A little help for a noob to brewing...

[Mr Majik]

Hello everybody

I will over the next couple of days introduce myself but first i have a question as im in the process of putting together my equipment...

I am about to start brewing my own ale because since i moved to france i cant get ale (although there are many fine beers) and i need its something i miss dearly from England.

As a brief, I'm very meticulous in my work and hobbies but (not that I'm tight) i like to spend as little as possible while getting the most out of things.

I have bought a basic starter kit but to have a nice flow production without buying more equipment and aid the aging process here is what i would like to...

The plan

Stage one (omitting recipe and preparation) First fermentation in a 25L bucket with lid & airlock duration 2 weeks..

Stage two - priming (with honey) then pouring in to a 25L pressure barrel (with spigot) i would like to leave it in Here for 3 weeks

Stage Three - after three weeks i would then like to transfer to bottles (via spigot) and shelve for a further three (at least) weeks.

Is this ok to do?

Thanks for any advice

I look forward to discussing finer points of brewing with you in the future

Majik

 

[Pearlfisher]

Welcome.

You will also need to prime the bottles with sugar .

 

[dennisking]

Hi and welcome.

 

[Mr Majik]

So just to clarify...

I ferment in my 25L bucket for 2 weeks, then prime with and leave it my pressure barrel for 3 weeks then prime again with suger when i bottle it?

 

[cwiseman77]

So just to clarify...

I ferment in my 25L bucket for 2 weeks, then prime with and leave it my pressure barrel for 3 weeks then prime again with suger when i bottle it?

I don't know anything about pressure barrels you should only need to prime once...immediately before bottling

 

[Loetz]

Hmm... well the process is really different depending on the style and the person doing the brew.

A lot of people use a 1-2-3 system...

1 week to ferment in the bucket

2 weeks to let the beer 'clear' in a bucket (some people transfer to a 'secondary' bucket for this stage, but a lot of people say you can just leave it in the original bucket without touching it)

3 weeks in the bottle


The most important considerations are that the fermentation is finished before it goes into a bottle and that the beer in bottles have time to carbonate.

 

[wilsoa1111]

dont know why ur kegging then bottling (what peeps normally secondary, dispense and drink from) - btw something nice about a keg beer- when done correctly, then when starts to run out of co2 can add more co2 via cart or indeed bottle (more sugar)

if ur using keg as secondary fair enough (probably a expensive bit of equip to tie up) but wont need to prime then till put in bottles...

also i recommend getting a second fermentor as really lets you scale and leave beer on yeast or secondary for a time- for the initial ferment even a reasonable sealed bucket will do- for my secondarys i like one that is properly sealed and airlocked but im picky having started with wine...

i also recommend getting some extra hops and/or steepable grain in your order (helps with free postage) regardless of wether a kit brew or proper so u can add to kit or brew if feel is lacking- btw kits generally benefit from a personal touch so suits own palate more and extra step is essentially as easy as making a cup of tea but well worth it...

 

[Mr Majik]

Thanks everybody

This is starting to make more sence now.

I have a bucket and a keg as these were in the kit i bought (Wilkinsons) but rather daftly i bought it before id fully researched the method.

So, making the most of what i havenalready bought and hopefully without having to buy other things i could, if i understand from what iv read here...

Ferment in bucket for a week or two

Second in the keg for a couple of weeks

Bottle and age

Drink and enjoy

 

[calumscott]

It does get easier once you've done a couple.

This might help you get your head round everything... viewtopic.php?f=30&t=24822

 

[Pawlo7671]

There's no reason why you couldn't use the keg for stage 2 fermentation, I don't bother with with it myself tbh but I have a keg and have considered using it for secondary the next time I do a lager.
Your doing the right thing by brewing yourself tho, there are so many good kits and recipes out there if your after real ale.

 

[Mr Majik]

Marvelous!

I've checked out the links (thank you very much!) and had a good look through the site. all of your help and information i will digest over the next week or so and maybe next week end i'll get to attempting my first batch. All being well i should be able to taste it mid Jan which fortunately coincides with my next holiday.

Merci!

 

[Pearlfisher]

If you start it off now ,it should be quite drinkable for Christmas. :drink:

 

[Andyhull]

Ferment in bucket for a week or two

Second in the keg for a couple of weeks

Bottle and age

Drink and enjoy

I don't understand why your kegging it before bottling, it's not necessary!

