My First Brew Attempt

[Spinxy90]

So thought I'd make a post here on my brew process. It is a Mangrove Jacks Blonge Lager and has been in the fermenter for 9 days now with my SG sitting nice and pretty. Hovering around the 1.012 mark. Is this a good SG for me to add the finnings into the brew to help clear it up?

Then comes my next question, bottle sanitation?.....

Curious as to the best way to do this, I don't have a bottle drier thingo so im guessing just in a kitchen/laundry tub with them upside down on a drying rack?

Do i sanitise them just before its time to bottle or can it be done a day or two before hand? I have 15 PET bottles and then the rest as stubbies

 

[DU99]

Just before you bottle,is what i use to do..

 

[wogdog]

Yeh just do it before u bottle let them dry an bottle... Yeh throw ya finnings in an 3 table spoons of dexs to jus get the finnings working for 2-3 days than bottle.. U will be happy with the clarity.. Tho if ya bottling it will sit for few weeks anyways so it will settle as it is... Good luck nice mix ya making. Just kegged one myself having one now

 

[chemfish]

FG will depend on yeast and other factors, 1.012 seems in the realms of normal. I wash bottles as I go then sanitise with starsan just before bottling, a half a dozen squirts from a spary bottle per bottle, sit for a few minutes, drain into the sink then upside down into a clean dishwasher to finish draining while I make up my bottling sugar and get everything else ready. If you have a brew fridge you can also chill the beer to 4 degrees for a couple of days then using gelatine as a fining agent, give it another a couple of days then bottle. This has given me some perfect clarity beers with minimal bottle sediment.

 

[Spinxy90]

Thanks for the replies! Love those forum!

I'm guessing dexs is dextrose? I don't have any left from the brew unfortunately

As for washing bottles and putting them in the dishwasher to dry is an excellent idea! The sanitizer I have needs to be mixed into 5L of water, I could just correct the ratio to put into a pump spray bottle?

 

[wogdog]

Yep dexs is dextrose.. Get yaself a spare bag for times like these

 

[pnorkle]

Yeh throw ya finnings in an 3 table spoons of dexs to jus get the finnings working for 2-3 days than bottle..

Can someone enlighten me here please?

 

[wogdog]

What would u like the be enlightened about..?

 

[Spinxy90]

What would u like the be enlightened about..?

What does adding dexs to the brew with the finnings achieve?

 

[wogdog]

After the process of fermentation has stopped than racking if that's what u wanna do adding the small amount of dex creates a whole new cycle of pushing sediment down for next few days.. An that's if u wanna rack etc if not just bottle or keg your call.! But if u wanna keg just takes the clarity to another level... Dnt no if that helps u at all maybe someone else here will confirm what I'm trying to say to who asked.!

 

[pnorkle]

Dex pushes sediment down you say?

I have never, ever ever heard anyone suggest this before.

Please cite source of information.

 

[wogdog]

That's what I find works really well for me. That's just my opinion.

 

[pnorkle]

Fair enough, if it works for you, then it works for you. Enjoy

 

[Spinxy90]

So i finally got around to bottling my beer into a mix of glass stubbies and PET long necks!

Have had friends collecting bottles for me over the past few weeks and now have enough for another 2 batches!! So its time to get my next brew under way.

The Mangrove Jacks, came out very clear and was I am really happy with it! For my first attempt, more than happy! So happy with it I've given a few bottles out!

Looking at doing a Mangrove Jacks again as it was really easy to make. Would like to do a brew similar to Heineken, any suggestions on a good kit to use?

 

[wereprawn]

Spinxy90. Never attempted this myself but.... You could try a fairly light coloured and flavoured kit .Boil up 500 g of light malt extract in 5 ltr of water with 30 g of saaz hops for 15 min. us-05 yeast fermented at 16 c. Yeah its an ale and not a lager but it will probably make something heiekinesque without the long lager wait.

 

[shacked]

Nice one! It's probably a good idea to invest in a bottle tree and a bottle rinser (a pump-based system for sanitising bottles). They cost a bit (about $70) but they'll save you loads of time.

Cheers!