Yeah I suspose 13000 bottle tops for $40ish bucks so far ain't a half bad deal. I guess it is a shame I have just given up doing it the "kit" way, although life is too short to be brinking bad beer :)
On that note, do you guys recommend that 50L pot on the previous page for someone starting out or should I be looking at something smaller. I just plan on doing the one batch at a time for now, all I have so far is basically the starter kit that comes from brewcraft, fermentor, hydro etc.... or should I just go with the 35l one on brewshop??
Cheers :)
I've got a 50L pot and it handles a 20L batch well. 22L after the boil (2L loss to trub/hops), 29L pre boil, and 21L of headspace is nice and comfy with very little worries of boil-over.
Not personally a fan of the Dark Ale on it's own but works well combined with some of the other kits.
If you like the Coopers Best Extra Stout - a good clone involves 1 x can of stout, 1 x can of dark ale, 500g Dex.to 23L
If you are a Porter fan using 1 can dark ale with something like the APA/Lager kit combined with some steeped chocolate grains and some extra late hops is also not too shabby.
Speaking of pots - I got a cheapie S/S 50L for $97 from Mercury Plaza Asian supermarket (Akl City-K'road end). They also had some larger ones for a little bit more - not sure of volume though.
Cheers for the tips there John, I need all I can get at the moment :)
Yeah I am a huge porter fan now after tasting "Stone Brewing Co's Smoked Porter", so will definatly keep that in mind. I was lucky enough to recieve a package from the beer store for my last birthday which has totally opened my eyes to the world of fine beer.
I have to admit I used to be very narrow minded when it came to beer, basicaly mass produced lagers was all I thought existed that were any good.
Sounds like a great deal on those pots too, will see what happens on that trademe listing on the previous page first.
Now it's off to the newbie section for me, need to decide on my first non "kit" brew.
Cheers
Also busy trolling through recipes for my first AG BIAB. 2 contenders atm - IPA / NZ Pilsener
Get Kettle - tick
Cobble together a stove using 2 single ring burners - tick
Grain bag - next task - gotta get to Spotlight next week
Decide on first biab recipe - WIP
Let me know how you get on with your first "Real Beer".