New to homebrewing, looking to get more involved in the HB community

[Hingo]

Hi Folks,

My name is Dave, based around Rathfarnham area. Like a few others I've read about here, I got the notion for brewing my own beer after going to the Irish Craft Beer festival in the RDS. Started homebrewing at Christmas time - only done 2 beer kits.  The two batches are bottled etc just giving them enough time to condition. Am hooked and dying to get more on the go, experiment a bit more with the likes of extract & all grain and eventually start making some great recipes & brews for HB competitions etc. Home brewing is really something I feel  I should have started years ago!!

Anyway I figured I should pipe up a bit more online here and get involved with some clubs, get some "in-person" advice etc at meetups/brewdays etc. as I've been just going by what I read/watch online and in books so far. You might also see me around other parts of the intergoogleweb   

[Ciderhead]

Hi Dave
Welcome along on the NHC bus, plenty going on in town. Ask loads of questions!

[LordEoin]

Welcome!
What kits did you do?

[DEMPSEY]

Welcome Dave I see from your Avator you like dogs,plenty dog fans on here including the ones that have dogs

[Danny(00833827)]

[Hingo]

Thanks folks! Aye, how could ya not like dogs!

Welcome!
What kits did you do?

The first one was a"lager" kit - the yeast must've been ale yeast as the instructions said ferment @ room temps. it was a BrewBuddy lager kit 1.7kg and added 1 KG Light Spray Malt Extract - may have pitched the yeast a bit early(temp may have been too high), forgot to check the temp before pitching and after I stuck the LCD thermometer on it was up about the 24-26°c for the first couple of days (room was around 19-20°c) That's been in the bottle now the last 2 weeks, opened a bottle at the weekend to see how it was coming along and was decent, slight grassy after twang  though, not sure if that's due to the initial fermenting temps or if it just needs a few weeks - drinkable anyway, just going to leave it be until February before opening.

Second was an IPA - Milestone 3kg kit. I racked the "lager" into a secondary (just to get the hang of the syphon and try out the racking method) , cleaned and sanitized the the primary FV and left the IPA in the one fermenter. Went a lot better in so far as the temp's were a lot more consistent. Bottled that up last Saturday week so might crack open a bottle this weekend and see how it's coming along.

[beerfly]

If your free on the 28th feel free to drop into farringtons in temple bar
http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,5344.0.html

[Rossa]

Another Nam based brewer. We might have our own local club by the years end!

Where are you based?

[Hingo]

I might actually do that beerfly, I'll only have a few bottles of the above to bring along so won't be anything special but better than showing up up empty handed. Never actually been to Farrington's before (I know, it's been on my to go list for some time) I'll throw me name on the roster now!

@ Rossa, I'm on the Grange Road, about 2 mins away from Loreto Abbey if that's where your avatar pic is related to

[LordEoin]

@ The first one was a"lager" kit - the yeast must've been ale yeast
The higher fermentation temperature makes it easier for noobs to brew. Most 'lager' kits come with an ale yeast. That makes it really an ale, but marketing pushes it as a lager.

@ IPA temp's were a lot more consistent.
Consistency is very important. You don't want the temperature jumping around. The yeast likes a nice constant temperature while fermenting.

Glad to hear you're getting the hang of it

[Rossa]

I might actually do that beerfly, I'll only have a few bottles of the above to bring along so won't be anything special but better than showing up up empty handed. Never actually been to Farrington's before (I know, it's been on my to go list for some time) I'll throw me name on the roster now!

@ Rossa, I'm on the Grange Road, about 2 mins away from Loreto Abbey if that's where your avatar pic is related to

I'm the other side, Loreto avenue.

[Hingo]

Well as your based nearby you might be the right person to ask about the tap water, have you used it for brewing and is it ok? It doesn't taste the worst but I got bottled water for first two batches just in case. We had issues with water after it was switched off for a day or two last year when it came back was very white (I presume lime) , didn't want to chance a bad brew over the sake of spending €5 on water


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DEMPSEY]

When the water is white and then settles out clear that is just air that is in the system. As the water flows through the pipes it will flush out the remaining air. Rossa brought his water in to us all before for testing and it was low in hardness so good for pale beers.

[Rossa]

I do  adjust my water but in general it is pretty good for most styles. Just let it stand overnight first in a bucket to release the chlorine.