First timer, bottling question

[Craig007red]

Hi everyone

First timer here so go easy!

I got a brew dog punk ipa kit as a present earlier this year and decided to take the leap last week. So I bought all the extra equipment needed and away I went.

The mash went fine, the boil went fine, I even had an OG reading of 1.054 which I believe is quite ok. After transferring to the fermentation vessel and pitching the yeast I noticed that the first 24 hours was a very lively 24 hrs! The next day all had calmed quite considerably which I was happy about apart from the sediment at the bottom of the demijohn and a bit around the neck of it too!

Anyway! Long story short, would any of you recommend to bottle straight from the demijohn or transfer to another sanitised pot through a strainer and then and my priming sugars? That sediment is putting me right off!

 

[steve123]

You can either transfer to a secondary bottling bucket or just transfer directly from your Demi John to bottles, dont worry about the sediment, I wouldn’t use a strainer, the sediment should just sit at the bottom and be left behind, if you put it in a cold place a lot of the suspended particles will drop to the bottom. If you get a bit of sediment don’t worry about it, when you pour your bottles it will just be left in the bottom of the bottle

 

[Craig007red]

You can either transfer to a secondary bottling bucket or just transfer directly from your Demi John to bottles, dont worry about the sediment, I wouldn’t use a strainer, the sediment should just sit at the bottom and be left behind, if you put it in a cold place a lot of the suspended particles will drop to the bottom. If you get a bit of sediment don’t worry about it, when you pour your bottles it will just be left in the bottom of the bottle

Cheers Steve I’ll bottle straight from the fermentation vessel

 

[steve123]

There’s no harm in adding to a bottling bucket, add cooled boiled sugar mixture to bottling bucket first transfer beer to this then bottle, but don’t worry about strainer. If adding sugar straight to primary, stir it in and then kettle settle for about 20 minutes. I generally transfer to a bottling bucket that way your not stirring all the sediment from the bottom then bottle

 

[Craig007red]

There’s no harm in adding to a bottling bucket, add cooled boiled sugar mixture to bottling bucket first transfer beer to this then bottle, but don’t worry about strainer. If adding sugar straight to primary, stir it in and then kettle settle for about 20 minutes. I generally transfer to a bottling bucket that way your not stirring all the sediment from the bottom then bottle

Duly noted, that’s sounds a better process to me. Cheers

 

[xozzx]

As above I would use a bottling bucket, especially if you have one with a tap and bottling wand.... much easier. Also, leave it alone for 2 weeks before you start thinking about bottling.

 

[Craig007red]

As above I would use a bottling bucket, especially if you have one with a tap and bottling wand.... much easier. Also, leave it alone for 2 weeks before you start thinking about bottling.

Leave what alone? there's a week left for fermentation and then I was going to bottle.

 

[xozzx]

Leave what alone? there's a week left for fermentation and then I was going to bottle.

I meant not to bottle for 2 weeks, leave it in the fermentor. A lot of kits will tell you to bottle after fermentation is complete, around 5-7 days, or something like that. Most people will recommend a minimum of 2 weeks in primary.

 

[Craig007red]

I meant not to bottle for 2 weeks, leave it in the fermentor. A lot of kits will tell you to bottle after fermentation is complete, around 5-7 days, or something like that. Most people will recommend a minimum of 2 weeks in primary.

The brewing kit I used recommended fermentation for 2 weeks and then bottle and leave for 2 weeks. Should I stick to that guideline?

 

[-Bezza-]

The brewing kit I used recommended fermentation for 2 weeks and then bottle and leave for 2 weeks. Should I stick to that guideline?

Beer requires patience sadly - the slower you are, the better things will be. For example, below is what I would say is the quickest vs more optimal timings, some of which is personal preference.

- Ferment: 2 weeks minimum (I tend to leave mine for 3 as it ensures the fermenation has fully finished and allows the yeast to clear up after itself).
- Cold crash: Not absolutely necessary so can be skipped. Ideally, put in a cold place for a couple of days (I leave mine for at least a week) which will help clean the beer up and allow a lot of sediment to drop out of suspension.
Note: both fermentation time and cold crashing time can depend on when you dry hopped.
- Bottle: Leave somewhere warm for 2 weeks to carbonate.
- Condition: Leave them somewhere cool for another 2 weeks minimum. Beer changes massively over time so be prepared to wait a few weeks or months before it's at its best. It can be quite enjoyable to see how the beer evolves though, so don't be put off drinking a beer early on. But if it's not quite the best, try again in another couple of weeks. I've got some stuff coming good after a year that was awful when young.

 

[phildo79]

Stick to the guidelines, as much as you can, that came with the kit. They are there for a reason. They are not arbitrary. The more experience you gain, the more confident you will become about tweaking things.

 

[terrym]

Stick to the guidelines, as much as you can, that came with the kit. They are there for a reason. They are not arbitrary. The more experience you gain, the more confident you will become about tweaking things.

Kit instructions are usually geared to suggesting you can drink your beer sooner rather than later, so that it attracts people who know nothing about brewing to have a go, to give the impression that you can be drinking pub quality beer in days rather than weeks or even months. We know that doesn't happen and so it usually means that those who follow the instructions to the letter can end up drinking kit beer that is not ready, possibly not finished in primary, undercarbed, cloudy and especially not given enough time to mature. As @Bezza has suggested a much better way forward as a start point is the basic 2+2+2 minimum period method which many homebrewers on this forum use as far as I can see and also suggest to newcomers, noting that in some cases manufacturers times can be longer in some phases e.g Youngs AIPA. Doing this stands a much better chance of giving a better finished product. Certainly experiment later on as confidence and experience grow but use the 2+2+2 as a basis not accelerated kit instruction timings.

 

[phildo79]

Beginner kits rarely taste like the real deal. Regardless of how long you give them. If the instructions say it's ready to try after 4 weeks, then the difference in quality from 4 weeks to 8 weeks to 12 weeks is minimal, in my experience. Granted, IPA's are a little different in this regard but even those kits by Youngs tell you to drink them between the 3 and 4 month timeframe. I have made them in the past and they do lose flavour quite quickly after the 4th month.

Like Michael Jackson (not that one) says, if a beer is ready to drink, do it a favour and drink it. IPA's are best drank when they are fresh. So to the OP, I would say to pop one when the instructions say it's ready. If you think it's a decent enough replica to the original, crack on. If not, leave it another week and try again until you're happy.

 

[Craig007red]

Thanks for the replies folks, all taken on board.aunsure....

 

[GerritT]

Regarding bottling: it's clearer when quietly transferred to a bottling vessel and left for another day. It just is.
Regarding drinking: you gonna try it anyway after 10 days in the bottle, who are we kidding. It's an IPA and I suggest drinking it between 2 weeks after bottling and 12 weeks.
How is the smell?

 

[Craig007red]

Regarding bottling: it's clearer when quietly transferred to a bottling vessel and left for another day. It just is.
Regarding drinking: you gonna try it anyway after 10 days in the bottle, who are we kidding. It's an IPA and I suggest drinking it between 2 weeks after bottling and 12 weeks.
How is the smell?

As things stand in the fermentation vessel it smells ok, but its my first ever brew, so I've nothing to gauge it against really!

 

[phildo79]

If it's a dry hopped kit, chances are it'll smell great. But have a little taste when you're bottling up. Whilst it can taste a bit rank and still turn out well, if it tastes good at that stage, you know you're onto a winner.