Home Brew

[joeg]

Th only reason I wanted to take it out the bucket now was so I could put second batch on

[illmonkey]

As long as you're sterilising correctly, you can move the beer about. We do a 'rack' after the majority of the sediment is made, it ditches a lot of the sediment meaning there is less when bottling and it wakes the beer up for that last little fermentation.

After that we put it in kegs once filtered, so it's nice and clear and sediment free, before bottling. But you can go from fermenter to bottles no problem.

[simoncrouch]

I go with the two vessel approach prior to bottling. 2 weeks in the primary and then anywhere between 2-4 weeks in a secondary. Bottle straight from secondary. I use the second vessel as a way of removing a lot of the slurry and allow it to clear a bit before bottling.

Also a big fan of cold crashing and have never been let down by it. Put half a teaspoon of sugar in each bottle and then leave in the warm for about 4 days. At this point I always have one PET bottle as a gauge on carbonation, when the PET goes hard, i transfer the whole batch to the fridge and leave.

Have found a huge difference with the length of time you can leave the brew. I did a Mexican Cerveza earlier this year and I reckon it takes about 4 months to really come good. Don't get me wrong it was drinkable after a couple of weeks but it has now dramatically changed into a very different beast, one which is very palatable.

[C0ffin D0dger]

Transferred a freshly brewed Festival Pilgrims Hope kit into my pressure barrel last night. Looking forward to getting stuck into that in a few weeks time Had a little taste, quite bitter / hoppy but quite like that style.

http://ritchieproducts.uk/festival-premium-ale-kit...

Would love to get into all grain brewing and it looks a more attractive proposition as time goes on with things like the GrainFather that are now available. Just don't have whole days to spend making beer with two kids vying for my attention. One day

Next kit will be a Muntons Highland Heavy which I will make as soon as I start drinking this one. Good to keep a steady flow going

[illmonkey]

I strongly recommend stopping the kits. I find I can't drink them after doing it with grain. We can do a boil, rack and bottle 40 bottles in 3 hours. We're getting good at it! (those are different brews, not all the same )

My downstairs toilet currently has 3 on the go, one of them a kit, I'm doing for a mate.

It's frustrating that a fermenter is good for 28litres but a pressurised keg is only 19L. Originally we would do 19litres in the keg and the rest direct into bottles from the fermenter. But, the purchase of a 2nd keg means we can do all of it. We decided to experiment with it, and done 1 full keg, with about 9litres in the other (so half full), run the same gassing levels for a week. The full one was bang on, and the half full was very very gassy, to the point we've still not bottled it in the hope it dies down or I just take it direct from the keg (which sits in my fridge).

Maybe naive about it, but we had no idea how the gas would be absorbed. Next time I think we'll go 14 and 14 in the 2 kegs, and not put as much gas in.

[C0ffin D0dger]

Hmmm, 3 hours for a mash you say, maybe in a year or two then. If I could get a brew done in an evening that would be fab.


You can get 25l Cornys, they do come up on eBay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Cornelius-Style-25-L...

Again something I'd like to invest in long term but at the moment I use 5 gallon King Kegs for my beer: http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/King_...

Biggest PITA is what gas to use. I used to use SodaStream cylinders but they got discontinued. I don't have a home brew shop anywhere local so getting hold of Hambleton Bard cylinders isn't cheap. Currently use the disposable bulbs for convenience. Provided I get a good seal on the barrel and a decent bit of secondary fermentation I normally only need to use 3-4 bulbs to get all the beer out.

[illmonkey]

I meant a extract boil...Still with real ingredients, but not going as far as mashing. Saying that, I don't think a mash takes much longer. A extract brew could be done in 2 hours if you are quick about it, it takes us longer as we do all 3 things (to different brews) in 1 go.

25L would still leave us 4 beers short, we tend to make 27-28L. We took a punt at the corney, spending £150 on it and the plumbing etc. Topping up with a reconditioned keg for £40. It's not cheap, but it's a hobby and at least we're getting something out of it.

[Turn7]

Keep an eye on your king kegs. I had two that were reached about 4 years old and both split and lost beer.

[SwanJack]

I've been brewing all grain for almost three years, if i start at 10am with an empty hot liquor tank, it's usually in the fermentation chamber by 5pm.

