375ml Pet Screw Top Bottles And Other Questions

[maxy007]

Hi There,
Wow what a great forum!!! I've been thinking about getting a home brewing kit for a while and after reading the posts of the enthusiests here It's made me even more convinced to go ahead and get one.

I'm going to get the Mexican Cerveza first because I love that style of beer and Corona is my absolute fave!! (yes I'm a girl!!)

I have a couple of questions:

Can you get 375ml PET bottles with screw top lids?
I read a post where someone mentioned using bundaberg ginger beer diet bottles as the screw top lids are the same but I'm to scared they will explode so would rather go with plastic at this stage.

In the same Mexican Cerveza thread someone mentioned adding glacier hops for lemon flavour. I'm curious as to how this is done? As I'll only have a basic kit will I need to add the hops to the boiling 2 litres of water then put it into the fermenter thingy?

If that's correct how much Glacier should I use?

Thanks for reading, no doubt I'll be back with more questions later.

Cheers,

Maxy

 

[Finite]

Welcome Maxy :super:

Im sure you will love the AHB comunity its a great source of info for learning and improving your HB. Im afraid you cant get smaller PET bottles that im aware of so either drink or find someone who drinks crown top bottles or you might have to stick with the larger ones.

In terms of adding hops. Glacier are an aroma hop which means you can get away with adding them into the fermenter. Boiling the hops would most likely destroy some of that nice smell. Adding the hops to the fermenter after the wort has been cooled is refered to as dry hopping. To keep things simple I think you can buy Morgans? packet hops which come in a little bag ready to throw in for dry hopping but I personaly wouldnt advocate their use to much as they are probably pretty poor quality (ive used these and hardly noticed any extra aroma), ask if your local home brew shop stocks fresh hops and dont be afraid to ask how old they are etc. Craftbrewer is a great source of some of the best quality hops you will find at a very good price (no affiliation). You can add some to a clean and sanitized pantyhose or similar and put into the fermenter.

In terms of time and ammount ill have to let someone else answer as ive never used this kit or used Glacier for that matter. Good luck mate. Some good info on dry hopping here answers pretty much most of your dry hopping questions.

Brew on,

Blake

 

[blackbock]

I have a couple of questions:

Can you get 375ml PET bottles with screw top lids?
I read a post where someone mentioned using bundaberg ginger beer diet bottles as the screw top lids are the same but I'm to scared they will explode so would rather go with plastic at this stage.

Maxy,

I'm unsure which post you are quoting, but there are plastic Bundaberg Ginger Beer bottles around, and they are brown too. I think they are bigger than 375ml, probably about the same as small Coke (600ml?)

 

[maxy007]

Thanks for your reply and the links Blake.
I really appreciate it.
I think I'll try it without the hops first just to get started. I guess I'll get the bundaberg bottles and hope for the best

Would you use the Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 or 1 with the Mexican Cerveza?
Some people say 1 others say 2.

Cheers,

Maxy

 

[maxy007]

Thanks Blackbock,
The post is here
It was posted by Drulupis


Cheers,

Maxy

 

[Brownie]

Maxy,

Go the Brew Enhancer 2,
Ditch the kit Yeast, and get some SAFlager or a true lager yeast,
If possible brew at a low temperature, below 12 deg C.

Note: If you can't brew at a low temp keep the kit yeast as true lager yeasts don't like higher temps.


Also put your location in your profile so other brewers in your location can assist.

Brownie

 

[Nickb167]

Maxy,

Go the Brew Enhancer 2,
Ditch the kit Yeast, and get some SAFlager or a true lager yeast,
If possible brew at a low temperature, below 12 deg C.

Note: If you can't brew at a low temp keep the kit yeast as true lager yeasts don't like higher temps.
Also put your location in your profile so other brewers in your location can assist.

Brownie

i think a lager yeast is a bit much for a first brew.

 

[maxy007]

Brownie,
I'm in the ACT and have updated my profile.
Which version of the SAFlager should I use and how much of it?

Cheers,

Maxy

 

[Brownie]

Maxy,

I would tend to agree with nickb167, unless you have a way to keep the wort temperature down to below 12C then go with the kit yeast.

I tend to use SAFLager S-23 which can be obtained from Brew Your Own At Home, at Kambah, or Butt n Brew at Kaleen. BYOAH at Kambah has a wider range of everything and will give good/great advice. Butts n Brew at Kaleen are a convenience only, advice is well hmmmm, but they have most general items.

