Home brewing kits ....

To any of you with a tap in your fermenters (for use with a little bottler), which way do you direct the 'hole' in the bit that is inside the fermenter? I initially thought about pointing it upwards to avoid sucking out any of the sediment, but then it would get filled with falling yeast as it brews? How about pointing it sideways?
 
HeadlessChicken said:
I just bung my hydro in the FV and leave it there :p Give it a little twist to remove any bubbles formed on it :)
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Not a bad plan, might do that next time :)

Just taste tested my first bottle of Candian Blonde that I bottled the 20th of April. My god it's good. I can't imagine it getting any better but I'm sure it will with further conditioning. As clear as any lager I buy and using the 1 and half carb drops was perfect in a grolsh bottle. The stopper came off with decent pressure it made the Mrs jump!

This is defo going to be a regular beer for me!
 
It's not the hydro that will introduce the infection so to speak, the fact you will have the lid off and effectively reach into the head space that is filled with carbon dioxide is, dust or debris from the air or your arm, it doesnt take much.

If brewing ales just leave them in the Fv for 2-3 weeks and be sure they are finished, a Fv tap is a couple of quid at most and 20 minutes of your time to fit and is a much better option for retrieving samples.
 
Kanifee said:
It's not the hydro that will introduce the infection so to speak, the fact you will have the lid off and effectively reach into the head space that is filled with carbon dioxide is, dust or debris from the air or your arm, it doesnt take much.

If brewing ales just leave them in the Fv for 2-3 weeks and be sure they are finished, a Fv tap is a couple of quid at most and 20 minutes of your time to fit and is a much better option for retrieving samples.
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Meh, I appreciate sanitation is important, but the likelihood of knackering a brew by doing that is minimal at best (I've done this for probably > 100 brews - at a guess). Heck, even if you use a syphon to take a sample you'll be doing the same. And how to you syphon to a keg / bottles?

I prefer to not leave the beer on the trub for that long too, can impart slightly off flavours. Only beer that takes anywhere near 3 weeks IME are Brewferm Belgian beers generally. Most are done in a week (depending on strength and yeast type).
 
i can only comment on 2 brews, both have not taken a week and this is confirmed by hydro measurements, i suppose it depends on ability to manipulate temps but i realy haven't found any issues leaving brew on trub while trawliing online boards,

i appreciate you have brewed much much longer than me but to be fair sticking your hands in the top of the FV is not something you would advocate to new brewers?
 
Kanifee said:
i can only comment on 2 brews, both have not taken a week and this is confirmed by hydro measurements, i suppose it depends on ability to manipulate temps but i realy haven't found any issues leaving brew on trub while trawliing online boards,

i appreciate you have brewed much much longer than me but to be fair sticking your hands in the top of the FV is not something you would advocate to new brewers?
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You need a certain amount of interaction with the beer. Some seasoned brewers will even take taste samples whilst in the FV.

Beer has been brewed for thousands of years. There didn't used to be steriliser, or plastic equipment which cleans well, or well sealed FV / kegs. Some people now still brew with nothing more than a cotton cloth over the top of their FV.

If you manage to infect a brew in a FV by drawing off a sample or popping in a sterilised hydrometer then you will probably be one of the most unlucky brewers around. That said I still thoroughly sterilise my equipment, just don't be afraid of the brewing process!

It's not about right or wrong, everyone's experience will be different, but I think to enjoy it, it needs to be hands on :D

*goes off to grab a glass of beer from my just about finished beer in the FV :D*
 
HeadlessChicken said:
You need a certain amount of interaction with the beer. Some seasoned brewers will even take taste samples whilst in the FV.

Beer has been brewed for thousands of years. There didn't used to be steriliser, or plastic equipment which cleans well, or well sealed FV / kegs. Some people now still brew with nothing more than a cotton cloth over the top of their FV.

If you manage to infect a brew in a FV by drawing off a sample or popping in a sterilised hydrometer then you will probably be one of the most unlucky brewers around. That said I still thoroughly sterilise my equipment, just don't be afraid of the brewing process!

It's not about right or wrong, everyone's experience will be different, but I think to enjoy it, it needs to be hands on :D

*goes off to grab a glass of beer from my just about finished beer in the FV :D*
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In my latest brew I fermented it in an open top bucket and just draped a teatowel over it and that came out fine! A tasty german wheatbeer, yum yum!
 
This week my corona clone the mexican cerveza has come alive. It's 50 days since it was bottled and tbh after 30 days I was in two minds about chucking it. Yeasty after taste and really disappointing.

The last couple of days it's been awesome, in fact I prefer it to corona. I'm half tempted to buy another FV myself to get more of this going while my Pils is in the bucket for 3 weeks :(

Other than my absolute fav Warsteiner, I can't see me buying another shop lager again.
 
Coopers cerveza with either brew kit enhancer 2 or 1kg of dextrose. I used bke2 and it took about 50 days to come good. It still needs a tad more sugar than I used for secondary fermentation but I can live with it this batch.

It's now clear has next to no sediment and what there is is glued to the bottom of the bottle. No nasty after taste which it had for the first 30-35 days.

I've 5 in the fridge now for later :D
 
well i may well get some of that after my coopers real ales done after my st peters - smells lovely in the FV i must say.

my special has been bottled for 3 wks now and looking clear so i may try and see what it's like this weekend. if it's ****, bin and straight on with the real ale then cerveza. do i need more experience to brew cerveza?

also, can you use milton sterilising fluid to sterilize and its a lot cheaper. and i have a massive bottle of it which i use for my MTB water bladders.
 
You don't need any more knowledge or experience, the cerveza was literally my first ever brew. Mix it up to 23 litres at 24 degrees and leave it alone for 2 weeks. Job done :D

Bottle then leave for I reckon 40 to 50 days at room temp.

I wouldn't use Milton because the powder is so cheap anyway. I've done 3 complete cleans with mine and still have 3/4s of a tub left and it cost about £3.50. It's done bottles as well.
 
Yeah I could do with another coopers fv but don't want to buy the full kit, I don't need anymore bottles, spoon hydro etc.

I've been looking on eBay just for the fv but no luck. I don't want one with an airlock and no tap.
 
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