[n.b83]

There's alot more to this home brewing than I thought.

[HugglescoteGrower]

There's alot more to this home brewing than I thought.

There can be, though there doesn't have to be.

I started out with kits, preferring the slightly more expensive "two can" kits which don't require extra sugar being added. All you have to do is ferment them then barrel or bottle them and Bob's your father's brother. As long as you make sure that all of your equipment is sanitised properly, that you don't pitch the yeast when the wort is too hot, and that you keep the fermenting vessel at roughly the right temperature very little can go wrong, and the results will be very satisfying - better than what you drink in most pubs.

One can kits, where extra sugar is required vary in quality quite a lot. The cheapest can be very poor, and a half decent one, by the time you have added a kilo of brewing sugar can cost almost as much as two can kits anyway. I would NEVER use ordinary granulated sugar for brewing, it is not suited and will detract from the finish bith in termsof taste and body of the beer which you have invested so much time in making.

Of course the opposite end of the scale is brewing from grain and creating your own recipes. The capacity for disaster becomes much greater, usually caused by a mistake made during the brewing process, though trust me - the first time you open the barrel tap and watch a 40, or as I tend to brew, an 80 pint batch flow down the plug hole becuase you did something wrong, or forgot to do something it does tend to concentrate the mind for your next effort.

[ohbeary]

What does my hydrometer measure?

your hydrometer measures "specific gravity", the density of a liquid, in our case the amount of sugar present in an unfermented liqour/must, the "OG" original gravity will tell you what you might get, the final gravity will tell you what you have, ie:- OG=1040, 1lb 1oz sugar per gal(5.1% alc), 1090 OG= 2lb 6oz per gal(12%alc), best bet buy CJJ Berry's book, " First Steps in Winemaking" about £6, worth every penny