The Thrifty Shopper Blogs

Coopers Mexican Cerveza Beer Kits

December 15th, 2009

Coopers Mexican Cerveza Beer Kits

Mexico is known for its arid lands, dusty conditions and oppressive heat.  So it’s not surprising that the people of Mexico are expert at quenching a thirst.  The Coopers Mexican Cerveza beer kit (beer) emulates the style of the finest quality beers exported from Mexico.

coopers-mexican-cerveza-beer-kitThis premium beer is light in style with a fresh clean taste, ideally served ice-cold with a wedge of lime or lemon. 

For the best results, we recommend the use of 1kg Beer Enhancer with this product.

This 40 Pint kit is Currently £11.30 from  TheThriftyShopper.co.uk

The Coopers beer kit range includes a massive range of beers from around the world. There really is something for all tastes. The kits are really easy to make and the instructions are easy to follow; a great range of beer kits for the beginner or experienced brewer.

Cantina Wine Kits

November 20th, 2009

Cantina Wine Kits

Cantina Wine Kits offer the ideal belnd of speed and quality. The kits are based on a specialised wine yeast and nutrient that helps produce a fatastic wine in under a week. What’s more - no added sugar is required.

These kits are excellent quality and are in our opinion the best one-week wine kits on the market.

There is a decent selection of grape varieties available and The Thrifty Shopper has tried them all. Our particular favourite is the Cantina Gold Pinot Grigio;

The Cantina Gold Wine Kit Range;

Cantina Gold Pink Chardonnay 30 Bottle Wine Kit

Cantina Gold Pinot Grigio 30 Bottle Wine Kit

Cantina Gold Cabernet Sauvignon 30 Bottle Wine Kit

The Cantina Wine Kit Range; 

Cantina Chardonay 30 Bottle Wine Kit

Cantina Pieselberg 30 Bottle Wine Kit

Cantina Italian Red 30 Bottle Wine Kit

Cantina Italian White 30 Bottle Wine Kit

Cantina Rose 30 Bottle Wine Kit

TheThriftyShopper.co.uk

Cellar7 - New 7-Day Wine Kit Coming Soon

November 19th, 2009

Cellar7 Wine Kits
We hear on the grapevine that a new 7-day wine kit is about to hit the shelves. From what we’ve learned the kits will contain a high performance yeast and nutrient and look set to take on The Cantina Range in the no-added sugar wine kit market.

We expect the range will offer a good selection of grape varieties and will be competitively priced.

We hope to be able to test this kit very soon and will publish our feedback on this blog and in The Thrifty Shopper Learning Zone.

We will of course be taking the full range and as soon as the wine kits are availble we will let you know.

TheThriftyShopper.co.uk

The St Peter’s Beer Kits are Here

November 17th, 2009

We are very pleased to announce the launch of the St. Peter’s Ruby Red Beer Kits.

st-peters-ruby-red-aleThese kits are in stock and ready to ship  - PLUS FREE Delivery this month on ALL Orders.

This St. Peter’s beer kit is a delicious tawny red ale with subtle malt undertones and a distinctive spicy hop aroma. The St. Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk is one of the leading lights of breweries in the UK in our humble opinion. Whenever we are in London we visit their City based pub, The Jerusalem Tavern for a pint or two. One of their best brews is this Ruby Red Ale - Click Here to get started.

St Peter’s Brewery in Bungay are proud of their surroundings and drew their name from the Great Hall at St Peter’s near Bungay Suffolk, which dates from around 1280 and is the centrepiece of the St Peter’s brewery site. In 1539 the East wing was added using materials from the nearby Flixton Nunnery, which was one of a dozen Monastic houses given to Cardinal Wolsey by King Henry VIII to finance the building of a school in Ipswich, Suffolk’s county town Then as today, Suffolk barley was carefully malted to brew beers and that tradition lives on today in the St Peter’s brewery.

St. Peter’s Beer Kits NOW IN STOCK with FREE DELIVERY

October 29th, 2009

st-peters-home-brew-bottle1

 NOW IN STOCK;  ORDER HERE

Word has reached us that St.Peter’s are about to launch a 40 pint Ruby Red kit. We expect it will be a two tin 3.6kg kit and we understand that the distinctive St. Peter’s oval shaped bottles will be available for sale to give your brew a really authentic St. Peter’s look as well as taste.

