From Grain to Glass: Starting in the UK
- Chris Lee
- Jun 21, 2015
- 3 min read
I'm a Canadian home brewer who has recently relocated to Scotland. I find myself in a position where I need to re-equip my home brew setup from the bottom up. What was I able to fit in my suitcase? I left everything but two tools behind when I moved. The only two things that I thought were essential and easily packed were my Refractometer and my Thermometer. I just got the Refractometer for Christmas so I wasn't going to leave that behind. As for my Thermometer, its a good quality tool and I trust it. Everything else, well that was up to me to find some solutions.
The Cost of Brewing
I learned rather quickly that pricing here was pretty much the equivilant of Canadian dollars but as British Pounds.
For example:
Us-05 in Canada, usually retails for around $3.99.
Even with PST included, you're still only looking at about $4.54 CAD for this particular item. In the United Kingdom, prices are the same as Canadian prices but in GBP. If you converted the cost of something as simple as US-05 yeast, you pay $6.79 CAD for the same product on this side of the pond. Crazy, I know! This goes across the board for any brewing supply (hops, barley, yeast, adjuncts, equipment etc.)
Converting Measurements
Ok so this might sound a little dumb but this was something I did not give any thought in advance. In Canada, I'm very accustomed to brewing batches of beer using American Imperial measurements. Pound of this, few ounces of that. This is completely backwards as Canada is a metric country, however, our close proximity to the United States has led us to assimilate their imperial measurements. In the United Kingdom, everything is in metric. It really makes more sense honestly, but it did leave me reaching for my converter app on my iPhone when I was ordering ingredients.
An easy conversion, a 1-Gallon Carboy here is referred to as a 4.5 litre Demijohn.
Finding Supplies & Ingredients
Amazon
I was able to find some great suppliers online that had good starter kit options (bucket, funnel, spoon, hydrometer, syphon, etc.). A retailer that I fequently purchase from is called "Bigger Jugs" They have just about everything you need including mead, cider and winemaking supplies.
The Brew Store
Any search for brewing supplies and Edinburgh will always direct you to The Brew Store. This spot is a mere 15 minute walk South East from Waverly Station. The Brew Store has everything you need including a large variety of fresh malts in bulk and vacuumed packed hops on hand. You can order ingredients online with home delivery options. I reccomend their Mash Beer Brewers Bargain Pack that includes 4kg of a selection of malts, and 100g of leaf hops.
Wilkos
Wilkos is like a Scottish Canadian Tire.
It sells very similar house and home based stuff from the kitchen to the garden. As it turns out, they also happen to have a home brewing section for beer and wine. Easy access to tools like carboys and bottles, but limited to canned LME for ingredients. The good news is that this place is only about a 15 minute walk from my house. If I'm ever short of a basic supply, Wilkos is my place.
