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Right there must be a few home brewers on here so this will probably be seem simple but here goes anyway......I'm planning to make a start on my first attempt at homebrew this weekend so what do I need?
I already have the bucket to brew in and a bitter kit supplied by a friend at work. I'll be sorting out the keg/bottles while everything is brewing.
I'll be brewing in the (unheated) garage so will I need to provide heat? (there is power)
If I do need to heat the brew do I need to buy a special thing to heat it or can I bodge something together? (the preferred option beacause you can't bead a good weekend bodge) 😉
You can buy a brew belt, which is what it says, a bely you tie around the bucket and plug in, this warms the brew up and helps it tick along merrily
Probably not worth a bodge,beer being mostly water and most people using electric heaters.
Ian
My missus brewed beer for years, will have an ask and see what you need
Pretty sure she used heated mats and I made a contraption to cool the brew down. Consisted of coiled copper pipe and hose pipe that connected to the cold water tap and was dunked in the mash
Also got some big cylindrical airtight containers that can be pressurised for keeping the brew in, loads of other stuff too
Think some or all could be for sale because due to medical reasons I can no longer drink the produce (probably drunk too much of it i'm ashamed to say)
Still got one of the good beer kits left, Brupaks I think, definitely one of the malt type and none of that sugar homebrew taste crap
There was at one time an annual homebrew show, been to a few, but think it might not be running anymore. Was a magazine too and we have loads of books on the subject as well
I'll be brewing in the (unheated) garage so will I need to provide heat? (there is power)If I do need to heat the brew do I need to buy a special thing to heat it or can I bodge something together?
I used what was effectively a fish tank heater (although I bought it from a home brew shop as a fermantion bin heater). It was set at around 20 degress IIRC (but I will need to check this).
Immersion heater is your best bet for maintaining your fermenting temperatures. Dedicated homebrew ones are pretty cheap, paid about £16 for mine off ebay. Much more stable than heat belts etc.
I'm midway through my first extract brew, it's happily boiling away in the corner...garage is smelling beautiful!
Apparently we used a purpose made 5 gallon bucket with what was essentially a big kettle element in the bottom.
I'm told by my good lady that this is a good website for info [url= http://www.homewinemaking.co.uk/forum/YaBB.pl ]Beermaking[/url]
I picked up a submersible heater from the local Tropical Aquatics shop, probably exactly the same as ones you can get in brew shops. It's done the job for the last two winters!
Top-tip, wrap a duvet and blankets around it when it gets really cold.