# Home Brewing round 2?.



## keithmac (27 May 2020)

Just red @Drago 's thread, how did you get on? 

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/home-brewing.230138/

We (really my wife sorted it on Saturday while I was at work) have got a Coopers IPA on the go.

Fancy doing a Stout next (chocolate stout would be even better!), any recommendations?.

Apparently it's going to be a few weeks yet till we can drink it..

Bought some re-usable bottles, in hindsight it would have been cheaper to buy them pre filled..


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## stephec (27 May 2020)

If it's like most home brew it'll smell funny, be drinkable with a peg on your nose, and make you fart. 😊


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## Beebo (27 May 2020)

keithmac said:


> Bought some re-usable bottles, in hindsight it would have been cheaper to buy them pre filled..


Anyone home brewing or home baking to save money will be sadly disappointed. 

Do it for the fun and challenge. if you want a decent drink then buy it ready made by the experts.


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## keithmac (27 May 2020)

Beebo said:


> Anyone home brewing or home baking to save money will be sadly disappointed.
> 
> Do it for the fun and challenge. if you want a decent drink then buy it ready made by the experts.



That was a bit tongue in cheek to be fair, looking forward to trying it when it's ready.


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## sleuthey (27 May 2020)

I gave it up years ago but I found Wilkinson’s was an excellent place to get cheap kit


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## raleighnut (27 May 2020)

stephec said:


> If it's like most home brew it'll smell funny, be drinkable with a peg on your nose, and make you fart. 😊


I've made some great homebrew over the years, cleanliness and sterilising everything is the key to good beer.


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## Harold Finch (27 May 2020)

First time poster but long time brewer 

Be patient, it tastes nicer if you leave it bottled for a couple of months

Bulk mix your priming sugar, it's easier than trying to add a few grams of sugar to each bottle

Buy a bench capper, it's less hassle than a hand capper

Keep your beer cool and pour in one easy motion leaving the little sediment in the bottle

Milk crates are handy for storing bottles of beer

Enjoy your beer and brew some more


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## stephec (28 May 2020)

Harold Finch said:


> First time poster but long time brewer
> 
> *Be patient, it tastes nicer if you leave it bottled for a couple of months*
> 
> ...


So that's why mine was a bit poo.


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## Drago (28 May 2020)

I'm letting it settle in the bottles for a while. Still got 30 odd cans of Guinness to polish off first.


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## raleighnut (28 May 2020)

Drago said:


> I'm letting it settle in the bottles for a while. Still got 30 odd cans of Guinness to polish off first.


Will the homebrew be ready by the weekend.


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## keithmac (28 May 2020)

I can't do more than 10 pints od Guinness, it's a meal as much as a drink (love it though!).

They do some lovely Porters, was it 200 brews for 200 years?.


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## Salar (29 May 2020)

I used to do a lot of home brewing way back.

If you don't have a copy, get hold of "Brewing Beers like those you buy" by Dave Line. It was first published in 1978, but is apparently regularly re issued.

Some really good recipes in there, particularly stout.


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## Dave7 (29 May 2020)

Drago said:


> I'm letting it settle in the bottles for a while. Still got 30 odd cans of Guinness to polish off first.


What will you do for tomorrow ??


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## Dave7 (29 May 2020)

Beebo said:


> Anyone home brewing or home baking to save money will be sadly disappointed.
> 
> Do it for the fun and challenge. if you want a decent drink then buy it ready made by the experts.


Not done it for many years (1980s) but it used to be far cheaper AND nicer.
We moved into this house in 1982 just as the engineering collapsed. 
I was out of work for 6 months. It was a hot summer. We survived on BBQs, home brewed beer and home brewed wine. It was cheap and good.


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## Harold Finch (29 May 2020)

The choices tonight will be Coopers Mexican Cerveza followed by Jamaican rum made with alcohol from a sugar wash run through my air still

I won't have too much or the 35 mile cycle planned for tomorrow morning might not happen


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## keithmac (29 May 2020)

My wife did a test today in preparation for bottling, saved me a bit and it taste lovely already!, like St Austel Tribute.


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## bitsandbobs (29 May 2020)

With a little bit of effort, it's relatively easy to homebrew beer these days which is far far far better than pretty much anything you could buy in the 70s, 80s, 90s and noughties. And a lot of what's on the supermarket shelves these days.

