Yeah, like Fatso said, the main thing is to sterilize well and keep everything as clean as possible. Rinse bottles out as soon as ya drink em and let em dry upside down so they're nice and clean for the next bottling and you don't have to scrub em clean. You can also use plastic soft drink bottles and just chuck em out if they get too dirty. They're also good cause they're screw top and bottling is a quicker job when you're filling 2L bottles instead of 750ml.

Coopers and Tooheys do good easy brews and you can play around with using different sugars or brew enhancers for different flavour and head. If ya wanna get real fancy go to a brew shop and you can replicate pretty much any brand beer out there. Even the Home Brand stuff comes out alright as long as you keep everything clean clean clean.

It's a good little hobby and depending how much you drink, you could even pay for a new kite with the savings on your grog bill! Enjoy mate...

plastic bottles are the way to go (especially at first), if you stuff up the first few batches and they explode its easier to clean up and less dangerous.

Albos said...

thanks for the advice, i think i will just start with one of those coopers kits. Hopefully if i get some good batches going i really will save some money and be able to afford a new kite

does using a plastic bottle give the beer a different taste compared to glass?

I've been brewing for years and use glass and plastic and haven't noticed any flavour probs with plastic bottles .I've also been using twist top wine bottles and they work well .The 2 l plastics sure do save alot of bottling.
Make sure you use maltodextrose rather than sugar in the brew process.(coppers no2 brew sugar is good)

I brewed when I was young and again for the last 4 years .(I figure that I've saved around $6000 in that time )My fave summer beer at the moment is the coopers mexican style cerveza .Not big on flavour but very refreshing on a hot day with a twist of lemon or lime .For a heartier more flavoursome brew the Cascade varieties are great I particularly like the pale ale.Here's a good link and good tips http://www.cascadehomebrew.com.au/brewkits/default.asp

Good luck

kiter77 said...

Have to agree with the Ceveza this is a bomb proof one to start out with. There's nothing more depressing than having to empty out a full batch of failed beer down the sink.

DOWN THE SINK???????????????
send them to me,I dont care if they taste not so good.

wait,,,,I do have a problem

bert77 said...

Yeah, shame on you k77... Never waste a brew!! Drink the good ones first and then get stuck into the dodgy ones once you're half wasted, or tip a bit out, top it up with Stones and voilla... ginger beer! Also good for shots or drinking games...

I agree bert77,

k77,,,do you know how many kids in third world countrys are going to bed without bedspins and not waking up hungover?????????? and your just tipping it down the sink!!!!!!!!!

shame,shame shame,

Once you get sick of cleaning bottles its only a few hundred to upgrade to a keg setup :D

Nothing better than no secondary fermentation flavour, and as much on tap as you can fit in your biggest glass.

Other benefit of homebrew is that I've never had a hangover drinking it. Can't say that about most of the commercial stuff...

Go for it. Plastic bottles, I used to used 1.25's, are a godsend. You will cop a lot of flack for it but who cares. Beer is in brown bottles because it deteriorates under uv but if you keep them under cover then you will not have that problem. I used no chemicals and have been stilling now for five years without them. As long as you use hot water and elbow grease to clean all will be good.

If you live in an area where the temperatures are consistently over 30 you may have to suspend operations until it gets a bit cooler.

The most satisfying thing about home brew is that you know that it only has in it what you put in. Hangovers will be a thing of the past if you get it right.

It is so nice to know that every sip carries no tax!

I've alway wanted to get a home brew setup going... What's an average start up price?