New member! Just ordered my first kit!

scrapsmac

Hi all! Long time lurker first time poster

Just ordered my first starter kit. The 51euro Canadian Blonde one from Homebrew West. Also bought a few Ox-bar bottles and some brewing sugar.

must say im very excited and already grateful for the wealth of advice on this forum! Just a quick question, how long does the whole fermentation process take from set-up to bottling to conditioning? I've watched a whole load of craigs tube but it seems to vary?

Cheers!:D

BeerNut

Two weeks of fermentation and two or three weeks of conditioning is about the minimum.

scrapsmac

BeerNut wrote: »

Two weeks of fermentation and two or three weeks of conditioning is about the minimum.

grand! I'll give it a bit longer so.

I_am_LOST

Best of luck with it! I'm also brewing a Coopers Canadian Blonde right now. First timer too so hopefully everything will turn out alright

scrapsmac

I_am_LOST wrote: »

Best of luck with it! I'm also brewing a Coopers Canadian Blonde right now. First timer too so hopefully everything will turn out alright

if it doesn't ill still try drink it anyway haha

I_am_LOST

scrapsmac wrote: »

if it doesn't ill still try drink it anyway haha

:eek: Have you tasted bad beer before?

If it gets infected or goes off there's no way I'm drinking that!

I'm pretty sure I did everything right. Bit paranoid about the sanitising though. I did sanitise and clean everything but even just placing the equipment down on a worktop before use could harbour some germs

Yawns

Looks like there's 4 of us starting off atm at least

Myself and greenrizla are on the other thread. I'm doing the canadian blonde too. Hopefully it all works out well. I tried to spend an awful lot of time cleaning my equipment too as I am so paranoid about it getting infected.

Best of luck to you both.

scrapsmac

Yawns wrote: »

Looks like there's 4 of us starting off atm at least

Myself and greenrizla are on the other thread. I'm doing the canadian blonde too. Hopefully it all works out well. I tried to spend an awful lot of time cleaning my equipment too as I am so paranoid about it getting infected.

Best of luck to you both.

You too Yawns! How is yours coming along? What are you bottling in?

I'm like a child on christmas eve waiting for this stuff. I'm weirdly looking forward to doing the whole sanitising craic!

Yawns

I picked up a few crates of empty beer bottles in the pub I work in. 2 cases coors, 2 cases bud. I didn't get there in time to stop the other lad from throwing the others into the bank and smashing em. My aim is for 3 cases of each so I can have 2 different brews in them. Bud bottles in blue crate, coors in coors crate. I have a capper and bag of caps. I washed all the bottles last night in the dishwasher which removed the labels too so all handy enough

Gonna wash em again and make sure they are sterilized prior to bottling tho.
I got the same kit as you too and so far it seems to be coming along. I was going to keep at 22 but BeerNut is advising around 18 so I will take his advice on board. The airlock is bubbling away happily enough. No smell so the gf can't moan either.

Oh and I was in Heatons today and picked up the big stock pot, that will be so handy as all I had was a smaller stockpot which was just at the brim when I was brewing my kit. I was so nervous Now I have a big pot just for brewing.

jaffacakesyum

Newbie here also!

Keep it at 18 C? Oooops...I've been busy making sure I keep it 20-24 range minimum. Must try cool it down now!

Fermentation started pretty quick for me and there seems to be a lot of CO2 coming out as it's constantly bubbling and the lid appears pushed up a bit (it's sealed tight though), so I'm afraid it might blow off any minute now :eek:

Krausen has formed so it's going well There's a lot of gunk at the top of the krausen though so tempted to stir it in but I'll wait til fermentation stops.

Cork Boy

Yawns wrote: »

I picked up a few crates of empty beer bottles in the pub I work in. 2 cases coors, 2 cases bud.

Hi Yawns,

I'd be very wary about using Coors and Bud bottles. The brewers don't see these bottles as fit for re-use. Notice how when bottles are being sorted that heineken, bulmers, coca cola all get put back in crates and sent back so the publican gets their deposit back.

