Any homebrewers about?

JonathanRyan said:
Nice. My Christmas brewing is all over the place. First I lost a week because I hadn't realised how cold the utility room was, then I found out I almost certainly won't get the P2 in time to brew for Christmas, then my beer of the month got similarly delayed :(

But I do have some Von Tap conditioning now and a Cloudy 9 racing its way to being cider in the spare room :)
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Fate always tries to do it’s best to muck things up!! My cider is in a nice warm cupboard for another few days to condition in the bottles and then up to the spare room to keep cool. That’s where I have the main brew stuff - keep the heating off in there to keep the keg(s) cool and use a heating mat with the fermentation bin to keep that at temperature. The porter I started yesterday is now bubbling away nicely!!
 
Gave up and paid a visit to Beers of Europe just off the A10 near Kings Lynn
Came to the conclusion that I prefer bottled beer especially of the German variety.
 
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Just an update for anybody who finds this thread....

The pinter is amazing. When it works it produces lovely beer very quickly. With one exception I've never had a disappointing brew and family and friends claimed they were delighted with the selection I brewed for them for Christmas.

On the downside, I've had three pinters (P1s - last year's model) fail in exactly the same way - everything working fine and then suddenly they start to leak and there's beer everywhere. 2 were replaced under warranty and the third I got a refund - which is excellent service from pinter.

The new pinter (P2) appears to be a bit of a mixed bag. It looks lovely and feels solid. However, it's so heavy that I wouldn't trust it on a glass shelf in a fridge. Many people are reporting failed brews probably due to inadequate mixing which may be connected to the weight - it's really hard work shaking it. The brand new patented tap has caused many people issues leading to pints of foam - there's a running joke that it needs a training course to learn how to use. Mine was faulty on arrival - the tap just wouldn't close. Pinter agreed this was a fault on 27th December and have promised a new one will be here most days since then. About a week ago I got tired of excuses and started asking for my money back. They agree that I'm eligible for a refund (there's a generous 30 day no questions asked policy) but keep sending me web forms that don't work so as yet I haven't seen any prospect of getting back the money I paid in September.

If you can find a second hand P1 I'd say snap it up - they seem great and there are some bargains about. But put it in a bucket because they often leak. As for the p2 - I'd say give them a bit of time to sort the tap out. It's a young company and they need time to fix mistakes. But personally, I'll be getting a bucket from Wilco.
 
Just had my my first pint from the latest brew - Youngs American Mocha Porter - really tasty. Nice coffee and chocolate initial taste but not too sweet and then a nice clean “after bite”.
Was a 30 pint kit and at this rate I don’t think it’ll last that long!! Good job I’ve got 40 pints of Muntons Oaked Ale that’s nearly finished it’s primary fermentation!! :beer:
 
I'd love to have a go at it, but I can't afford all the kit and probably wouldn't have the patience for the long time it takes to brew anything worth drinking.
 
If any of the Pinter people want it I have a Dunkel pack @Donnie @JonathanRyan
It says best before Dec 26, but sure it will be fine, its been in the fridge since it arrived.
My wife is very poorly and most of my time has been spent looking after her with no time for Beer making.
 
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tijuana taxi said:
If any of the Pinter people want it I have a Dunkel pack @Donnie @JonathanRyan
It says best before Dec 26, but sure it will be fine, its been in the fridge since it arrived.
My wife is very poorly and most of my time has been spent looking after her with no time for Beer making.
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I'll happily have it mate, let me know how much?
 
Krisstiffer said:
Just had my my first pint from the latest brew - Youngs American Mocha Porter - really tasty. Nice coffee and chocolate initial taste but not too sweet and then a nice clean “after bite”.
Was a 30 pint kit and at this rate I don’t think it’ll last that long!! Good job I’ve got 40 pints of Muntons Oaked Ale that’s nearly finished it’s primary fermentation!! :beer:
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You'll be a bit er, tipsy when you've supped all that lot lol! :lol:
 
tijuana taxi said:
If any of the Pinter people want it I have a Dunkel pack @Donnie @JonathanRyan
It says best before Dec 26, but sure it will be fine, its been in the fridge since it arrived.
My wife is very poorly and most of my time has been spent looking after her with no time for Beer making.
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Thanks for thinking of me - very generous.

MrRichAllen1976 said:
I'd love to have a go at it, but I can't afford all the kit and probably wouldn't have the patience for the long time it takes to brew anything worth drinking.
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Pinters are changing hands on FB for about 30 - 40 quid and presses start at about 13 so you could have a barrel full of 10 pints of beer in a week for under £50.

