Homebrew Beer Howto

sharingan

homerjay2005 wrote: »

lads, i got my brew done 38 days ago and it has been bottled for 17. do ye think its ok to open a few bottles this week or best to leave it another week or 2?

Open one and see how it is.

My gut feeling is that another week will make a huge difference to carbonation and flavour development.

homerjay2005

sharingan wrote: »

Open one and see how it is.

My gut feeling is that another week will make a huge difference to carbonation and flavour development.

i think ill open it next sunday for the euro final and see how it is.

Saruman

homerjay2005 wrote: »

lads, i got my brew done 38 days ago and it has been bottled for 17. do ye think its ok to open a few bottles this week or best to leave it another week or 2?

After 7 days, your beer will be pretty much carbonated usually. After 14 days it is as carbonated as it's likely to get but more time conditions it more and it becomes better.

BeerNut

Saruman wrote: »

After 7 days, your beer will be pretty much carbonated usually. After 14 days it is as carbonated as it's likely to get.

Gotta say, I've found the third week makes a big difference in carbonation, but that may be down to the temperatures in my spare room.

Ratsathome

Dub13 wrote: »

I went for this,anybody ever do it...?

Going to order mine next week

DeadSkin

Anybody have any experience of brewing with these kits. 7.5 litres of wort, just add 15 litres of water. Pricey enough.

sharingan

DeadSkin wrote: »

Anybody have any experience of brewing with these kits. 7.5 litres of wort, just add 15 litres of water. Pricey enough.

True, a bit pricey, but they might make a good present, for someone getting into the hobby.

It doesn't really get simpler than those instructions though.

Dub13

Were (in Dublin) can I pick up decent beer glasses..?

BeerNut

DrinkStore has a selection.

Dub13

BeerNut wrote: »

DrinkStore has a selection.

Nice one,close to were I work aswell.Will pop in.

stuchyg

bottling my second brew at the weekend, coopers pale ale. Will be brewing brewmaster IPA next. Plan to add cascade pellets to wort, are they just fecked in or how does it work

Krusty_Clown

stuchyg wrote: »

bottling my second brew at the weekend, coopers pale ale. Will be brewing brewmaster IPA next. Plan to add cascade pellets to wort, are they just fecked in or how does it work

Based on advice from this forum, I have added them to the fermentor once fermentation has completed (dry hopping) and left them for a week or more. In the first instance (IPA) they remained floating on the surface. In the second instance they dropped to the base of the fermentor after a couple of days.

The second time, I made the mistake of leaving the filter on the back of the tap pointing upwards, and it filled up with hops/hop particles. The initial samples tasted so vile, I was convinced that the beer had become infected, but after pouring out some of the beer from the fermentor, it was much improved. I'm sure that most of the bottles will have some hop particles, but hopefully it'll still be drinkable. This is a good argument for siphoning into a secondary bucket for bottling/batch priming (or using a muslin bag for your hops), so I'll have to give it serious consideration next time around. Home-brewing - always a learning experience!

syngindub

Bottling my Coopers Australian Pale Ale in a few days as it's Day 6. Bubbling completely stopped so probably stick with the 10 Days.
Slightly dissapointed with the % OG Reading though. 1030 which seems to come in at 3.7% ABV. I took the reading by floating the Hydrometer in the bucket, seemed a little difficult to read to hopefully i got it wrong ..
Added 1kg Dextrose with Kit

Would some beer kits have a higher Average OG than others or does this just come down to sugars and the amount added?

Martyn1989

syngindub wrote: »

Bottling my Coopers Australian Pale Ale in a few days as it's Day 6. Bubbling completely stopped so probably stick with the 10 Days.
Slightly dissapointed with the % OG Reading though. 1030 which seems to come in at 3.7% ABV. I took the reading by floating the Hydrometer in the bucket, seemed a little difficult to read to hopefully i got it wrong ..
Added 1kg Dextrose with Kit

Would some beer kits have a higher Average OG than others or does this just come down to sugars and the amount added?

Always leave it the full two weeks, its worth it.

rubadub

syngindub wrote: »

does this just come down to sugars and the amount added?

If your mixture is not very thoroughly stirred you gave have a dense sugar syrup lying at the bottom which will give a low reading at the top. While brewing it will dissolve in.

Was it mixed really well? Also check if your volumes are right if you are going off indicators on the bucket. If these are just printed on they could be a few mm off which can be a fair volume.

stuchyg

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Based on advice from this forum, I have added them to the fermentor once fermentation has completed (dry hopping) and left them for a week or more. In the first instance (IPA) they remained floating on the surface. In the second instance they dropped to the base of the fermentor after a couple of days.