Bud, Coors, Corona and others go to the bottle bank for smashing down so I don't know if these bottles will stand up to capping.

Personally, I hate cappers and started drinking Grolsh! For me using a capper is like tightening a guitar string that feels like it's too tight (anyone who has done this and has the scars know what i mean!).

Best of luck with the rest of it though, my first batch have only just matured!

BeerNut

Cork Boy wrote: »

I don't know if these bottles will stand up to capping.

I'm sure they will. I re-cap non-reusable bottles all the time and have yet to have one break. My caveat is that they're only 33cl capacity: a lot more to wash and fill, and more yeasty sediment in the finished beer. Bigger is better when it comes to bottles, IMO.

Cork Boy wrote: »

started drinking Grolsh!

Green glass isn't a great idea unless you're storing them in a light-free environment. Switch to Flensburger

Shiny

Cork Boy wrote: »

Personally, I hate cappers and started drinking Grolsh! For me using a capper is like tightening a guitar string that feels like it's too tight (anyone who has done this and has the scars know what i mean!).

I started migrating to Grolsh bottles after my 3rd or 4th brew. I find them great in almost every way except their weight. There is a massive difference between a crate of full Grolsh bottles v.s. a crate of Coopers Plastic bottles.

While they might be vulnerable to light as BeerNut mentioned, I never have them in any sort of light at all. They are either in a cupboard or in the fridge. I also have a good few Flensburger bottles but they are tiny! (330ml) I can't remember ever seeing 500ml versions. I was saving them for botting Mead or some other exotic brew for the ladies. :pac:

I also over carbed an entire batch of Larger (1.5 Coopers Drops each) in Grolsh bottles and they all seemed to 'self regulate'. I noticed a few bubbles had come out through the seals in the caps which leads me to believe they vent when the pressure becomes too much. The POP! when opening them really is frightening compared to the normal pop.:)

Yawns

Aye I was thinking about bigger bottles due to the smaller size of the bud and Coors. Only chose bud and coors because they were brown and I can get as many as I need. Go through a few cases a week in a small pub.

I could use large bulmers but I've never liked them. I may try get a few swingtops or so.
I do have a closet to keep the bottles in but would still prefer the brown bottles for now. Although I do love the look of the Flensburger bottles

I_am_LOST

Going to go to the pub to see if I can get some bottles. What brands of beer have 500ml brown bottles?

Also, I need about 48 bottles is that right?

BeerNut

Shiny wrote: »

I also have a good few Flensburger bottles but they are tiny! (330ml) I can't remember ever seeing 500ml versions.

Flensburger Weizen and Pils come in 500ml swingtops. Not a fan of the pils but the weizen is pretty decent. They're in the 4-for-€10 in my local offy too :cool:

I_am_LOST wrote: »

What brands of beer have 500ml brown bottles?

Most of them. The question is whether your pub sells them. Erdinger and Krombacher are often found in pubs that don't have a big range. The Guinness/Macardles/Bulmers pint bottles are great: 568ml and really robust, but they're designed for reuse and have a deposit on them. Don't nick 'em if you want to stay friends with the pub.

Cork Boy

Hirschbrau also have a decent bottle and a quality variety of beers Bit on the more expensive side but they do have a higher than average ABV :cool:

scrapsmac

so folks my kit should be coming tomorrow! I ordered brewing sugar along with it. I didn't get spraymalt and I've since read it can help with the flavour.

the guides I've read include spraymalt. Do I just fire the brewing sugar in instead at the same stage?

Bugsyboy1

I'd give it some spray malt. Maybe 50:50 with the brewing sugar. The taste is so so much better. More rounded and deep. All sugar can be sharp, thin and even a little cidery.

46 bottles of a beer that is only just about okay (especially if it's one of your first brews) can be disheartening. Make a beer that you'll want others to taste as well. Letting others taste your work and hearing their surprise is magic!!
Paul

scrapsmac

Bugsyboy1 wrote: »

I'd give it some spray malt. Maybe 50:50 with the brewing sugar. The taste is so so much better. More rounded and deep. All sugar can be sharp, thin and even a little cidery.

