Homebrew Beer Howto

oblivious

Caribs wrote: »

Apologies if this wins the dimmest question of the week award but completely new to this lark but willing to give it a go.

I'm looking at making wine and have a 25 litre fermentation vessel. Do you need to fill it to the top or could you make 10/15 litres to start off. Reason I ask is I understand the air will react with the wine in the same way it does when you uncork a shop purchased bottle.

you actually want some space for the fermentation to take place and the fermentation process will place the oxygen with CO2 in a sealed contain with an air lock, like this one.

Just don't place the wine when fermentation has completed as oxygen can be take up at this stage

Caribs

thanks Oblivious - appreciate the advice

_blank_

I've just started a batch of iBrew Ale, used less of the hop mixture than last time, maybe 3/4 of the packet that came in the kit, to reduce the hoppiness, I found it a little too bitter for my tastes last time.

I'm moving it out to the garden every morning because we don't have out rads on in this weather, and it seems to be going very well (started it on Thursday evening). Still bubbling away anyway.

It says in the instructions to let it ferment for 1 week, is that enough? I plan to bottle it on Friday evening. Using the Ikea swingtops and some glucose in each bottle. About a teaspoon each?

oblivious

Des wrote: »

I'm moving it out to the garden every morning because we don't have out rads on in this weather, and it seems to be going very well (started it on Thursday evening). Still bubbling away anyway.

Most modern house are warm enough to ferment with out been nears a heat source, the temp will dip at night but i have found it to be fine

Des wrote: »

It says in the instructions to let it ferment for 1 week, is that enough? I plan to bottle it on Friday evening. Using the Ikea swingtops and some glucose in each bottle. About a teaspoon each?

I generally give it two weeks to insure its fermented out fully and i think those measurements are for 500 ml bottles so adjust accordingly

Best of luck with it

_blank_

The only thing I'm really scared of is the bottles exploding

It comes inside every evening when the sun's gone down, the house thermomother hasn't dropped below 20C since Friday. I have an old duvet on hand in case of a cold snap.

So, more than a teaspoon then, no problem.

I need something to fashion a funnel from

guildofevil

Des, don't worry about your beer getting too cold. Yeast generates it's own heat as it ferments, so it is actually warmer than the surrounding air. For years I just fermented all my beers at whatever the temperature in the house happened to be. It's a more robust process than you might think.

I would give it more than a week though. Two at least, more if it seems to need it. I know the iBrew kit doesn't come with a hydrometer, but I would strongly advise you to get one for future use. It really is the only way to know what your beer is doing.

I use 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar to prime a 500ml bottle of beer and find that it gives enough carbonation. Others use more; it's a matter of taste. I am not sure if the Ikea swingtops are rated for pressure, so I would be careful not to prime them too much and make sure the beer is finished fermenting before you bottle. They are clear glass, right? Make sure to keep them somewhere out of the light, because strong light will damage your beer.

If you are in Dublin, All Rooms on Liffey Street sell plastic funnels for a couple of euro.

Best of luck with the brewing.

_blank_

Going to lock this thread now, seeing as we have a whole forum dedicated to the fine art of Home Brewing.

You've served us well old feller, time to retire.:)

Martyn1989

Hey lads starting to look at grains and hops for my first partial extract brew, (and going through my copy of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing)
anyway, it seems hard to buy grain in less then 3kg bags, can you store the unused grain for a decent amount of time?
Thanks

mayto

Martyn1989 wrote: »

Hey lads starting to look at grains and hops for my first partial extract brew, (and going through my copy of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing)
anyway, it seems hard to buy grain in less then 3kg bags, can you store the unused grain for a decent amount of time?
Thanks

You should store hops in the freezer and grains somewhere cool if possible. I have my grain in a box in the garage. The grain will keep for months no problem.

BeerNut

Martyn1989 wrote: »

it seems hard to buy grain in less then 3kg bags

Really? Where are you looking, and for which grains? I usually buy mine in 500g bags from The Homebrew Company. Homebrew.ie has 1kg bags too.

Martyn1989

BeerNut wrote: »

Really? Where are you looking, and for which grains? I usually buy mine in 500g bags from The Homebrew Company. Homebrew.ie has 1kg bags too.

I am corrected, and they seem to be a bit cheaper too, I hadn't looked in a while, and I looked at Rathmines today (seeing as I can hop on a bus straight over there).
I havnt deicided on the grains, I was thinking on some crystal and a little bit of roasted barley or something.
Also cascade hops seem to be sold out by most suppliers (and for quite a while too)
I was thinking Id try do a kind of cross pale ale/Irish red, like a very hoppy Irish red, partial extract of course
Like use 1 maybe 2 cans light malt extract
1kg of crystal malt
1/2 roasted barley

Northern Brewer and Cascade hops
and some safale S-04

This is in its early stages, I wouldnt be able to do it for another 4 weeks anyway

BeerNut

That's not "partial extract", that's extract

I would strongly recommend using dry malt extract (spray malt) rather than liquid as it makes it less likely that you'll get oxidised flavours and gives you more control since you can use as much or as little as you like.