We’ll of course stock the full range on the site http://www.thethriftyshopper.co.uk as soon as they are available we’ll let you know.

We’re hoping that the Ruby Red kit is the first of many St. Peter’s homebrew kits. TheThriftyShopper are great fans of the St. Peter’s Brewery and we pay a visit to The Jerusalem Tavern whenever we are in London. It’s a beautiful little pub, packed with history as well as fantastic beers. st-peters-pub-frontage 

The brewery itself is housed in listed former agricultural buildings which were last used in the late sixties. These building then became derelict but offered a superb site for a working brewery and a visitor attraction.

St. Peters now produces 15,000 barrels of real ale per year (83,000 pints a week).

St. Peters homebrew kits COMING SOON – we’ll keep you posted.

Homebrew Taste Test

August 7th, 2009
The Enthusiastic Tasters

The Enthusiastic Tasters

We are always talking to people about how good homebrew wine and beer are, but the real test of this is how they fair when compared against a branded bottle bought from the supermarket – and what better way to measure this than by a blind taste test.

Thrifty’s Paul is the in-house wine making expert and he set a few of the team a challenge this morning; could they spot the supermarket purchased wine?

The test consisted of three chilled white wines in clear bottles marked A, B & C:

Bottle A was a Solomon Grundy Medium Dry White - Made from a 30 bottle kit for £20.99. Brewed for 9 days. 73 Pence a bottle.

Bottle B was a Blossom Hill California White - Purchased yesterday from Paul’s local Co-op for. £4.04 a bottle.

Bottle C was a California Connoisseur Gewurztraminer - Made from a 30 bottle kit for £34.25. Brewed for 28 days. £1.14 a bottle.

Here’s what they said;

Matt, Managing Director
Bottle A - “Very palatable wine, it has a slightly sulphurous nose but very palatable”
Bottle B – “Slightly acidic taste, nose is good, average taste, a decent quaffing wine”
Bottle C – “Good nose, good taste, a lovely wine with a full flavour”       

Darren, IT Guru
Bottle A – “Not a lot of flavour at first but I am getting a bit of a floral taste at the end”
Bottle B – “More taste in this one and a better aroma”
Bottle C – “Really good, loads of flavour, quite floral….can I have some more?”

Vanessa, Accountant
Bottle A – “Nice and smooth, the nose is not great but a very drinkable wine”
Bottle B – “This one is a bit sharp, quick drinkable but acidic”
Bottle C – “This is a bit too dry for me, it’s nice, but not one i’d choose to drink”

Russ, Warehouse Manager
Bottle A – “A little bit tart, quite nice but it’s not one i’d buy again”
Bottle B – “This is a good quaffing wine, it’s the kind of wine that my wife and I would buy”
Bottle C – “This one is really easy to drink, a good quality dry white”

The Result
So, which did our guinea pigs say was the bought wine?

Matt went for ‘C’ the California Connoisseur Gewurztraminer
Darren went for ‘C’ the California Connoisseur Gewurztraminer
Vanessa chose ‘A’ the Solomon Grundy Medium Dry White
Russ chose ‘B’ Blossom Hill California White

The Winner
The winner is home-made wine – the California Connoisseur Gewurztraminer  from The Thrifty Shopper weighing in an £1.14 a bottle.

For your reference - the equipment Paul used to brew these two homebrew wines;
The Beaverdale Starter Kit

25 Litre Fermentation Vessel

If you have any questions about homebrew or would like to try making wine at home please visit The Thrifty Shopper or email us on info@thethriftyshopper.co.uk

The Diary of an ibrew Home Brewer

July 8th, 2009

ibrew home brew starter kits

Day 1
Choose which variety of the ibrew system you would like to try. There are three home brew kits available in the ibrew range; bitter, lager or stout. Order on-line at www.ibrew-uk.com. ibrew-uk and The Thrifty Brewer are offering Free Shippingon all ibrew orders.

ibrew-bitter-starter-kitDay 3
Unwrap your your ibrew system and familiarise yourself with the various components. Your kits should contain 2 x 20 pint home brew beer kits, a home brew fermentation vessel, 2 x 10 pint dispensers, a home brew stirrer, and a carbonator / tap.

Remove the label from one of the ibrew cans and place in a bowl of warm water and leave to soften contents. The second can is for your next 20 pint brew.