46 bottles of a beer that is only just about okay (especially if it's one of your first brews) can be disheartening. Make a beer that you'll want others to taste as well. Letting others taste your work and hearing their surprise is magic!!
Paul

aw man my stuff is arriving today and I was hoping to get started! gutted! I'm up North and the nearest homebrew shop is way over in Belfast

BeerNut

scrapsmac wrote: »

aw man my stuff is arriving today and I was hoping to get started! gutted!

Just go with what you have -- you'll still have beer at the end. Just bear in mind this lesson, and all the other ones you'll learn today, for the next batch.

scrapsmac

Ordered 1kg of spraymalt and a couple of bags of carbonation drops. Should be with me on Monday so I'll wait till then. As BugsyBoy said, I want to make it as tasty as possible.

What's a few days when It'll be two/three weeks fermenting!?

qazxsw1

There's an italian lager, "Peroni, Nastro Azzurro" available in Dunnes - comes in 660ml bottles i.e., twice the size of two standard longnecks and easyl enough on the taste buds.

One pint = 568.261485 ml according to google

If size is your thing you could do worse than sampling a few - takes a standard beer cap.

Bought one about six weeks ago, can't remember the price, but wasn't outrageous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peroni_Brewery

qazxsw1

660ml Peroni Nastro Azzurro bottle comes in @ 35 Bottles per 23 Litre/5 Gallons

scrapsmac

qazxsw1 wrote: »

There's an italian lager, "Peroni, Nastro Azzurro" available in Dunnes - comes in 660ml bottles i.e., twice the size of two standard longnecks and easyl enough on the taste buds.

One pint = 568.261485 ml according to google

If size is your thing you could do worse than sampling a few - takes a standard beer cap.

Bought one about six weeks ago, can't remember the price, but wasn't outrageous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peroni_Brewery

Really nice beer! Drank a load of it when I was over in Italy. Don't They come in green bottles as far as I remember? Might be a problem if you're concerned about brown vs green

joeKel73

Hey - another newbie here! Myself and my housemates invested in this kit from HBW about a month ago.

It came with 44 Ox-Bar PET bottles and since ordered an additional 44 bottles to allow bottling the next batch without having to drink the previous one first.

We've tried a few batches since;

1. Canadian Blonde Lager + 1kg Dextrose
This came with the kit, it was drinkable but didn't really carbonate for us using 1.5 carbonation drops. As a result it was sweeter than it was meant to be as the carbonation sugar hadn't fermented. We reckon now we were storing it at too low a temperature.

2. Finlandia Traditional Ale + 1kg Dextrose + plus 500g extra light spraymalt
This is nearly two weeks in the bottles now, it wasn't carbonating like the first batch so it's somewhere warmer for the last week. I've one in the fridge to try this evening but will probably give an extra week.

3. 3.2 Kg All Malt Coopers Brewmaster Irish Stout Kit (incl 1.5kg can Light Malt Extract)
Bottled this on Monday. As a Guinness drinker I'm looking forward to this one and it tasted promising when bottling.

4. Muntons Connoisseur's Wheat Beer 1.8 Kg + 1kg Muntons Brew Enhancer
Brewed this on Monday, it's bubbling away in the corner.

Any of you in Galway? We could arrange a meet-up to sample or exchange brews!

scrapsmac

foto joe wrote: »

Hey - another newbie here! Myself and my housemates invested in this kit from HBW about a month ago.

It came with 44 Ox-Bar PET bottles and since ordered an additional 44 bottles to allow bottling the next batch without having to drink the previous one first.

We've tried a few batches since;

1. Canadian Blonde Lager + 1kg Dextrose
This came with the kit, it was drinkable but didn't really carbonate for us using 1.5 carbonation drops. As a result it was sweeter than it was meant to be as the carbonation sugar hadn't fermented. We reckon now we were storing it at too low a temperature.

