First Brew - Got Some ?

[gumby0000]

HEy all....

Just bottled my first brew under the guidance of the mother inlaw who claims to know what she's doing....

During bottling i had a few concerns, when she sterilized the bottles she just filled them up with the sterile water and shook them, then tipped it out and she said thats it, no bottle brush nothing! --is this right?

When i was filling the bottles there was a lot of cloudiness and she says this will go away...--is that true?

Also a couple of the stubbies had little brown dark spots on the bottom of the bottle, can someone shed light on that??

Another thing, i used the carbonation drops that came with the kit and i filled the bottles and she put the lid on and "shook!" the bottle--wouldnt this cause it to blow up when i open it??

There seemed to be a bit of crap floating around in the stubbies as well...should i get a filter? will i be drinking crusty crap home brew?? :icon_vomit:



Sorry for all the q's but im a little worried that she has shown me the wrong thing...if u know what i mean...


Whatever the outcome i know i will learn for next time, but for this brew im thinking it will go in the bin...? :huh:

cheers

 

[paulwin]

she'll be right
don't worry about a thing lifes a learning curve
ps always listen to the mother inlaw it makes life easier
cheers paul

 

[Tyred]

A couple of questions back before answers.
What temperature was it brewed at ?
Was a check made with a hydrometer at the end of brewing to make sure it had completed ?

If the bottles are clean, then maybe. I use a sanitiser before bottling. My bottles are cleaned after they are emptied.

Some cloudiness is normal. It should settle assuming fermentation was complete. Normally letting the brew sit for a few days at lower temperature helps to clear (drop the cloudiness out).

I'm concerned about little brown dots on the bottom of the bottles. Possibly mold. I don't know if it would be wise to drink those. It is likely that those bottles weren't properly cleaned.

Shaking the bottle after the carbonation drops isn't really a bad thing. Basically it's to mix the brew and the priming mixture.

Sometimes there a little floaties in your brew. Hopefully they should settle to the bottom of the bottle while priming.

 

[Daawl]

HEy all....

Just bottled my first brew under the guidance of the mother inlaw who claims to know what she's doing....

During bottling i had a few concerns, when she sterilized the bottles she just filled them up with the sterile water and shook them, then tipped it out and she said thats it, no bottle brush nothing! --is this right?

When i was filling the bottles there was a lot of cloudiness and she says this will go away...--is that true?

Also a couple of the stubbies had little brown dark spots on the bottom of the bottle, can someone shed light on that??

Another thing, i used the carbonation drops that came with the kit and i filled the bottles and she put the lid on and "shook!" the bottle--wouldnt this cause it to blow up when i open it??

There seemed to be a bit of crap floating around in the stubbies as well...should i get a filter? will i be drinking crusty crap home brew?? :icon_vomit:



Sorry for all the q's but im a little worried that she has shown me the wrong thing...if u know what i mean...


Whatever the outcome i know i will learn for next time, but for this brew im thinking it will go in the bin...?

cheers

Hey Don't worry about it the first one is allways going to be a learning curve.


As far as the sterilising you would generaly need to do something more. Lots of methods Idaphor, oven bake etc etc to choose, what suites you eh???? Mind you there are some who say that they only rinse with water and don't have a problem.

Yes it is reasonably normal for the beer to be cloudy after primary fermentation, this will settle out in the bottle to the bottom about the thikness of a coat of paint. Just don't disturb it after this pour jently and you will have clear beer.

Brown spots or crusty bits, I would be worried. Its an infection waiting to happen and if not will taint the taste.

With the shaking that (or simply inverting the bottle a couple of times) is the norm for priming usually with sugar or dextrose or the like as is cakes on the bottom like when you add milk to milo, so it needs to be mixed into the beer.

Now being worried about doing the wrong thing the biggest suggestion is ditch the MIL.

All in all its all good for the first batch, you will never look back now.

Good Luck and happy Brewing. :icon_chickcheers:

Damn my single digit typing

 

[Adamt]

Oh dear.

