Brewing kit but no airlock ?

MR PIGGY

Hello again,

I presume my new coopers bottles need to be sanatised before first use.As i dont have a particular bottler washer/sanatiser will a good slush around in a basin of water/milton mixture followed by a rince in cold water do the trick.

Cheers

irish_goat

MR PIGGY wrote: »

Hello again,

I presume my new coopers bottles need to be sanatised before first use.As i dont have a particular bottler washer/sanatiser will a good slush around in a basin of water/milton mixture followed by a rince in cold water do the trick.

Cheers

That's what I did.

To make things cheaper you could fill a basin of water and throw 30ml of white vinegar and 30ml of thin bleach and it'll do the job too.

MR PIGGY

irish_goat wrote: »

That's what I did.

To make things cheaper you could fill a basin of water and throw 30ml of white vinegar and 30ml of thin bleach and it'll do the job too.

Did you use Milton or the mix that you speak of. Also i have seen many people state that they use thin bleach, now not to sound like a dummie but i have look in tescos for a thin bleach and could not see any. Am i looking in the wrong place.

Thanks

MR PIGGY

Also was your first brew in a cooper unit. How long did it take before you bottled it.

Donny5

Thin bleach is just runny bleach, as opposed to thick bleach like the kind you use to clean toilets and the like. Thick bleach is less viscous so it sticks to surfaces.

Vinegar and bleach or Milton both have the same result, a chlorine solution that will sterilise. If you go the vinegar and bleach route, add the vinegar to the water, then the bleach. If you mix the two neat, you'll get chlorine gas which is quite unpleasant!

As for when to bottle, give it a week, and then start taking hydrometer samples. Once the hydrometer reading is the same over a couple of days, bottle.

irish_goat

I used a basin with sanitiser powder in it but only cause it was beside the sink anyway and I didn't have any white vinegar.

That's the thin stuff.


A small amount of thick bleach (domestos) mixed with boiling water will do the same job. As Donny says, you just don't want the thick bleach clumping together and sticking to your bottles.

And you'll need to invest in a bottle scrubber/brush if you plan to reuse them.

MR PIGGY

Thanks very much lads

homebrew.ie

hi Folks.
There are loads of sterlizers out there that are a lot safer than bleach so why would you risk it? you wouldnt wash the plate you are going eat off with bleach you would use washing up liquid. its the same deal wit the bottles you are goung to drink out of.

Donny5

homebrew.ie wrote: »

hi Folks.
There are loads of sterlizers out there that are a lot safer than bleach so why would you risk it? you wouldnt wash the plate you are going eat off with bleach you would use washing up liquid. its the same deal wit the bottles you are goung to drink out of.

What the hell are you talking about? We're talking about mixing sodium hypochlorite and acetic acid to produce chlorine and water. It's not dangerous to your health and I'd happily eat from plates washed in it. In fact, I've often drunk water sterilised with chlorine when drinking from a suspicious water source.

BeerNut

homebrew.ie wrote: »

There are loads of sterlizers out there that are a lot safer than bleach so why would you risk it?

It's cheaper and 100% safe and reliable.

homebrew.ie wrote: »

you wouldnt wash the plate you are going eat off with bleach you would use washing up liquid. its the same deal wit the bottles you are goung to drink out of.

30ml of bleach in 20L of water is far less toxic than a squirt of washing up liquid.

I think you're just looking at the word bleach and thinking "Arrgh! That's poison!" Everything's poisonous in high enough concetration. Use the bleach correctly and it's fine.

oblivious

homebrew.ie wrote: »

hi Folks.
There are loads of sterlizers out there that are a lot safer than bleach so why would you risk it? you wouldnt wash the plate you are going eat off with bleach you would use washing up liquid. its the same deal wit the bottles you are goung to drink out of.

a mix of 30ml bleach and 30mls vinegar, in 20 liters will produce a no rinse solution, with really no residue

oblivious

homebrew.ie wrote: »

hi Folks.
There are loads of sterlizers out there that are a lot safer than bleach so why would you risk it? you wouldnt wash the plate you are going eat off with bleach you would use washing up liquid. its the same deal wit the bottles you are goung to drink out of.

Any yet i don't see you sell Star san, the gold stand for sanitizing in brewing

MR PIGGY

oblivious wrote: »

a mix of 30ml bleach and 30mls vinegar, in 20 liters will produce a no rinse solution, with really no residue

Question for Oblivious.

Is this mix really a no rinse solution or would i be better to give them a rinse in some fresh water afterwards, it should be noted that there is a faint smell of chlorine of my water supply.

Cheers

homebrew.ie

Even if that mix is no rinse there is no way i recon that it can be good for you (just my oponion). Milton i have no objection to as it is safe aswell and Oblivious we dont stock that either. Im not here to sell just its because i saw bleach being used and every supplier i have aswell as me say that that is a big no no

oblivious

MR PIGGY wrote: »

Question for Oblivious.

Is this mix really a no rinse solution or would i be better to give them a rinse in some fresh water afterwards, it should be noted that there is a faint smell of chlorine of my water supply.