The range of yeasts and hops available to the home brewer is fantastic, but it's likely not going to save you a huge amount of cash. Sure you can make super cheap homebrew, but it'll taste as bad as it did way back when.

The game has changed in the last decade as craft brewing has taken off and it's very difficult to produce a Verdant, Deya, Neon Raptor, BBno etc. at home.


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## Con (29 May 2020)

I don't brew beer but I make a very nice wine out of supermarket fruit juice. I gave my friends a bottle of it and they couldn't believe how nice it was. It's a tweaked version of wurzels orange wine that you can find on the internet. Mine comes out like a nice rose but about 16% (it knocks your block off) I make 10ltrs of the stuff for £8. I've been making it for about 15 years now but it took me 5 years to perfect it.


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## DaveReading (29 May 2020)

bitsandbobs said:


> The range of yeasts and hops available to the home brewer is fantastic



Not forgetting malts (if you're going to make the stuff properly).


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## lazybloke (30 May 2020)

Con said:


> I don't brew beer but I make a very nice wine out of supermarket fruit juice. I gave my friends a bottle of it and they couldn't believe how nice it was. It's a tweaked version of wurzels orange wine that you can find on the internet. Mine comes out like a nice rose but about 16% (it knocks your block off) I make 10ltrs of the stuff for £8. I've been making it for about 15 years now but it took me 5 years to perfect it.


I tried that recipe several times. Tried lots of variations, inverting the sugar, racking and maturing. Even made it with freshly collected silver birch sap one spring.

It was all filth. Cooked with some of it. Poured quite a lot away. Always had nasty bitterness. Tried to cover that with glycerol- no joy.

What did you learn during your 5 years of perfecting?


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## Con (30 May 2020)

Leaving out the orange for one thing lol. I use 
4 morrisons grape apple and raspberry juice and 1 purple grape. Boil everything for 15 minutes beforehand and use a good yeast like ec 1118. But I've had ok results with youngs yeast compound as well. Not really had any taste bitter. Very dry sometimes but you can back sweeten. I also rack mine and let it clear by itself as I think finings leave a funny taste.


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## keithmac (31 May 2020)

Bottling day today!.

We've bought another brewing barrel so we can have a stout (me) and an IPA (wife) and got a Stout kit coming.

Bought two dolleys to sit the kegs on under the stairs, to save our backs!.


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## Harold Finch (31 May 2020)

I currently have a Wherry and a Dark Stout in pressure barrels and a couple of hundred bottles of various lagers......I'm working my way through them 

I prefer using the still and making spirit these days


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## keithmac (1 Jun 2020)

Was looking at pressure barrels, how much is the gas to keep them topped up?.

We've bottled this one for easier storage but I'm sure I could find room for a pressure barrel full of stout!.

Fancy doing a nice Belgian wheat beer, they're a bit pricey though so need to get the practice in first!.


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## Harold Finch (1 Jun 2020)

keithmac said:


> Was looking at pressure barrels, how much is the gas to keep them topped up?.
> 
> We've bottled this one for easier storage but I'm sure I could find room for a pressure barrel full of stout!.
> 
> Fancy doing a nice Belgian wheat beer, they're a bit pricey though so need to get the practice in first!.



The little gas bulbs are about £5 for 10, make sure you get the right gas bulb holder for your barrel, there are a couple of different types.

Barreling is a lot easier than bottling with less sanitising, easier to fill, no capping. 

You have to make sure the you have a good seal or you can lose your beer or end up with flat beer. The other trouble with a barrel is keeping it cool, not as easy to keep chilled as bottles.

That first turn of the tap after waiting a few weeks is nervewracking


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## keithmac (9 Jun 2020)

1st brew is read to drink at the weekend!.

Just done an Australian IPA and a Stout tonight. My stout's going to take a month, patience is a virtue..


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## SafetyThird (10 Jun 2020)

This week I'll be bottling my first all grain brew. It's a traditional English IPA. Next up with be a London bitter and a London porter, again all brewed from grain rather than tins. It's not much more difficult but takes a bit longer on brewing day.


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## keithmac (10 Jun 2020)

Porter sounds nice!. 

Think we'll get a few boxed beers under our belt before doing anything fancier.


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## SafetyThird (11 Jun 2020)

keithmac said:


> Porter sounds nice!.
> 
> Think we'll get a few boxed beers under our belt before doing anything fancier.


