end of it (the better yeasts are more alcohol tolerant!)

[Jimbob]

Anyone remember those just add water home brew 'bags' you used to get  

I don't, cos I was very, very drunk  

[Tony H]

I used to brew it properly using malt, hops etc.

My tip with the brew kits is to either use a qine yeast or a better quality brewing yeast as it guarantees it ferment all the sugar so you dont get some swwet sh*te at the end of it (the better yeasts are more alcohol tolerant!)

/highlight]
Many moons ago I did an experiment to see how high I could get the alcohol content I bought some special German high alcohol tolerance yeast and managed to get the brew up to 12% It took ages to ferment out and ended up like barley wine, very, very strong and had to be drunk in small quantities certainly not by the pint