Cheers

No rinse just let it be

irish_goat

Remember lads you're only using a tiny amount of bleach in the first place. Once that's diluted down only an even tinier amount is going to end up on the inside of your bottles(it's not like you won't let the bottles drain) and then any bleach that might be left in there will be diluted down even more by your beer. No problems...

rubadub

homebrew.ie wrote: »

you wouldnt wash the plate you are going eat off with bleach you would use washing up liquid. its the same deal wit the bottles you are goung to drink out of.

homebrew.ie wrote: »

Milton i have no objection to as it is safe aswell

Milton is 2% sodium hypochlorite with some salt, tesco value bleach is <5% sodium hypochlorite, which would have some salt in it since as it degrades over time it will turn into salt & gas.

http://www.milton-tm.com/How_milton_works.html

What is Milton Fluid?
The Milton Sterilising Fluid is a 2% aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite that contains 16.5% salt.

Milton just charge a fortune for it since they have a strange hold on some worried mothers, many who would never dream of washing their babys bottle with "toilet cleaner", which is really the same thing.

Donny5

homebrew.ie wrote: »

Even if that mix is no rinse there is no way i recon that it can be good for you (just my oponion). Milton i have no objection to as it is safe aswell and Oblivious we dont stock that either. Im not here to sell just its because i saw bleach being used and every supplier i have aswell as me say that that is a big no no

Homebrew, what you reckon doesn't matter. Milton is a sodium hydroclorate solution, which as you might not know, is bleach. Anyway, we are not sterilising with bleach, we are using bleach and vinegar to produce chlorine, which is the sterilising agent.

Your suppliers can say what they want, but billions of people rely every day on chlorination for safe drinking water, and there is no danger whatsoever.

MR PIGGY, there's no need to rinse (you can if you want, though), as the chlorine evaporates at room temperature.

The Mulk

Did the bleach/vinegar mix on 30x750ml swing top bottles.Didn't rinse and it worked a dream, no spoiled beer, no bad smell and no bad taste.

I have advised people on another HB site to follow suit.

Used the Tescos bleach like above and left the bottles steeping gave them a shake and then let them drain. Just finished the last of the beer last week and currently have the bottles steeping for a new one this weekend.

MR PIGGY

Lads more help please...
When i put my hydrometer in to my beer brew it is reading 1.000. Have i messed up this brew as i thought it should only get to about 1.008. if i leave it in for about 5 minutes it rises to about 1.004/5.Is it my hydrometer that is faulty, should it show the correct reading instantly. My hydrometer is a plastic one(Coopers Kit).

Please help

Cheers

BeerNut

MR PIGGY wrote: »

Is it my hydrometer that is faulty

Sounds like they're not great. Does it read 1.000 in water at 20C?

I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as it gives consistent readings so you can see when fermentation has stopped, that's all you really need to know.

qazxsw1

Link to podcast on bleach/vinegar as steriliser from inventor of Star San

http://hw.libsyn.com/p/3/9/0/390da96899933961/bbr03-29-07.mp3?sid=970f22232826ceffd8ba43c4866ecc35&l_sid=18257&l_eid=&l_mid=1511169

bullets

MR PIGGY wrote: »

Lads more help please...
When i put my hydrometer in to my beer brew it is reading 1.000. Have i messed up this brew as i thought it should only get to about 1.008. if i leave it in for about 5 minutes it rises to about 1.004/5.Is it my hydrometer that is faulty, should it show the correct reading instantly. My hydrometer is a plastic one(Coopers Kit).

Please help

Cheers

I picked up a glass one from home brew west. The plastic one
in the coopers kit I reckon (in my case) may have leaked and taken on board some liquid
causing it to not give accurate readings.

http://www.homebrewwest.ie/hydrometer-stevenson-reeves-wine-or-beer-119-p.asp

I used Milton to sterlise my equipment when doing the cider and my lager that I've tried
I've since bought that powdered stuff thats for sale from the same store on the above link.
It smells the same :-)

~B

MR PIGGY

Lads.

As my hydrometer is shagged and my new one will not be with me till tomorow i need to ask your advice. My Coopers pale ale has been fermenting since last saturday week, 9 days. Should i bottle it tonight or can i wait to take a reading tomorow then the next day before i bottle it. I dont know can the beer go stale if i leave it to long or what is the max it can be left in the bucket for.

Cheers fellas

Donny5

MR PIGGY wrote: »

Lads.

As my hydrometer is shagged and my new one will not be with me till tomorow i need to ask your advice. My Coopers pale ale has been fermenting since last saturday week, 9 days. Should i bottle it tonight or can i wait to take a reading tomorow then the next day before i bottle it. I dont know can the beer go stale if i leave it to long or what is the max it can be left in the bucket for.

Cheers fellas

You're grand, you can leave it in the fermenter for weeks.

MR PIGGY

Donny5 wrote: »

You're grand, you can leave it in the fermenter for weeks.

Donny5
Cheers for that. You may have just saved my marriage, i think i just heard her say it me or the beer!!

rubadub

When my hydrometer broke and if I was unsure if it was finished I would just put a clean soup spoon in and taste if it was still sweet.

MR PIGGY

OK Lads,
I got my new hydrometer today and it is showing a reading of 1.015. I known i have to take another reading tomorrow but is this reading a bit high after 11 days in the fermentor.

cheers:cool:

BeerNut

Sounds reasonable. It may not go down much further. You should probably leave it a couple of days before taking the next reading.

MR PIGGY

BeerNut wrote: »

Sounds reasonable. It may not go down much further. You should probably leave it a couple of days before taking the next reading.

BeerNut
Why should i wait a couple of days before taking the next reading, just so i know is there a particular reason for this.

Thanks