couple of questions from a novice

[how2makehomebrew]

Hi guys,

Just a couple of questions I have,

I bottled my beer last Thursday and it looks ok, I used some glass bottles and a few 2 litre plastic bottles, the plastic bottles are really tight now.

I fear the plastic bottles may explode so shall I open them to let some gas out? :hmm:

Also will the sugar disolve eventually? because its still on the bottom of the bottles and looks quite flakey looking.

I have a keg now and want to use this next time, but what is the best way to clean it? my hand will not fit in, I thought of using a mop head but that wont fit either, I haven't got a hose pipe so im at a bit of a loss at the minute. :?

Any help will be fantastic.

Thanks.

 

[luckyeddie]

OK.

Yes, your plastic bottles might explode if you are not careful, but generally they are pretty strong. What you can do is just crack the tops open a little (do it over the sink) just to alleviate the pressure a bit.

The sugar will dissolve eventually, and the yeasties will munch it. That's where your CO2 comes from. It sounds as though you may have over-primed them a bit, or that the primary fermentation had not quite run its course. This might mean that your glass bottles are a little suspect too. Dependent upon just how much excess gas is in your plaggy ones, you might consider ripping the caps off the glass ones to let the excess gas out and re-capping them.

Cleaning a keg is a laborious process, especially if it needs a real scrub. If it just needs cleaning/sterilising, there are loads of products available at your LHBC. You'll probably need a couple of spoonsful in a gallon of water - pour it in, give it a shake, tip the keg, lie it on its side, turn it round etc - keep doing that until it looks clean. Then, give it 3 or 4 really good rinses (shaking vigorously) to wash the steriliser out.

If you really need to scrub it, then here's how to do it....

Get a little scrubbing brush or a nail brush, and construct a handle for it out of a wire coathanger. You will be able to manipulate it to get in all the little indentations and crevices. I did precisely this last year just for the hell of it, when it was a nice day and I was convalescing after a hip replacement operation.

It took me 4 hours. It taught me a valuable lesson - make sure EVERYTHING is kept in cleaner / dilute steriliser when not in use. The end.

 

[how2makehomebrew]

Thanks for your reply on this I'll do this tonight when I get home from work because I checked them last night and they were super tight!

As for the keg it does need a good scrub so I'll try you advice over the weekend when I have a spare few hours.

I have just ordered another kit so I can get brewing again, onwards and upwards.

Thanks again.

 

[luckyeddie]

I'll post a photo of the 'contraption' I made later today when I'm doing a brew. It works brilliantly, but is a bit fiddly.

It just needed a pair of pliers to make.

regarding your (possibly) over-pressurised bottles which still have sugar in the bottom, after you've released the pressure, put the caps back on and give them a bit of a shake to get the sugar into solution. It doesn't matter about disturbing the yeasties at this stage - they'll go to sleep again soon enough.

 

[Good Ed]

You might have a job trying to explode a PET bottle even if you wanted to, they will withstand more pressure than a champagne bottle, I believe.

This is an interesting link to Yobrew http://www.yobrew.co.uk/beer.php#Priming :thumb:

 

[luckyeddie]

The luckyeddie patent keg cleaner....

 

[Springer]

How much priming sugar did you use :? A reasonable amount just dissolves :?

 

[how2makehomebrew]

Thats an awesome brush, I may have to get busy making one of them :)

I used a tsp of sugar to every pint, I did check them again last night and some has dissolved in the last few days, so Im playing the waiting game :grin:

cheers

 

[shearclass]

I doubt the PETs will explode. Only problem you may have is that when you do some to drink them, they will be super gassy, and will drag up sediment from the bottom as it foams up.

Happened to me sadly after i was not patient enough after using dry beer enzyme with a stuck brew. Bottles were absolutely rock hard, and i put them in a plastic bag in case they did explode, but they didn't :)

 

[bomberns127]

a tsp per pint bottle, thats a bit excessive, i used around a third of a tsp, but now i batch prime with another fv, makes it easier and safer!