Brownie.

 

[InCider]

Hey Maxy,

One of my first brews (Feb 06) was the Cerveza. I brewed it for a party and after two weeks in the bottle it was BLOODY ORDINARY....

But after 4 weeks it was excellent. A real Cerveza. :beerbang:

I have found that the lighter the beer, the longer it needs to be left before dinking...

InCider.

 

[maxy007]

Maxy,

I would tend to agree with nickb167, unless you have a way to keep the wort temperature down to below 12C then go with the kit yeast.

Brownie,
Will the yeast that comes with the tin be enough?
If I use the stock standard kit and make 23 lts, roughly what would the Alcohol content be?

 

[maxy007]

Hey Maxy,

One of my first brews (Feb 06) was the Cerveza. I brewed it for a party and after two weeks in the bottle it was BLOODY ORDINARY....

But after 4 weeks it was excellent. A real Cerveza. :beerbang:

I have found that the lighter the beer, the longer it needs to be left before dinking...

InCider.

Hey there inCider,
I don't mind waiting. As long as it's worth it

 

[glenos]

I have found that the lighter the beer, the longer it needs to be left before dinking...

Wait till you start brewing heavy stouts that need 6 months in to bottle to smooth out.

I have played with some fruit wines and a year in the bottle is about normal, that is after 4 months of racking and fermenting.

Will the yeast that comes with the tin be enough?

The kit yeast will be plenty, I usually get it started in a tall glass before pitching it into the barrel, just in some warm (30) sugar solution covered with clingwrap.

If I use the stock standard kit and make 23 lts, roughly what would the Alcohol content be?

5%ish is about average from memory

 

[pint of lager]

Any plastic bottle that has contained carbonated soft drink should be ok for bottling your beers. Not sure of all the sizes available. Do store any clear PET in a dark cupboard or box as light is bad for your beer flavour.

I have noticed that kit beers need at least 4 weeks in the bottle for the flavours to mature.

Fruit wines are great if you have access to trees of fruit.

Years ago, yeast supplied was dodgy and it was necessary to make starters to ensure you had enough active yeast. Also, to make sure you had an active yeast, people would "proof it" by adding the yeast to a water and sugar solution. This is no longer necessary and research has shown that proofing is actually detrimental to the yeast population. Rather than adding your yeast to a sugar solution, just rehydrate it in plain warm water (30 deg C) or simply sprinkle the dried yeast on top of your wort or wine to be.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Any plastic bottle that has contained carbonated soft drink should be ok for bottling your beers. Not sure of all the sizes available. Do store any clear PET in a dark cupboard or box as light is bad for your beer flavour.

It gets better. I've found that many glass bottles that carbonated soft drink comes in and the brown 340ml glass bottles that Wild Turkey and Cola comes in have the same threads as PET bottles. I use these for 'samplers' so I don't have to open a big bottle to see if a beer is ready to drink or not (rather than just waiting)...

For one of my earlier brews, I bottled into a 2.5l 'Crowd Pleaser' PET bottle. The crowd is yet to be pleased...

 

[Wortgames]

Hi Maxy, welcome to the hobby and to the forum!

(It looks like there are a couple of ladies joining us, is there some kind of master plan behind this? Be on your guard fellas, or there'll be quiche at your next club meeting)

I think for your first brew, you should aim to keep it clean and simple - the tips that others are suggesting (yeast starters, hop additions etc) are all well and good, but they will really only make small improvements to your beer, and introduce confusion and additional opportunities to screw up. You need to get up and running first, with a couple of nice drinkable brews that you are happy to drink yourself and serve to others - and you can do that with a simple kit and kilo.

It sounds like you have found a kit and booster that you are happy with (so you are already ahead of most brewers who just start off with sugar). The kit will come with perfectly good yeast which will do a fine job sprinkled into your fermenter.

The two biggest things that you need to worry about for your first brew are sanitation and temperature.

If you haven't already, check out http://www.howtobrew.com for some great info on getting started.

If you want to spend more money on improving your beer, then go to your local homebrew shop and get some good no-rinse sanitiser (eg brewshield) that you can squirt on everything after you've cleaned it and before you use it (and in the airlock). Bleach is great for sanitising things but you need to rinse it really well, without re-introducing any germs. Forget sodium met which may have come with your fermenter.

