Where should I start? Absolute newb with a kit

Submitted ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨pyr0ball@lemmy.dbzer0.com⁩ to ⁨homebrewing@sopuli.xyz⁩

I’ve never tried my own home brew before and I’ve been sitting on two kits for years now (got them sitting the pandemic but never found the time) and I wanted to try to start something

The original juice and hops are probably toast by now so I’ll have to purchase some new, but I’ve got two of those jugs and the other bits that come with them.

I also have a small orchard in my back yard and wanted to try to use the thousands of plums in get every year to make some kind of lambic ale.

Any advice is appreciated!

source

Comments

Sort:hotnew top

Botzo@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
You haven’t tried it before, so I’ll suggest just brewing one of the kits you have. Use it to figure out some process and hey, you might still get something drinkable. If not, you’ll still be setting yourself up for success with fresh new ingredients.

source
- verity_kindle@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  This is a great idea. Use the kit ingedients to practice the PROCESS and test your existing equipment, even if it’s just a stock pot and strainers on your kitchen stove, that’s a great place to start. The main thing is sanitation. Got any brewing sanitizer?
  
  source
- pyr0ball@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Ah ok so more of an infusion process than actual fermentation?
  
  source
  - Botzo@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Yeah, the plum wine is a simple infusion.
    
    source
plactagonic@sopuli.xyz ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Depends on a kit, the malt sirup is shelf stable but hops and yeast is definitely bad. Just try something, follow the instructions for start and you will see if you like it.

I don’t know much about plums other than distillat so can’t suggest much on that.

source
CouldntCareBear@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
If the juice is concentrated, like molasses it’ll be fine. Hops might be ok if they’re vacuum sealed and freeze dried as they often are… they look like little pellets. If they’re just dried then get some more.

Just follow the instructions.

If you’re bottle conditioning, (adding a bit of sugar in the bottle to carbonate) I would recommend using plastic coke bottles. They’re pressure safe and don’t explode like glass does if you add too much sugar.

source
- alzymologist@sopuli.xyz ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Another way that prevents bottles from exploding is corking with wine corks slightly slices across to hold a thick thread that wraps around the neck to hold the cork against pressure. It’s quite weak seal that should pop before the glass.
  
  My friend once had some bottles of sparkling hard cider bottled like that (naturally explosive), left for a trip in winter (Texas), temperature went below freezing, so his landlord (old redneck lady with confederate flags and deer skulls on her house) went into his place and turned on gas stove. Sure she forgot to turn it off when weather normalized to regular +10C, so when he came back, it was hot sauna with apple flavor, but no broken glass at least!
  
  source
- pyr0ball@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  So I shouldn’t trust those pop-top glass bottles?
  
  Looks like the juice wasn’t concentrated enough, so maybe I’ll juice some plums and cherries this year
  
  source
  - CouldntCareBear@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    The pop top ones are great and I love them but it’s easy to mess something up and make them pretty dangerous.
    
    If you have a hygrometer you can measure the sugar content of your brew which takes out the guess work, get one of them before glass bottling. Hygrometers are like $10 and well worth having.
    
    Plum and cherry wine sounds divine. Good luck!
    
    source
alzymologist@sopuli.xyz ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
On top of what other said, there is a trick to plum: they usually ferment quite nicely (I recommend Lalvin RC212 yeast) but the trick is to bottle condition them for 5 years minimum. It is absolutely worth it.

Don’t go for lambics though, they are tricky and until you understand exactly why, I don’t recommend it. They are totally not newbie stuff. But aim for plum christmas ale, that’s very easy and just in time to try!

source
colournoun@beehaw.org ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
In my experience, keeping your equipment clean and sanitized is the most important step.

source
- Naich@lemmings.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Sanitation
  
  Oxidisation
  
  The two major things to tackle. My advice would be to just start making beer. The more you make, the better you will get at it. Join a forum to get advice. Don’t be put off if it doesn’t come out right at first.
  
  source
verity_kindle@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Hang on to the hops, aged or “cheesy” hops can be great for brewing certain styles, like lambics. They can add desirable flavors because they are aged. Just makes sure that they’re not moldy. The good oils/volatiles may still be in those cones!

source
alzymologist@sopuli.xyz ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Actually, I remember how I started: I’ve got a kit and waited for a while with it. Then dumped all of it and just bought fullgrain ingredients, no regrets at all. Starting with a kit seems like harder path with less sure result from my current experience. Maybe it’s a way you should consider too?

source
- pyr0ball@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  Alright so just go talk to my local brewer supply for what I need 👍🏼
  
  source
  - alzymologist@sopuli.xyz ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    If you have a brewer supply locally, totally just invade them. The job is usually quite boring, they LOVE initiating neophytes.
    
    source
  - verity_kindle@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Just go with the least expensive but still fresh stuff, just enough for one batch. Don’t let the brew shop sell you a ton of stuff you don’t need right away. Careful. :)
    
    source