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I drink a lot more wine than I do beer.....But I do have a 'Carboy" (?) to brew home brew in....it was my Dad's from the 1970's ....and I last used it about 15 years ago.....but my Son & I put down a batch tonight, and hopefully it's all clean enough not to get infected, we put it down about 5 1/2 hours ago and the air lock hasn't started to bubble yet...but the weather is getting cooler....

If all goes well.....the brew is 'clean' and uninfected......4 or 5 days from now we'll bottle approx 26 'Tallies' of beer and 2 / 3 weeks after that enjoy 750ml bottles of beer for about 98c a bottle!

Brewed many gallons of beer and wine over about a quarter of a century, Usually got good results, but always managed to drink or otherwise use the produce. When we moved house I counted 200 bottles of assorted home brew. It's an enjoyable hobby and allows you to drink cheaply. Good luck with it.

I used to brew my own using a kit from Boots the chemist. (Golden Bitter, I think it was called). A photographer mate gave me a heating tray thingy so I could keep a decent temperature in the brewing bin. Having two pressure barrels ensured a steady supply. My Dad was a lifelong fan of Campbell's beers which closed in 1971. He said my brew was the closest he'd tasted to his favourite. High praise indeed.

Fliegenmong wrote:I drink a lot more wine than I do beer.....But I do have a 'Carboy" (?) to brew home brew in....it was my Dad's from the 1970's ....and I last used it about 15 years ago.....but my Son & I put down a batch tonight, and hopefully it's all clean enough not to get infected, we put it down about 5 1/2 hours ago and the air lock hasn't started to bubble yet...but the weather is getting cooler....

If all goes well.....the brew is 'clean' and uninfected......4 or 5 days from now we'll bottle approx 26 'Tallies' of beer and 2 / 3 weeks after that enjoy 750ml bottles of beer for about 98c a bottle!

Wouldn't get too excited about temperature Fliegs. Lagers/Pils do best around 10-12 deg C in primary fermentation and ales around 17 deg C. Secondary fermentation and conditioning best done in the fridge at low temperatures (8-10) to avoid any nasties and allow the beer time to rest and develop.

May one suggest disregarding the practice of priming the bottles with sugar before bottling. There's enough residual sugar to give you decent carbonation without creating a nasty fizzy mess.

I only had one pressure barrel. I used to brew 5 gallons, and I had three gallons worth of "Grolsch" bottles, courtesy of the NAAFI. I would fill whatever bottles were empty, then put the rest in the barrel. I could drink from the barrel while the beer was fresh, then go onto the bottles until time for the next brew. Could also take the bottles to parties.

Some micro-breweries now do cans of their own brew concentrated for you to take and make at home. Not sure if that's a good idea, business-wise, though, unless they make more profit on the can than they would have on the beer if sold from the tap.

Re the sugar when bottling - it's best made into a concentrated syrup first with a little water.

I brewed a batch of barley wine once. Had to prime it before bottling, and it was pretty strong stuff. Primed it in the bucket, lined up the little 200ml bottles, then found I had no crown tops left. Had to bottle it in 2 litre lemonade bottles. Hic!