New to Brew in Wicklow

[seino]

Hello folks,

After many years of enjoying other people's craft brews (and even briefly running a craft beer pub with over 100 different bottled beers & ales), I'm finally taking the plunge to brewing my own. Very excited, if a little overwhelmed, as I've not got a clue what I'm doing just yet. Been doing plenty of reading and youtubing to try get my head round where to start. Any and all feedback welcome.

I'm planning to start with extract brewing as it would appear to be the best for entry level brewers. Based on some advice given here to other NHC newbies, I've been looking at the Extract Brewers Starter Kit on thehomebrewingcompany.ie. Seems to have everything I'll need, but open to suggestions if there's anything else worth considering.

I'm guessing online is the cheapest place to buy brew ingredients, and the ready-packed Extract Kits seem decent value. I live in a relatively rural setting so I'm tempted to try track down some locally grown hops eventually.

I have a large garden shed which I plan to use for brew days, fermentation and housing the equipment. I presume that will do the trick as long as I keep it dark enough during fermentation? I met a friend's neighbour in the UK who had a shed setup which seemed to work well and produced some incredible ales and ciders - it was actually what inspired me to try for myself.

So there we have it. I'll be ordering my equipment in the next couple of days and can't wait to get started.

Cheers all!

-S

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Hi Seino and welcome to the NHC.

There is a club in Wicklow and we meet on the second Thursday of each month.
See http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/garden-county-brewers/april-meet-12th-april/

Hope to see you there this Thursday,

Colin

[seino]

Thanks Colin, appreciate it.

Will do my best to get there, if not this month then next. Would be nice to get my first brew under my belt so I have something to bring along.

Cheers,
S

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Dont worry if you dont have anything to bring.  Come along for the chat and tasting and we'll give you as much advice and help as we can

[seino]

Won't make it up to Bray today unfortunately, but will do my best to make the next one. Thanks again for the invite and encouragement.

My brewing equipment arrived today though, so hoping to get stuck in soon. Will post some pics when I'm up and running.

Cheers.

-S

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Best of luck with it!

chat again soon

[JDC]

Welcome seino!  Exciting day when your first brewing equipment arrives  .  We all started from the same place, so don't be afraid to ask the basic questions - I'm at this 4 years now and still learning the basics.

Hopefully catch you at a Garden County Brewers meet soon.  Until then, happy brewing!

Jonathan

[seino]

Thanks Johnathon. Yep, exciting times. Hope to get the first brew started in the next few days. Starting with a single/primary fermentation extract IPA from a full extract pack - keep it simple until I have the basics down.

As you mentioned basic questions, a quick one if you have a sec... The Extract Brewers Starter Kit (link below) I got from thehomebrewingcompany.ie comes with all plastic vessels and a separate heating element. Is it safe enough to boil wort in plastic? I plan to invest in a stainless steel kettle/stock pot in the coming weeks, but want to try get a brew done with what I have first. I presume what they provided in a starter kit should be all I need and safe, but can't find any indication either way on their site.

Cheers,
Shane

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/extract-brewers-starter-kit-includes-free-full-extract-kit-p-1097.html

[JDC]

Hi Shane, I never did extract brewing (I jumped straight into all grain). However, that kit is similar enough to what I started with. It's all food grade plastic and that boiler is exactly the same as mine (I now use it for my sparge water) and perfect for boiling wort.

Happy brewing 

[seino]

Hey folks,

First IPA bottled on Monday! Now staring longingly at the bottles waiting for carbonation, but tasted just before bottling and seems to have gone well. Might refrigerate and pop one over the weekend to see how conditioning is progressing - you know, for science.

Cheers for all the help here and across the NHC. It's a great forum.

Is there a meeting at the Harbour Bar on July 12th? Will try make it if so, with a couple of bottles under me arm.

-S

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Good man - see you then