1, make your kit up to instructions in the FV and ferment for 2 weeks.

2, now prime the keg/bottles for secondary fermentation and transfere the brew to your chosen recepticle for the secondary fermentation to carbonate leave in a warm place 18 to 22 dgrs for 2 weeks for secondary fermentation to take place.

3, now put the brew in a cool place for the co2 that has been produced durin secondary fermentation to be absorbed into the brew for another week.

4, drink and enjoy from either bottle or keg depending which you chose to use for your secondary fermentation.

It really is simple, once you've done 1 you'll be able to do your others without even thinking about it.

One last note, Sterilise at every stage.

Andy

 

[Mr Majik]

Its not so much kegging before botteling, i bought the kit before i really read in to what i needed to do, in hind site i would have left the kit and just brought 2 FV's.

For what im talking about here im not thinking of the keg as a keg but as a FV with a tap for bottleing, it would be better to have brought a second bucket but im making do whith what was in the kit (at reams of fip to bottles have saved up from Pelforth Brun)

So bearing in mind i have 1x Bucket 1 X Keg ???x bottles what im planning is...

Fement for 2 weeks in FV 1

Siphon to FV 2 (the keg) leave for 3 weeks its "second" (on week 2 of this 3 week part i would Brew another batch in FV 1, starting the cycle again)

Then tap to primed bottle and lt settle for 2 or 3 weeks

Idealy i suppose another bucket would be best but since i have the keg there might as well use it??

 

[calumscott]

You won't need that second step.

Just give it 2 full weeks in FV, and either bottle straight from there if you are priming the bottles or batch prime (have a quick search or a browse through the how to section) using your keg as a bottling bucket.

The process for kit brewing is really straight forward.

weekend 1 - make up kit and leave at room temperature
weekend 2 - watch football
weekend 3 - bottle and leave at room temperature
weekend 4 - watch football
weekend 5 - move all bottles bar one to cool place, watch football while drinking the reserved "one bottle"
weekend 6 - watch football
weekend 7 - watch football
weekends 8+ - watch football while drinking remaining bottles.

:thumb:

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Its not so much kegging before botteling, i bought the kit before i really read in to what i needed to do, in hind site i would have left the kit and just brought 2 FV's.

For what im talking about here im not thinking of the keg as a keg but as a FV with a tap for bottleing, it would be better to have brought a second bucket but im making do whith what was in the kit (at reams of fip to bottles have saved up from Pelforth Brun)

So bearing in mind i have 1x Bucket 1 X Keg ???x bottles what im planning is...

Fement for 2 weeks in FV 1

Siphon to FV 2 (the keg) leave for 3 weeks its "second" (on week 2 of this 3 week part i would Brew another batch in FV 1, starting the cycle again)

Then tap to primed bottle and lt settle for 2 or 3 weeks

This is correct...just a couple of things, When transfering to keg/bottling keg, its a good practice to give it a squirt of CO2.
Check that the bottles fit over the keg tap.
Dont get hung up on 1 week for this....2 weeks for this etc etc etc. Trust your hydometer.

Idealy i suppose another bucket would be best but since i have the keg there might as well use it??

 

[johnnyboy1965]

^^^^^ Ooops Sorry

 

[cwiseman77]

Then tap to primed bottle and lt settle for 2 or 3 weeks

Do you have an attachment for your tap (usually called little bottler)? If you just tap the beer straight into the bottles i think it will cause too mush splashing and get too much oxygen into the beer. The little bottle attaches to the tap and goes straight to the bottom of the bottle.

 

[Andyhull]

Right, so your using your Keg as a second FV to allow settlement of the yeasties (etc)
I thought you meant you were going to secondarily ferment on in the keg and then do a third ferment in the bottles.
Got ya now :thumb:

 

[Mr Majik]

Thats what i mean andy, settling/clearing stage (i will eventualy get to grips with the terminology)

As of yet cwiseman i don't have a little bottler, bit your absolutely right, i hadn't thought about the splashing. I'll have a look for one, i should find one before i get to bottling stage.

Is it right then that splashing at this stage and thus re-oxygenating would end up with a watery beer.. Less alcohol?