First brew Bootmaker

[HitmanAU]

Another question I had was with the carbonation drops, should I crush them at all to aid in their mixing or just dump a lolly in each bottle and invert in a couple of days?

 

[sp0rk]

2 lollies in a longneck, 1 in a stubby
drop the lolly in whole and leave it to do it's business

 

[peekaboo_jones]

Nah don't crush them, they will be fine! I always use the carbonation drops..
Just make sure you put them in prior to filling with the beer.
1 per stubbie
2 per longneck

 

[Grott]

and invert in a couple of days?

no need, after two weeks fridge a couple and sample. will be better the longer left, "if you can"
Cheers

 

[HitmanAU]

Thanks guys! Far out where would a new brewer be without help from you blokes on here. [emoji106]
Looking like its bottling time if the SG is still at 1014 today.

 

[HitmanAU]

Okay so SG was steady at about 1013 for 48 hours apart.
I bottled today.
Getting the bottles ready


Sanitised


Got just shy of 3 slabs out of it, 64 X 330ml but a couple were 345ml



Still tastes okay too so let's see how it goes.

Batch number two will be started maybe this weekend.

I need to get myself a bottle tree or some fastrack too, dishwasher drawer is too hard basket lol

Can't wait to try this stuff, hopefully no bottle bombs.

 

[HitmanAU]

Just shy of 2 weeks in bottles and it's come out pretty darn good. It's very very clear but is quite dark for a pale ale.
Flavour is good but I think the lazy yeast has suppressed carbonation a little as I'd like it a bit more bubbly.

First bottle


Second bottle

 

[Digga]

Tis a bit dark for a pale I do think that most kits come out a couple of shades darker than the original though.
This is a real ale with 1kg of dex and DME and around 2g per L of hops it comes out great!
Comes out at 6% and that easy to drink it's not funny!! Have done numerous different types of hops and they are all good in there own way!!

 

[Digga]

Don't forget the pic

 

[DREWBREW]

I've noticed on the TC Bootmaker Pale Ale can that it is recommended to be brewed with 1.5Kg of Light Dry Malt. Question is, is there any difference in results between using LME over LDM?

 

[jackgym]

Via reading your gravity
A good practice is to leave it to it's own devices for 2 weeks, then check your gravity over 3 consecutive days
If it is sitting at the same gravity over those 3 days (most ales will usually sit in the range of 1.013-1.009) it should be good to bottle
Also just relax and let it run it's course, if it's a dud batch bottle her up anyway and see if the bugs that (possibly) got in make a decent sour beer

I simply leave my brews to ferment out for 14 days and then bottle. I don't think there's any need to check the gravity after that period, in my opinion.

 

[Grott]

If kegging then no problem but bottles........
14 day ferment doesn't guarantee fermentation has been complete, could be slow, gone to sleep etc.
Potential bottle bombs not worth the risk for such a simple check.

 

[Rocker1986]

I second what grott says. For the minimal effort it takes to check the SG is stable, against the total pain in the arse of cleaning up and possibility of injuries from bottle bombs, I know which one I'd prefer.

I check the FG not just to confirm fermentation is finished but also because I like to know the ABV of what I'm drinking, and to a lesser extent a curiosity of how long the fermentation actually takes (approximately). It also aids in deciding when to cold crash/keg the beer. If for some reason it ferments out in 3 days then it can be crashed after 7 and kegged after 14, rather than the 17/18 days they usually take from pitching to kegging. Over 2-3 batches that's a time saving of a week and a half, which doesn't sound like much but could be the difference between supply being kept up or being out of beer for a week.

 

[DREWBREW]

Hitman - I have done several Bootmakers and have done short hop boils for 10 mins with 500g of LDM + 5 litres of water and added to what you have listed. I wouldn't do any hop boils with the Bootmaker until you find how it tastes re bitterness in its standard form. It is quite bitter and equivalent to OS real ale and I find it a little too bitter after a few bottles. The extra 500 g of LDM will take the %ABV to about 5.6 when bottled along with the 1.5kg of LME. I currently have 2 bootmakers in the brew fridge ATM. I would first try just dry hopping which will not add any more bitterness but some nice hop flavours and aromas. I have done 90g and 60g dry hopping with the bootmaker. The 2 that I am doing now are getting 115g dry hop. One is getting cascade and the other amarillo. It is important to brew at between 18 and 19ºC for ales and I don't pitch yeast in any more than 22ºC. I brew for 2 weeks usually and then crash chill at 0.5ºC for another week before bottling. I don't use any sugar for fermentation and only carb drops for bottling. Below is my latest bootmaker recipe. I have done a 250g steep of crystal grains to try and smooth out the bootmaker bitterness a bit.

Kit: Coopers Bootmaker Pale Ale
1.5 kg of LME Wheat
0.5 kg of Light dry malt powder (LDM)
[SIZE=12pt]250 g of pale crystal grains cracked and steeped[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]115g Cascade dry hop[/SIZE]

Just wondering how this turned out?

 

[wynnum1]

I simply leave my brews to ferment out for 14 days and then bottle. I don't think there's any need to check the gravity after that period, in my opinion.

If you bottle after cold crashing there may be more carbon dioxide present and that can lead to over carbonation.

 

[Rocker1986]

There might be a tad more carbon dioxide present but it's really no worth worrying about. I cold crashed and bottled dozens of brews with the same amount of priming sugar as I did when they were at ferment temps and didn't have one batch over carbonated.