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Small Batch Home Brewing |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,720
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Small Batch Home Brewing
Anyone do small batch home brewing? I've fancied brewing for a while but I don't like the idea of those "kits" that produce about 5 gallons as they're essentially just like a ready meal, I want to do the entire process with proper malts, hops and yeast and doing the mash and boil so once I've a few basic beers under my belt I can start experimenting and come up with my own recipes. I discovered some small batch equipment the other day that allows you to do it from scratch but it only produces a gallon so I've ordered that.
I'm starting with a pretty standard 6.5% IPA using Cascade and Colombus hops. I'm really looking forward to getting started. Has anyone got any advice, tips, stories etc etc? |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Nottingham
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I've never heard of brewing up beer in such small batches, hardly seems worth the hassle to me. I wonder how well the brew will work in small amounts? Would the wort get too cold/hot for the yeast?
Still, best of luck to you! |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Jun 2011
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Quote:
I've never heard of brewing up beer in such small batches, hardly seems worth the hassle to me. I wonder how well the brew will work in small amounts? Would the wort get too cold/hot for the yeast?
Still, best of luck to you! It doesn't look a lot of hassle to be honest, I'm going to bottle it in 330ml bottles so it'll make around 13 bottles. I think it sounds ideal because if it's crap then you've not really lost much, just a few quids worth of hops and malt and you're not stuck with 40 pints of horrible beer! Once I've got into it and got the hang of the basic processes I'll start trying my own recipes. I think the small amounts make it ideal for experimenting. |
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#4 |
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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@Jambo
My OH makes kit beer and proper wine. I just drink it but as a real ale conoisseur you have to try Festival kits next even though you are not using a kit at the moment. ( Pricier than other kits, but doesn't taste like kit stuff. ) Was rec'd them by the brew shop guy who is very knowledgeable. Think we have tried 4 beer styles of theirs now. http://ritchieproducts.uk/festival-premium-ale-kits/ |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Jun 2011
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Quote:
@Jambo
My OH makes kit beer and proper wine. I just drink it but as a real ale conoisseur you have to try Festival kits next even though you are not using a kit at the moment. ( Pricier than other kits, but doesn't taste like kit stuff. ) Was rec'd them by the brew shop guy who is very knowledgeable. Think we have tried 4 beer styles of theirs now. http://ritchieproducts.uk/festival-premium-ale-kits/ I made my first batch on Saturday and it's now happily fermenting away. I've downloaded "DIY Dog" which is the recipe book that Brewdog have released which contains every beer they've ever made. I think I'm going to try one of those next, once I've a few under my belt I want to start experimenting with different ingredients (fruit, herbs, spices etc). |
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#6 |
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Cheers, as I say though I'm not really keen on kits. I don't really want 40 pints either as I like as much variety as possible!
I made my first batch on Saturday and it's now happily fermenting away. I've downloaded "DIY Dog" which is the recipe book that Brewdog have released which contains every beer they've ever made. I think I'm going to try one of those next, once I've a few under my belt I want to start experimenting with different ingredients (fruit, herbs, spices etc). |
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#7 |
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Join Date: Jun 2011
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Exciting - hope it turns out well. If you're going this route you need to design yourself a posh label! ( We don't bother bottling, 2 kegs ready, 40 pints in a gas keg goes quickly even if you're a very moderate drinker. The kegs are ugly things though. We bought all the mash tuns and stuff but that brand is so good we haven't got as far as you. )
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#8 |
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Not that anyone probably cares but the final brew is actually pretty nice. Gave a few people a taste (that I know will be honest with me) and they've all enjoyed it. You really wouldn't know that it was homebrew, I'm well impressed.
Going to make a stout next and I'm also going to repeat the same IPA recipe but add some passion fruit towards the end of the boil. I think this is something that I'm really going to get in to. |
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#9 |
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Quote:
Not that anyone probably cares but the final brew is actually pretty nice. Gave a few people a taste (that I know will be honest with me) and they've all enjoyed it. You really wouldn't know that it was homebrew, I'm well impressed.
Going to make a stout next and I'm also going to repeat the same IPA recipe but add some passion fruit towards the end of the boil. I think this is something that I'm really going to get in to. |
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#10 |
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Nottingham
Posts: 11,478
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Many years ago there was a shop near me that sold lots of different fruit beers. I think less sweet fruits like raspberry or sour cherry work best in a beer - you'll probably find sour cherries hard to source in the UK though!
I'd imagine rhubarb or gooseberry could be good too. |
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#11 |
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Join Date: Jun 2011
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Quote:
Many years ago there was a shop near me that sold lots of different fruit beers. I think less sweet fruits like raspberry or sour cherry work best in a beer - you'll probably find sour cherries hard to source in the UK though!
I'd imagine rhubarb or gooseberry could be good too. |
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you have to try Festival kits next even though you are not using a kit at the moment. ( Pricier than other kits, but doesn't taste like kit stuff. )