If you like porters and want to do a kit, the Woodforde's Nog is a lovely dark beer, not quite a porter but dark and rich. I've done a couple of kits of that and still have half a barrel to work my way through.


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## keithmac (11 Jun 2020)

SafetyThird said:


> If you like porters and want to do a kit, the Woodforde's Nog is a lovely dark beer, not quite a porter but dark and rich. I've done a couple of kits of that and still have half a barrel to work my way through.



Thanks, I'll have a look into that one!.


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## keithmac (13 Jun 2020)

First pint of my wifes IPA, it's bloody lovely!.


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## uphillstruggler (14 Jun 2020)

I’ve done quite a few of the kit with mixed results but this thread got me interested again

a mate was chatting to a local head brewer who actually started out as an amateur brewer, his advice is that it’s the yeast in those kits that ruins things so as I’vebeen doing a load of work at another local brewery, I asked for someyeast and fair play, he gave me some but I’m not allowed to share the strain but I bought this one as I love red ale. I’ve swapped the yeast for a dry lager version, fingers crossed it works






only time and patience will tell


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## DaveReading (14 Jun 2020)

I don't know if it's still possible, but you used to be able to make a yeast starter from the small amount in the bottom of a bottle of Guinness.


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## the snail (15 Jun 2020)

Con said:


> Leaving out the orange for one thing lol. I use
> 4 morrisons grape apple and raspberry juice and 1 purple grape. Boil everything for 15 minutes beforehand and use a good yeast like ec 1118. But I've had ok results with youngs yeast compound as well. Not really had any taste bitter. Very dry sometimes but you can back sweeten. I also rack mine and let it clear by itself as I think finings leave a funny taste.


Aldi were doing cheap grape juice at one point - 1l white grape + 1l apple made quite a nice wine. This time of year you can add elderflowers to it for an easy tasty wine.


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## Poacher (15 Jun 2020)

DaveReading said:


> I don't know if it's still possible, but you used to be able to make a yeast starter from the small amount in the bottom of a bottle of Guinness.


Unfortunately it hasn't been possible for decades, ever since the accountants gained the upper hand over the brewers and insisted on pasteurisation. They also reduced the strength, but that's another topic. Shame, as it was a cracking strain, great for bitter as well as stout.
There are still some bottle conditioned beers which are viable for making starters; maybe Camra would be a good starting point for a list of these?


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## bitsandbobs (15 Jun 2020)

There's really no need to culture from bottles. Even if you do manage to culture something it might not be the yeast that the brewer used for primary fermentation - it could be just something different they added for bottle conditioning.

Just order a decent strain from someone like...

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/ingredients/?category=yeast

So many to choose from these days! 

S-04 and S-05 are good ones to start with.


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## keithmac (15 Jun 2020)

I'll keep an eye on it, we bought good quality kits so will see how they turn out.

The first one has turned out a real treat so hopefully my Stout will be similar!.

Our yeast came in a sachet.


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## keithmac (21 Jun 2020)

Bottling day for the stout, good timing really as it was a father's day present!.

All boxed up (2 are mine one's part of my wifes IPA), off under the stairs for 3 weeks now..

The dolley is a godsend, beats lugging the brewing barrels and bottles about!.


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## keithmac (10 Jul 2020)

Stout came out very well!.


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## Willd (3 Oct 2020)

As a fair weather cyclist, today was an ideal beer making day  First try at a lager, be interesting to see how it turns out.


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## keithmac (25 Oct 2020)

Had another 2 months off the booze and decided to brew my Belgian Dubbel up for a Christmas treat.

Two barrel job apparently but hopefully worth the effort.

It's going to be a good one!.


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## keithmac (9 Nov 2020)

Bottling day for my Dubbel, sterilising 40 bottles and a 2nd bucket is a chore but hopefully it'll be worth it in the end!.

Need a pressure barrel I think..


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## Willd (9 Nov 2020)

I just stick them in the dishwasher (if you have one ) on a quick wash and have never had any issues - no tablet so there's no detergent residue.

Barrels are ok, but it depends how quickly you plan on drinking it


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## keithmac (29 Nov 2020)

Caved in today and tried a Dubbel just to see how it was getting on. 

Needless to say it's a bit potent!, will have to be careful drinking these..


