Home brewing kits ....

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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Sorry, but can you clarify what you mean when you say "FV"?

I've only just started bottling mine after people were asking for some around Xmas. I drained a couple of cases of Badger beer's finest (courtesy of Costco), cleaned and sterilised the bottles, then relabelled them with personal labels. Might do my Dad some for Fathers day too.

Anyway, back to the topic, I found it a real pain syphoning beer, so I'm intrigued by your comment. Anything to simplify the process would be welcomed....
 
Tattysnuc said:
Sorry, but can you clarify what you mean when you say "FV"?

I've only just started bottling mine after people were asking for some around Xmas. I drained a couple of cases of Badger beer's finest (courtesy of Costco), cleaned and sterilised the bottles, then relabelled them with personal labels. Might do my Dad some for Fathers day too.

Anyway, back to the topic, I found it a real pain syphoning beer, so I'm intrigued by your comment. Anything to simplify the process would be welcomed....
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Yeah, basically it's another big bin with a tap at the bottom.

Then one of these:

http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/products/little-bottler-complete

It means you can just push the bottler into your bottle and it auto dispenses. Really helps.
 
Checked my Pils after 3 weeks in the water bath at 13-14 degrees. 1008. Well happy with that, smells good and tastes excellent from the bit I tested.

Letting it come up a couple of degrees now to almost room temp and then will bottle on wednesday thursday all being well :)

Then it's straight on with another cerveza which this time I will temp control for 2 weeks at 18 degrees.

The pils is the first one I've done with bottled water instead of tap and so will my cerveza. Just to see if it helps the taste at all.
 
dannyjo22 said:
Checked my Pils after 3 weeks in the water bath at 13-14 degrees. 1008. Well happy with that, smells good and tastes excellent from the bit I tested.

Letting it come up a couple of degrees now to almost room temp and then will bottle on wednesday thursday all being well :)

Then it's straight on with another cerveza which this time I will temp control for 2 weeks at 18 degrees.

The pils is the first one I've done with bottled water instead of tap and so will my cerveza. Just to see if it helps the taste at all.
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Taste may be negligible (altho you do get regional variation, not always a bad thing!). But you will almost certainly get a better head. Which on the type of beers you are brewing is great news!

Where are you keeping you FV in water and how are you controlling temps? Ordered myself a cerveza, never lagered before (made pils but just at room temp) so looking for any experience :)
 
I will get a picture next time I'm set up, but I use a 80litre plastic storage bin from tesco and a atc200 temp controller from eBay from forttex. Then a 100w fish tank heater. Total cost about £40. The controller has a temp probe that goes in the water bath and maintains the temp within a couple of degrees, it turns the fish tank heater off and on. Although it is getting a bit warm even in my garage now for 12-13 degree lagering.

I will get a pic up of it set up Wednesday or Thursday :)

I intend on doing all my lagering over the winter :)
 
So, i got my first ever brew going on Saturday! Everything seems to be going well so far, its bubbling away.

I have couple of questions tho, it says after 3 or 4 days to remove the krausen kollar i think its called and put the lid straight on, but i was wondering wont this have a risk of getting infection?

Its Mexican Cerveza that im brewing and its in the temp range of 22-24c in the room

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And secondly, on my hydrometer, i got a reading of 33

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Am i right in thinking that is expressed at 1.033 / 1033 og?
 
dannyjo22 said:
I will get a picture next time I'm set up, but I use a 80litre plastic storage bin from tesco and a atc200 temp controller from eBay from forttex. Then a 100w fish tank heater. Total cost about £40. The controller has a temp probe that goes in the water bath and maintains the temp within a couple of degrees, it turns the fish tank heater off and on. Although it is getting a bit warm even in my garage now for 12-13 degree lagering.

I will get a pic up of it set up Wednesday or Thursday :)

I intend on doing all my lagering over the winter :)
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I have a similar temp sensor, i have the temp probe in the brew, then a heating belt around the FV maintains a 20.5c temp.

Kimi - Never seen a FV like that, i just forget about mine for 2 weeks, then stick it in the keg, less messing around with it the better.

It is 1.033 yes, not OG that stands for Original Gravity and would be the reading before adding the yeast. I havent used a hydrometer for years, after a while you get used to the look and smell of a brew and just know when its doing alright and when its not.
 
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On the instructions it says it should take about 6 days in the FV before going into bottles, i can understand how people get impatient to try it now :D
 
The reason i leave it longer is to ensure its fully fermented and to allow it to clear more. With you bottling you dont want it to clear too much you want a bit of yeast going in the bottles.

I must be the only one that never tastes it before its ready, 2 weeks in FV then around 6 months in the keg before i even touch it.
 
Once all the froth is gone, remove the collar. It just takes most of the crud around the sides away so when you bottle there's no chance of it being in your brew. You will be seconds so you won't infect anything.

Leave it alone then for 2 weeks total, you will then know it's gone as far as it likely ever will. Every single forum I use say leave the kits in the fermenter for 2 weeks, 3 weeks for a lager yeast.

Not that it matters but there's a wasted portion on the r/h side of your fv as you look at it where the Temp sticker was supposed to go ;)

You think waiting for the drink to come out the FV is hell, wait until you bottle :D
 
heh! i was reading other forums and 2 week does indeed seem to be the norm, in the instructions tho it says 6 days, i might experiment and do half 6 days and half in 2 weeks to see what the difference is
 
Pils all bottled, hoping I did a good job with the capper! :D





Straight on with another cerveza, here's the set up. Temp controller, fish tank heater and bath. The arrow line shows me how far I have to fill the bath before I put the FV in. About 30 litres :)

The controller is set to 18 degrees so hopefully the temp should start to come up today.

 
:cool:Got my St peters ipa mixed up and in the Fv, it brews to 19 liters and instructed to use 6 liter for the initial mix of the LME, the remaining 13 liters of cold water was not enough to bring it down to pitching temp so its sitting in the Fv cooling and hopefully will be ok while its so vulnerable.

on another note, i brewed a all grain batch yesterday and if something could go correctly for me it decided not too, everything went **** up and my hydro broke too so i have two brews that i have no idea of OG. i do however have 75 pints brewing so once they are bubbling away ill be hoppy, i mean happy ;)
 
Haha, I half tempted to not even care with the hydrometer anymore. Just lob the mix in leave for 2 or 3 weeks and bottle. I'm not that fussed if it's 3.5% or 5% if it's tastes great :)

This year I think I will just use the kits, find ones I like and then try some more advanced techniques :)

I might try the coopers IPA once the cerveza is out the tub :)
 
Strange reading tonight, either i have read the hydrometer incorrectly when i took my first reading, or the thing is broken, because it reads 1.012 now, it was 1.033 on Sunday when i put the brew on.The drop seems to quick? its been brewing at about 24c
 
robj20 said:
I have never had a stuck one, and over pressurising isnt something i have to worry about.
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I was just commenting for the non corny users. It's all well and good when you only pressurise yourself. But that probably applies to <5% homebrewers.

A quick hydro reading takes literally less than a minute an assures the initial ferment is complete and those bottling will be in for no nasty surprises.

Recommending the non-use of a hydro to all users isn't really sound advice IMO :)
 
Kimi said:
Strange reading tonight, either i have read the hydrometer incorrectly when i took my first reading, or the thing is broken, because it reads 1.012 now, it was 1.033 on Sunday when i put the brew on.The drop seems to quick? its been brewing at about 24c
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That's perfectly feasible TBH @ ~24c. What is the kit? Some brew ridiculously vigorous (Coopers, for example). I have a Coopers IPA ferment out completely in 4 or 5 days before.
 
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