Pour 20 pints of cold tap water into your home brew fermenter (the ibrew outer packet) and stir in 2 teaspoonfuls of the steriliser/cleaner powder using the plastic stirrer supplied. Place the stirrer and lid in the water to sterilise and leave for 15 minutes.

While the fermenter and stirrer are sterilising, bring to the boil a full kettle. After 15 minutes, empty the water from the fermenter and rinse the lid, stirrer and fermenter with cold tap water. Remove the can from the warm water and dry with kitchen roll. Open the can and pour the contents into the sterile fermenter. Half fill the empty can with hot water from the kettle and stir with the sterilised stirrer until all of the remaining can contents are dissolved and pour into the fermenter. Take care the can will be hot!

Add the rest of the hot water from the kettle and give the fermenter contents a good stir. Then top up with cold tap water to the 20 pint mark printed on the home brew fermenter, DO NOT FILL TO THE TOP!

ibrew-yeastCut open one of the yeast sachets and sprinkle this onto the surface of the liquid. If brewing bitter, add the contents of the hops sachet. Then loosely replace the fermentor lid and leave to ferment for 7 days at room temperature.

Day 10
Your home brew will be ready to transfer to transfer to the dispenser bottles. Put one teaspoon full of the cleaner powder into each of the 2 dispenser bottles and fill with cold water. Insert the siphon tube into one of the bottles, leaving about 2cm protruding from the bottle and leave to sterilise for 15 minutes. Rinse the bottles and tube with
clean cold water.

home brew dispenser bottleCarefully lift the fermenter onto the kitchen worktop and remove the lid. Place the sterilised dispenser bottles on the floor near the home brew fermenter and siphon the home brew from the fermenter into the first one then the other bottle, leaving about 3cm head-space.

To do this place the siphon tube into the beer in the home brew fermenter and hold in place while you suck the other end to fill the tube with home brew. Then quickly place into the empty bottle. Pinch-bend the end of the tube to stop the flow when you transfer to the second bottle - this may take some practice! Then screw the caps in place. Store bottles upright in an area where they will not be disturbed for 14 days.

Day 24
Remove the cap from one bottle and insert the carbonator/tap unit into the bottle and hand tighten. Check that the tap is closed. Gently tilt the bottle so that the gas bulb holders are upright (tap on top), undo one of the two gas bulb holders, insert a gas bulb and replace the holder, tighten gently into place until a hissing sound is heard. Insert the base plate onto the carbonator/tap unit and gently slide into the fridge to chill.

Now you are ready to enjoy your home brew beer!

Simply open the tap fully to dispense. If your home brew needs extra carbonation, or stops flowing, insert the second gas bulb into the empty bulb holder and tighten until a hissing sound is heard.

Once the bottle is empty, open tap to release any residual gas then gently undo the carbonator/tap unit and insert into your second bottle using the same method as described above.

Home Brew Bitter RefillIt’s now time to start your next brew, using your free 20 pint home brew kit.

Remember that refills are available from The Thrifty Brewer.

Enjoy and drink responsibly.

ibrew - Revolutionary Home Brew Kits

July 6th, 2009

ibrew beer kitsThe Thrifty Brewer is proud to introduce a new starter kit into the home brew market - the ibrew brewing system.
 
Do you remember helping your dad brew beer back in the 80’s. Remember the taste? WELL forget it because things are different now……….

Ibrew is for YOU. Modern, fun, easy to make, NATURAL products and QUALITY results.

Ibrew is available in three styles; bitter, lager & stout. There is also FREE Shipping on all ibrew products.

 

About ibrew

The ibrew system – All the equipment and beer kits to make 40 pints of quality home brew. 
Ibrew has been created to remove the mystique around making beer at home. This system will introduce a new generation into brewing at home and will surprise those returning to home brew with the quality results it produces.
What could be more satisfying than brewing your own great tasting beer? Imagine serving your own beer on tap at your next garden party. Available in three styles; lager, bitter & stout.

ibrew bitter kit

What do you get – you get 2 x 20 pint beer kits, a fermentation bucket, a packet of fast acting home brew yeast, a beer paddle, steriliser, 2 dispenser bottles, beer tap and base plate, siphon tubing, gas bulbs and instructions.

