Homebrew Beer Howto

skipper11x wrote: »

Just sampled my first brew, the previously mentioned ale. It tasted alright, it was very sugary but drinkable although I wouldn't drink too many at one sitting.
Will the sugary taste lessen with time?
Also I am trying to brew a Christmas ale, the instructions said not to use any sugar so I left it for 12 days and had a look last night, it didn't seem to have changed at all from when I first started. At no time was there ever any bubbling. Should I add sugar now? Should I bottle it now? Or should I bin it?

Brew 1; you put it straight in the fridge after bottling I think you said.
Did you add priming sugar when bottling? You should put the the bottles somewhere warm for a couple of weeks after bottling to prime, then you can put them in the fridge.

Brew 2: did you add yeast?
Did you measure the gravity?

skipper11x wrote: »

Hi, for Brew1 I added half a spoon of brown sugar in each bottle. I put them straight in the fridge but took them out and left them at room temperature for about 3 weeks then in the fridge for a few days before drinking. Should I leave them in the fridge for longer? They do have gas when opened.
Brew2 I did add the yeast when it was at 20 degrees exactly as the instructions said but with Brew1 there was bubbling 24 hours after starting which slowed gradually but nothing with Brew2.
Not sure how to measure the gravity, I'm new to all this so thanks for your help.

Brew 1 should improve with a bit more time, I leave mine at least 3 weeks before drinking, preferably 6 weeks.

Brew 2: do you have a hydrometer?

skipper11x wrote: »

Cool, I'll leave Brew1 for a while longer so, even as is I've tasted worse so I'm not too worried about that.
Brew2 I do have a hydrometer and that said 25-20, bottling is at 10 is what is says on the side.

Do you mean between 20 and 25? It's not safe to bottle at that level.
Did you measure it at the start?

skipper11x wrote: »

No I didn't think of measuring it at the start, I'll just keep checking it until it reaches 10 and if not I guess I'll just have to dump it. How long should I leave it for or more exactly when should I give up on it? Assuming it reaches 10 eventually should I put sugar in each bottle?

If it reaches 16 and stays level for a few days then I'd bottle it without sugar, if it goes lower then add some sugar when bottling but maybe not the full amount.
If it doesn't move in the next couple of days you could try adding more yeast.
Take out about 1/2 a litre of beer and mix it with 1/2 a litre of water, add a little bit more sugar and aerate it.
Hydrate some yeast in a small bit of warm water for 15 minutes and then add it to the mix.
Leave this covered in a warm spot for about a day then add it to the main batch of beer.
Might save it.

dealz sugar is on sale again. This time 40% extra free bags.

It is 1.19 for 1.4kg, which is 85cent per kilo
http://www.dealz.ie/whitworths-white-sugar-1-4kg

Also currently if you spend €10 or more you get a voucher to get €3 off a spend of €20 or more in the next week.

So you could by 9 bags for 10.71, then get your receipt and pay for more. I expect they would let you go up with all your sugar, ask to pay for 9 first, get your receipt and voucher and scan the rest in and use it right away.

So 17 bags is 20.23 and you get €3 back.

26 bags for 27.94, which is 36.4kg works out 77cent per kilo

VenomIreland wrote: »

Seems pretty good, thank you. At the very least it'll encourage him to clear out the garage for the equipment!

Plus if he does get the bug, all he need to go all gain is add Brew in the bag (BIAB) or a mash tun.

A stainless steel pot is one way to go yes. How much it costs to boil for an hour is impossible to say. Only you can calculate that depending on how much you pay for electricity and the power of your equipment.
A plastic bucket boiler with kettle element might be a better option starting out. The pots can be bought anywhere that sells large stainless steel pots. Some of the homebrew shops have them too.

Glass doesn't scratch but is more expensive and quite dangerous if it slips and breaks. Plastic is cheaper but requires more care when cleaning so you don't scratch it. Start out with plastic, not glass.

Brooklyn brew shop? Are you based in the US? If not, and are in Ireland, buy off an Irish site. Much cheaper and quicker than importing from the US where you will be hit with duty. The UK is another option but there hasn't been much benefit in that for years now because of the competition in Ireland and more recently, the € has gone to pot if you'll excuse the pun.

The Homebrew Company has the widest range and most experience but there are plenty of others in Ireland.

thanks guys, great advice. I was a bit worried about that amount of boiling liquid ;0

True batch brew, i've just had a look. Exactly what I was looking for, this is excellent.

