Grayling

I know there are one or two posters on here who brew their own beer.

I have brewed for many years and make my beer from base ingredients.....mainly crushed pale malt grains, other grains and Hops.

Are these readily available in the Brisbane area or by mail?

....and is it possible to still brew through the summer given the temperatures?

I intend to bring my own mash tun, boiler etc.

G

Nu-Shooz

My OH bought a home brewing kit. Used it twice and he says the beer is great. Infact at Christmas we didn't need to stock up with booze from the shops, the brewing kit made loads and lasted us all over Xmas.

All he needs to do now is get rid of his beer gut

Grayling

Beer Gut?.....what's that?

I don't usually use kits but will have to see what else is available.

G

Nu-Shooz

Which beg's the question!!! why do some men who drink alot get a big beer belly and some don't..?

Grayling

Maybe something to do with the amount

Beer guts are very easy to get if you are not careful....especially as you get older.

G

Nu-Shooz

You best be careful then G

Grayling

Too late

G

irishbloo

My oh brews his own beer.We never buy beer.It saves a fortune..He really enjoys it and has no problem in the summer.Only thing is that the house smells like a brewery just when he is about bottle it.He over comes the beer belly by cycling over an hour each day.I however like my wine straight from the bottle shop,wouldnt have the patience to wait for it to ferment..x Irishbloo

Grayling

I thought there were a few more homebrewers.

Any other offers?

G

keel

You'll Have no problem getting the ingredients over in Perth (and I assume over east as well).

We have about 8 brew shops in the city selling the kits, hops and a good range of yeasts.

Much better than getting the gear from boots.

I don't know about the base ingredients though.

Home brewing is very popular over here as the price of the inferior bought stuff is about double the UK price.

Another option is to use "U BREWIT" micro brewers where you brew it on their premise with their ingredients but dont pay the duty. You can save about 30 to 50% on bought prices.

Hope this helps

Keel

Grayling

Thanks.....I will try and check it out a bit on t'internet.

At least it seems the hobby is alive and well.

G

BadgeIsBack

I do - and have been meaning to start a thread.

You can buy a cheap ''Coopers'' kit from the chains, or visit a specialist brew shop.

Not so much for you Grayling, but for others who might be interested in starting out - the specialist shops sell better sugar, better recipes and seem OK to repeatedly answer the same bone questions from every novice. Mine augment basic branded out-of-the-box kits with their own supplementary malts for improvement. Called a kit and kilo - I believe. Others sell packs of numbered kits which aim to replicate a branded beer.

The brewing hardware is 80 bucks-120odd all in depending on extras like the quality of the bottler, and an ingredient kit on its own is what 15-50 bucks.

I've just brewed Coopers Pale Ale- I shall move onto Amber/Leffe.

I will brew in winter/spring as it gets a bit hot in summer. My brew put on in the cold days before christmas 07 was perfect and narrowly endured/escaped 30+ degree temps in the laundry over New Year and still came good and drunk well.

Vim Fuego

My mate is a big home brewer, does it all year long as has all the kit (customised fridge, kegs, power tap things), the stuff is pretty good too, he does some 'Chilli Beer' that has a kick.

Lots of shops around, some places will brew to order too (cheapest if you supply your own bottles).

I have thought about it but decided all that sterilisation and temperature stuff was a bit of a phaff given my limited spare time, might give it another thought later.

We currently have some mulberry wine on the go, due to opened in October, could be interesting ...

BadgeIsBack

I was sh*t scared of all that - but I co-opted my 2 year old daughter into helping - with her grubby little hands - and it went well. We chucked the gear in the bath.

Then she helped me stir the concoction. "Easy!"

Temperature can be a pain and I'm told its easier to keep warm in a laundry than to keep cool. I think you need 18-26 degrees for the initial brewing.

Grayling

Sounds interesting.

I think there are a couple of Australian brew forums so I will check them out.

Cooper's kits are widely available in the UK.

I have not used kits for many years but I suspect they would be better than a lot of commercial brews.

Thanks for the replies.

G