If you prefer, I've been told you can buy a 5l bottle of water off of Lidl for a couple of quid and put in 1/4 of a 40 pint kit from Wilco for £15. Add in some steriliser and used fizzy drinks bottle and you're on your way to 50p a pint beer for £20.
 
Dunkel on the way so have a pint or two on me.
Don't worry about the postage thanks, it was only a couple of quid.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Dunkel on the way so have a pint or two on me.
Don't worry about the postage thanks, it was only a couple of quid.
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Then I shall put a tenner into the next macmillan charity collection I see mate (y)
 
So....a bit of advice please.

For "various reasons" I want to brew a pinter press without a pinter. This will be a trial run for making other non pinter beers and possibly starting all grain. Obviously I could put it in a bucket or large demijohn but this caught my eye as quite a neat solution.

www.themaltmiller.co.uk

FastFerment 3 Gal (11.3L) Conical Fermenter

Designed to perform primary and secondary fermentation in one vessel the FastFerment system allows for yeast removal, so you can harvest and reuse if desired.
www.themaltmiller.co.uk www.themaltmiller.co.uk

Anybody have any experience of one? Or thoughts on whether it's another too good to be true product?
 
JonathanRyan said:
So....a bit of advice please.

For "various reasons" I want to brew a pinter press without a pinter. This will be a trial run for making other non pinter beers and possibly starting all grain. Obviously I could put it in a bucket or large demijohn but this caught my eye as quite a neat solution.

www.themaltmiller.co.uk

FastFerment 3 Gal (11.3L) Conical Fermenter

Designed to perform primary and secondary fermentation in one vessel the FastFerment system allows for yeast removal, so you can harvest and reuse if desired.
www.themaltmiller.co.uk www.themaltmiller.co.uk

Anybody have any experience of one? Or thoughts on whether it's another too good to be true product?
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I don't have any experience of using one admittedly but my only thought about using a pinter press in it would be the thought that the pinter brew is designed to be in a pressurised container and hence pressure fermentation which I think speeds it up? Wheras the Fastferment is non pressurised?
 
Donnie said:
Least I can do. Just to let you know it's just arrived and I'll get it going this evening (y) (y)
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That was quite quick admittedly it only had to go to the next county.
Enjoy, sure you will and thanks again for the kind gesture.
 
JonathanRyan said:
So....a bit of advice please.

For "various reasons" I want to brew a pinter press without a pinter. This will be a trial run for making other non pinter beers and possibly starting all grain. Obviously I could put it in a bucket or large demijohn but this caught my eye as quite a neat solution.

www.themaltmiller.co.uk

FastFerment 3 Gal (11.3L) Conical Fermenter

Designed to perform primary and secondary fermentation in one vessel the FastFerment system allows for yeast removal, so you can harvest and reuse if desired.
www.themaltmiller.co.uk www.themaltmiller.co.uk

Anybody have any experience of one? Or thoughts on whether it's another too good to be true product?
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I have made a non Pinter malt brew in a Pinter, but not the other way round.
Think I would go container with air lock for fermenting then pressurised vessel like a Corny to dispense from.

We rigged up a beer tap onto a Corny, to keep it fresh we used top pressure from a Co2 widget.
Probably still got all those bits somewhere, not that they have been in action for ages.
 
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Donnie said:
I don't have any experience of using one admittedly but my only thought about using a pinter press in it would be the thought that the pinter brew is designed to be in a pressurised container and hence pressure fermentation which I think speeds it up? Wheras the Fastferment is non pressurised?
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Yes, I guess fermentation will be slower. But all the problems I have with pinters come down to pressure - they just get overwhelmed and leak. A reliable pressure barrel would be another option - but I don't mind an extra few days if it means I don't wake up to a puddle of part fermented beer :) Or worse if the pressure relief valve sprays sticky liquid all over the ceiling.

tijuana taxi said:
I have made a non Pinter malt brew in a Pinter, but not the other way round.
Think I would go container with air lock for fermenting then pressurised vessel like a Corny to dispense from.

We rigged up a beer tap onto a Corny, to keep it fresh we used top pressure from a Co2 widget.
Probably still got all those bits somewhere, not that they have been in action for ages.
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Ah a corny (or more likely a U-flow) would be nice. But for the moment I think I'll bottle. Or put the beer in a pinter and serve from that.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Yes, I guess fermentation will be slower. But all the problems I have with pinters come down to pressure - they just get overwhelmed and leak. A reliable pressure barrel would be another option - but I don't mind an extra few days if it means I don't wake up to a puddle of part fermented beer :) Or worse if the pressure relief valve sprays sticky liquid all over the ceiling.



