Newbie Questions

[Charlie]

Spicks,

Start trying your beer about two weeks after you bottled them - they probably won't be too frothy either way in that amount of time (although this will depend on where you store them !). When I was doing kits (not that long ago), about a week was about right for fermentation ...

Drink the crown seals first - with the PET bottles youcan always 'de-gas' them by slightly openning them then quickly sealing them again before the froth reaches the lid ... and if the beer lasts longer than a month - OPEN THEM OVER YOUR SINK

... and maybe wear a rain coat

Charlie

oh and welcome to a hobby that will consume your life and soul :beer:

 

[Boozy the clown]

and possibly your liver!

 

[mika]

I've only broken the one hydrometer, first brew though...doh !
Came in a little plastic tube, had the cap off one end, just kinda dropped it in and it pushed the cap out of the other end of the tube and proceeded to the floor in a great hurry. Then I had to call for the girl to clear the glass coz I was in the kitchen in bare feet
Got another one now though, useful little tool.

 

[Trent]

Spicks
Without trying to sound patronising or anything, how much sugar did you put in the bottles? To this day, I still have people ask me if my RIS is nearly 10% becuase I put so much sugar in the bottle. Some people seem to think the more sugar you put in your bottles, the more alcohol, when it really means more chance of a bottle bomb. Stubbies should have about 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar, a heaped teaspoon for alongneck, and I guess 2 heaped (not overly, just 6g per spoon) teaspoons for the 1.5L grolsch. If you put in this amount of sygar, or less, then you should be fine, assuming the fermentation had completed. If you put in more than this, then maybe you should leave them somewhere you are not walking past all the time! I actually had my first bottle explodae last week, about 2 mins after I had been putting more beers on my shelf. It musta been a weak bottle, as it was a lowly carbonated porter, but it still sent glass to every corner of the room (and because it was on my top shelf, it sent beer to every level of my damn beer storage!)
All the best

 

[tangent]

Porters seem to like exploding.
another reason why i went over to sparkling wine bottles

 

[mistylane]

I brought my first kit from a brew shop - everything went fine.

A few rules were sanitation, use quality ingredients, NEVER use white sugar unless you want the desired effect, get a decent bench capper and read, read, read!

I think many newbies get a supermarket kit and are less than impressed with the results - I think I got a head start and did it right the first time!

 

[mistylane]

PS. there is nothing like a stupid question..... I held off asking a brew shop a "stupid question" such as "should I use hops in a kit brew" and my first hopped brew it tasting great even pre secondary!

 

[Jebus]

Hey guys, I'm brand new to home brewing as well so figured this was a good thread to add a couple of queries.

1. The mix has been in there for almost a week now and I'm pretty sure it's almost finished fermenting, the problem being that the wossname on top doesn't bubble which the book said meant a loose seal but I've checked that seal and it looks completely ok around it and around the whole lid (one of those kit jobbies from the HB shop). Will it still be OK? The smell has been fading from the laundry over the last few days so it _smells_ like it is almost done.

2. I thought I'd do some test capping last night with some Carlton Draught & Cold stubbies using the lever-type capper that came with the kit. I tried with all my might to get those caps on, and they look like they are on, but then they come off with barely a fraction of the move of a finger - am I better off drinking Grolsch for the next few weeks and just re-using those bottles? Or am I just capping wrong bottle types? Is it worth a trip to the HB shop in Coburg to grab some long necks instead?

3. Will me brew be drinkable by NYE if I bottle it in the next 2 or 3 days? :unsure:

I think that's about it for now, when I'm more confident with the basics of HBing then I'll definitely be searching through this great resource for tips and tricks.

Cheers guys.

 

[Stuster]

Jebus

It shouldn't be a problem that the airlock hasn't been bubbling. It may be as you say that there is a loose seal. Is it a lid that you screw on or just push on? If it is the screw on lid, a little silicon grease or something like that will fix it up next time.

In terms of it being done, just check the readings with your hydrometer. If they are the same for two days in a row, you have a done beer.

The first time I did a brew, all of 10 months ago , I stuffed up the caps completely so I think I know what you mean. If you move the capper arm up and down to the right level for the bottles you have then you should be able to cap the bottles without any trouble. Any bottles will work, crown or twist top, stubbies or long neck, so don't worry about getting more (for now at least )

Your brew should be ready in a couple of weeks from when you bottle it so your NYE should be fun.

