Home brewing kits ....
- Thread starter Aliboy
- Start date
Soldato
checked my brew tonight and removed the krausen collar and noticed a weird smell,like sour cider, im assuming its the co2 and yeast, i drew a sample and it tasted kinda like bitter cider, left it in the cup for a little bit and the smell dissipated but the taste remained. im not too worried as its still a young brew (3 Days) and im hoping this is normal? OG was 1043, its at 1023 at the moment.
Well 3 days it's surely still fermenting. I'm leaving mine in the FV for 14 days as that's what I've been recommended to do by a few experts now 
Especially with the temps at night not being that high. I was told to expect some weird smells, even rotten eggs but I've not lifted the lid on mine since day 5 when I removed the collar. Haven't even taking a reading.
Especially with the temps at night not being that high. I was told to expect some weird smells, even rotten eggs but I've not lifted the lid on mine since day 5 when I removed the collar. Haven't even taking a reading.
Soldato
hopefully its nothing just cidery smells seem to be bad signs, ill not think about it untill i have to bottle.
Also read that it was a good idea to leave in the primary for longer to clear up all the nastys and so on.
Also read that it was a good idea to leave in the primary for longer to clear up all the nastys and so on.
That's a shame. I've had lots of success with turbo ciders and got a lot of people drunk at Retro Rides Gathering last yearI think the turbos are a write-off though, especially if how they tasted before bottling is anything to go by
Oh I have no doubt on their ability to get me drunk . One of them is nearly 8%!
Not sure what went wrong. Like I said they taste like cheap white wine. They fermented for quite a while so its not a problem with them stalling, and they certainly didn't look like there was any infection in them.
You never know 'till you try though.
. One of them is nearly 8%!Not sure what went wrong. Like I said they taste like cheap white wine. They fermented for quite a while so its not a problem with them stalling, and they certainly didn't look like there was any infection in them.
You never know 'till you try though.
Associate
Hey everyone, I have finally gotten round to buying (I hope) everything I need to get started brewing. Could anyone let me know if I've gone wrong somewhere...
2 x Youngs Tapped Barrels + C02 Injector + C02 Bullets
Campden Tablets
Brewers Choice Bavarian Weissbier
1kg Brewing Sugar
VWP Cleanser Steriliser 100g
Crown Caps
Crown Cap Capper
2 x 28L Food Prep buckets (no tap, will I need a sypon, or should I buy a tap and fit it?)
Cheers!
2 x Youngs Tapped Barrels + C02 Injector + C02 Bullets
Campden Tablets
Brewers Choice Bavarian Weissbier
1kg Brewing Sugar
VWP Cleanser Steriliser 100g
Crown Caps
Crown Cap Capper
2 x 28L Food Prep buckets (no tap, will I need a sypon, or should I buy a tap and fit it?)
Cheers!
I've done a batch with a syphon and its a bit of a pain in all areas. You need 2 people, its a pain to clean. you have to sit on the floor. All in all not worth the hassle, so for my next batch I have bought a Little Bottler which should make things much easier, plus allow me to do it on my own.
http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/bottling/bottling-aids/little-bottler-complete.html
Going to crack open my first bottle of home brew later! Wish me luck!
http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/bottling/bottling-aids/little-bottler-complete.html
Going to crack open my first bottle of home brew later! Wish me luck!
Associate
Yeast comes with the kit, and spoon I will look into/improvise!
As I understand it so far the procedure I will do goes as follows:
'brew' the hops in a saucepan
add sugar and malt extract
put in bucket with cold water
add yeast
give it a good stir
into the barrels for fermenting
into bottles a week or so later when all the sugar has been fermented with a teaspoon of sugar for some fizz...
Kit I bought is this one: http://www.dorsethomebrew.co.uk/shop/ale-kits/484-brewers-choice-bavarian-weissbier.html
Cheers,
Is that a Simpsons bottle opener?
Last edited:
Hi, it's 100W. I think a 25W would struggle, the container the fermenter is in is 55L.
I don't know why a siphon is a 2 man job, I have a tap now but for the first 5-6 brews I didn't have one and always did it solo. I prepare all the bottles, have the wort on a table, sit on a chair then fill all the bottles pinching the siphon in between filling.
Thanks Jak, I have seen this as well for when I put it in my garage to accurately control the temp of the water bath
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ATC-200-D..._Reptiles_Spiders_Insects&hash=item4cffec8c44
Do you worry at all about having the tap in the water bath? Do you re-sterilize the tap before you bottle? Where did you buy your tub from big enough to take the FV?
They sell tubs large enough in most medium to large wilkinsons (they sometimes have some brewing paraphernalia too), tesco extras normally have them as well.
I use a siphon so I haven't thought about a tap attached to the wort. As long as it didn't collide with the tub it would be ok in there, at the end of the brew you would need to lift the wort out though which would disturb it a bit. I siphon the wort in situ after first draining the tub of water with a spare siphon so that the wort doesn't start floating while i'm siphoning.
The water heaters have built in thermostats, you can check the temperature with a thermometer and adjust them accordingly. That device might be more accurate though.
I use a siphon so I haven't thought about a tap attached to the wort. As long as it didn't collide with the tub it would be ok in there, at the end of the brew you would need to lift the wort out though which would disturb it a bit. I siphon the wort in situ after first draining the tub of water with a spare siphon so that the wort doesn't start floating while i'm siphoning.
The water heaters have built in thermostats, you can check the temperature with a thermometer and adjust them accordingly. That device might be more accurate though.
Thanks I tried my tesco extra last night and sadly they didn't have one wide enough for my FV. I will try B and Q /Homebase tomorrow to see If I can find one large enough.
I figured that device might be more accurate due to being able to place the stat the opposite end to the heater so so you know the heat is getting all the way through the water bath.
Bottled my Cerveza today and now have a candian blonde in the FV for two weeks. After that I hope to have a kit ready for a german pils with true lager yeast and a heat set up to maintain 13 degrees.
That will then give me 120 bottles for the summer
I figured that device might be more accurate due to being able to place the stat the opposite end to the heater so so you know the heat is getting all the way through the water bath.
Bottled my Cerveza today and now have a candian blonde in the FV for two weeks. After that I hope to have a kit ready for a german pils with true lager yeast and a heat set up to maintain 13 degrees.
That will then give me 120 bottles for the summer