Home brewing kits ....

Kimi said:
After ordering my Coopers Mexican Cerveza kit last night, i was doing some research and it seems a few people mention they haven't got it very fizzy.. i was wondering if there is any tips on how to ensure i get the correct fizzyness in my first brew?
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500ml bottles usually are the complaints. 1 carb drop is not enough. It's under priming them.

According to Coopers:-

Priming
Add carbonation drops at the rate of 1 per 330ml/375ml bottle and 2 per 740ml/750ml bottle. Sugar or dextrose may be used at the rate of 8g per litre (approximately 6g of sugar to a level metric teaspoon).

I found this on another forum...

"I did a little research and found that the drops contain 3.36g of fermentable sugar per drop.
So in a 500ml Bottle that gives you a rate of 6.72g per litre if you use one. Coopers suggest 8g/l"

My cerveza was quite flat using one drop even after 50 days of conditioning. It got better but I prefer a slightly fizzier lager. Everyone else that tried it loved it as it was.....





On my second brew the canadian blonde I got a chopping board and cut carb drops in half for a 500ml bottle. I added one and half and after 30 days it was much more to my liking :) It was quick and easy with a sharp knife.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, that looks like a lovely beer :D

I ordered sugar with my kit so i will be using that instead of drops, unless of course it is easier for me to use drops? then i could order some

At the moment tho i have my 25 ltr barrel. Am i correct in thinking that after 4 weeks to ferment, i need to add 25 x 8g of sugar into another vessel, syphon the brew into that and mix it up, then syphon into the individual bottles and leave for a couple of weeks? or do i mix up 25 x 8g of sugar and put that into each bottle individually?

Sorry for the n00b questions:D
 
Moving into another fermenter will mean you get an even distribution of sugar in the bottles, and also mean you can get rid of a bunch of sediment.

Personally I only have one FV so I just put a teaspoon of sugar into each bottle before bottling. Its worked fine so far.

I desperately need to get my next brew on the go. I'm down to my last 4 bottles and have nothing brewing :eek:
 
You can do either, it depends on what equipment you have, I've done both. The first option is known as batch priming.

If you're doing it a bottle at a time I found it easier to use a small kitchen funnel and measuring spoons. 50p each from Asda etc. The funnel stops sugar going everywhere and the measuring spoons to give you a pretty accurate amount.
 
Ah great so i have a couple of options, ive got a clean bucket i could use to mix up the sugar in, alternatively, if 1ltr requires 8g of sugar, i could just add 4g per 500ml bottle as i syphon in, im not sure what would be easier really
 
You'll probalbly get clearer results if you batch prime. As skeeter says you can get rid of a lot of sedement, especially as it will be your first time.
Syphon it to the new fv and leave it a while to settle, then syphon in to the bottles. You'll probalbly get a tap for the end of your syphoning hose, a bottling stick is a great buy, have a look at one of those, theyre only a couple of quid.
 
Kimi said:
I ordered sugar with my kit so i will be using that instead of drops, unless of course it is easier for me to use drops? then i could order some
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For me carb drops are so much faster, even cutting 20 of them in half to give me 1 and half in a 500ml bottle takes me 2 minutes.

I get next to no sediment using a tap anyway, there's about 1/8th of a teaspoon of sediment tops in any of my bottles. Heres a pic of the bottom of a bottle, had to use a torch to highlight it.





Left for 50 days and that doesn't end up in my glass, keep the bottles upright at all times pour in one.

Carb drops and almost all coopers gear can be bought in tesco now, mine stocks carb drops, kits etc. So save on postage and get it from there unless you have somewhere better :)

The best advice is patience, I wouldn't even try a bottle before 30 days of conditioning, leave it be for 2 weeks in the FV. Bottle it and get the next one straight on!
 
When I bottle beer (I have 3 x kegs for ales, I bottle mostly Belgian ales or Pils etc) I put the required sugar solution into an old (but sterilised) FV, then syphon the beer on top to mix.

The FV has a tap, to which I connect a little bottler (I think that's the name). I whizz through bottling by doing this. It's probably worth an investment if you are bottling lots.
 
HeadlessChicken said:
When I bottle beer (I have 3 x kegs for ales, I bottle mostly Belgian ales or Pils etc) I put the required sugar solution into an old (but sterilised) FV, then syphon the beer on top to mix.

The FV has a tap, to which I connect a little bottler (I think that's the name). I whizz through bottling by doing this. It's probably worth an investment if you are bottling lots.
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this is how i will be bottling all my brews from now on, then i will be moving on from bottling, despise rinsing and sterilizing the things
 
I'm pretty sure it's been mentioned before in this thread.

I use Videne for sterlilising along with the tree and rinser posted above. Makes the whole job a lot easier and significantly quicker.
 
The way i get 100% clear bottles is to keg it first then set the pressure to around 40psi, then fill the bottles without leaving much air space. I do the same with kegs as well transfering from one to the other, then if i go camping or to a party i can take it with me.

Currently brewing an Elderflower Cider, its an amazing drink.
 
I have heard that kegging in Cornys does change the flavour of the beer for the worse which is something I would like to avoid. I want some star San and a
Bottle rinser, it is the easiest way I can fathom to bottle, that and bottle top Converters of course. Star San is expensive though butting lasts so long once mixed it sort of negates the cost.. Telling myself this when it costs £18 a bottle doesn't help

On a lighter note I did purchase a second Fv today and a thermometer. Thermometer is for my all grain but I went originally for a coopers ipa. Unfortunate as it is my HBS did not have the ipa, the only one it did not might add! I did however get a st peters ipa 2 can or toucan kit which has cought my eye before so looking forward to that. 2 brew days next week hopefully so will report back!
 
Not noticed any change in taste in my cornys, nothing but positives for me, couldnt go back to bottles only or the really rubbish plastic kegs.

One thing i have started doing differently these days is not bothering checking my brew at all, i just leave it two weeks and then keg, never had any problems doing it this way in over 100+ brews.
 
Do you bottle any? I suppose when using Cornys it isn't such an issue if you keg slightly early, the keg can handle any pressure thrown up by extra fermentation inside the keg. Bottles I suppose are another matter, if there really isn't any taste difference between the two ,ethos I'd happily jump to kegs when budget allows.

I'm thinking two kegs a c02 system and fridge are going to set me back about 150-200 so that all a little way off yet.
 
I lucky i dont need a fridge, the cellar is lovely and cool all year round.

I leave my brews to ferment for two weeks then syphon into the beer out line. After 4 months i then transfer to a clean keg and its ready to drink. I put it in a clean keg because i take mine camping and such so its handy being able to shake the keg, if its staying put i leave it in the first keg.

I do bottle some but i bottle after the 4 months in the first keg, this way its nice and clear and i can control the co2 content perfectly.


Anyone know what happened to Brew It Yourself?
http://www.the-online-homebrew-company.co.uk
 
well my special is going down well and just kegged the st peters IPA. original gravity was 1.040 - 1045 and finished at 1010. although it should be 5.5% online calc shows 3.9?? i did put 8oz of brewing sugar in the keg to prime and it smelt devine. not sure what % it'll end up as, always confuses me.
 
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