newbie

[belfastjacko]

Hey everyone, im new to the board stumbled across it by accident, looking for some advice on kit hacks. Been kit brewing for about 18 months now, each set of results generally better than the last.

Ive just purchased a Youngs American Amber Ale kit, having previously nailed the American IPA, so brew day is going to be some night this coming week, going to make a couple of additions/ changes to the kit ill let you all know how i get on.

My name is Belfast Jacko, but im actually based in Bangor, just force of habbit when registering for a forum i guess.

[Quiet_Man]

Welcome to the forum BelfastJacko.

Some of the other guys brew with kits and will offer the right advice.

Don't be ashamed of being from Bangor! Jeez we take all sorts.

Check the board for the next club meet.

[belfastjacko]

thanks, Id love to move on to All Grain, but my space is very limited and im not sure i can justify the outlay in cost at this time.

[Roo]

Welcome on board! You'll get some solid advice on here and a bit of crack......maybe craic and not the other stuff. Get along to the meetings is your starter for ten.

[sub82]

Welcome aboard!

Did you see the kit hack guides by LordEoin?

[belfastjacko]

Yeah I did, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to change in the pack. One question I have though, I have a small pack (600g) of brewing sugar, presumably most of the rest of the sugar is included in the malt extract pack, is it worth adding some LME instead of the brewing sugar or is it such a small quantity it won't make any real difference?

[irish_goat]

Yeah I did, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to change in the pack. One question I have though, I have a small pack (600g) of brewing sugar, presumably most of the rest of the sugar is included in the malt extract pack, is it worth adding some LME instead of the brewing sugar or is it such a small quantity it won't make any real difference?

Again, Lord Eoin has all the answers. http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,681.0.html 

I would add LME personally, if you have it.

[belfastjacko]

Hey guys I write a small blog on beer type stuff as well, it's aimed at the total beginner, because well it's written by a total beginner. Have a look, the latest post went up this morning.

http://puzzlesni.blogspot.co.uk/

Any criticism/hints tips or any suggestions is very welcome and encouraged.

[banjobrew]

I'm only seeing this now. Welcome belfastjacko!

Had a wee gander at your blog and I see you've signed up for beer52. Have you been doing it long? Worth it?

Also, you should come to a meetup. It's good craic and you'll learn a lot.

[belfastjacko]

My only gripe with beer 52 is there is seldom any logic to the beers you get. The exception was on the approach to Burns night we got an all Scottish pack. Occasionally you get a small sample of a bar snack in your box too, (short bread for the scottish pack) popcorn, chilli nuts, tortilla chips to name a few.

My Mrs got me a 6 month subscription back in June, and then I renewed it for a further 6. The more in advance you pay the cheaper it is.

They have replaced the glossy leaflet describing the beers with a small newspaper which does the same job but then talks about a few other things. It seems you can get that separate from somewhere as there is a price on it. It's called fermenter.

It's good for building up your collection, and for receiving beers you may never have thought of before. See my post on Killer Cat for example, there's no way I would have bought that of my own bat. I noticed I have another variety of KC in my collection at the moment so I'm looking forward to that. 

[irish_goat]

I got one box so far from Beer52, next one is arriving very soon. The first cost £6 and then the next is costing £14.



I was reasonably happy with the box, all beers are pretty good. My housemate bought a box at the same time but got one completely different, his had a lot more Belgians and Pils. I'd have been less happy with his selection. Not sure if I'll keep my account going when it starts costing £24 as that might just be a bit too steep for a random selection. £24 in beer money is 16 pints of cask ale here so the bottles would need to be pretty good to match up to that.

[belfastjacko]

Your box looks the same as my most recent except I didn't get any brew dog in mine.

[mr.drankin]

I was with beer52 since last October when they done a bottle of spirits as a add-on.  Between crates getting smashed lost not showing up, spirits missing which they said they couldn't resend on there own I cancelled me account last month.  I have been looking to try here

http://www.beerheroes.com/craft_beer_online.asp

[irish_goat]

My housemate's 2nd box arrived yesterday and was very impressive. Off the top of my head there was a Beavertown can, FourPure can, Mikkeller, To Øl, a Libertine Black Ale and a few others. Very decent selection anyway.

[banjobrew]

Tempted. Are there any codes or offers apart from the bottle10 that gives you £10 off?