During bottling i had a few concerns, when she sterilized the bottles she just filled them up with the sterile water and shook them, then tipped it out and she said thats it, no bottle brush nothing! --is this right?

As soon as the sterile water hits dirty bottles it is no longer sterile. You need to clean your bottles first with an appropriate cleanser and then sanitise them. I rinse all my beer bottles immediately after use with running water to get rid of all visible waste, then I rinse thoroughly with a no-rinse sanitiser (orthophosphoric acid or the like) right before use.

When i was filling the bottles there was a lot of cloudiness and she says this will go away...--is that true?

Yeast, one cause of cloudiness, does settle out in the bottle, you should decant your beer off the yeast when you crack the bottles.

Also a couple of the stubbies had little brown dark spots on the bottom of the bottle, can someone shed light on that??

That's probably mould or some other growth on there from whatever was in the bottle before you put your beer in it. "Sterile" water will not remove that. It's now in your beer.

Another thing, i used the carbonation drops that came with the kit and i filled the bottles and she put the lid on and "shook!" the bottle--wouldnt this cause it to blow up when i open it??

No. Your beer is pretty flat at bottling time. Shaking helps dissolve the carbonation drop, which the yeast then eats to produce carbon dioxide (fizz). By the time it is ready to drink everything will be settled.

There seemed to be a bit of crap floating around in the stubbies as well...should i get a filter? will i be drinking crusty crap home brew??

If it is yeast, it will settle out, no problem. If it's the mould that was on the bottom of the bottles and is now floating, well, yeah, crusty crap home brew for you.



Some of the bottles that may have been actually clean before they were "sterilised with sterile water" may turn out all right. The other ones could do anything; they could be fine, they could just taste foul, or they could cause 'bottle bombs', which are not pleasant.

Next brew, buy some Coopers home brew PET bottles and use them (you can get these at big w, kmart, etc). Hit them before use with a proper no-rinse sanitising solution like Iodophor, Starsan, or other phosphoric acid based brewing sanitisers, which you should be able to get from a decent homebrew store. Rinse the bottles after use with hot water and store in the box, covered until you next need to use them, when you'll sanitise them again before bottling.

Does your mother-in-law brew beer? Claims that aren't backed up with evidence are useless.

Cheers.

 

[hairofthedog]

hey gumby if my MIL bottled my beer id be happy as & it sounds like your brews got a 50/50 chance good luck & send your MIL to my house when shes finished bottling your brew as ive got a few odd jobs that need seeing to

 

[imellor]

Hi gumbybrew,

Thirsy Boy has a post that might be of some help for your next brew. Click [topic="19748"]Here[/topic] to view.
Advice For A K&k Man Beyond the instructions- Avoiding off flavours and getting better quality product from your kit beer.

Download the Doc file this should be of some help.

Happy Brewing,
Ian

 

[gumby0000]

WOW

Thanks for all the feedback guys...

Tyred- It was at a steady temp of 22-24deg, and i did check it with hydrometer about 4 days b4 i bottled it and it came up at about 2% this worries me the most and the MIL just said it'll be fine!

I will ditch the MIL next time, she's too sloppy, not measuring etc...

All stubbies were rinsed after emptied and let dry, then we used the Sodium Metabisulphite to sterilize, but she just filled them up with the solution we had in the sink and tipped it out then said that was enough... If i had been by my self i would have been scrubbing them with a bottle brush lol


At the end of the day ive learnt something, i just hope at least half of it is fine...


Thanks again for the replies chiefs !

 

[bolwell]

Adamt recommended washing PET bottles in hot water. Be careful it's not too hot, there are consequences.

 

[beernography]

I scrub out all my bottles with a bottle brush and Brewcraft Brewclean (top stuff), then store them upside down in newspaper lined milkcrates. On brew day I either bake or santise them, give them a bit to cool/dry then bottle away. Haven't had an infection yet..5 brews on.