2. Finlandia Traditional Ale + 1kg Dextrose + plus 500g extra light spraymalt
This is nearly two weeks in the bottles now, it wasn't carbonating like the first batch so it's somewhere warmer for the last week. I've one in the fridge to try this evening but will probably give an extra week.

3. 3.2 Kg All Malt Coopers Brewmaster Irish Stout Kit (incl 1.5kg can Light Malt Extract)
Bottled this on Monday. As a Guinness drinker I'm looking forward to this one and it tasted promising when bottling.

4. Muntons Connoisseur's Wheat Beer 1.8 Kg + 1kg Muntons Brew Enhancer
Brewed this on Monday, it's bubbling away in the corner.

Any of you in Galway? We could arrange a meet-up to sample or exchange brews!

Up in Derry man! what do you think went wrong with the carbonation on the Candadian Blonde? That's what im starting on Monday! too many drops or too little?

joeKel73

I was storing the bottles at ~17degs which I'm told is a bit low and while they would still carbonate eventually it'd be slower. I only gave them 2-3 weeks in the bottles.

qazxsw1

Peroni, Nastro Azzurro are green bottles alright, not a prob for me as I have a dark hide for storing my finished products

scrapsmac

Well folks my kit should finally be coming today! Got 1kg of Spraymalt, 1kg of brewing sugar. Just a quick question, which guide should I now follow? The one on www.beoir.org? I've done a good bit of search here and there seems to be a few people go with it.

Apologies for the questions - I just want to make sure I get it right

Shiny

Go with the one on Beoir, it has the typical kit instructions and it also includes tonnes of helpful tips.

Also be careful when softening the extract, I find that air always gets trapped under the cans and periodically spews boiling water out of the pot. I reduce this by tipping them at an angle every so often to release the pressure.

Don't worry about asking the questions. I think everyone enjoys answering them and understands the initial worries of your first brew.

scrapsmac

Well it's all setup! My first reading is 1.05! is this a little on the high side? I followed a mix of the beoir guide and craig tube (im brewing canadian blonde btw)

Shiny

Seems fine to me. All depends on where it finishes which would be around 1010? Giving you around 5%.

Any Pics? :pac:

scrapsmac

Shiny wrote: »

Seems fine to me. All depends on where it finishes which would be around 1010? Giving you around 5%.

Any Pics? :pac:

Took a couple on my phone to remind me of my first brew! Wouldn't be great at uploading them here. I've to set up a photobucket account or something like that right?

Phew, relieved about the OG. Also, I didn't rehydrate the yeast as beoir suggested. Instead I went with craigs method and sprinkled it on the foam for 10/15mins before stirring. Hope this is ok.

Just wanted to say a big thanks to all those who have helped me so far. I'll keep you all updated with the progress

Cork Boy

My first ever batch is just about ready now and I can't get over how nice it is considering how many mistakes I've made!

You can read all you want and watch all the videos you want but until you do it yourself...

Well, enjoy... it's going to be magic!

scrapsmac

Another question for you lads!

My kit has been brewing for a few hours now. I'm using the 33l fermenter tub from Home Brew West. I have the lid on tight all the way around and the water has been pushed up to the right hand side of the air-lock (if that makes sense to you?!). Is this normal or should I open the lid up a little on one side to let out some co2?

cheers!

joeKel73

I have the same kit, that's normal. It's a good sign that the fermenter is properly sealed.

It's pushing the water through the air-lock as the air pressure inside is building up from the co2 being generated. Eventually it'll push under the u-bend of the airlock and bubble out. It'll then keep bubbling out fairly steadily then for a few days.

scrapsmac

foto joe wrote: »

I have the same kit, that's normal. It's a good sign that the fermenter is properly sealed.

It's pushing the water through the air-lock as the air pressure inside is building up from the co2 being generated. Eventually it'll push under the u-bend of the airlock and bubble out. It'll then keep bubbling out fairly steadily then for a few days.

Yeah it's gone past the U-Bend already and is sitting up near the top of the airlock already. Hope this is ok and my fermenter isn't about to explode :pac:

joeKel73

For my first brew I put too much water in the airlock, once it got going it started spitting out some of the water and was grand after... it regulates itself like that!