The second time, I made the mistake of leaving the filter on the back of the tap pointing upwards, and it filled up with hops/hop particles. The initial samples tasted so vile, I was convinced that the beer had become infected, but after pouring out some of the beer from the fermentor, it was much improved. I'm sure that most of the bottles will have some hop particles, but hopefully it'll still be drinkable. This is a good argument for siphoning into a secondary bucket for bottling/batch priming (or using a muslin bag for your hops), so I'll have to give it serious consideration next time around. Home-brewing - always a learning experience!

Have actually ordered a second fermenting bin so that should arrive during the week, Il primary for 10 days and add the hops to the secondary fermenter. Can you just use the tap in the fermenter as opposed to using a siphon. I know it would take longer but that doesnt bother me

Krusty_Clown

stuchyg wrote: »

Have actually ordered a second fermenting bin so that should arrive during the week, Il primary for 10 days and add the hops to the secondary fermenter. Can you just use the tap in the fermenter as opposed to using a siphon. I know it would take longer but that doesnt bother me

I guess the risk is that you can aerate the beer a little too much, if you transfer from one fermenter to the other using the tap and once it's fermented, you should be trying to avoid introducing air as much as possible (if I remember correctly).

oblivious

yep, a piece of food grade tubing running from the tap will really help

stuchyg

I may and try pick myself up a syphon tube so, i think TESCO in Naas are selling them. This is the brew I have been most looking forward to making as i only tend to drink hoppy ales

Dub13

Anybody here even been to the Irish Craft Beer Festival ( http://www.irishcraftbeerfestival.com/home.html ) ...?A mate asked me to go,looks interesting I may pop in.

Blackjack

Dub13 wrote: »

Anybody here even been to the Irish Craft Beer Festival ( http://www.irishcraftbeerfestival.com/home.html ) ...?A mate asked me to go,looks interesting I may pop in.

Yes.
Go.
You can't not like it. Assuming you like good beer, its a great event.

Well worth the money.

syngindub

Martyn1989 wrote: »

Always leave it the full two weeks, its worth it.

Bottled Australian Pale Ale today after leaving it for 2 weeks in fermenter.
Using 1 Ltr Clear Bottles. No light will get near them.
Going to give it the full 4 weeks wait before tasting.
Oh, and ran out of dextrose for priming the last 4 bottles. used normal granulated sugar instead

kierank01

random thought, those stella artois cidRE bottles are real pint size, but they are clear.

Is there any point in getting those, and keeping them in the dark while they are aging?

Khannie

kierank01 wrote: »

random thought, those stella artois cidRE bottles are real pint size, but they are clear.

Is there any point in getting those, and keeping them in the dark while they are aging?

I use clear bottles. Just let them age in the attic or in a dark press. Haven't had any issues with doing that and can't see that there would be any.

syngindub

I think beer looks better in a clear bottle. It doesn't have that home brew look.

stuchyg

Brown bottles are apparently the best bottles for home brew, dont ask me why though. I have my third batch - a brewmaster IPA in the fermenter at the min. SG of .47 so pretty chuffed, used 500g of DME and 700g of youngs beer enhancer. Will switch to secondary after 10 days and dry hop with cascade pellets

BeerNut

stuchyg wrote: »

Brown bottles are apparently the best bottles for home brew, dont ask me why though.

Hops are highly sensitive to ultra-violet light and will produce a horrible "skunky" off flavour if exposed to light. Brown glass gives good protection against lightstrike, green and clear glass give almost none.

It's not just homebrew: when a commercial brewery uses green or clear glass it's a sign the marketing department is in control rather than the brewer.

Fill a clear bottle with your new IPA on bottling day and leave it to condition on a sunny windowsill. Then compare it to one that's been kept in brown glass after a few weeks. You should be able to taste the skunk.

The Scratcher

Quick question on bottles, more of an aesthetic thing really. I find some of the labels slip right off in some warm water but then there are others, -8degrees is one that springs to mind- where the labels just will not come off without leaving a mess on the outside of the bottle. Is there any cheat for taking off the residual glue and fluffy white paper without getting soap involved or too much elbow grease.

BeerNut

No, it varies from brewery to brewery. Some of the more plasticky ones are better peeled off dry.

The Scratcher

Rats!! I've a load of bottles that have a white fuzz on the outside of them, it's nothing major but you'd like a clean looking bottle to pour out of especially when sharing. I think the boys in Mitchelstown put on the labels by hand, or definitely did at the start at least, perhaps they have a machine for doing it now. I reckon the glue used might be the problem.