Newby: Pregnant To My 1st Beerby

[stick_65]

Hi guys,

My names is Ben im 23 and im from the ACT, i just bought a brew kit yesterday as my misses old man does abit and i love my beer so thought why the hell not,

I bought a Copper Tun kit which comes with pretty much everything i needed for now, it also included a tin of Mangrove Jacks - Classic Blonde which ive mixed up and after 24hr its farting and carrying on nicely.
i also bought an extra tin of ESB - Australian draught that ill give a go when the 1st batch is ready to bottle or keg.

but now my first stupid question is i have the carb drops? and im thinking of putting the either the 1st or 2nd batch straight into a keg so i was wondering how i do it, im aware of everything needed and the local brew store helped me out alot but there was only so much i could take in in my first visit there.

Ive seen keg kits on eBay for $200 for
1 ball lock keg
pair of gas/liquid disconnects
5m 6mm gas line
tesuco twin gauge regulator
and long shank tap

then i just need to hire a c02 tank, any advice is appreciated

Cheers.
Ben

 

[humulus]

Hi guys,

My names is Ben im 23 and im from the ACT, i just bought a brew kit yesterday as my misses old man does abit and i love my beer so thought why the hell not,

I bought a Copper Tun kit which comes with pretty much everything i needed for now, it also included a tin of Mangrove Jacks - Classic Blonde which ive mixed up and after 24hr its farting and carrying on nicely.
i also bought an extra tin of ESB - Australian draught that ill give a go when the 1st batch is ready to bottle or keg.

but now my first stupid question is i have the carb drops? and im thinking of putting the either the 1st or 2nd batch straight into a keg so i was wondering how i do it, im aware of everything needed and the local brew store helped me out alot but there was only so much i could take in in my first visit there.

Ive seen keg kits on eBay for $200 for
1 ball lock keg
pair of gas/liquid disconnects
5m 6mm gas line
tesuco twin gauge regulator
and long shank tap

then i just need to hire a c02 tank, any advice is appreciated

Cheers.
Ben

G,day ben id go ahead and buy the c02 bottle outright much cheaper than renting one in the long run!!! then its only around $50 to refill

 

[mwd]

Nothing like diving in at the deep end. Congratulations I recommend doing lots of research before parting with lots of money. Check out the sponsors at top of page for equipment and bits and bobs.

Also you should be able to pick up a 2 keg setup with all the bits for around $200.00 Kegging kits.

Good luck you are already on the slippery slope to beer heaven.

P.S.Didn't know that a Coopers DIY brewkit came with Mangrove Jacks.

 

[stick_65]

cheers guys, what size c02 bottle do yous reccomend as i dont want some massive one lyin around, also can yous give me a few ideas on how to keg the finished beer, as ive only helped someone bottle it before with dextrose sugar? where as i have the carb drops and not sure if i put it in a keg what will happen

 

[mwd]

The majority of people don't bother using sugar to carbonate the beer in the keg they just carb up from the CO2 cylinder.

Suggest you read as much as you can on this forum and spend a bit of time working out the search function you will find a huge amount of useful info.

I don't know what size gas bottle is the best and most economic for you to use so will leave that to somebody more knowledgeable.

 

[manticle]

P.S.Didn't know that a Coopers DIY brewkit came with Mangrove Jacks.

Copper tun- different from coopers

http://www.imake.pro/coppertun.php?nID=brands

 

[Gormand]

cheers guys, what size c02 bottle do yous reccomend as i dont want some massive one lyin around, also can yous give me a few ideas on how to keg the finished beer, as ive only helped someone bottle it before with dextrose sugar? where as i have the carb drops and not sure if i put it in a keg what will happen

I havnt kegged but from everything I have read you use the CO2 to carb in a keg and forget the dex and/or drops. Check out the following link for more on that.
[topic="10667"]Forced Carbonation[/topic]

If your using bottles then I personally would ditch the drops and bulk prime with Dex. I have done both in my short time as a brewer and carb drops dont allow you to easily use different bottle sizes, they vary in size which gives you a variety of carbonation and they also dont let you have control over how carbonated your brew is. IE my Cider has almost 50% more sugar for carbonation then my stout.
If I couldnt bulk prime(IE no acess to a second tub) I would likely still use dex over drops, just for the control. Would be a pain to measure out 30+ bottles worth though.

 

[Pennywise]

I find my 9kg co2 tank is just the right size. Only runs out about twice a year, but it's still small enough to hide behind the fridge and not get in the way, and I can lift it.

Getting beer from fermenter to keg is pretty easy, hose over tap on fermenter, other end of (food grade) hose in the bottom of the keg, open tap, beer goes in. Or you could use a racking cane, but I wouldn't cause they're shit, IMO

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I havnt kegged but from everything I have read you use the CO2 to carb in a keg and forget the dex and/or drops. Check out the following link for more on that.
[topic="10667"]Forced Carbonation[/topic]

If your using bottles then I personally would ditch the drops and bulk prime with Dex. I have done both in my short time as a brewer and carb drops dont allow you to easily use different bottle sizes, they vary in size which gives you a variety of carbonation and they also dont let you have control over how carbonated your brew is. IE my Cider has almost 50% more sugar for carbonation then my stout.
If I couldnt bulk prime(IE no acess to a second tub) I would likely still use dex over drops, just for the control. Would be a pain to measure out 30+ bottles worth though.

+1

Though, I have bought 4 extra 25L barrels with a tap (all up $16.50) for racking. It makes racking and bulk priming so much easier, and for the price, it is a no-brainer.

Beer is clearer.

But I tend to have to adjust the qty of priming sugar up a gram or two per bottle, as I find that my beers that are correctly racked, have far less latent yeast (obviously) and take a long time to carbonate. I'm not waiting 4-6 weeks to brew a beer (between primary, secondary, racking and so on), to wait another 4-6 weeks to get any fizz in it. I'd rather up the qty of sugar, and have something to drink in 2 weeks.

I'll get flamed for saying this, but to hell with them, it works for me.

I want a kegging system. have my eye on 4 kegs for $240 at Craftbrewer, plus the rest - It'll be a long time, if ever, before I manage to get said kegging system, but it can't hurt to dream.

Goomba

 

[Amber Fluid]

I am using a 2.6kg co2 which cost about $200 and is only about $25 to refill. This should do around 180L give or take (carb and pour).

Go to the right places and you should find kegs for around $60 each delivered and if you are using kegs then don't worry about sugars to carb, just use your co2.

 

[Pennywise]

Can't edit my post, my gas bottle is actually 6.8kg, not 9kg. $295 outright from G&G and 50 clams to re-fill