Annoyances with my second ever brew - pointers for newbies!

[drf]

So, I've brewed my second ever brew. This was a kit of Munton's Gold Docklands Porter with Safale-04 . It all went well enough I think, it had stuck so it needed a rousing or two and I bunged in some yeast nutrient. FG got down to 1.014 so I think it had pretty much finished. It all went into bottles a few days ago and I'll try my first in 3 weeks to see how things're getting on. The trial jar contents were tasting OK though.

A couple of problems on bottling day though - there was a small leak in the join of my syphon tubing so I ended up getting some air in when transferring into a bottling/priming bin. I managed to stop this by taping up the join, I'm hoping not enough air got in to spoil things. So pointer #1 - test you syphon before use!

#2 - I was using a little bottler and happily filling away to the desired liquid level. 40 or so capped bottles later "that's odd" I thought - I'm sure I put more beer into each bottle than that. Pointer: The little bottler displaces beer in the bottle - D'oh! So each one has more head space than ideal.

I'm assuming the yeast will do an OK job of scavenging the bits of oxygen from the leaking syphon and increased head space. 40 bottles of vinegar would be a shame!

 

[richc]

Both those issues are really minor, don't worry about it, your beer will almost certainly be fine.

The trick with the little bottler and similar devices is to simply fill the bottle to the brim, you are then left with a pretty perfect fill level when you remove the bottler from the bottle.

Edit: the worst that is likely to happen is very minor oxidation (a slight cardboard like taste), beer becoming sour/vinegar like is due to infections not due to oxygen.

 

[aneray]

Well done on your second brew drf :thumb: .

We all make slight mistakes, no matter how experienced we are. Looking at your post I really don't think there is anything to worry about.

The only problem you have now is an empty fermenting vessel . Get another brew on, then another and another. When you think you have brewed enough get some more on. By doing it this way you will have plenty of stock to drink and more than enough maturing.

: Neil

 

[drf]

The only problem you have now is an empty fermenting vessel . Get another brew on, then another and another. When you think you have brewed enough get some more on. By doing it this way you will have plenty of stock to drink and more than enough maturing.

Ah, if only. I have enough problem finding somewhere to store the 40 bottles I've just made! I have also run out of empties now as well. I do have a pressure barrel, but her indoors isn't too taken with the idea of having that hanging around for however long it would take to drink (and it would take a while!).

I do have an intention of doing a couple of simultaneous small brews though, a ginger beer and a cider. I'd do them in 5L water bottles and keep the resulting product in plastic lemonade bottles or somesuch - could keep those anywhere including in the fridge, which I'd rather not do with the ale :nono: !

Cheers

Chris

 

[Mr.Everready]

I only started with kits this year and most of the take 2 or 3 months before they're reasonable to drink. If you can only have 40 bottles on the go at a time you're gonna be a long time between brews.

Depending on how much you drink at a time you could always use 2l bottles. Cheap supermarket spring water is about 15-20p per bottle. So you'll only need 10-11 of those. I also bought 1l bottles of supermarket soda water, 3 for £1. Still alot cheaper than buying the empty ones from your hbs.

 

[drf]

Depending on how much you drink at a time you could always use 2l bottles. Cheap supermarket spring water is about 15-20p per bottle. So you'll only need 10-11 of those. I also bought 1l bottles of supermarket soda water, 3 for £1. Still alot cheaper than buying the empty ones from your hbs.

How do you bottle into the larger bottles? Syphon tube into the bottom and a syphon clip? I don't think my little bottler would reach the bottom of a 2L one!

 

[Mr.Everready]

I bottle using a tube and bottling stick. It's probalbly the same principle as a little bottler, you press it onto the bottom of the bottle and it opens the "valve"

 

[meatbinbanquet]

i always use 2ltr PET bottles. they are always cheap, and you have the benefit that once you have opened one, you may as well finish the whole bottle off :grin:

 

[drf]

I bottle using a tube and bottling stick. It's probalbly the same principle as a little bottler, you press it onto the bottom of the bottle and it opens the "valve"

You can tell I'm not very practically minded! I attach my bottling stick to the tap of a bottling bucket. If I attach a length of tubing in between the two I'll be able to reach the bottom of a 2L bottle with no trouble!

 

[Mr.Everready]

I don't have a bucket with a top nor a little bottler so I can't comment on that.

I think the kit I had came with a racking cane and tube but it had a little tap in the end, I just removed that and replaced it with the stick.