bottling and 2nd fermentation

[the new brew]

right so got abit of a strange question here i've got a load of 3l plastic coke bottles and was wondering if i can use these to store my homebrew if so what priming sugar would i add? obviously i would fully clean and sterilize the bottles, also about 2nd fermentation is it really worth doing i've got a chance of a cheap plastic beer barrel meant to be for pressure but i've not heard good things about them my friend said it never held the gas well, but i'm thinking it just won't sealed very well (any tips on that as well lol) i'm going to try a larger soon would you 2nd ferment larger?? also when you do place the homebrew in the 2nd FV do you prime i'm guessing no, and when you do 2nd ferment is it still possible to prime with sauger in bottles the same as you would normally?? any help and advice would be grate.

 

[pittsy]

if a container once held pressured liquid (coke bottle) it usually will be good for beer . how much sugar depends on what type of beer and how fizzy you like it . for around 22 liters of bottled beer , lager around 150g for bitter around 100g , or lower .

 

[orlando]

I have read, but not experienced, that some plastic containers will eventually leak gas and that even coke bottles if kept long enough will go flat. Glass with proper crown caps will always out perform plastic and will not suffer in daylight. Clear containers will turn the beer "skunky". Now I've never smelt skunk or used clear bottles but US brewers are very adamant about it and they have! Having said all of that if you are drinking the beer quickly, most do, and can keep it in the cool and dark you will have no problems. On secondary fermentation yes, every time and always in the packaging.

Priming is best done as a syrup, just boil up table sugar (70-100g depending on how fizzy and what style you are making) for long enough to kill bacteria then place in the bottling bucket, rack off the fully fermented beer (3 days after FG reached) on to it a gentle stir, so as to not introduce too much oxygen and then package. Pressure barrels are a little temperamental but once you get used to them they make bottling seem a bit of a PITA. Best tips with these is don't over tighten, use a little vaseline on the seals and check they aren't leaking with a little soapy water after a few days. Adapting the big capped King Keg style with a tyre valve, for measuring C02 is very useful and replacing the standard tap with a Dalex version will have you very pleased with the effort.

 

[rpt]

There's a lot of debate as to whether it's worth transferring to a secondary vessel. I don't usually do it for ales although I have for my current brew as I am dry hopping but I'm not sure it's really necessary. I would always transfer a lager to a secondary as it will spend several weeks lagering - it's best it doesn't sit on too much dead yeast and other trub for too long.

You do need to be careful about plastic bottles as they will eventually leak away the CO2 and allow O2 in. Also, clear bottles can allow skunking so you need to keep them in the dark.