Camden tables and citric acid and boiling water to sterilize everything. Best to get the lid on quick if you wanted to keep breathing, though.
Cleanliness, a hydrometer, and a thermometer all essential. Also a siphon tube with a U at the bottom to stop sucking too much gunge through when racking.
starter kit for £100, however in store near me, there is a similar thing for £20
Years ago, when home brewing had recently been made legal, the brew room discussion wandered to ginger beer plants. I recalled that it consisted of a bit of yeast, some sugar and dry ginger, and just needed feeding daily for a week, after which you brewed and had two starter plants for the week after. My mate, proud of his Yorkist background in not wasting money, was upset at this, having spent real mail order money on one and getting "a packet of powder". What really upset him was the fact that he had to add his own sugar and ginger to feed it. Not saying the online outfit is over priced, but...........even if the £20 one doesn't work out, you can get a lot of beer with £80.
Way back then my beer brewing bible was "Brewing Better Beers" by Ken Shales. It might still be possible to find a copy, there will probably be much later books available covering the same ground, but it is more important to get one that covers the hows and whys and wherefores with a few good recipes rather than one with a multitude of recipes. I think my favourite from that book was "Finn McCool", an Irish style Porter. Must have been good and tasty - it was 40 years ago I made it and I can still taste it.