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## berty bassett (29 Nov 2020)

Used to do a lot of home brew 
Always used wilkies unless someone got me a posh one , always either lager or white cider ( sorry ) 
To save money I used to buy any cheap lemonade ( 20p / bottle) , once empty I used them for bottling - bonus you could feel if bottles get rock hard and let a bit of gas out then tighten back up 
Used to drink it with lemonade as too strong for me and gave me more bottles to replace old ones 
Cider was viciously strong


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## keithmac (29 Nov 2020)

Not a bad idea using the 2l bottles.

We've got reusable plastic pint bottles and to be fair the don't look much different to what you buy drinks in at the shop..


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## berty bassett (29 Nov 2020)

keithmac said:


> Not a bad idea using the 2l bottles.
> 
> We've got reusable plastic pint bottles and to be fair the don't look much different to what you buy drinks in at the shop..


I only used lemonade though - all other ‘pops’ tainted the bottles


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## NeverFromConcentrate (6 Feb 2021)

The best advice I ever received was to find a home brew club, and join it.
I learned so much from others, tried each other’s beers and got into proper all grain brewing.
That’s when it really started tasting nice. 
Good ingredients, the right equipment, and never stop keeping things spotless and you won’t go far wrong.
Also not doing it in the kitchen made for a better experience ;-)


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## keithmac (6 Feb 2021)

Not a bad idea to join a club, will have a look.

Kitchen only at the moment unfortunately!. We normally brew and bottle on a Sunday.


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## NeverFromConcentrate (6 Feb 2021)

I think your partner has a more enlightened view perhaps


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## keithmac (6 Feb 2021)

It was my wife's idea to start the homebrewing, she likes Pale Ales and I'm a Stout man.

Can imagine it's a pain of the other half is not involved .


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## Willd (27 Feb 2021)

Newcastle  Rugby Brown Ale is go


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## Bazzer (27 Feb 2021)

Years ago I did some beer kits and made some homebrew cider, but when I married, we started fruit wines, like my Dad used to make. 
There is a much longer wait time for drinking, typically 12 months; some is 24 months, but it's worth it. Last year we put 140 bottles of apple wine and around 40 bottles of pear wine and some rhubard, under the floor.
Looking forward to tasting 2018's crop. We also have retained a selection of previous crops of apple, pear, blackcurrant, blueberry, rhubarb and parsley, for occasion drinks.


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## glasgowcyclist (27 Feb 2021)

This might be a blasphemous thing to suggest but has anyone tried using The Pinter?
I like the look of it, attractive design and clever.

_The Pinter™ is a world-first innovation that allows you to make 10 pints of brewery fresh beer that’s affordable, sustainable and tastes incredible - all from the comfort of home.

The Pinter is at the apex of a marriage between the very best brewing practices and pioneering technology. By adding water and yeast to the natural Fresh Presses the Pinter's unique technology works delivering a fermentation process in line with quality craft brewing.

Innovation at every level; the Pinter creates and retains its own CO2 which after cooling in the fridge, aids the conditioning process to deliver 10 pints of unparalleled quality Fresh Beer.


View: https://youtu.be/QsjKiU3VFkA
_


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## stephec (28 Feb 2021)

glasgowcyclist said:


> This might be a blasphemous thing to suggest but has anyone tried using The Pinter?
> I like the look of it, attractive design and clever.
> 
> _The Pinter™ is a world-first innovation that allows you to make 10 pints of brewery fresh beer that’s affordable, sustainable and tastes incredible - all from the comfort of home.
> ...



It looks very tempting, having made enough home brew in the past though I'd like to have a taste before committing, beer in a week just sounds too good to be true.


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## keithmac (28 Feb 2021)

I'm used to our 40 pinters now .


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## stephec (28 Feb 2021)

keithmac said:


> I'm used to our 40 pinters now .


That's why I don't do it anymore. 🍻😄


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## DaveReading (28 Feb 2021)

glasgowcyclist said:


> This might be a blasphemous thing to suggest but has anyone tried using The Pinter?
> I like the look of it, attractive design and clever.



I tried Googling for a review of the Pinter, but all I got was stuff about a caretaker and some birthday party.


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## bitsandbobs (1 Mar 2021)

glasgowcyclist said:


> This might be a blasphemous thing to suggest but has anyone tried using The Pinter?
> I like the look of it, attractive design and clever.
> 
> _The Pinter™ is a world-first innovation that allows you to make 10 pints of brewery fresh beer that’s affordable, sustainable and tastes incredible - all from the comfort of home.
> ...




Nespresso for beer! 

