Getting Started

[Damian44]

Hi. Never brewed before. Could anyony reccomend a brew kit. It would just be for beer? My friend brews beer and a large percent of the caps arn't tight, ruining the beer. Is there away to stop this happening? Are kegs a wortwhile investment? I live in Sydney. Thanks Damian. :beer:

 

[wambesi]

I got a coopers kit from good ol K-Mart for V-Day from the other half, it's done me good. Came with bottles, caps etc. Just read up here for better instructions than they include like temps etc.

I've never had a drama with any bottles not sealing and I use the PET bottles and glass (both screw and crown seal). If going with glass, shell out the extra $50 or so for a bench capper, money well spent.

And kegs, well I cant help you there, I bottle myself and cant see me getting kegs anytime soon, but in a few years when I finally get into the AG scene I probably will get some.
Since having the coopers kit I now also have a pail type (snap on lids - not screw) fermenter and its great too.

 

[Damian44]

Thanks for the reply. Ill get down to K-mart and check them out. Yeah im getting over excited about the kegs, ill just start with the bottles. Cheers.

 

[wambesi]

No worries, they are usually around the $70 mark, not bad value I think.
Especially as you get a kit with it and the bottles.

Even when I do keg in a few years time I will still bottle some too, something about bottles, just gotta have some stashed away

 

[Enerjex]

A mate of mine just got the coopers micro brewing kit, seems good value for money. Have never heard of caps not being tight. What kind of bottles does your mate use? The coopers PET ones or are you talking about screwtop glass bottles?

 

[Damian44]

Are the Coopers swing top bottles OK. Can you tell how strong the beer is. Does this look OK? How big is the barrel? Thanks Damian http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Home-Brew-Kit-Coope...2QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Damian44]

My friend is using Hahn light bottles 375ml. He gave me 10 about 4 were flat the rest had lovely big heads. Im sure he has a capper. Cheers

 

[captian black beer]

Are the Coopers swing top bottles OK. Can you tell how strong the beer is. Does this look OK? How big is the barrel? Thanks Damian http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Home-Brew-Kit-Coope...2QQcmdZViewItem

Damian,

To tell how strong the beer is the easiest way is to use a hydrometer and measure what's known as the specific gravity (density) of the beer. If you measure it when you 1st put your brew on then when it's finished you can work out the % alcohol of your beer. There are calculators on the web to help with this.

http://www.brewcraft.com.au/wa.asp?idWebPa...p;idDetails=173

A hydrometer is a very worthwile investment and will help solve many a brewing problem.

As for the grolsh bottles as long as they're in good condition they shouldn't be a problem.

Happy Brewing

 

[captian black beer]

My friend is using Hahn light bottles 375ml. He gave me 10 about 4 were flat the rest had lovely big heads. Im sure he has a capper. Cheers

They're twist top bottles yeah? If so the glass tends to be a bit weaker and it might be harder to seal against. Haven't seen the problem with them but most homebrewers I know tend to avoid twist top bottles as the the top of the glass can be weaker and cause problems when capping

 

[Damian44]

I will tell my friend there no good. Its a crying shame when they turn out flat. Are VB longnecks twist tops? Are they any good? Thanks

 

[captian black beer]

I will tell my friend there no good. Its a crying shame when they turn out flat. Are VB longnecks twist tops? Are they any good? Thanks

They are these days as well. Whenever I bottle I tend to bottle into Squires bottles, they're great, easy to get the labels off, easy to clean, strong and often are available ready filled with great beer inside.

I also use Bundy Ginger beer bottles for doing my Ginger Beers in.

 

[Enerjex]

The fermenter is 30litre, grolsch bottles are good to use, and the coopers pet bottles work well also.
As far as using glass bottles stay away from the screwtops (a good benchcapper can cap them but the bottle is weaker). As mentioned James Squire bottles are great as are most that still have pop off caps.

 

[wambesi]

As stated it would be good to avoid these until you get into it a bit more, but I have about 200 odd 375ml twist top stubbies I regularly use and have not had one flat beer yet.
The rest of mine are Coopers PET and glass crown seals.

 

[petesbrew]

As far as your mate's problem with the caps not being on tight enough, when I started capping, I was afraid of busting the bottle when i capped them, didn't use enough force and I ended up with a few that leaked. Could this be what's happening? Is it a bench capper he's using, or one of those ones you need a mallet for?

