Wirgin brewer vs me beer kit

[rebelred]

Hello ,
I am an absolute beginner. I plan to get my first batch up and running in a week or so ( when I get time) . I am using a kit to make pilnser. I bought a kit that has a bucket and a barrel for secondary ferment ?,,,,, my plan is to use what ever bottles I can get my hands on for the final bit....question ? will plastic ones eg coke a cola .5L do if sanitised and kept in the dark ?
I have already got a challenger to my non exsistant brew...one of my friends bought a Mr. Beer thingy and is using that to make a extra pale ale. How do them things turn out. ? any help to beat him is very welcome

 

[Ivan Lendl]

hmmm...a challenge to beat up mr beer? sounds like fun!

are you near a homebrew shop? Check the internet to see if you are. That would be the best place to go for advice/equipment.

If not, to start with i would definitley use a secondary. Your beer will be cleaner, and BETTER in general.

i would choose an easier beer like a pale ale, or stout, or ipa as opposed to a pilsner, which is probably THE MOST DIFFICULT beer to make. Its much easier to brew a good tasting pa where you can make all kinds of mistakes and it justs adds character.

i would also use glass bottles. Its not that difficult to scavange 50 12 oz. bottles from a local bar or behind a restaraunt or hotel. Your gonna need some caps which can only be bought at a home brew shop either on line or in person.

Try to find bottles that arent too dirty, no visible mold or anything. Just soak them in hot soapy water for a few hours, rinse really well, then soak in a bleach/water solution overnight, then rinse really well, then repeat the soap water soak, rinse and your done.

once you get the recipe post it and well tear it apart, then build it back up again...

 

[TK421]

I'm very very new to homebrew, but I will chime in in Mr. Beer's defense. Truth is that Mr. Beer will never make you a great batch of beer, but what it does is get you used to the steps that are involved in brewing. Particularly sanitizing, preparation, learning to wait for fermentation to complete, bottling, and most important...enjoying the fruits of your labor. But that's about it.

I got the Mr. Beer kit from my wife for Christmas since I had been talking about getting into Homebrewing for a while (2 of my best friends have been doing it for years). I even bought a second keg from them so I could make multiples at once. Well now I'm through 4 batches, and the truth is that I've learned about all I will from Mr. Beer. It's a great low expense kit to get your started and minimize your investment. Many will tell you that buying a regular kit from a homebrew supply store won't cost you much more than a Mr. Beer kit, and they're correct. However, Mr. Beer makes things a lot simpler and for me, it was a perfect way to introduce myself (and my wife ) to homebrewing.

Anyway, like I said, I think it's great to start with, but you'll move past it quickly if you really find yourself interested in the hobby. For instance....I just dropped $500 on a regular starter set with kegging setup.

 

[rebelred]

thanks guys..I am a fair few miles from my local guy here in Ireland . He resides in a little place in the mountains ( its like a story book setting) but he is a nice guy. I think I will tackle a pale ale instead so as I do prefer those to pils anyway, I just went for the most popular kit he had.

 

[TK421]

thanks guys..I am a fair few miles from my local guy here in Ireland . He resides in a little place in the mountains ( its like a story book setting) but he is a nice guy. I think I will tackle a pale ale instead so as I do prefer those to pils anyway, I just went for the most popular kit he had.

Good luck!

 

[Rhoobarb]

Welcome to the Forum! Here's the advice I give everybody: if you haven't already done it, take a look at John Palmer's How To Brew. It's free and full of great advice!