Thanks to anybody who replies to my questions - I'm guessing most have been asked many times before.
I was given a Tooheys Homebrewing Kit for christmas and the hydrometer in it was broken. Because the instructions given with the kit stated you didn't need a hydrometer for another couple of days, I began to brew my first batch (the supplied 'Tooheys Special Draught' tin). Since then, two friends told me that they never use the hydrometer, and its only use is to check the alcohol content of the beer. So I simply waited till the airlock had stopped bubbling for a few days, and proceeded to bottle my beer.
Q1) Is the hydrometer necessary in brewing good beer?
I was seriously low on non twist top bottles - I had two. The capping tool supplied with the kit requires them (it's the type of capper that has two levers). But what I did have was four old 500ml Grolsch bottles which you probably know have that cap with the rubber stop which I'm assuming compeletely reseal the beer. And I had a 1.5l Grolsch bottle with the same cap but bigger. So I drank six non twist top commercial beers and saved the bottles, then got some 1.25l soft drink bottles, and sealed those with Coopers plastic PET bottle caps after I filled them with my brew.
Q2) Will Grolsch bottles seal correctly for secondary fermentation? And will plastic work? I've never seen a commecial beer sold in plastic bottles in my life. I always thought there was a reason for that.
In the end I still had way too much beer left in the carboy which I just tipped out into the sink. I felt it was a great waste but I really had nothing left to store the stuff in. In my mind, this first batch is just a test to make sure that I can make something that closely resembles beer. My final question is:
Q3) Are these store bought kits, where you brew 23 or so litres of liquid then perform secondary fermentation in the bottle, capable of brewing good beer? I think (although I find the posts hard to read due to not knowing the lingo) most posters brew in a different manner.
Thanks in advance for any replies,
Spicks
I was given a Tooheys Homebrewing Kit for christmas and the hydrometer in it was broken. Because the instructions given with the kit stated you didn't need a hydrometer for another couple of days, I began to brew my first batch (the supplied 'Tooheys Special Draught' tin). Since then, two friends told me that they never use the hydrometer, and its only use is to check the alcohol content of the beer. So I simply waited till the airlock had stopped bubbling for a few days, and proceeded to bottle my beer.
Q1) Is the hydrometer necessary in brewing good beer?
I was seriously low on non twist top bottles - I had two. The capping tool supplied with the kit requires them (it's the type of capper that has two levers). But what I did have was four old 500ml Grolsch bottles which you probably know have that cap with the rubber stop which I'm assuming compeletely reseal the beer. And I had a 1.5l Grolsch bottle with the same cap but bigger. So I drank six non twist top commercial beers and saved the bottles, then got some 1.25l soft drink bottles, and sealed those with Coopers plastic PET bottle caps after I filled them with my brew.
Q2) Will Grolsch bottles seal correctly for secondary fermentation? And will plastic work? I've never seen a commecial beer sold in plastic bottles in my life. I always thought there was a reason for that.
In the end I still had way too much beer left in the carboy which I just tipped out into the sink. I felt it was a great waste but I really had nothing left to store the stuff in. In my mind, this first batch is just a test to make sure that I can make something that closely resembles beer. My final question is:
Q3) Are these store bought kits, where you brew 23 or so litres of liquid then perform secondary fermentation in the bottle, capable of brewing good beer? I think (although I find the posts hard to read due to not knowing the lingo) most posters brew in a different manner.
Thanks in advance for any replies,
Spicks