Edited by SwanJack on Saturday 29th August 00:16

[mattyn1]

Have just over the last few weeks got back into homebrew - really to utilise all the apples in my garden.

My first batch of cider went ok - I bought a press and managed to produce about 15L of apple juice - through in some sugar and yeast and left it in the airing cupboard for a few weeks. Bottled (with priming sugar), left for a few weeks more then tasted. Sharp (like the apples were not quite ripe), superbly clear, but flat. While I appreciate not all cider is like Rattler, I am not keen on still cider, but it is drinkable, but like my eldest said, rather like apple juice!

Then last night a bit of inspiration - I put some through the soda stream! My god it is a different drink. Lovely, and fizzy, and probably just me, tastes stronger!

I have some wine on the go too - hopefully ready for Christmas - that is bubbling nicely in the airing cupboard along with some lager which I should be bottling at the end of November.

I want to do some ale for Christmas too - in a barrel, and have seen this

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh0000...

What I really need is the fermentation bin, barrel and kit - so while the bins are relatively cheap, and I don't need the extra paraphernalia that comes with that kit, does anyone have a better idea for a suitable barrel? This kit is allegedly like Doom Bar so I am thinking this and a barrel from elsewhere.

http://www.home-brew-online.com/beer-kits-c1/aaa-a...

A question with the barrel (as I have never used one) - does the CO2 cyliner automatically top up the barrel, or is it a procedure I need to do? Broadly, how does it work?

Appreciate your thoughts.

[C0ffin D0dger]

mattyn1 said:

Have just over the last few weeks got back into homebrew - really to utilise all the apples in my garden.

My first batch of cider went ok - I bought a press and managed to produce about 15L of apple juice - through in some sugar and yeast and left it in the airing cupboard for a few weeks. Bottled (with priming sugar), left for a few weeks more then tasted. Sharp (like the apples were not quite ripe), superbly clear, but flat. While I appreciate not all cider is like Rattler, I am not keen on still cider, but it is drinkable, but like my eldest said, rather like apple juice!

Then last night a bit of inspiration - I put some through the soda stream! My god it is a different drink. Lovely, and fizzy, and probably just me, tastes stronger!

I have some wine on the go too - hopefully ready for Christmas - that is bubbling nicely in the airing cupboard along with some lager which I should be bottling at the end of November.

I want to do some ale for Christmas too - in a barrel, and have seen this

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh0000...

What I really need is the fermentation bin, barrel and kit - so while the bins are relatively cheap, and I don't need the extra paraphernalia that comes with that kit, does anyone have a better idea for a suitable barrel? This kit is allegedly like Doom Bar so I am thinking this and a barrel from elsewhere.

http://www.home-brew-online.com/beer-kits-c1/aaa-a...

A question with the barrel (as I have never used one) - does the CO2 cyliner automatically top up the barrel, or is it a procedure I need to do? Broadly, how does it work?

Appreciate your thoughts.

Wherry is a good kit, I've made it a number of times as the beer is always quite drinkable.

I've been using King Keg pressure barrels for quite a few years without any issue with the exception of replacing the seals once in a while.

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/King_...

The CO2 serves a number of purposes. It stops your beer going off and provides some carbonation. To keep beer fresh it shouldn't be exposed to the air after it has finished fermenting so to do this you replace the air in the gap above your beer in the pressure barrel with CO2 which provides an inert atmosphere that the beer doesn't react with. Secondary to that the CO2 builds pressure in the barrel which in turn forces the beer out of the tap when you open it. This means you get a decent head on the beer and a little but of fizziness although it is never that gassy.

I rely on secondary fermentation to initially pressurise the barrel by adding priming sugar to the brew when I barrel it. The residual yeast in the beer will then ferment this extra sugar and produce its own CO2 albeit at a much reduced rate to the initial fermentation. Leave the barrel in a warm place for a week or two to encourage this before moving to a cooler place for drinking.

Normally the pressure built up in secondary fermentation is enough to get somewhere between a third and a half of the beer out of the barrel without adding any extra gas. Once the flow out of the tap reduces significantly it's time to add some CO2. Never let the flow reduce so much that air is sucked back in through the tap (glugging), this is bad for two reasons, firstly it stirs up the sediment in the beer and secondly you let air into the barrel which can make the beer go off.