Ah a corny (or more likely a U-flow) would be nice. But for the moment I think I'll bottle. Or put the beer in a pinter and serve from that.
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Problem with a Pinter is every time you run a beer off its space is replaced by oxygen.
When we used the Corny that space was replaced with Co2 so it kept for much longer
Admittedly it held a lot more and getting through the contents of a Pinter doesn't take long.

Let us know how it goes, can't see any problem, we did exactly what you're doing with a Wheat beer brew.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Let us know how it goes, can't see any problem, we did exactly what you're doing with a Wheat beer brew.
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Fast Fermenter arrived yesterday. I just cleaned and assembled it and will leave it for a leak test overnight.

First impressions - it seems pretty good value. Lots of bits for your money and all of them made well enough that they should last. A bit fiddly to put together (it relies in PTFE tape to stop leaks) but I bet it's easier the second time.

Brew day tomorrow.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Fast Fermenter arrived yesterday. I just cleaned and assembled it and will leave it for a leak test overnight.

First impressions - it seems pretty good value. Lots of bits for your money and all of them made well enough that they should last. A bit fiddly to put together (it relies in PTFE tape to stop leaks) but I bet it's easier the second time.

Brew day tomorrow.
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Can't wait to see how you get on with this (y)
 
Donnie said:
Is that one of those ispindel thingys?
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It is :)

That's an ubidots dashboard getting data from the ispindel every 15 mins.

Red is temperature, orange is sg. Lets me keep an eye on it and see when fermentation has finished and also wears happening with the temperature.
 
Donnie said:
@JonathanRyan any updates on how this is going?
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Just bottle yesterday.

I let it ferment for just over a week (it's a 6.4% Belgian style beer), took out the yeast, added hop oil and left it another 5 days to secondary ferment.

I guess I'll know in a week or so if it's any good :)

One thing I should mention, it's VERY hard to get apart when full. You have large diameter plastic parts that have been tightened and left for 2 weeks. I think I need a jar opener to put some get on them.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Just bottle yesterday.

I let it ferment for just over a week (it's a 6.4% Belgian style beer), took out the yeast, added hop oil and left it another 5 days to secondary ferment.

I guess I'll know in a week or so if it's any good :)

One thing I should mention, it's VERY hard to get apart when full. You have large diameter plastic parts that have been tightened and left for 2 weeks. I think I need a jar opener to put some get on them.
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Should be fine in theory, but that all goes out the window with homebrewing.

I seem to remember that we had some sort of grip tool to unscrew the large caps off plastic fermentation barrels.
Maybe one of the homebrew supplies shops will have something suitable.

Enjoy (hopefully)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Just bottle yesterday.

I let it ferment for just over a week (it's a 6.4% Belgian style beer), took out the yeast, added hop oil and left it another 5 days to secondary ferment.

I guess I'll know in a week or so if it's any good :)

One thing I should mention, it's VERY hard to get apart when full. You have large diameter plastic parts that have been tightened and left for 2 weeks. I think I need a jar opener to put some get on them.
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How about one of the rubber strap style filter wrenches? Grandad put me on to that idea when I was about six years old (though it was a soft leather strap then).
In the past 50 years I've tried all sorts of kits and gizzmos but I always end up making fruit/veg wines when there's a glut and beer in the gold old-fashioned way.
One thing I have thought about is the uflow (uflow.co.uk) pressure keg. That also seems like a good way to increase throughput from the 'pinter' system perhaps.
 
morfis said:
How about one of the rubber strap style filter wrenches? Grandad put me on to that idea when I was about six years old (though it was a soft leather strap then).
In the past 50 years I've tried all sorts of kits and gizzmos but I always end up making fruit/veg wines when there's a glut and beer in the gold old-fashioned way.
One thing I have thought about is the uflow (uflow.co.uk) pressure keg. That also seems like a good way to increase throughput from the 'pinter' system perhaps.
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Good shout - I've just ordered a "baby boa".
 
My Dad used to make his own Wine, because we had a good Apple tree on the back Patio when we lived at the old House, and a good Elderberry crop on the back wall.

Personally though I've never been a big Wine drinker, give me a Pint of local real ale any time.
 
cambsno said:
Pinter2 down to £79 now for a few days - tempted!
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Maybe check how @Donnie is getting on. There's a *lot* of talk in the groups on FB that the tap just plain doesn't work. I sent mine back when 2 taps wouldn't stop. Other people are reporting pint after pint of foam - or calling each other idiots for not modifying it with a chopstick :).

I know happy people will tend to say nothing but I've also seen pictures of 2 that exploded. I wonder if the price cut suggests that things aren't going as well as they hoped.
 
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