Feel free to PM me if any of this is unclear.

Stuart

 

[PistolPatch]

G'day Jeebus.

As regards the loose seal, once you've thrown your kit in and put on the fermenter lid and airlock, just slightly squeeze the sides of the fermenter. The water in the airlock should move. If it doesn't, you've definitely got a leak.

I reckon the fermenters with the screw down lid and large O-ring are better than the push-down lid types. Also reckon the two piece airlocks are better than the single piece ones (easier to clean too).

Cheers!

 

[mika]

I generally grease the o-ring seal with vegie oil, you can tell if the seals good, you can see full black all the way round the lip, then you know it's sitting right. And note where the air lock is in relation to the tap, then you know where you need to be for next time.
Set the capper so the bell is fractionally lower than the top of the bottle so you have to place the bottle in at an angle. You should feel the lever go over centre when the cap seats.
I was worried about the capper first time I tried a dry run, but that reassuring "schhh" of the first brew opening eliminated all doubt

*edit: fixed the spellign*

 

[Jebus]

I'll try squeezing it tonight and see what happens, it's one of the screw down lids with the o-ring.

Still had problems with the capper though, I could get the cap on nice and tight but then the whole bottle would get stuck in the capper! The only way to get the bottle off was to jerk it down really hard which stuffed up the capping. I'll figure it out eventually I suppose In the meantime I've used the Coopers PET bottles for the first batch.

 

[Boozy the clown]

Bottle stuck? Pull the bottom of it towards you, should come out without too much fuss, my normal sized caps need some encouragement to come out.

You dont want to jerk it too hard or youll knock the top off it and have to explain the froth. :blink:

 

[delboy]

Ok

fermenter test

when empty turn upside down on a flat surface "not the floor the table"
if it is rocking around better than a rocking horse you have a very nice bucket for you grain.

if it has a slight rock in it then it will leak if the lid is not tight enough.

i tend to do this test before buying from the HBS and i dont get dud fermentor any more .

its to do with the moulds when they make them so be carfull when you buy .

delboy

 

[hughyg]

Hi guys
Im also new to home brewing. I also have the tooheys homebrew kit and the hydrometer came broken. Damn! I descided to go straight into the deep end and bought a black rock whispering wheat, a brewcraft dry wheat malt, and Safwheat-ale yeast.
I then followed all of the instructions to make a Hoegaarden brew in the little fermenter. It has now been 2 days and there is no bubbles in the airlock. Should I be worried?? I pitched the yeast in dry and didn't rehydrate it..... Temp is currently 18-20C

If it is OK, should i leave the brew in the fermenter after it has finished primary (if so how long), or should i proceed with priming and bottling asap?

Cheers
Hughyg

 

[barfridge]

Don't stress hughy, it could be lots of things:
- the fermenter isnt sealing properly. Squeeze the sides of the fermenter, and if the water level falls straight back to equal height on either side of the u-bend, then it isnt sealing.
- is there any foam on top of the beer? Don't bother opening the fermenter, you should be able to see this through the lid.
- when you pitch a dry yeast without rehydrating, you can sometimes end up with a long lag time before the yeast becomes fully active. 2 days is nothing to worry about.

With regards to leaving in primary, go out and get another hydrometer (you should be able to ask for a replacement from the shop where you got the brew kit). When you get the same hydrometer reading 3 days in a row, the brew is done. From there you can rack to secondary, rack to a cube for cold conditioning, or bottle the brew.
For your first attempt, bottling is fine, but do a bit of reading about the benefits of racking your brews.

Good luck with it

 

[Jebus]

I tried (a lot of) my first brew last night. I (and my housemates) are seriously hung over. Steak will cure that...

There were no bubbles though

 

[Martin]

No bubbles.. you mean the beer was flat? Did you add 5g sugar to each longneck when bottling? Were the caps on tight?

 

[Jebus]

Yes, yes and yes.

 

[pint of lager]

What sanitiser did you use and was there any left in the bottles?

Are they twist tops, crown seals or PET bottles?

How long between when you capped them and when you drank them?

What temperature were they at during this time?