I then inject CO2 into the barrel as and when to maintain the flow. I used to use SodaSteam cylinders to do this with an adapter that allowed you to make controlled squirts of gas into the barrel but they discontinued the type of cylinder I used. As I don't have any home brew shops locally for other cyclinder types I went with the disposable bulbs like are in the kit you linked to. With these you screw them on onto the top of the barrel, a pin in the valve pierces the bulb, and all the CO2 within it is then dumped into the barrel. You can remove it after that. Then just carry on as before dispensing the beer until such time as the flow reduces again and just repeat the process I typically have to use 3-4 bulbs to empty a 5 gallon barrel.

If the home brew bug bites then you might want to look at Cornelius kegs as a longer term solution. Most folk usually pressurise these with big cylinders of CO2, same as what your local pub would be using for their beer. The initial outlay is much greater (£80+ per keg + all the ancillaries) but they are better in the long term. May have to invest in this sort of set up one day along with some dedicated cooling (Google Kegarator).

[motco]

The problem with Corny kegs is that they are smaller than 40 pints I believe. I used to use Sodstream cylinders too, and refuse to pay the outrageous cost of CO2 from Sparklets bulbs when a pub cylinder full of gas costs c.£85 and can be refilled repeatedly for a few pounds. I have one bought last May and it has the same pressure showing now as the day I bought it. With a couple of cheap adapters and a regulator it can be connected to the injector that the Sodastream cylinders went in to. I also can get nearly all of the beer out with natural condition, especially in summer, but I don't prime and the brew is two weeks in the fermentation. I keep and brew my beer in my basement which is never warmer than 20C and never cooler than 15C. Perfect for ale most of the time and as it cools at night the beer is a good cellar temperature all the time.

[C0ffin D0dger]

motco said:

The problem with Corny kegs is that they are smaller than 40 pints I believe. I used to use Sodstream cylinders too, and refuse to pay the outrageous cost of CO2 from Sparklets bulbs when a pub cylinder full of gas costs c.£85 and can be refilled repeatedly for a few pounds. I have one bought last May and it has the same pressure showing now as the day I bought it. With a couple of cheap adapters and a regulator it can be connected to the injector that the Sodastream cylinders went in to. I also can get nearly all of the beer out with natural condition, especially in summer, but I don't prime and the brew is two weeks in the fermentation. I keep and brew my beer in my basement which is never warmer than 20C and never cooler than 15C. Perfect for ale most of the time and as it cools at night the beer is a good cellar temperature all the time.

You can get bigger ones e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/24L-Stainless-Steel-Keg-...

but the 19L jobs are more readily available. Probably more suited to those doing extract or full mash brewing where you could size your batches accordingly. King Kegs and the likes are the exact size needed for a normal sized beer kit i.e. 40 pints.

Might have to investigate getting a pub cylinder, I gather it's a bit hit & miss as to who will sell them to you and they'll only refill them if that have an up to date test certificate but still worth pursuing. For now the convenience of the bulbs outweigh the cost even though the mark up for a little cannister of CO2 is quite ridiculous.

[motco]

C0ffin D0dger said:

motco said:

The problem with Corny kegs is that they are smaller than 40 pints I believe. I used to use Sodstream cylinders too, and refuse to pay the outrageous cost of CO2 from Sparklets bulbs when a pub cylinder full of gas costs c.£85 and can be refilled repeatedly for a few pounds. I have one bought last May and it has the same pressure showing now as the day I bought it. With a couple of cheap adapters and a regulator it can be connected to the injector that the Sodastream cylinders went in to. I also can get nearly all of the beer out with natural condition, especially in summer, but I don't prime and the brew is two weeks in the fermentation. I keep and brew my beer in my basement which is never warmer than 20C and never cooler than 15C. Perfect for ale most of the time and as it cools at night the beer is a good cellar temperature all the time.

You can get bigger ones e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/24L-Stainless-Steel-Keg-...

but the 19L jobs are more readily available. Probably more suited to those doing extract or full mash brewing where you could size your batches accordingly. King Kegs and the likes are the exact size needed for a normal sized beer kit i.e. 40 pints.

Might have to investigate getting a pub cylinder, I gather it's a bit hit & miss as to who will sell them to you and they'll only refill them if that have an up to date test certificate but still worth pursuing. For now the convenience of the bulbs outweigh the cost even though the mark up for a little cannister of CO2 is quite ridiculous.

