2 Home brew Questions (Beer and Wine)

dooleygav

1) My first batch was very fizzy in some bottles? It fizzed over and left only a small bit of beer in some bottles. What could cause this? Too much sugar during the bottling phase?....


2) What extra equipment is needed to make wine?... I have a simple fermentation bucket (No airlock). Do i need extra buckets?

Thanks in advance!

BeerNut

dooleygav wrote: »

1) My first batch was very fizzy in some bottles? It fizzed over and left only a small bit of beer in some bottles. What could cause this? Too much sugar during the bottling phase?....

More than likely, or possibly the initial fermentation hadn't finished. Did you take gravity readings to check that fermentation had stopped before you bottled?

There's a nifty online carbonation calculator here, for future reference.

dooleygav wrote: »

2) What extra equipment is needed to make wine?... I have a simple fermentation bucket (No airlock). Do i need extra buckets?

An extra bucket would be handy, and will likely leave your wine cleaner, but I wouldn't imagine it's necessary.

dooleygav

I checked the reading and it was at the black part of the hydrometer, which i thought was close enoguh.. should i of added more sugar at that point and leave it in primary fermentation?

BeerNut

dooleygav wrote: »

I checked the reading and it was at the black part of the hydrometer, which i thought was close enoguh.

Until you have two readings the same you won't know for sure if fermentation has stopped.

rubadub

dooleygav wrote: »

1) My first batch was very fizzy in some bottles? It fizzed over and left only a small bit of beer in some bottles.

Are you adding sugar individually to bottles? this can cause problems. It is best to get a good homogenous mixture. I would decant/syphon off the yeast into another bucket/barrel, preferably with a tap on it. Now dissolve all your sugar in a small bit of boiling water and add to this and stir well, now you can use the tap to fill your bottles and they will all have even amounts of sugar in them. It also allows you to check hydrometer readings too in the big barrel.

dooleygav

yea, i added a teaspoon to each bottle before putting the beer in....

BeerNut

A full teaspoon is probably too much. Though it's also possible that you picked up a gusher infection.