Getting ready for first bottling day.

[Redwulf]

My very first batch should be ready to bottle on Friday.

A nice crusty Krausen formed in the first 12-14 hours and fell away after about 36 hours. (I had a peek the first two days and then left it alone). Temperature wise its been around 20-22c so I am hopeful I've brewed something drinkable.

I have a couple of questions about bottling...

Firstly is it worthwhile taking Hydrometer readings Tomorrow and Thursday to make sure its done? if so should these be the same both days and ideally be in the green "bottling" band on the Hydrometer?

Secondly, I've got clean unused bottles, am I right in thinking these just need a rinse out with steriliser solution before I fill them?

Lastly, the kit I am using came with packet of priming sugar which I am to dissolve and then boil before adding to my clean bottling bucket, do I need to let this cool before siphoning the beer in?

If there are any other tips anyone can give me, I'd appreciate it.

 

[The Cat]

I am in the same boat although a week or so behind you.

Good luck! It's fun isn't it? I've got a bitter and a white wine in the FVs and just ordered a Belgian pale ale and a red wine.

 

[Redwulf]

I am in the same boat although a week or so behind you.

Good luck! It's fun isn't it? I've got a bitter and a white wine in the FVs and just ordered a Belgian pale ale and a red wine.

Its great fun, really looking forward to not running out of beer ever again :)

 

[pilgrimhudd]

My very first batch should be ready to bottle on Friday.

A nice crusty Krausen formed in the first 12-14 hours and fell away after about 36 hours. (I had a peek the first two days and then left it alone). Temperature wise its been around 20-22c so I am hopeful I've brewed something drinkable.

I have a couple of questions about bottling...

Firstly is it worthwhile taking Hydrometer readings Tomorrow and Thursday to make sure its done? if so should these be the same both days and ideally be in the green "bottling" band on the Hydrometer?

Secondly, I've got clean unused bottles, am I right in thinking these just need a rinse out with steriliser solution before I fill them?

Lastly, the kit I am using came with packet of priming sugar which I am to dissolve and then boil before adding to my clean bottling bucket, do I need to let this cool before siphoning the beer in?

If there are any other tips anyone can give me, I'd appreciate it.

Hello! Personally I believe in 'less is more' so I would check hydrometer on thursday and if its somewhere around what you think it should be go ahead and bottle. I don't like opening the fv more than I have to.

I usually clean bottles even if they are unused and then dunk in vwp, rinse well, dry and spray with starsan before bottling.

Yep dissolve priming sugar and boil for 10 mins, I used to let it cool a little bit, if you put it in the bottling bucket it cools pretty quickly though obviously.

Dont know if i have any tips, have a look on the forum, theres loads of different ways that people bottle, find a way that works for you, I prime each bottle because I got an infection from my bottling bucket but it was probably easier than what I do now. I have to say that bottling is my least favourite part of this hobby!

 

[cushyno]

Some good questions there @Redwulf .

I tend to take as few hydrometer reading as possible. If you have a good seal on the fermenter you can tell when mostly fermented by the amount of airlock activity, if not you'll have to check with a hydrometer for activity.
You don't state how many days this has been fermenting for. If it's over a week, take a hydrometer reading, then wait another 3 days to take another one. Some kits seem to take 2-3 weeks to fully ferment as they don't use the best yeast and may have been stored at less than ideal temperatures.

If your bottles were bought new, boxed and unopened, you should be fine to give them a quick rinse with a no-rinse sanitiser such as starsan or chemsan. If in doubt, use a steriliser or cleaning agent (VWP, oxy, bleach) and rinse thoroughly with tap water, then if you have it a final rinse with starsan/chemsan.

With the priming sugar, if you only boil it in a small amount of water such as 300ml, just sit the pan or jug in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes before pouring into the FV. To be honest, I'd be tempted to just pour it in not long after taking off the boil. As soon as you begin racking your beer into the bottling bucket the sugar solution will mix with the first few litres and be substantially cooled to a temperature survivable by the yeast in suspension in the beer. It'll be fine.

 

[Clint]

How long has it been in the fv?

 

[Cyberjip]

For sure sanitize your bottles.

My top tip for first time bottlers, practice your siphoning first with a container of water and a few bottles. Better to waste water practicing than beer that has taken weeks to create.

Also have a couple of towels handy
Good luck!

 

[Redwulf]

How long has it been in the fv?

11 days so far.

 

[Clint]

Sounds on track.

 

[Big-al]

Some good advice here thanks

 

[Redwulf]

Thanks for all the advice,

I've just taken the 1st Hydrometer reading and its a bit high.

O.g was in the 1.042-45 area and todays reading is 1.016 so thats about 3.5-3.7%. and I was expecting it to be in the 4.5% range.

Its was a Northern Brewer Kit which was slightly out of date. Specifically the malted grains were about 2 years past their best. The yeast was 6g muntons ale yeast which was supposedly good till the middle of next year and I pitched it when the Wort was around 23c and its been sat in the dark under the stairs where temp is a fairly constant 20-22.

The initial fermentation was rapid but then fell of quickly which from my subsequent research could have been because I didn't get enough air into the wort before I pitched.

Not sure what the next step is, give it a stir and see what happens?

Worse case I can see is I give it another week and end up with a session beer thats a bit too easy to drink.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

It's been in the fv for 12 days now? I have never done a kit before but as @cushyno said and I've heard others say, kits can sometimes take up to 3 weeks. Did you hit the correct fg? I would be tempted to leave it for another 4-5 days and check again.

 

[Redwulf]

It's been in the fv for 12 days now? I have never done a kit before but as @cushyno said and I've heard others say, kits can sometimes take up to 3 weeks. Did you hit the correct fg? I would be tempted to leave it for another 4-5 days and check again.

No, I think the correct fg should be 1.010 to give a 4.5% brew.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Sorry I meant the og.... duh!

 

[Redwulf]

Sorry I meant the og.... duh!

It was about 1.042-1.045, it was my first time using a Hydrometer so I wasn't very exact.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Ahh sorry I've just seen that you said what the og was already. I would just leave it for another few days and if nothing changes by all means give it a gentle stir.

 

[Redwulf]

Thanks, I'll test it again on Friday and if its still stuck I'll give it a swirl. Patience is a virtue :)

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Not one of mine and it can be tedious waiting. The one other thing I would suggest is that you could warm it a bit depending on the yeasts temp range, that sometimes kicks things off again.

 

[Redwulf]

Nor mine.

I've moved the FV up to the Airing cupboard where its a bit warmer, see if we can get the yeast going again.

As an aside am I right in thinking that the hydrometer reading of 1.016 suggests there are enough fermentables left to do the job and it should be able to get down to 1.010 or thereabouts?

 

[cushyno]

If the kit instructions suggested a final gravity of 1.010 then there will be enough fermentables left if you're still reading 1.016. It's just a question of your yeast being up to the job of converting it. If it became stressed at some point it may take a long time to finish or may have given up. Rousing the yeast may help. By moving the FV you may have roused it a little, but possibly a good stir with a sanitised spoon or paddle might be best.