Im thinking about trying one of those home brew lager kits, ive been looking at the youngs ubrew kit, just wondering if anyone here does this and has any advice

Carl

I've just got back into some home brew. Lager is a little tricker to get tasting decent (it needs to ferment at a lower, ideally controlled, temp). It also needs around 12 weeks to condition once kegged or bottled. I highly recommend trying a coopers 'Canadian blonde kit' if your a lager, rather than beer fan! It's a bit of an 'inbetween' lager & beer. It's ready to bottle within 10 days ish (kit instructions state 6, but I find it needs a little longer to finish fermenting), and it tastes great within another 2 weeks of bottling. I bought all my kit in bits n bobs, so I ended up with what I wanted. Coopers do a starter kit which I know is good, my fermenting bin, bottle bin and bottler are all youngs, but all much & much the same.
I bottled a 23L batch of Canadian blonde on Saturday, I'm itching to crack one open, but need to resist temptation and leave them till they are ready!

The main thing with brewing is clean, clean, clean & sterilise. Everything must be spotless and germ free, otherwise it will ruin your efforts!

[Edited on 3/7/12 by Proby]

Iv made about 200 pints of bitter.
Its very easy, fit your brewing bucket with a tap at the bottom, much easier when it comes to bottleing up.
Follow the instructions, brew it in the airing cupboard.
Sterolise everything.
Get the thermometer thingy so you know when its done.
Start collecting beer bottles.
Once bottled, the longer you leave it the better it will taste.
Happy drinking

just brought this

Youngs Brew Buddy 40 pint Beer Making Starter Kit - Lager Brewbuddy 5017458010319 | eBay

Try and get the lallemend windsor or other yeasts by these guys - way better than the youngs yeast.

good luck.

I use the coopers lager kits, really good results and well under 20p per 500ml bottles so near as dam it a pint.

Coopers say 6 ish days in tub depending on temp (21deg C ) but i leave it in for 7 or 8, they also say its drinkable after 7 days in the bottle but i'm now drinking bottles from 28/1 this year. Its very nice.

I buy my kits from a company called whytes home brew, very helpfull.

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Originally posted by carlknight1982
Im thinking about trying one of those home brew lager kits, ive been looking at the youngs ubrew kit, just wondering if anyone here does this and has any advice

Carl

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Hmmm a pair of Bitter Kits with a couple Lbs of Honey in it... Mmmmmmm
Makes a beer worthy of a good pub. Much better than the original kit.

If you like larger but want a more simple kit look at coopers Australian pale ale. Great reviews and I have done it a few times with excellent results. I used muntons brew enhancers with it and got a much better taste than with the coopers one.

I'd swap the sugar recommended in the kit with some dried malt extract. Sugar gives a very "flat" finish. Even in lager it can end up tasting a bit cheap and thin. DME will give better mouthfeel.
And def swap out the rubbish kit yeast with some a bit more honest. Lager yeast is not the same as a top-fermenting bitter yeast. If it just says "brewers yeast" avoid it and get something good.
And if possible do a starter bottle for the yeast with some DME to get the yeast going as soon as you put it into the brew.

Ive brewed before, and gave up as I was drinking it before it was ready (mega farts) , drinking when i stepped through the door, drinking after nightshift, lateshift...


Never got the lager right, so always made bitter. I got quite into Boots own brand bitter.