Please help a newbie

[Steve0408]

Hi All
As you can see from the title i'm completely new to this and decided to start out simple (I hope), I have followed a malt kit for a larger I enjoy and this weekend its time to bottle so firstly what would b the best bit of advice you could offer at this point and secondly should I stir the mix before bottleing or is it best to leave the scum at the top and the sediment at the bottom out of the bottle
Thirdly I have the carbonating drops made by coopers how many drops would you use in a 450ml swing top.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[Dan Dan]

Don't stir! If possible, you can pop your fermenter in a fridge and chill it right down for a week or so to clear up your beer. You will get a lot of people saying you should bulk prime but let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'd go one carb drop per bottle. I use 2 per 750ml bottle, and I reckon they are a bit over carbonated.

 

[Bribie G]

You should try to get the beer as clear as possible into the bottles, there will still be heaps of yeast cells left in there to perform bottle conditioning.

Assuming that the fermentation has finished, the "scum" on the top of the brew is probably just yeast that has gone to sleep after fermenting and hasn't sunk yet as it has tiny CO2 gas bubbles distributed within it. Gently swirl the fermenter a few times and the "scum" will most likely drop out overnight.

The more solid layer at the bottom is the "yeast cake" and no don't stir.

A single carb drop should be just about ideal for swingtop. I have also found that they tend to overcarb anyway so you should be sweet.

 

[Steve0408]

Cheers guys really helpful for a novice like myself, I wasn't aware that chilling would clear it and I can do this as I have a spare fridge

 

[roverfj1200]

I would keep it simple for the start. Pop one drop in the bottle and fill with a bottling wand straight from the fermenter. If you have some fridge room you could chill the fermenter before the above process. Bottling at low temps helps with clarity .


Cheers

 

[Bribie G]

Yes if it's a lager then that's ideal. "lager" is German for "storage" which they used to do in cold cellars over the winter, which is where we get the name from.

 

[Dan Dan]

Hi All
As you can see from the title i'm completely new to this and decided to start out simple (I hope), I have followed a malt kit for a larger I enjoy and this weekend its time to bottle so firstly what would b the best bit of advice you could offer at this point and secondly should I stir the mix before bottleing or is it best to leave the scum at the top and the sediment at the bottom out of the bottle
Thirdly I have the carbonating drops made by coopers how many drops would you use in a 450ml swing top.

Many thanks in advance!

Oh, best bit of advice... Have a cold beer (or 3) ready, a comfy chair and some decent tunes. If you're bottling 20 odd litres into 450ml bottles, you wanna do it right!

 

[Steve0408]

All sounds like brilliant advice does any one recommend drinking a few shop brought ones as you go.

 

[Steve0408]

Just a quick question that's been bothering me. when I cooked the mixture and added the hops at the end, I then strained the mix in to get all the large bits out. Is this correct or should I have added all and let it settle?

your opinion please?

 

[bum]

How long were the hops in the wort before you strained?

They would have been fine to go in the fermenter but lots of people remove them as you have. As long as they were in the hot liquid for a while I don't think you'll see a significant difference given typical, novice kit & bits hop amounts.

[EDIT: so many typos]

 

[Steve0408]

they were simmered for 2 min's before I strained the mix in to the fermentor

 

[petesbrew]

Oh, best bit of advice... Have a cold beer (or 3) ready, a comfy chair and some decent tunes. If you're bottling 20 odd litres into 450ml bottles, you wanna do it right!

+1.

As for the carb drops, it's one for a stubby, two for a longneck.
For the pint bottles I tend to play it safe and undercarbonate them with one carb drop. Play it safe.

 

[CosmicBertie]

Ive found that 1 drop per 500ml bottle over carbs the beer considerably. I cut mine in half now.

You could experiment by putting a whole one in some bottles and half in another, make sure you label them appropriately.

 

[KingKong]

Ive found that 1 drop per 500ml bottle over carbs the beer considerably. I cut mine in half now.

You could experiment by putting a whole one in some bottles and half in another, make sure you label them appropriately.

Cut them in half? With what ?

That might work for you, but for the OP looking for first up advice , advising the OP to cut carb drops in half is pretty poor form.

 

[wbosher]

Like others have suggested, I'd go with one. Better to slightly under carb than have bottle bombs on your hands.

 

[Steve0408]

Ok one it is I don't want to have any explosions