How Long Do U Keep Your Beer In The Barrel For

[Plugga_brewing]

How Long do u keep your Beer in the Barrel for Befor Bottling it ?

 

[Stuster]

Two weeks in the fermenter in general. I have found that this will result in a fairly clear beer on bottling and this gives the yeast time to clean up any off flavours left after fermentation.

The first fermenter (barrel) can be called a primary. Leaving it in the primary for 2-3 weeks will not be a problem. If it's a big beer (or a wine/cider), I will sometimes secondary it (transfer it to another fermenter) and leave it there for up to a few months if I can.

 

[Plugga_brewing]

do u put your yeast in water a night befor Brewing

 

[PostModern]

do u put your yeast in water a night befor Brewing

Rehydrating yeast doesn't take overnight. In fact, if you leave it rehydrated too long without food, it will stress the yeast. Just sprinkle it onto the surface of some preboiled and cooled water at about 25-30C and let it sit, covered in foil for about 5 mins. Then stir it until all the yeast goes under and it forms a cream. Cover in foil again and it should start foaming in another 5-10 mins. Once it's foaming, pitch into your 20C wort.

 

[Stuster]

No.

Maybe you should have a read of the FAQ for new brewers to get you started. Most of your basic questions should be answered there.

Howtobrew also has great info after you get the hang of the first lot of info. Enjoy.

 

[Wortgames]

do u put your yeast in water a night befor Brewing

Are you using dry yeast? If so then no. Not a night before, anyway - if anything, you could put it in some warm water a few minutes before pitching, but all this really does is prove that the yeast is active. There's no real need for it.

If you want to improve your yeast, then get a decent dry yeast from your homebrew shop. It is generally a better quality, a bigger packet, and hopefully in better condition than the one in the lid of the can.

The next step after that is liquid yeast, which costs a bit more, and needs a bit of prep a couple of days in advance.

 

[delboy]

yes plugga wortgames is on the money there but it would be benificial to have a look at the threads and the sites that stuster told you about .
even your local HBS will have a book or two

HAVE A READ OF THIS BOOK TOO if you are a KK brewer this is a great read without getting to technical "after all you dont want to be brain dead straghtaway"

"THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO BEER & BREWING" by LAYRIE STRACHAN.

THIS book is great for beginners and KK BREWERS with out all the tech head stuff.
that you will learn along the way.

welcome to the hobby too.

DELBOY

 

[brettprevans]

No.

Howtobrew also has great info after you get the hang of the first lot of info. Enjoy.

Stuster...do you think that buying the 3rd edition is worth it of just print out the free 1st edition? Was thinking of buying a mate a book as he's keen to get into brewing.

 

[discoloop]

I can vouch for both the Strachan book and How to Brew. I've recently "upgraded" from Strachan to How to Brew and think they're both great. Strachan 'cause its simple, How to Brew for just the opposite reason - it's DETAILED. It's good 'cause it makes it easy to skip over the complex stuff. It first it tells you WHAT to do (the easy bit), then it tells you WHY (the complex bit).

I'd definitely say the print version is worth forking out for - I find it so much easier to take in the written word from on paper than on screen.

Edit - spelling, grammer

 

[Stuster]

If you're getting a book for a mate, How to Brew sounds like a good one to get if they're keen on getting into extract brewing and beyond. (That said, I've yet to buy it myself so what would I know. h34r: )

For yourself, once you have the basics down, it becomes less necessary. It's still a good book with some great info on water chemistry for example, but it depends on if you're a member of the TAB club or not I guess. Also, I'm always online and I brew about five steps from my computer so it's pretty easy for me to look something up if I need to.

 

[delboy]

i would definatly start with thr strachan book first if your mate is just getting in to it then when hes at a point to move on the how to brew book would be the next step. as i belive new brewers want to just get in to the hobby the easy why then look at the technical side and beyond.

i have both books and i glad i started with the strachan book first as it helped me understand the jj palmer book alot more.

gee i might have to read the dictonary as well cause i can't spell.
del

 

[boingk]

On the subject of brewing books, I picked up a good one along with my fermenter setup from Big W. Its called 'Understanding Beer Making - Brewing the Perfect Beer' by Grant Sampson, Daintree Press and was with all the homebrew stuff. It came to a grand total of maybe 8 bucks, and is a simple easy-going guide through k&k brewing which goes over all the basic practices, and some of the more 'advanced' ones like moderating your beer to taste using the fermentables, hops, and yeast; it also covers kegging.

