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Good morning ladies and gents, Toxxyc here. I'm new to this forum, but not new to forums in general. A little background...
Currently my hobbies include shooting (specifically IPSC pistol shooting), hunting and playing some PC games (less of this lately, though). I am a project coordinator at a large software company of profession, where I'm also studying to get to my degree (BSc: Computer Science and Applied Mathematics) through Unisa.
I have always been interested in the home brew game, but never really had the "push" to actually get started. Before the December shut down a colleague pointed out to me that he wanted to try his hand at making mead, and that triggered some things. I remembered that I had a bit of leftover honey at home that nobody was using, so I got down the business. Fermentation is now done and all that, but the aging is a killer (smells and tastes OK though).
So I thought "what else can I make". Then I remembered about all these beer making kits and all that that I saw plenty years ago, and did some digging. Prices skyrocketed from when I last look at this (I remember the kits pricing around R600~R800, and they're closer to R1,700 these days), and I was a bit demotivated. Posted on forums around and a very kind person came to my aid.
He dug out an old (but "brand new", never used) Copper Tun brewing kit at home. It was complete, with 30l fermenting vessel with tap, air lock, hydrometer, cleaning agents and sanitizer, Emily (the red one) capper, crown caps, brewing spoon, instructions, etc. etc. Also in the kit was two Mangrove Jack's brew tins, complete with brew enhancer and all that. They were grossly "expired" though, so when I asked him on a price for all of it he said "send a courier and it's yours". So yeah, I got it for free
Anyway, I did some research on the kits and tins, and started the first one (will create a post about it a bit later). Even with the expired ingredients, it's now brewing away nicely. Air lock is active and actually starting to slowly slow down by now (I'm about 85 hours since pitching the yeast), so I'm looking to bottle in a few days (once ferm is done).
So yeah, that's me. I'm new, and I'm absolutely in love with this new hobby. I can't wait to get this first batch down the hatch to see how it goes, and so that I can start the next one. This hobby is going to give me an excuse to drink - A LOT.
Thanks for allowing me on here, and know that I look forward to asking, learning and hopefully achieving a lot on here!
Currently my hobbies include shooting (specifically IPSC pistol shooting), hunting and playing some PC games (less of this lately, though). I am a project coordinator at a large software company of profession, where I'm also studying to get to my degree (BSc: Computer Science and Applied Mathematics) through Unisa.
I have always been interested in the home brew game, but never really had the "push" to actually get started. Before the December shut down a colleague pointed out to me that he wanted to try his hand at making mead, and that triggered some things. I remembered that I had a bit of leftover honey at home that nobody was using, so I got down the business. Fermentation is now done and all that, but the aging is a killer (smells and tastes OK though).
So I thought "what else can I make". Then I remembered about all these beer making kits and all that that I saw plenty years ago, and did some digging. Prices skyrocketed from when I last look at this (I remember the kits pricing around R600~R800, and they're closer to R1,700 these days), and I was a bit demotivated. Posted on forums around and a very kind person came to my aid.
He dug out an old (but "brand new", never used) Copper Tun brewing kit at home. It was complete, with 30l fermenting vessel with tap, air lock, hydrometer, cleaning agents and sanitizer, Emily (the red one) capper, crown caps, brewing spoon, instructions, etc. etc. Also in the kit was two Mangrove Jack's brew tins, complete with brew enhancer and all that. They were grossly "expired" though, so when I asked him on a price for all of it he said "send a courier and it's yours". So yeah, I got it for free
Anyway, I did some research on the kits and tins, and started the first one (will create a post about it a bit later). Even with the expired ingredients, it's now brewing away nicely. Air lock is active and actually starting to slowly slow down by now (I'm about 85 hours since pitching the yeast), so I'm looking to bottle in a few days (once ferm is done).
So yeah, that's me. I'm new, and I'm absolutely in love with this new hobby. I can't wait to get this first batch down the hatch to see how it goes, and so that I can start the next one. This hobby is going to give me an excuse to drink - A LOT.
Thanks for allowing me on here, and know that I look forward to asking, learning and hopefully achieving a lot on here!
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