Aside from sanitation, your biggest chance of crap beer is likely to be failing to keep the fermenter at a constant temperature of about 20C. Hot temperatures and fluctuating temperatures will do more harm than not using a yeast starter or adding aroma hops! There are plenty of threads around where folks describe their methods for cooling a fermenter, but if you don't have access to a fermenting fridge then the best bet is to sit it in a tub of cold water in the coolest part of the house with a wet towel draped over it, and keep re-wetting it.

Forget everything you hear about 'keeping it warm' - that's old-school thought from Europe and winter brewing. It may actually be prudent to wait until the weather cools down a bit; even in many European countries, they couldn't brew in summer before refrigeration - let alone here in Australia at 35C!

We'll all help you out, but do yourself a favour and keep it as simple as you can to start with.

 

[dairymaid]

Hi guys and Maxie,
Just curious with this yeast rehydrating, where is says - just rehydtrate with plain warm water (30 deg C)
etc etc
the instructions on the beer kits say do not let the temperture rise above 28 deg C when adding the yeast
as the high temperature kills it?

cheers/beers Dairymaid

 

[pint of lager]

The kits only have a small amount of space to fit a huge amount of printed information, so the simplest easiest bits only make it onto the tin.

For newer brewers, keep it simple, concentrate on sanitation, fermentation temperature and good ingredients, plus a dose of patience. Do not fret about rehydration, just sprinkle your yeast on the prepared wort.

Hydrating your yeast is a totally separate process to adding your yeast to your wort. The wort should be as close to fermentation temperature as possible when adding the yeast, 20 degrees is ideal.

Yeast will quite happily work at 28 deg and will not be killed. They will work quickly but also generate off flavours. Fruity, nail polish and harsh are often used for flavour descriptors of hot ferments. If you add your yeast to a wort at 28 deg, by the time it settles to 20, your yeast may well have already completed the job of fermenting your brew.

Have a read of the hydration page on the Lallemand site, the link to the home page is in the links section. Or search for hydration on AHB.

 

[Brewtus]

It sounds like you have found a kit and booster that you are happy with (so you are already ahead of most brewers who just start off with sugar). The kit will come with perfectly good yeast which will do a fine job sprinkled into your fermenter.

The two biggest things that you need to worry about for your first brew are sanitation and temperature.

Welcome to the world of home brew Maxie.

I brew in Canberra and don't brew at this time of year as it is to hard to keep the temp down. If you have a home that has A/C to keep the house below 22 deg 24/7 then you can use ale yeast as provided. Only think of lager yeast if you have a fridge, cool room, basement that stays at 8 to 12 deg on a 35 deg day. I do lager in the garage in winter and it is fine. Pitch the ale yeast with the wort at 24 deg or lower as if it gets above 26 it is hard to get down and the brew goes crazy (see 'steam train fermentation' posts).

go to your local homebrew shop and get some good no-rinse sanitiser (eg brewshield) that you can squirt on everything after you've cleaned it and before you use it (and in the airlock). Bleach is great for sanitising things but you need to rinse it really well, without re-introducing any germs. Forget sodium met which may have come with your fermenter.

Col at "brew your own at home" in Kambah shops supplies an iodine base sanitiser that is cheap and effective. I have used it for 12 brews with no infections or bad tastes on a no rinse basis.

He also gives lessons at 11am Sunday mornings for free.

Good luck.

 

[Brownie]

Being a Canberra brewer, I am lucky enough to be able to brew all year round, through some cunning and ingenuity. Or stealing other peoples ideas.

I brew in my Garage, underneath the stairs, just a nice size for my meager equipment, it generally doesn't get hot hot.

But I bought a 125 Litre plastic tub from the reject shop, and place my fermenter (primary or Secondary) into the tub, which I have encased in polystyrene for insulation.

If summer, and brewing an Ale, I just put a couple of frozen 2 litre bottles of water into tub with fermenter, and it tends to keep temp around 16-18 C. If a lager I fill the fermenter 1/ full with water and place a couple a frozen 2 litre bottles of water into the tub of water, this tends to keep the temp around 10 C.

If Winter, the temp tends to sit around 15C constant all the time in my little brew house under the stairs, which means I just need to cool it down a fraction for lagers and the natural heat generated from fermenting beer, keeps the temp fine in the fermenter

Brownie.