Not really sure what the target market is. Won't be of interest to homebrewers because you're limited to their flavour packs. The beer geeks won't go anywhere near it as the beer probably won't be that great. Having said that their kickstarter seems to have been reasonably successful. I suspect this may be one of those kitchen gadgets that gets used three or four times and then goes to the back of a cupboard. 

They say it's all about freshness, but it's not that difficult to get fresh beer. I get cans (the superior packaging option these days) from a local brewery within a day or two of canning. This weekend I've been drinking cans from Cloudwater which were six weeks old and I don't live in the UK. 

There is/was a company in the US called Picobrew that produced a similar "desktop" sized beer machine. To my mind, it was superior to the Pinter in that recipes could be customized using real ingredients. Picobrew ran what was the most successful kickstarter ever at the time if I remember correctly. However, they went bankrupt last year and were acquired by new owners who have put up the assets for sale.


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## cambsno (1 Mar 2021)

glasgowcyclist said:


> This might be a blasphemous thing to suggest but has anyone tried using The Pinter?
> I like the look of it, attractive design and clever.
> 
> _The Pinter™ is a world-first innovation that allows you to make 10 pints of brewery fresh beer that’s affordable, sustainable and tastes incredible - all from the comfort of home.
> ...




Been thinking the same. Looks perfect for a no-nonsense brew. Downside is what if you dont like the packs?

Plus, while I like my canned Kolsch at £2.50 a can, I can get 3 500ml bottles of a very good Munich beer at Tesco for £5 - which is about £1.60 a pint (Pinter claim theirs works out at £1.30 but you need to buy the kit too)


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## Pale Rider (2 Mar 2021)

I have a vague memory of a brew in the bag/bladder product from the 1980s.

The idea was all you had to do was add water and wait.

I tried one, but cannot remember how it turned out.


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## JBGooner (3 Mar 2021)

Two days to go


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## stephec (3 Mar 2021)

Pale Rider said:


> I have a vague memory of a brew in the bag/bladder product from the 1980s.
> 
> The idea was all you had to do was add water and wait.
> 
> I tried one, but cannot remember how it turned out.


It's probably as well that you can't remember, as I unfortunately do.


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## stephec (6 Mar 2021)

I emailed Pinter last Sunday about any kind of satisfaction/money back guarantee, and got this back about half an hour ago - 

Thank you for getting in touch. I'm very sorry for the delay in getting back to you, we've been much busier than usual and are currently hiring to keep up with demand.

We don't offer a money back guarantee but our customer service team are happy to help and advise you on how to get excellent results from your Pinter. Our returns policy is as follows:

If you decide to return something to us, you will need to email in to hello@thegreatergood.co.uk with details of your return within 14 days of receiving the product. After this return has been authorised, you have an additional 14 days to return the product to us for a refund. The Pinter/Pinter Pack will need to be in an unused condition and still in the original packaging. We strongly recommend you get proof of postage.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.


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## glasgowcyclist (6 Mar 2021)

stephec said:


> I emailed Pinter last Sunday about any kind of satisfaction/money back guarantee, and got this back about half an hour ago -
> 
> Thank you for getting in touch. I'm very sorry for the delay in getting back to you, we've been much busier than usual and are currently hiring to keep up with demand.
> 
> ...



Seems fair enough.


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## stephec (6 Mar 2021)

glasgowcyclist said:


> Seems fair enough.


I thought that would be the answer, I just can bring myself to splash the cash without tasting it first though.


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## Harold Finch (8 Mar 2021)

A new bucket of sugar wash fermenting away, a couple of weeks and it will be ready to be run through the air still


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## Harold Finch (20 Mar 2021)

Two weeks fermenting away, time to run through the still, filter and add flavours


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## keithmac (20 Mar 2021)

Had one of my wife's Pale Ales last night, was lovely!.


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## keithmac (3 Jul 2021)

Another chocolate stout to try from Wilko's of all places!. Will be starting this one in the morning.


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## keithmac (5 Aug 2021)

Hats off to my wife (and best friend) for this one. 

I've had other fish to fry but she's looked after my stout and bottled it for me, along with sorting plenty of other problems out.

Tastes lovely!.


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## oldwheels (6 Aug 2021)

Harold Finch said:


> View attachment 579573
> 
> Two weeks fermenting away, time to run through the still, filter and add flavours


I trust you have informed HMRC of your activities. I am not up to date on this but the heavy squad could arrive any day.


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