I also suggest getting some brewing software so you can fiddle about with recipes and get an idea of how they'll turn out before you start. I find BeerTools pretty straightforward: you can download a free trial version and run your recipe on that. It's worth paying for if you're going to keep designing your own beers. BeerSmith is another product along similar lines.

Martyn1989

Does partial mean your doing a mash?

Ill look into DME but I may stick with the LME just because Ive used it before.

Until then Im just going to keep reading and watch my stout bubble away for 10 mins 3 times a day in anticipation :cool:

BeerNut

Martyn1989 wrote: »

Does partial mean your doing a mash?

"Partial mash" means you're doing a mash, but using extract for the bulk of the fermentables.

Readingwise, there's a good extract guide here.

irish_goat

For anyone in/near Maynooth, there's a new homebrew shop opened up in the village (above Express cabs).

It was closed for lunch when I called in today so I dunno what it's like but I'll check back during the week.

Martyn1989

Silly question but I can't seem too find a replacement grommet for the airlock hole in my fermenting bin, I've the Youngs fermenter, anyone any ideas?
Thanks

oblivious

Martyn1989 wrote: »

Silly question but I can't seem too find a replacement grommet for the airlock hole in my fermenting bin, I've the Youngs fermenter, anyone any ideas?
Thanks

Tin foil will work in pinch

Stanford

Hi All,

Could anybody recommend a good Irish supplier for home brewing wine ingredients?

Thanks

S

BeerNut

I think the range is fairly similar among the usuals:
HomeBrewWest
HomeBrewCompany
HomeBrew.ie
My Beer and Wine
etc.

Stanford

Many thanks Beernut, have you ever heard of a white grape juice concentrate called "Solvino" which is imported from Italy and used in wine home brewing?

S

BeerNut

Nope. Not really my area.

E-mail the guys above and see if they can source it for you.

AlkalineAcid

I'm looking at buying some beer/wine equipment for my first homebrew on some of the usual sites listed above. Should I be looking at the packs that come with two fermenters or just the one? 33 l or 25 l? There was only a fiver difference the price between 2 x 33 l and 2 x 25 l packages. If I were only using the 40 pint kits 33 l sounds like it would leave too much space.

BeerNut

Two fermenters is definitely a lot handier when it comes to bottling. Three fermenters means you can have two batches on the go at once

For starting out with kits the 25L buckets are perfectly adequate.

AlkalineAcid

Thanks! Is there any problem using a 33L fermenter for the 40 pint kits? I'm thinking about buying the bigger ones so I could scale up easier after my first couple kits.

BeerNut

Nope: should be fine.

Martyn1989

It won't be for a while (a long while), but I really want to get some of those 1 gallon demi-johns, (the little glass carboys), maybe 3 or 4 of them, do a brew every 1-3 weeks, I can see it being better not only for the hobby aspect of it, brewing more, but also the regular change in beer, 40 pints is alot of beer, and you can always brew 3 gallons in 3 demi johns if you want a bigger batch.
Anyone have any experience with small batch brewing, are there any pros/cons I'm over looking
Cheers

Saruman

Pros: More variety. You can split a single large batch and use different yeast, maybe dry hop one or use different hops to dry hop. You can age one and have the others young.

Cons: Less of a good thing. Produce a fantastic beer that you want more of, too late... you only have 5 lites of it.
A bit more work than a single batch, but not much.

Martyn1989

Yeh I reckon its worth it, if you pay attention and keep a decent enough record your chances of doing a the same beer in a 5 gallon batch are high, and nothing stopping you having big and small batchs on the go at once
cheers

ManFromAtlantis

just bottled cider (from home grown apples) it was six months under airlock but didnt get around to bottling till recently.

the cider has never tasted so smooth or good. best yet:)

The Mulk

irish_goat wrote: »

For anyone in/near Maynooth, there's a new homebrew shop opened up in the village (above Express cabs).

It was closed for lunch when I called in today so I dunno what it's like but I'll check back during the week.

I was up there at 11:30 am on Tuesday 26th and not a dicky bird in the shop, no numbers to ring and the people in the taxi rank were none the wiser about opening hours for the shop.
Anyone have any details, because i'd like to embark upon a home brew career.
This shop would have been very handy.