I can't even guess how long I've had the Boots keg (brown one) and the fermentation bin but they haven't sold home brew stuff for years. The pub size cylinder was not yet in use when I took the picture, but a brass adapter from a home brew shop in the west country, some clear tubing, a regulator, and the CO2 cylinder work a treat. A keg lasts me a month thereabouts what with a daily tipple (day off from time to time if pressed), and my daughter's partner who quaffs it like there's fire somewhere, and I buy kits from Art of Brewing. Their own brand bitter is pretty good at less than 50p per pint.





Art of Brewing Bitter

[Evoluzione]

mattyn1 said:

Have just over the last few weeks got back into homebrew - really to utilise all the apples in my garden.

My first batch of cider went ok - I bought a press and managed to produce about 15L of apple juice - through in some sugar and yeast and left it in the airing cupboard for a few weeks. Bottled (with priming sugar), left for a few weeks more then tasted. Sharp (like the apples were not quite ripe), superbly clear, but flat. While I appreciate not all cider is like Rattler, I am not keen on still cider, but it is drinkable, but like my eldest said, rather like apple juice!

Then last night a bit of inspiration - I put some through the soda stream! My god it is a different drink. Lovely, and fizzy, and probably just me, tastes stronger!


Appreciate your thoughts.

You don't need a press, you need an Antony:



£10 Ebay/Gumtree.
I use any old sugar, but getting the fizz right is tricky and it takes months in the bottle before it has enough body and fizz to drink. Once it's passed primary you can rack into DJs and add pineapple juice or honey to taste although as said above it does change a lot over the months.

[mattyn1]

Evoluzione said:

You don't need a press, you need an Antony:



£10 Ebay/Gumtree.
I use any old sugar, but getting the fizz right is tricky and it takes months in the bottle before it has enough body and fizz to drink. Once it's passed primary you can rack into DJs and add pineapple juice or honey to taste although as said above it does change a lot over the months.

It was strangely theraputic pressing all the apples - it amazed me how much juice we got from an apple. It is out first year here so we will attack the cider making with a bit more gusto next year. A bit of work in the garden to protect the fruit when it falls.

C0ffin D0dger said:

Wherry is a good kit, I've made it a number of times as the beer is always quite drinkable.

Thanks for the advice - it is much appreciated and especially about the barrel and CO2 - kit ordered so should be here tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes.

I do not know about the Kegerator - one step at a time!

[Evoluzione]

mattyn1 said:

Evoluzione said:

You don't need a press, you need an Antony:



£10 Ebay/Gumtree.
I use any old sugar, but getting the fizz right is tricky and it takes months in the bottle before it has enough body and fizz to drink. Once it's passed primary you can rack into DJs and add pineapple juice or honey to taste although as said above it does change a lot over the months.

It was strangely therapeutic pressing all the apples - it amazed me how much juice we got from an apple. It is out first year here so we will attack the cider making with a bit more gusto next year. A bit of work in the garden to protect the fruit when it falls.

I just wanted it out of the way quickly and cheaply, I stuffed sacks and sacks through to make 100 litres
The trees (not mine) heavy crop only every other year.
I've got some blackberry wine bottled too, that went well and i'm hoping it will pick up a bit of body, although I was advised not as I didn't put any concentrated grape juice in, but we'll see....

[don4l]

I'm tempted to have a go at making cider.

Is sterilisation just as important with cider as it is with ale?

My other question is about the apple presses. They seem to cost about £200. Do people really pay this for a bit of home brewing?

Ta.

[Jonboy_t]

don4l said:

I'm tempted to have a go at making cider.

Is sterilisation just as important with cider as it is with ale?

My other question is about the apple presses. They seem to cost about £200. Do people really pay this for a bit of home brewing?

Ta.

Sterilisation is vital! Kills any nasties that make you're cider taste of mud.

£200 would be a sizeable press, but if that's your only cost (I.e. You grow apples), you'll make the money back within 3 decent batches, so if you like cider, brew enough for one summer and that'll be it paid for.

[mattyn1]

Mine was from Amazon

Fruit Press (6 Litre) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DRD2LK4/ref=cm_sw_r...