A couple of questions - Bottling and Brewing

[mrfrosty]

I bottled a coopers I brewed about a week and a half ago that i had brewed fermented with 1kg of dark spray malt, bottled it with 1/2 teaspoon of glocose powder in each bottle. Tried a couple last night, and although they tasted great, they were headless. Is this due to using Glocose and not sugar? or not leaving it long enough?? I'm not to fussed as this batch tastes so good, but it would be good to know for next time.

The second question i have, is regarding a kit i'm going to put on tomorrow night. I have a cheap 1 tin kit (Gornal and Dudley Bitter) that i wanted to try just to see what they were like being very cheap. I was planning on making it with 500g of spray malt and 500g of Glocose powder. I was going to try it with an S04 yeast, but was thinking is it worth putting more Glocose powder in?? possibly 250g maybe a little more. Would it make any difference?? Make it stronger? Make it taste same/better/worse? I'm sure others have had the same thoughts and tried, so i'd like to here your experiences to see whether its worth trying what i am planning or not?? :wha:

Cheers

Rob

 

[evanvine]

Rob
I am an AG brewer but have done one Wherry kit.
This is in a pressure keg still maturing (8 wks), but when I take QA samples there is plenty of head (pressure in keg is 7psi)
It sounds like you have not "primed your bottles enough.
I believe the recommended level of priming is 1tsp per bottle and I always use ordinary white sugar.
You may get more head if you wait another couple of weeks or so.
As to advising you on your other cheepo kit I have no idea, I think you'll need another "kit" brewer to help you there.

 

[mrfrosty]

Cheers for that EV, i only put half in not a whole teaspoon, and it was glucose and not white sugar, and another thing i have thought about, i only left it in the warm for approx 36-48hrs. So next time i will use white sugar and a teaspoon of it and leave it in the warm for another few days i think.

On a more serious note, i am hoping this will be the last kit i make, i am getting my kit together to move to AG. I did say i would wait till i'd moved house, but with the housing market like it is, there is no time like the present to start AG brewing. I have been reading all the how-to's on here and working out where i can save money making my own kit. Some of you guys have the most amazing HERMS and RIMS Stainless steel kits they are awe inspiring, but i think kit like that will be a long way off. A question i do have is this, if you have a setup with 80-100ltr mash-tuns and boilers, that enables you to product a heck of a lot of beer in one go. So...rather than enjoying a lot of ale which is a great hobby to have, is it not turning you all to full blown alcoholics? :drunk: or do you have a lot of friends who love a good ale???

Rob

 

[johnboy]

Hi Rob,

Going back to your headless beer. Leave it longer in a warmer place if you can.

Sounds a bit over the top I know, but if you hand wash your glass in normal washing up water and then rinse it really well, then hand dry it with a teatowel to get rid of any water this can all help with head retention.

If none of that works just close you eyes as you drink it.

 

[evanvine]

So...rather than enjoying a lot of ale which is a great hobby to have, is it not turning you all to full blown alcoholics?

No, not at all, we've all got hollow legs!

 

[aneray]

Hi there Rob.

I have been making Coopers kits for a while now and although I am no expert I always leave my bottles in the warm for at least a week and then out in the cold for at least two weeks. This gives the bottles time to produce a decent head and usually by then the bottles are crystal clear.

Cheers Neil

 

[mrfrosty]

I think this is where i have slipped up, not leaving them in the warm long enough. When i us a keg its fine to leave in the same place as the FV in the kitchen, but with 40 bottles, i struggle to fine a place to keep for a week in the warm as i have a 2 yr old who loves to get in to everything, and i have found him shaking freshly bottled beer before, then he drops them!! :evil:

EV are hollow legs developed over time, or is it a simple procedure?? :rofl:

I made the kit last night and in the end used 500g of spraymalt and 750g of glucose and an S04. I got an SG of1042. It was already lapping against the lid this morning, so its definately on its way.

Cheers

Rob

 

[chiefstoker]

I think this is where i have slipped up, not leaving them in the warm long enough. When i us a keg its fine to leave in the same place as the FV in the kitchen, but with 40 bottles, i struggle to fine a place to keep for a week in the warm as i have a 2 yr old who loves to get in to everything, and i have found him shaking freshly bottled beer before, then he drops them!! :evil:


Cheers

Rob

Purchase a few cheap plastic boxes with lids for your bottles :thumb: Then if that fails, put your child on the naughty step for the whole duration of conditioning :grin:


: CS

 

[evanvine]

EV are hollow legs developed over time, or is it a simple procedure??

