First brew - a little help please?

Lawros Tache

Hi All,

Made my first beer a few weeks ago, coopers lager.

Everything went fine in the mixing and fermenting, with the 0G 1042 & FG 1002.

From reading in various places i decided to leave the beer in the FV for 3 weeks (total) so the yeast "tidies up after itself" and indeed it was very "clean" and easy to bottle.

Bottling too went well, i put 1.5 carbonation drops into each bottle (500ml PET bottles), gave them a good shake and popped them back to carbonate.

It's now 4 days in the bottle and there seems to be very little (if any difference) in the carbonation level.
The bottles are still "squeezy" and although they go hard if i shake them (have done this with one sacrificial bottle) but they soon return to squeezy again.

I'm now worried i have got the beer TOO clean, with very little yeast left for bottle carbonation.
Is this possible?
Am i over-reacting and it just needs more time?
If they are shagged, can i do anything to rescue them?

Apologies for rambling on but just dying to taste!

Also i've got a turbo cider on the go now (big thanks & kudos to Khannie ) and dont want to make the same mistakes (if any) second time around.

Thanks so much to everyone for reading and advice.

mayto

They should be fine, just need to keep them at about 18C-20C for about two weeks. Carb drops might take a while to dissolve in the bottle. There will be plenty of yeast left to bottle condition the beers.

Lawros Tache

Perfect!

Thanks very much, i was really hoping someone would say that!

I use a storage area under the stairs which seems to be at a constant 18-20C and is perfect size for holding Fermentation Vessels and bottles so that isn't really an issue thankfully, and i have an old fridge with stc1000 setup which i plan to use for lagers in the future.

I am unfamiliar obviously with the bottling and had read tales of PET bottles hardening in a day or two so was a little concerned. The carb drops have dissolved fully alright but seem to be visible in the beer as a little sort of hazy mini "oil slick"? (hard to describe but definitely noticeable.)

I was concerned this sugary solution wasn't really being broken down properly as there mightn't have been enough viable yeast in the bottles but thanks very much for putting my mind at rest :-)

Much appreciated, thanks again.

TheDuke

Also, try mixing dextros pre-solved in boilded water (cool to 24c at least first before adding to pre-bottling tub). For high CO2 I use 50g to 5L as a ratio and it has never failed. For milder CO2 go for 30g to 5L.

Lawros Tache

TheDuke wrote: »

Also, try mixing dextros pre-solved in boilded water (cool to 24c at least first before adding to pre-bottling tub). For high CO2 I use 50g to 5L as a ratio and it has never failed. For milder CO2 go for 30g to 5L.

I'll have a look at that for the next time, thanks very much

Finglas Incubus

TheDuke wrote: »

Also, try mixing dextros pre-solved in boilded water (cool to 24c at least first before adding to pre-bottling tub). For high CO2 I use 50g to 5L as a ratio and it has never failed. For milder CO2 go for 30g to 5L.

Any idea how many mls of the solution should be put into each bottle (assuming not premixing in a second FV)?

TheDuke

Any idea how many mls of the solution should be put into each bottle (assuming not premixing in a second FV)?

I found this to be the best calculator - http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

cyburger

one thing I noticed with the plastic bottles is that you need to recheck the tightness of the lids regularly, my first batch was a little (lot) flat becasue the lids weren't as tight as they could \ should have been.

Lawros Tache

Well, in the interest of scientific research, i stuck two (just to be sure) bottles into the fridge yesterday and cracked them open watching Barca last night...

Very impressed!

They tasted "young" (obviously), a little bitter and slightly lemony, but none of these in a bad way, very pleasant actually (in a weissbier sort of way) and flavours will surely improve in the coming weeks/months as only brewed 5 weeks.

But more relevantly to this thread, the carbonation was SPOT ON! Exactly the way i wanted them, even tho prior to opening i thought they actually looked flat.

Thanks to everyone for their input, overall very happy!