Well worth the small outlay, I found it an invaluable reference guide to beginner brewing.

 

[Deja_vu]

Two weeks in the fermenter in general. I have found that this will result in a fairly clear beer on bottling and this gives the yeast time to clean up any off flavours left after fermentation.

I'm a noob at this also, in fact I haven't done anything yet really, just studying up and aquiring the equiptment etc. See I did try HB a while ago and the results didn't justify the means so I thought @##$ this and got into knitting instead.

I'm reading howtobrew at the moment and Mr Palmer advised leaving the brew for 2 -3 weeks if you're botting straight from the primary fermenter.

I'd like to know whats the difference between 2 and 3 weeks? What are the cues to bottle? Also, If I can create an ideal temp/environment for my fermenter and follow a recipe, is there any need for a hydrometer at this stage? Can I put it away in the box with my knitting needles?? Cheers guys

 

[simpletotoro]

I'd like to know whats the difference between 2 and 3 weeks? What are the cues to bottle? Also, If I can create an ideal temp/environment for my fermenter and follow a recipe, is there any need for a hydrometer at this stage? Can I put it away in the box with my knitting needles?? Cheers guys

hi... 7 days ... i figure its difficult to say hey it'll take exactly this long when theres so many variables invovled...yeast... temp... quality and quantity of fermentables etc...
the basic answer i would say is its finished when its finished...when your hydrometre tells you so ...so yes don't pack that hydrometre away ...i usually take 3 readings over 3 days when all airlock activity is finished so as to be sure the yeast isn't "stuck"...and all fermentation has taken place ...otherwise you may end up with bottle bombs ...anyways fermentation to a degree i'm told still takes place when bottle conditioning...firstly in the form of carbonation (from your priming sugar) and also over a longer period of time when the yeast will start to break down the more complex chains of sugars that were formed during fermentation...this is just what i've been told ...i ain't no rocket surgeon myself so i'll take there word for it ...apparently this is why beer to a degree will change in taste when conditioned over a long period of time (talking months here) apart from the moderating of hops and mellowing of flavours...so so i'm told.
anyone feel free to correct anything i've stuffed up please..
cheers simpletotoro

 

[Deja_vu]

Thanks simpletotoro for your advice, see I am reading a couple of books and I must have been confused between Secondary Fermentor vs. Bottle Conditioning.. I guess I just gotta put the books down & start brewing to see for myself

 

[alamout]

Being a pretty lazy brewer I've left mine in anywhere from 2 1/2 weeks to 5 weeks in the primary (don't use a secondary) simply 'cos some weekends I run out of time and can't be bothered bottling.
Best beer to date has been one left in for about 4 weeks, a nth american brown ale which was tasting fantastic after less than a week in the bottle.
I have not noticed any strange or off flavours from leaving beers for this long, although I have been keeping my fermentation temperatures in the lower range for ales.
I am pretty keen to see exactly how long I can keep it in the primary before any real evidence of yeast autolysis because I have heard a lot of hear-say and contradicting information regarding how long it will take.

 

[Deja_vu]

Well it's reassuring to know that the yeast can stick it out for while, assuming you keep them happy with temps, etc.

I'm finding it hard to get a proper understanding due to all the differing opinions out there. eg I have a little book - home brewing vol 2 or something, and the author reckons it's vital to bottle the beer as soon as it stops fermenting. However john palmer in howtobrew says not to hurry (well that's how i read it anyway)...
...And that first book I mentioned, when you get to the actual part on brewing the beer he suggests following the instructions on the can?

 

[ozpowell]

Stuster...do you think that buying the 3rd edition is worth it of just print out the free 1st edition? Was thinking of buying a mate a book as he's keen to get into brewing.

Can't speak for the 3rd edition, but I have the 2nd edition and it contains quite a lot more detail than the online version.

Cheers,
Michael.

 

[Deja_vu]

Bought the 3rd edition of how to brew yesterday and the biggest thing that stood out when comparing volumes for me is that in #3 measurements are listed in both imperial and metric - no need to stuff about with calculations.