I'm afraid it's another dark art, honed to perfection by lots of practice!

 

[aneray]

A decent half teaspoon of caster sugar should be fine for 500ml bottles. I made the mistake by using a full teaspoon in my Coopers Ginger Beer a while back. Every bottle that was opened gushed like a fountain, every one down the drain.

Cheers Neil

 

[pjbiker]

A question i do have is this, if you have a setup with 80-100ltr mash-tuns and boilers, that enables you to product a heck of a lot of beer in one go. So...rather than enjoying a lot of ale which is a great hobby to have, is it not turning you all to full blown alcoholics? :drunk: or do you have a lot of friends who love a good ale???

Rob

As AG brewing takes pretty much all day 5-6hrs for me, I think it's worth making double the amount for not much more work, then you don't have to do it so often. I use a 70L boiler. The mash tun and fermenters are all ~30L plastic jobbies which gives me 2 full king kegs per brew. Yes, I do share but its nice to have a stock. I have started brewing lower alcohol stuff recently so a can drink daily without the alcholism/guilt :drink:

 

[Aleman]

A question i do have is this, if you have a setup with 80-100ltr mash-tuns and boilers, that enables you to product a heck of a lot of beer in one go. So...rather than enjoying a lot of ale which is a great hobby to have, is it not turning you all to full blown alcoholics? or do you have a lot of friends who love a good ale???

Well, I have a plant that is capable of turning out 18 Gallons at a go, and that is the maximum I am going to go to . . .despite upgrading to a 150L boiler in the not to distant future :pray: I actually don't brew that often so making a lot and storing it works for me, apart from the fact that I am often pouring the last keg down the drain . . . I do pass on wort from brew days (if any other brewers want to come down and help out), or pass on a keg or two of finished beer. . . . I am also in the finishing stages of setting up a Small (20L) Shiny HERMS system so that I can brew more frequently and have greater variety . . . (which may have the inaugural brew this week) . . . The increased level of automation and decreased size of plant means that Brewdays should be quicker.

 

[mrfrosty]

Thanks for all the replies and ideas guys. It does make sense to make double batches due to the long day brew days can be. PJbiker i have a question about your setup, and forgive me if i'm not getting the obvious, but how do you produce enough wort for a double brew with a 30L mash tun and a 70L Boiler?? My understanding a 30L mash tun is only capable for a 5 gallon batch?

Cheers Rob

 

[evanvine]

My understanding a 30L mash tun is only capable for a 5 gallon batch?

I use a 10.5 litre mash tun for my 5 gal brews, 7.5 lbs of grain, ABV normally 4.4%.
I can at a push mash 8 lbs of grain.

 

[mrfrosty]

Cheers for that EV, so if i was to make a 28L Mashtun, is that capable of 10Gal brews with an ABV of approx 4.5-5%, or is there space in there to go slightly stronger? All depends on the ingredients and quantities i suppose?

Rob :)

 

[evanvine]

All depends on the ingredients and quantities i suppose?

Very true!
This is where you find out the capabilities of your brewery.

 

[tubby_shaw]

There is a useful little calculator at the bottom of the page HERE that will let you calculate how much grist you can mash :thumb:

 

[evanvine]

That's a good one TS, you're a virtual mine of info!

 

[mrfrosty]

Thanks for the link, great little tool!!! :)

Rob

 

[pjbiker]

PJbiker i have a question about your setup, and forgive me if i'm not getting the obvious, but how do you produce enough wort for a double brew with a 30L mash tun and a 70L Boiler?? My understanding a 30L mash tun is only capable for a 5 gallon batch?

Cheers Rob

Hi Rob,
You can get more than the volume of the tun from it as you either fill and drain it twice (batch sparge) or fill and drain whilst running extra liquor through it. Checking my records, my optimum was achieved with 10.985Kg of grain with 23L of water initially. That brew yielded 46.5L of 1.056 gravity wort in the fermenters which ended up 5.9% using the home office recommended calculations for ABV. I always used to put the grain in first then add water til it was full. I don't recommend that as it's easier to mix properly the other way round. Now I know my capacities I'm OK.
You can make stronger brews by collecting less wort and not replacing any boiled off volume I guess.
Don't worry too much about your OG's at first. Just see what comes out, get to know your set-up and keep good records. What difference will a few tenths of a percent make when you're drinking it?