Crown seal (non-twist tops) are heaps better, and easier to cap, but screwtops are still usable.
Coopers longnecks are now all crown seals, as far as I know.

And the PET bottles that come with the coopers kits are great to start out with.

That ebay kit looks like good value too.
All the best.
Pete

 

[brettprevans]

Hi. Never brewed before. Could anyony reccomend a brew kit. It would just be for beer? My friend brews beer and a large percent of the caps arn't tight, ruining the beer. Is there away to stop this happening? Are kegs a wortwhile investment? I live in Sydney. Thanks Damian. :beer:

Damian44

Welcome to AHB. read as much as possible on this site and get yourself a good home brew book. or at least check out How to Brew by John Palmer

Ebay kit looks good. If you want a comparison go down to your local Kmart of wollworths store and have a look at their homebrewing section, they will have a variety of kits (some incl PET bottles). they are not a bad setup for a beginner. Alternitvely you can go to a local hombrew store and pick up one of their starter kits. but they may try and sell you all sorts of stuff you dont need.

all beer bottles are useable. screw caps are just slightly weaker around the top. I have all sorts of bottles (crown seal, screw top, PET and champaigne bottles). all work. I tend not to use 375ml botles cause you need twice as mny 375ml as 750ml so it takes up more room.


Tip for Young Players: I always use at least 2 PET bottles per brew as they are great as an indicator as to whether your beer is carbonated. ie if you can squeeze the PET the brew isnt carbonated. If its nice and firm then the rest of your brew should be carbonmated as well

 

[beernography]

Thanks everyone for your advice, I'm yet to bottle my first brew but this answered a few questions I had as well.

As for glass vs PET, I like the idea of the traditional glass longneck, but the lameness of PET appeals to me, I'm pretty clumsy by nature and don't like the idea of swabbing up litres of sticky beer.

AND are exploding bottles a dangerous reality or is the risk blown out of proportion? Everyone I talk to (non brewing types) keeps telling me about it but my bullshitometer is rising.

 

[PostModern]

AND are exploding bottles a dangerous reality or is the risk blown out of proportion? Everyone I talk to (non brewing types) keeps telling me about it but my bullshitometer is rising.

Bottle bombs do happen for three main reasons:

1. Bottling too early - to avoid, make sure the beer is finished fermenting before bottling.
2. Bottling with too much priming sugar - to avoid, prime the bottles properly.
3. Infections - to avoid, observe good sanitation of the brew, the bottles and everything that ever comes in contact with the beer.

Not too hard to avoid them, just learn how to brew!

 

[afromaiko]

I got my first Coopers kit from Big W, recommended. Great value when you consider you get all the equipment, bottles and a brew thrown it too. When I was looking for a second fermenter the Coopers kits were on special, so I just ended up buying another one.

 

[new2brew]

When I first started I got given a brewiser kit with everything I needed from hydrometer to capper and everything in between.

First brew I made I put into the plastic PET bottles as suggested before, but used the coopers carb drops and found they were great. Have never has a bottle explode or split yet. Just 1 drop per stubbie, or 2 drops per longneck leaves you with a great result every time. No measureing and no fuss or wastage.

As for cappers, I just use a black hand held one with pull down handles, and again never had a problem with them not sealing, but I have found that if you use twist top bottles, some have a tendancey to "sheer" a small frag of glass from the twist part, so I went on to use 330ml european style bottles and have not had a problem since. Means you need to drink something like Hieniken or Amsterdam Mariner though.

Just make sure that when you brew in winter, you store the full bottles in a warm place to condition. Otherwise I have found that with the carb drops the dont carbonate very well and leave you with a flat, listless beer. 10 days or so at inside room temp should do the trick.

Bottle bombs... The only time I have ever seen this happen is when my dad was brewing when I was a kid. He stored them in a cupboard to condition and they kept exploding. Worked out that they were next to the oven that mum had on 180c to cook dinner. He moved them and the problem was solved.

Hope you enjoy the hobby and have many years of drinking great beers you make yourself. :chug:

 

[Moray]

if you haven't yet got your micro brew kit, Kmart have them on sale from tomorrow, $20 off usual price.
and 20% off all brew gear.