Okay, better late than never, another brew went on the go on 3rd Nov 2010. Blueberry Coopers real ale this time and the bottles are steralised and at the ready. The main thing I've taken from reading about home brewing is the major emphasis on steralisation. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING that will come into contact with the brew needs a saline soak/wash. I don't want to spend a month putting in so much effort only for my brew to smell like mould, salt is now my friend. My first batch of Coopers raspberry pale ale is now bottled and stored close to the hot water cylinder. I had a hiccup along the way as the bottles that were sourced from Sth Hobart tip needed larger bottle caps than the one's I had. A quick trip to the home brew shop and a few dollars later fixed the problem and I am now in posession of a larger cap puncher and larger caps. Champagne bottles are the bottle of choice for mine as the number of recycled bottles with a lip is limited. This suites me fine as they are a really appealing bottle. Can't wait to get the keg which is on layby as scavenging through bins at the tip takes a certain amount of inner belief in the cause. In the last week I have helped myself to 70 champagne bottles. Onced cleaned and steralised, the process becomes rewarding. Next stage once the blueberry beer is in bottles, is to make a fruit Champagne. The driving force in my endevour is the thought that come christmas I'll have a relatively cheap gift for my friends and family and a preservative free piss up.
