Brewferm Grand Cru-FV & sugar questions

[Joeyriles]

Hi there, apologies in advance for the basic questions.

Am going to start this fairly soon but only have a 23 litre fb, will this be too big and potentially affect the brew?

Also: I've bought extra dextrose to use with this (on the recommendation of the owner of the HBS) should I add exactly the amount on the instructions or add a %?

Finally: I prefer bottle priming to batch priming (only got the one fv) will this be adequate?

Best wishes,

Joe

 

[pms67]

If i remember right,this kit is already 8% and doesnt need any additional sugar.
You only need 1 fv to batch prime,just dump it in,gentle stir,wait half hour then bottle,i bottle primed once,never again.
Grand Cru is a great kit if you can wait 8 weeks !

 

[Joeyriles]

Wonderful stuff.

So the essential timeline of this is:
Pour in extract and water up to 9L and pitch yeast. Leave until there aren't any more bubbles. Batch prime with x amount of sugar (stir or not?) and then bottle the buggers?

The other question would be: what bottles are best for this? I have started collecting 330ml bottles (brown glass where possible).

I've essentially started panicking as I'm moving in with my partner and she's made it quite clear that there will be 'not much space' for homebrewing :| so I'm making hay while the sun shines!

 

[Dave1970]

I did the Grand Cru in a full size FV without any problems. It does need sugar, the dextrose will be OK. It would be better to use Candi Sugar - there's a guide to making it in the 'How to' section of the forum.

I think you need to be looking at a lot longer than 8 weeks for this to be at its best - more like 6 months! It's worth the wait though!

330 ml glass would be ideal

 

[Joeyriles]

Thank you.

Anyone able to shed any light on the process? I'm just really anxious to not mess this up!

 

[rpt]

You should use a hydrometer to tell when fermentation has finished. To batch prime you need a second bucket. If you add priming sugar to the primary FV you will mix up the trub when you stir. If you don't stir the sugar won't be mixed in properly.

 

[whiter shade of ale]

Candy sugar is ideal, but people often use golden syrup as an alternative. I don't know about batch priming in the primary. Most dissolve the priming sugar in a wee bit of water and add to the second vessel (which you don't have), then rack your beer on top of it. This ensures the sugar is mixed evenly. Stirring it in would mean potentially disturbing the trub at the bottom of the FV. However if others have done it with good results then fair enough. That's the beauty of the forum!!

 

[Joeyriles]

This will sound 100% dim but here goes:

If I transfer to a second fv to batch prime (my second has no tap) should I then wash out the trub from the primary and then, once the sugar has dissolved, re-pour into the now trub-less primary?

My main concern is infection, as well as not using enough sugar/generally committing a cardinal sin with such a good beer!

Thanks for the helpful responses, though.

 

[whiter shade of ale]

This will sound 100% dim but here goes:

If I transfer to a second fv to batch prime (my second has no tap) should I then wash out the trub from the primary and then, once the sugar has dissolved, re-pour into the now trub-less primary?

My main concern is infection, as well as not using enough sugar/generally committing a cardinal sin with such a good beer!

Thanks for the helpful responses, though.

You could do this. So long as you're careful racking then the risk of infection is minimal. However if you DO have a second FV i would save the extra effort and just rack in to that and then siphon out in to bottles. Or start it in your tap-less FV and batch prime in your one with a tap when fermentation is done

 

[Joeyriles]

Thank you, it makes a lot of sense.

I'm unfortunately without a siphoning tube and wouldn't know how to use one effectively so the whole process seems difficult whichever way I approach it!

I'm showing my inexperience here as I usually bottle-prime but I gather that this won't work for the G.C.

 

[rpt]

As long as you properly sanitise your vessels and use a sanitised syphon to transfer then you should have no problem. Do not pour as you will disturb the trub and risk oxidising your beer.

 

[Dave1970]

As said, the way you suggest will work, drain into 2nd FV with sugar solution, wash out the first one then pour (gently, you don't want it splashing about and getting a lot of air into it) back into the first and bottle from there. You could bottle prime, but with 330ml bottles that's a lot of bottles to prime. One of the nice things about batch priming is that you can bottle into a mixture of bottle sizes without worrying about how much sugar in each different sized bottle,

There are a couple of pretty cheap items that would make life a lot easier.

1. Hydrometer - this is best reliable way of knowing when your beer is ready to bottle, it will also allow you to calculate the alcohol content using the Original Gravity and the Final Gravity - the kit will tell you an estimate for that kit but it's not reliable.

2. Little Bottler - this is a device for much quicker, easier bottling from an FV. It's a tube that goes to the bottom of the bottle and when you push the bottle up it opens a valve that fills the bottle, from the bottom with no splashing. The best bet would be to fit this to your second FV and then just use that one as a bottling bucket

3. Tubes - You want a meter of bigger tube that will push onto your main FV tap (I think 1/2") so you can transfer from that to the bottling bucket with as little splashing as possible. I would always have some siphon tube as well, even though I don't use it often it can be very useful.

 

[Monte Cristo]

As said, the way you suggest will work, drain into 2nd FV with sugar solution, wash out the first one then pour (gently, you don't want it splashing about and getting a lot of air into it) back into the first and bottle from there. You could bottle prime, but with 330ml bottles that's a lot of bottles to prime.

On a 9L brew it is only going to work out at a max of 27x 330ml bottles which isn't too bad, I agree with you on the maturation Dave, I brewed mine in May last year and it took til around Jan before i thought it tasted about right. :hat:

 

[whiter shade of ale]

I would definitely get a racking cane/tube setup. They're cheap as chips and even if you normally bottle from the tap it's always good to have these bits of staple kit on stand by. You'll just need to practice to learn how to use one properly!!

 

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Hi and apologies for not reading the whole message history but just a note that my brewferm diabolo was in primary with golden syrup instead of candi sugar and I used a couple of 5l water bottles sanitised, with lids loosely screwed for 2nd fv. Easy to manage and batch primed with dextrose in the now clean original fv. All seems ok but am yet to taste it.

 

[Joeyriles]

All things considered I'll probably stick to bottle priming (27 seems ok to me.) Would you recommend doubling up on sugar considering the time it'll be in the bottle? I use the Cooper's Carbonation drops.

Joe

 

[rpt]

The amount of sugar you prime with affects how fizzy the beer is. You don't need more sugar unless you want extra fizzy beer.

 

[Joeyriles]

Lovely stuff. Re the Golden Syrup: would this be instead of dextrose/candy sugar or as well as?

 

[Bowl sprayer]

Hi. These are very good kits. Follow the instructions regarding extra sugar. Many recommend candi sugar but you will be ok with dextrose.
Size of fv does not affect the brew. Just make sure it is big enough and everything is sterile.
I leave them a good long time to brew out completely in the primary, until it goes clear and this can take 3-4 weeks. I find by doing that it leaves much less residue in the bottle.
As for bottle priming I measure out a teaspoon of dextrose per 500ml bottle. That gives just the right carbonation.
Once bottled leave it in the warm for 2 weeks then out in the cold for at least 4 weeks before you go near it. Wait. The longer the better. You will be rewarded with a superb Belgian beer similar in flavour to Leffe Blonde. One of my favourites in the Brewferm range. Also try the Abdij, that us also a truly great beer.
Good luck

 

[Joeyriles]

Started this last night (while supping a Trappiste Dubbel) and it smells lovely.
Used a combo of golden syrup and dextrose; leaving it in the fv for as long as KT takes for that hydrometer to read 1010. :-)