2nd Brew.

[DrewCarey82]

G'day Guys.

Will probably be bottling my first brew out of the firmanter either this Sat or Sunday and I am just wondering a couple of things.

Whats the best way to clean the barrell? I've heard unscented bleach so brought some no thrills stuff, any particular cleaning utensils to avoid?

Also Sanitising the tap, airlock ect, I brought some coopers sanatiser, any particular way to use it or just a spoonfool in a bucket let them soak and rinse?

Also I brought Coopers Brew enhancer 1 instead of brewing sugar or using sugar, this shouldnt pose any dramas and I dont need any extra steps do I?

Also how much is a second barrell likely to cost @ a homebrew shop and how do I switch it from 1 to the other without ruining it as I've heard secondry fermination improves the taste.

If someone could answer this you would be a champion.

- Drew Carey.

 

[tdh]

For cleaning of the fermenter use unscented NapiSan or the cheapo version (sodium percarbonate).
For sanitising use unscented bleach (sodium hypochlorite) but rinse with plenty of hot water.
Investigate Grumpy's Oneshot (contains phosphoric acid), very easy to use. They also sell racking kits.
Have a look at the recipes that are used here and you'll spot that more malt extracts, less sucrose/dextrose/glucose, specialty grains, partial mashes and all-grain recipes abound.
Become familiar with yeasts and what fermentation temps suit them best.

Just a few things to think about as a new brewer.

have fun,

tdh

 

[Justin]

Don't mean to be rude but the search function up the top is a good place to answer all these questions. All this stuff has been covered a million times. I apologise if it's not working though (it did go down the other day but seems to be working again).

However I will answer some of the questions.

Bleach works well. Don't scrub the barrel with anything that will scratch it. A soft cloth works well if you dont let the yeast and scum dry and clean it while it's still wet. A soak in bleach loosens a lot of crap. I soak, then clean.

Cooper's sanitiser (sodium metabisulfate) works ok, but there are better sanitisers out there. Iodophor is one, Napisan (Sodium percarbonate if I remember rightly) is another. I use iodophor, a search will reveal what others use.

Brew enhancer, add it just like you would sugar.

I said in response to your post the other day that a second fermenter will cost between $25-$30, depending what your HBS charges for one. Otherwise buy a plastic water cube or just use a white plastic bucket. Fermenter is probably easier, but ultimately the price will be whatever price you can find one for.

Hope it helps.

Cheers, Justin

 

[Tim]

a good hint to remove the yeast scum from your fermenter.
After bottling open up the fermenter and rub the yeast cake into the dried yeast ring.
This loosens it all up and all you have to do is rinse.

 

[DrewCarey82]

What on earth are yeast cakes and yeast rings?

 

[quincy]

Yeast cake = the "sludge" sitting on the bottom of your fermenter.
Yeast ring = the "high tide" mark left around the fermenter.

Cheers

 

[DrewCarey82]

Uh huh, thanks man, I always hoping for mudcake but anyways.....

 

[ryanator]

Whats the best way to clean the barrell? I've heard unscented bleach so brought some no thrills stuff, any particular cleaning utensils to avoid?

Also Sanitising the tap, airlock ect, I brought some coopers sanatiser, any particular way to use it or just a spoonfool in a bucket let them soak and rinse?

Also I brought Coopers Brew enhancer 1 instead of brewing sugar or using sugar, this shouldnt pose any dramas and I dont need any extra steps do I?

Also how much is a second barrell likely to cost @ a homebrew shop and how do I switch it from 1 to the other without ruining it as I've heard secondry fermination improves the taste.

[post="76141"][/post]​

When it comes to cleaning the fermenter, I do it straight after bottling. If the sludge does dry you will have a heck of a time getting it off. I don't even use bleach to clean the fermenter after bottling. I just put on some rubber gloves and give it a good clean with hot water and a soft cloth. I only use bleach on the fermenter before putting in a brew. I've never had any problems doing it this way.

When it comes to the airlock and the fermenter lid, I just give it a clean with some hot water. With the tap, I use hot water and bleach. When I say hot water, I mean hot water that will burn your hands if you don't wear gloves. If using these methods to sanitise, make sure the water is really hot.

With the Coopers Brew Enhancer 1, just use it like ordinary sugar or dextrose. Open the packet and dump it in!

A second fermenter cost me $40.00 and it was one of the best investments ever. To transfer my brew, I use a long piece of clear, flexible PVC hose (about 1m long). I connect it to the tap on my primary fermenter and transfer the brew through the hose. This method prevents the beer splashing. To get the piece of hose, I took my tap into Bunnings and found a piece of hose that fitted tightly around the tap. It only costs about $2.50 per metre.

Hope this has helped.

:beer:

 

[OCC]

hey drew have you tried lookin though e-bay,i got a complete set up for $40 with a few extra bits so now i'm lookin for a couple of kegs,but no matter how a secondary fermenter costs it's a good investment...
occ

 

[DrewCarey82]

Priced a second firmanter by ringing a local homebrewshop and they are only $30 which is a bit of a steal so I'll probably go there and pick up a few other nobs, powders and dobbywackers as well.

Thanks for the help guys, greatly appreciated.

 

[Justin]

Grab some more kits and a couple of kilo packs of dried malt extract as well. I didn't really bother much with half and half packs (ie. half dextrose half DME) and usually just went the full kilo of DME. Things like half and dark (half DME and half dark DME) can be used to mix things up a bit.

I have found the Morgans kits quite nice (well the Amber ale anyway as that's all I tried) but you can't really go wrong with Coopers or Morgans.

Hook, line and sinker.
Cheers, Justin