What do you have to do– your ibrew system will contain a really clear set of instructions, but in a nut shell;
You clean the kit,
You tip your tin of malt into your fermenter,
Add water and yeast,
Wait 7 days (you can go about your normal business during this step),
Siphon your beer into your bottles,
Wait 14 days (as above),
Attach your tap and place in fridge,
drink  responsibly.

This is a seriously good home brew beer making kit. Try it today. Free Shipping on all ibrew orders.

ibrew larger kits

FAQ’s

Q. I used to brew beer many years ago, are the kits better these days?
A. The quality of beer and winemaking kits has improved massively over the years. The ibrew beer making kits contain only the best quality malt extract. The results you get are fantastic.

Q. Is it difficult to make a good brew?
A. Not at all, just follow the really clear instructions and you will get great results ibrew stout kitsevery time. There are two main stages that require some effort; 15 minutes upfront and 15 minutes after 7 days. Not bad for the satisfaction of making your own quality homebrew.

Q. Is there lots of cleaning and sterilising involved?
A. Don’t get too paranoid about sterilisation. Yes its important, but you just have to add steriliser to your fermenter or dispenser, fill with water, wait for 15 minutes and give it a good rinse.

Q. I bought an ibrew Bitter system for my first time, can i use to make ibrew lager or stout?
A. Yes, one of the advantages of the ibrew system is that it can be used to brew any style of beer – or even cider.

Q. Can i make wine in this equipment?
A. No, unfortunately you will expose your wine to too much air in this fermenter. The ibrew wine making system is on its way but in the meantime; click here for a great range of winemaking kits.

Q. Where is the easiest place to buy an ibrew system?
A. Here or other online home brew retailers.

Q. Is everything in the system re-usable?
A. The only consumables you will need to re-order are; the 20 pint refill kits, steriliser & co2 bulbs.

Q. Do i really need the CO2 bulbs?
A. It’s really up to you. The co2 bulbs are great for giving a slight carbonation. Personally, I always use co2, but just one bulb at a time.  

Q. Where should i store my beer?
A. If you have brew bitter you may want to keep it in a cool room, pantry or cellar. But the ibrew dispenser bottles have been designed to fit perfectly into your fridge. Perfect.

Free Shipping on ALL Order. BUY NOW

Orange 2 for 1 Cinema Tickets every Wednesday

May 21st, 2009

orange-wednesdaysIf you’re an Orange customer you are eligible for 2 for 1 cinema entry. You can go to almost any cinema nationwide and use your 2 for 1 ticket. This includes Orange broadband and dial-up customers.

How it works

Orange Mobile Customer?
Orange offer three ways of getting hold of your Orange Wednesdays 2 for 1 tickets, and they’re all really easy. Either:
1.     Text ‘FILM’ to 241 and we’ll send you your ticket, pronto. Tickets cost 35p.
2.     Call 241 from your Orange mobile.
3.     Go to Orange World, select ‘Film’, then ‘Orange Wednesdays’.

Orange Broadband Customer?
If you’re an Orange home broadband or dial-up customer you can enjoy Orange Wednesdays too - you just need to register.
1.     First off you’ll need to register with us, using your unique user name. Your unique user name is the part of your Orange email address that comes after the ‘@’ symbol. So if your email address is john@smith.orangehome.co.uk, your unique user name is smith.orangehome.co.uk. Or if your email address is karen@slade.freeserve.co.uk, your unique user name is slade.freeserve.co.uk. The same applies to Wanadoo email addresses.
2.     Text ‘JOIN’ and your unique user name (the bit after the @), to 80241 to register.
So for example, JOIN name.orangehome.co.uk
3.     Orange will text you back, confirming you’re registered, and that’s it - you’re done. You won’t have to go through any of this again.
To get your tickets, just text the word ‘FILM’ to 80241 and we’ll send your text tickets* straight to your phone.
4.     When you get to the cinema, just show your text ticket to the nice man or lady at the box office, and you’ll get your Orange Wednesday 2 for 1 cinema tickets.
*text tickets cost 35p

Orange Mobile Broadband Customer?
If you an Orange mobile broadband customer you get to enjoy Orange Wednesdays too. 
Here’s how to claim your 2 for 1 tickets:
1. load your Orange Mobile Broadband connection software.
2. Once you’re in your SMS centre/connection manager, select the text messaging option and create a new message.
3. Write ‘FILM’ in the body of the message and send the text to 241.
4. Orange will send you back a unique code*.
Make a note of it, and show it to the box office staff to get hold of your 2 for 1 tickets.
5. Enjoy the movie.
*text tickets cost 35p

Loophole – Available to all
Good news - the Orange Wednesday cinema offer is available to all. There is a loophole that anyone can use, not just Orange customers.
For the price of £1 you can take advantage of the deal, saving you and a friend the cost of a cinema ticket every time you see an Orange Wednesday film.