Just took a pic of my airlock... the air pushes until it gets to the lower u-bend.. then a bubbles goes up and eases the pressure back a bit... pressure builds again and bubbles again... etc etc

scrapsmac

cheers foto joe! Hope it turns out a treat!

scrapsmac

Well folks It is day two and I was delighted to come downstairs to see it bubbling away like a mad thing! Plenty of foam on top.

I'm having minor concerns about the stick-on thermometer. 26,24,22 are all lit up and havn't really changed since I started. I have another thermometer in the room and it has been reading 20/21. I'm not overly concerned as it seems to be getting along just fine. It is out in the utility room and the radiator out there is never turned on.

I_am_LOST

scrapsmac wrote: »

Well folks It is day two and I was delighted to come downstairs to see it bubbling away like a mad thing! Plenty of foam on top.

I'm having minor concerns about the stick-on thermometer. 26,24,22 are all lit up and havn't really changed since I started. I have another thermometer in the room and it has been reading 20/21. I'm not overly concerned as it seems to be getting along just fine. It is out in the utility room and the radiator out there is never turned on.

I had the same problem. Wasn't sure which temperature to read it as! Right now 18 and 16 is lit up for me (18 more so) so it looks like I'm at 17 degrees, which is a bit too cold for my liking. That said, it's been a week of fermenting now.

scrapsmac

4 days in so took my next hydrometer reading! Came in at 1.010. Is this about right? it seems very low considering it has only been fermenting for 4 days

3greenrizla's

http://www.absolutehomebrew.com.au/?page_id=34

an interesting read.

scrapsmac

I'll leave it a couple of days so and see what the reading is. If it is 1.010 again should I start thinking about bottling? I only ask because I know from reading here that 2 weeks seems to be the norm..

scrapsmac

Ordering stuff for my second brew folks! Thinking of doing a Stout just in time for Christmas

Going to go with the Coopers stout kit. Am I right in saying I should add 500g dextrose and 500g spraymalt? Might also throw in some vanilla essence? What do people think?

joeKel73

Stout was my third brew and it's currently about 10 days in the bottles, I've tried a few and they're tasting really good! I'm going to try hold off another week at least.

I went for this;
3.2 Kg All Malt Coopers Brewmaster Irish Stout Kit

scrapsmac

foto joe wrote: »

Stout was my third brew and it's currently about 10 days in the bottles, I've tried a few and they're tasting really good! I'm going to try hold off another week at least.

I went for this;
3.2 Kg All Malt Coopers Brewmaster Irish Stout Kit

Ordered! should be a good one. Might dabble with a bit of vanilla also. Any other stuff people throw in to give it an edge?

calvin_zola

Hi guys, I have a quick question, i have just completed a yeast starter today and Im happy enough with it, will do the beer kit tomorrow. Im just wondering when I have the all the Wort created and am closing the fermenter (snap on lid) do I snap it on fully, ive read instructions that say leave a crack up, Il also have a bubbler airlock on it....

Regards for any help its all appreciated being a Noob

CZ

Linkus

calvin_zola wrote: »

Hi guys, I have a quick question, i have just completed a yeast starter today and Im happy enough with it, will do the beer kit tomorrow. Im just wondering when I have the all the Wort created and am closing the fermenter (snap on lid) do I snap it on fully, ive read instructions that say leave a crack up, Il also have a bubbler airlock on it....

Regards for any help its all appreciated being a Noob

CZ

I have an airlock so I shut the lid tight. Mine is also a snap on lid. Infact mine is probably the same as your tub.

As far as I am aware, the airlock with a bit of water in it will be perfectly fine for letting the co2 out when needed

calvin_zola

Linkus wrote: »

I have an airlock so I shut the lid tight. Mine is also a snap on lid. Infact mine is probably the same as your tub.

As far as I am aware, the airlock with a bit of water in it will be perfectly fine for letting the co2 out when needed

Okey dokey, sound for that.