Is it possible to make decentish beer using a basic homebrew kit - like the 
ones found in Boots and here:

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cat55_1.htm

?

Gareth.

Gareth wrote :


> Is it possible to make decentish beer using a basic homebrew kit - like the 
> ones found in Boots and here:
> 
> http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cat55_1.htm


Can't really comment on the quality of beer kits these days - I gave up
using them years ago - although I thought my results were good and would
assume things are the same today. *Not* as good as *proper* home made beer
though.

I can however comment on "The Home Brew Shop" - I buy my Wine kits from
them - usually next day delivery - free delivery on orders over 65.
Recommended :-)

HTH.
-- 
Regards,

Troy the Black Lab.

"Troy"  wrote in message
news:5y3s1dqtevr7.dlg@troytheblacklab.co.uk...

> Gareth wrote :
>
> > Is it possible to make decentish beer using a basic homebrew kit - like
the
> > ones found in Boots and here:
> >
> > http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cat55_1.htm
>
> Can't really comment on the quality of beer kits these days - I gave up
> using them years ago - although I thought my results were good and would
> assume things are the same today. *Not* as good as *proper* home made beer
> though.
>
> I can however comment on "The Home Brew Shop" - I buy my Wine kits from
> them - usually next day delivery - free delivery on orders over 65.
> Recommended :-)
>
> HTH.
> -- 
> Regards,
>
> Troy the Black Lab.


That's fair comment, I think. If you buy a good quality kit and follow the
instructions carefully you will get pretty good beer at the end of it - but,
as Troy says, it won't compare to "proper" home made beer (i.e. full mash).
I had some of the latter at the Pendle Beer Festival a few weeks ago and it
was excellent!



Gavin

On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:33:42 -0000, "Gareth" 
wrote:


>Is it possible to make decentish beer using a basic homebrew kit - like the 
>ones found in Boots and here:
>
>http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cat55_1.htm
>
>?
>
>Gareth. 
>

No.

For a plausible beer bur some malt extract and boilt with fresh hops

For a good beer you need a full mash.

Good beer needs two things:
1)  Boiling  - to drop out the harsh proteins as trub.
2)  Hops.  Most kits use isomerised hops which are destroyed by
boiling.

Hence most kits don't work  - they taste very metallic.

Alan

On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:33:42 -0000, "Gareth" 
wrote:


>Is it possible to make decentish beer using a basic homebrew kit - like the 
>ones found in Boots and here:
>
>http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cat55_1.htm
>
>?
>
>Gareth. 


Hi

It is very possible to make homebrew taste as good as the best
commercial real ale you can buy over a bar - and costing only 20 per
pint.

However, for the best results you really need to do a full mash brew.
At its most basic level it is not difficult - if you can make a decent
cup a tea you can brew beer!!!

The price of a 5-gallon full mash brewery will set you back around
120.  However at 20p per pint you can soon recoup the cost.

What you would get for your 120 is basically everything in a full
size brewery - but for a 5 gallon brew and in plastic buckets; i.e.
the mash tun is a modified picnic cool box and the boiler is a 30
litre plastic fermenting bin fitted with an electric kettle element.
However, I have done well over 30 brews in my plastic full mash set-up
and it is still going strong.

A decent book full of recipes and brewing instructions is "Brew your
Own British Real Ale at Home" by Graham Wheeler & Roger Protz; and
Leyland Home Brew are quite happy to make up full mash "kits" - just
tell them the page number in the above book and they will weigh out
all the ingredients for you (they do mail order - and have a web
site).

If you haven't the time (it takes around 6-7 hours to do a full mash
brew if all goes well) or space (my "brewery" only takes up about the
same space as a fridge freezer) then the best suggestion is to buy a
good quality kit, throw away the supplied yeast and buy something
decent - Safale 04 would be a good choice, readily available at most
homebrew shops.

I would also recommend trying the <rec.crafts.brewing> newsgroup.

Regards

KGB

The kits made bu Munton's - eg Woodeforde's Wherry , Norfolk Nog etc
are quite good , and surprisingly enough the beers are recognisable!
But they aren't cheap either. Keep clear of kits which require added
sugar - sugar adds nothing of quality to beer , it thins it and dries
it too.
If you go the full mash route - keep your eyes open for Burco boilers
at car boot sales - I bought both mine for a few pounds each this
way.It's better to have two , when sparging I run off the wort into
one and rinse with hot water from the other.
If you have any micro breweries nearby they may sell you ingredients
at the right price - I get malt and hops at cost ( very little this is
too) - and free genuine brewers' yeast which makes all the difference.
Good luck.

"Graham C"  wrote in message
news:9kpp219h6pb43ns32hj7ejehu9qfosqpl7@4ax.com...

> On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 20:33:42 -0000, "Gareth" 
> wrote:
>
> >Is it possible to make decentish beer using a basic homebrew kit - like
the
> >ones found in Boots and here:
> >
> >http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cat55_1.htm
> >
> >?
> >
> >Gareth.
> >
> No.
>
> For a plausible beer bur some malt extract and boilt with fresh hops
>
> For a good beer you need a full mash.
>
> Good beer needs two things:
> 1)  Boiling  - to drop out the harsh proteins as trub.
> 2)  Hops.  Most kits use isomerised hops which are destroyed by
> boiling.
>
> Hence most kits don't work  - they taste very metallic.
>
> Alan


The cheap kits are not very good at all, but in my experience a good kit can
produce very acceptable results. As someone else has said avoid the kits
which require the addition of sugar.