Talk:MiniBrew FAQ's/@comment-45560872-20200429092139/@comment-45291320-20200514080028

Hi Gareth- like you I was a little underwhelmed by my initial brews. They were not "off" but I had experienced hop drop problems and ended up with a malt liquor rather than IPA! I persevered with the brew kits as I wanted to be sure that I knew what to expect from the machine. There was a time when they published a generic flow chart pdf of all of the steps- but they vary for each brew, so it was discontinued. So for the last couple of brew kits I watched it like a hawk. I recorded every temperature change and hop drop action over the whole brewing cycle- how sad am I? Then I started with my own brew using the portal. I used the "High 5 Pale Ale" on this site and changed the ingredients to what I could easily obtain. Then I knew exactly what was going to happen as I had programmed it myself. There is a good YouTube tutorial on this subject. The brew kits get you used to trub changing and the various steps needed. Please try a simple brew first- I like NEPA's myself and thus I use fruity types of hop- its a matter of your taste. Cost wise- I would be paying maybe 40 Euro including postage for a kit of Wingman Robin. My grain bill is now 3 Euro, hops around the same cost and yeast 2 Euro. A big difference! The portal cost is a big hit but in the great wash of life you have to see it spread over many brews. You will have to dive in sooner or later so- Go for it Gareth! Best wishes