All you have to do is buy a £1 pay-as-you-go sim card from Orange and then use this to apply for the tickets. Once you’ve applied you can put your regular sim back into your handset. Simple.
The only inconvenience is that when you put the Sim card in your phone it may not work. That’s because some mobile networks lock handsets so only their sim cards can be used in the phone. The good news is that you can easily and legally unlock your phone.

You can either pay to have it unlocked, or, do it yourself.

• Use a high street/market unlocking service
Since you’re going to have to post your phone to any online unlocking service, a process which can in itself be costly and cause headaches, the local unlockers have the upper hand here. It’s worth asking for a few quotes and playing the sellers against each other. With these sorts of services, you may be surprised at how far a bit of haggling can go too.
• Do it yourself.
If you fancy yourself as tech-savvy, you can also buy a cable on eBay or cheaper accessory websites and download free software which should do the trick. This can get complicated, so be sure to research it thoroughly online before parting with your cash for the unlocking ‘clip’. Be very careful though; this is only for the technologically experienced who can work through all issues.

There are different clips for each brand, and often for different handsets within that brand, so be sure to get the right one for your needs. If you only want to unlock one handset, then the most economical option may be to buy the clip, unlock the phone, and then re-sell it on eBay to recoup your costs.

Once you get the Orange sim working, pop it in your phone instead of your normal Sim and follow the instructions at the top of this page – you are now an Orange customer whenever you want to be.
How long will the Sim last?

To keep the Sim activated you need to make a call at least once every six months. Yet this includes free calls to check your balance, just dial 453 from your phone and this will count as a call.

However do remember you have to pay to receive the 2 for 1 text from Orange (it’s 35p). The PAYG initially has £1 credit on it and once it runs out you will need to top it up.

When the credit does run out the minimum top-up amount is £5. If you know you’re going to use that amount of credit for cheap cinema tickets fine, if not just buy a new sim card as and when you need it.

Pizza Express 2 for 1 Every Wednesday
pizza-express-2-for-1As well as offering 2 for 1 cinema tickets every Wednesday, Orange have teamed up to give you 2 for 1 pizzas in PizzaExpress restaurants across the country. Plus to make it that little bit more special than your average 2 for 1 pizza deal, you can also get free garlic bread, or some of those legendary dough balls.

To get your 2 for 1 pizzas, we just need you to download the voucher, fill it in and take it along to any PizzaExpress, along with your Orange Wednesdays text ticket. To find your nearest PizzaExpress restaurant visit www.pizzaexpress.com.

Is a Minimum Price for Beer and Wine on the Way?

April 17th, 2009

Beer and WineI saw this article on the BBC recently. 

One more reason to brew your own at home.

“The government’s top medical adviser has drawn up plans for a minimum price for alcohol which would double the cost of some drinks in England.
 
Under the proposal from Sir Liam Donaldson, no drinks could be sold for less than 50 pence per unit of alcohol they contain.  It would mean most bottles of wine could not be sold for less than £4.50.

The proposal is aimed at tackling alcohol misuse and is set out in Sir Liam’s annual report on the nation’s health. A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “We have not ruled out taking action on very cheap alcohol - it’s clearly linked to people drinking more and the subsequent harm to their health.”

She said more work needed to be done to make sure action was “appropriate, fair and effective” but decisions would take the “wider economic impact during this difficult time” into account.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said it was important to deal with people’s attitudes and not just the supply and price of alcohol.
The Liberal Democrats backed Sir Liam’s stance and said putting an end to “pocket-money priced alcohol” would influence drinking behaviour.”

While I support any initiative that aims to reduce anti-social behaviour, poor health or violent behaviour caused by excessive drinking i can’t help but feel that it’s the responsible drinkers that are going to be most affected by this. Once again the responsible majority will carry the can!

Useful Links:

The Thrifty Brewer

The Thrifty Winemaker