I'll stick with plastic for a start

janiejones wrote: »

Just a random thought. I'm jumping the gun here. if you finish fermentation and move to bottling, if you were brewing a stout and you bottled it in an empty whiskey bottle. Would it work? If you left it in the bottle long enough is there a potential for an imperial stout?

I haven't even got my kit yet, all ordered online and hoping to do my first Saturday 9th. Also, I've ordered an IPA so this won't apply but any thoughts?

Unfortunately not, your lacking the base grain/malt to increase the abv which would give you an imperial. You could try adding bourbon to a small batch if your looking for a whisky taste

First home brew day down. Made SMaSH Maris otter and williamette. Learned a few lessons for next time.

Filled a bucket with 20 litres of water and made my own sanitizer, mixed in 35mls thin bleach, stirred, 35mls vinegar. Put in syphon, 1 gallon fermenter, hydrometer, funnel with strainer

Brought 3.3 litres to 70° and added 924 grams Maris otter.
lesson 1, turning off the heat and putting the top on will keep the mash temperature level. I learned this during but it was a surprise.
45 mins later started heating 4 litres, got to 70 at almost exactly the hour. I bought a straining bag for this part but the mouth of it wasn't large enough. I worked around with a normal kitchen sieve , going back and forth and dumping grains in the bag as I went but next time I'll get a better set up here.

Brought wort to boil, put in 4grams of hops. Waited 55mins put in 7 grams. On the hour I turned off the heat and put in 10grams.

Lesson 2, Ice bath needs more ice next time, it took ages for the wort to cool.
Took hydrometer reading, 1.045, used sanitised funnel to transfer to fermenter, pitched yeast, shook for 6 minutes, attached syphon to the airlock, other end in sanitize solution cup.

Now I wait
on my boil a lot was evaporated, any tips on getting better efficiency here?

Very busy weekend, I had the apartment to myself and was after ordering in a selection of grains and hops so I went full tilt. The plan Saturday was an imperial stout and use the same grains for a second mash with some fresh ones thrown in to keep the astringency down. It was a half disaster, I didn’t sparge enough on the first round to get the og I was aiming for on the Russian because I wanted to save some for the 2nd round but that proved pointless as the og was 1.02 after the full boil and the taste was dreadful. I cut my losses and dumped it, so just a very flavourful stout.

I had nothing else to do and a supply of grains so I made a second attempt at the RIS. This time I sparged fully and after the boil hit 1.09, so well pleased.
Sunday, I did a sierra Nevada pale ale clone, much less eventful, everything went as planned, lessons from the previous brews are definitely helping and I now have wort in a sanitized plastic bottle to use for yeast starters.

This morning the 2 stouts were strongly fermenting, I put one in the shower before going to work. The pale ale clone hasn’t shown any life yet but excited after 4 brews now. Bottling last weeks one next weekend, provided fermentation has gone ok. (I don’t think it has but I’m going to wait to take a gravity reading next Saturday)

SeaFields wrote: »

Hi folks,

Thanks to lurking here I have a few brews under my belt from kits - wine and beer.

I'd like to try my hand at brewing beer from scratch so to speak and progress on from kits. Has anyone used All Grain Ingredient Kits from geterbrewed? Would everything be in them that one would need for a first attempt? Reading the guide at the start of this thread I think everything is there but want to be sure so I dont have to order stuff a second time.

Kits Contain all your n grain, hops and yeast. The HBC ones are probably better though

Tried dry hopping for the first time. Did it with the leaves, thought they'd sink based on something I read. A week later reread and it's the pellets that sink. Now I think I've wasted a lot of hops a layer up from the ones in contact with the beer. I put the leaves in an empty carboy and racked from primary so they all got a touch but I'm thinking it's a waste.

Another lesson for next time

hi,

Would anyone recommend the following as a good starter kit (I have enough glass bottles already)

The "BREWFERM Starter's Kit "DELUXE" on the HomeBrewWest website
(sorry, boards.ie won't let me post URL Link)

Will this give me everything I need, do I just need a kit like the "The Craft Range Citra Pale Ale Beer Kit 3.65 Kg" on the same website

It's been over 20 years since I last tried homebrewing, so it's like starting all over again

thanks in advance