My first brew...i've started ! (but have some more questions)

[RichardM]

thanks again OFAP

you mention "A risk with bottling from FV is that you get true from FV bottom into bottles."

true ?????
are you referring to sediment ?

i am brewing in a traditional FV bucket with a tap low down for taking SG samples and was planning to use the bottling wand from that

can anyone share approx how much *rubbish* you typically get at the bottom of the FV please ?

I expect autocorrect changed "trub" to "true". It's the spent yeast and anything carried over from the boiler. I use a flat bottomed stainless steel stock pot to ferment in, about 30litre volume for a 20l batch. I get about one centimetre of trub.

 

[Old Fart At Play]

you mention "A risk with bottling from FV is that you get true from FV bottom into bottles."

true ?????
are you referring to sediment ?

Oops! I meant trub ie gack

 

[shd]

Oops! I meant trub ie gack

no worries, thanks OFAP

 

[Haversham]

Thanks haversham

My St Peter’s ruby ale says 4-6 days and then bottle !!!!

My 3rd brew is St Peters Ruby Red too. I think it’s in Week 7 now (in plastic King Keg barrel), and I’ve not yet thought about sampling it. I fermented for 2 weeks, cold-crashed for 2 days, then barrelled with about 80g of priming sugar dissolved in a little warm water. After 2 weeks at room temperature I put it in my very cool garage (talking temperature, not hipster appeal). If you want, I can have a little sample tomorrow and report back.

 

[Haversham]

can anyone share approx how much *rubbish* you typically get at the bottom of the FV please ?

It’s a controversial topic but look up 'cold crashing'. Again, I’m a very new brewer so cant pretend to be an expert. But the idea is that a rapid drop in temperature for a day or two will draw the sediment to the bottom of the FV, thereby reducing the amount of residual gunk you transfer to bottle or barrel. I’m fortunate that our domestic fridge is big, and allows me to fit my FV in at the bottom, with a bit of reconfiguration. I've found that when I take it out, the trub is in a pretty solid layer, about a half inch thick, at the bottom, and stays there as I siphon out the beer.

 

[shd]

It’s a controversial topic but look up 'cold crashing'. Again, I’m a very new brewer so cant pretend to be an expert. But the idea is that a rapid drop in temperature for a day or two will draw the sediment to the bottom of the FV, thereby reducing the amount of residual gunk you transfer to bottle or barrel. I’m fortunate that our domestic fridge is big, and allows me to fit my FV in at the bottom, with a bit of reconfiguration. I've found that when I take it out, the trub is in a pretty solid layer, about a half inch thick, at the bottom, and stays there as I siphon out the beer.

interesting, thanks Haversham
by all means take a sip and let us know how its turned out
so many options and approaches....cold crash before bottling/kegging, bottle and leave in warm before cooling, syphon vs tap and plenty more

i guess it would be a dull hobby if there were only 2 approaches

 

[Haversham]

so many options and approaches....cold crash before bottling/kegging, bottle and leave in warm before cooling, syphon vs tap and plenty more

i guess it would be a dull hobby if there were only 2 approaches

Dead right. I did a lot of online reading (much of it on this forum) + watched a ton of YouTube videos. I also asked several rudimentary questions here which you'll see if you search. And I still know very little. But I do know that my first two brews -- one in barrel, one in bottle -- are really very acceptably tasty. Re the St Peter's, sure, I will have a taste tomorrow and let you know. Now that I've got home and had a chance to check my spreadsheet, I see that it's actually in Week 9, not 7, so I think a first sample is overdue.

 

[shd]

Dead right. I did a lot of online reading (much of it on this forum) + watched a ton of YouTube videos. I also asked several rudimentary questions here which you'll see if you search. And I still know very little. But I do know that my first two brews -- one in barrel, one in bottle -- are really very acceptably tasty. Re the St Peter's, sure, I will have a taste tomorrow and let you know. Now that I've got home and had a chance to check my spreadsheet, I see that it's actually in Week 9, not 7, so I think a first sample is overdue.

GET IT TASTED HAVERSHAM !!!!

 

[shd]

Dead right. I did a lot of online reading (much of it on this forum) + watched a ton of YouTube videos. I also asked several rudimentary questions here which you'll see if you search. And I still know very little. But I do know that my first two brews -- one in barrel, one in bottle -- are really very acceptably tasty. Re the St Peter's, sure, I will have a taste tomorrow and let you know. Now that I've got home and had a chance to check my spreadsheet, I see that it's actually in Week 9, not 7, so I think a first sample is overdue.

hey Haversham, have you managed to taste the fruits of your labour yet ?

 

[Haversham]

hey Haversham, have you managed to taste the fruits of your labour yet ?

Yes, I had the chance last night. It’s nearly ready but not quite. It still has a bit of that homebrew 'twang.' Not a lot but it’s there. I’ll leave it another couple of weeks and try again.

 

[Siscokid85]

Hello mate.

Good choice on the brewzilla, I think if I had my time again, that's the route I would go down.

I think going for an aio to start with is a good idea, I assume you have done a kit or two, but if not I don't think it is the end of the world. Just more to learn in one go.

I brought a peco boiler and a big nylon bag to start then done 15-20 ag brews with it before I moved on to an aio.

I made some really good brews on it and dialled in the process pretty good for what I consider a fairly sketchy set up (high range of variables). When I moved to an aio I still had to dial that in with my recipes /efficiencies so I would say the only benefit of my initial set up was to work out I enjoyed the hobby before investing too much money and I can still use it as a sparge water heater so not really wasted any money.

The purpose designed aio does make life easier and does cut the brew day time slightly though.

Temperature control is very important but sounds like you have this already, so all good.

My advice would be to do an AG kit first, less variables for your first brew and greater chance of ending up with something drinkable in the end. Crossmaloof do some great kits and if you are only buying one then they are probably the best value out there.

Personally, i would stick with a 19l /20l batch, the difference in time invested in a brew day for a 5l stove top batch and a 20l batch is minimal, I see it as bang for your buck in terms of time and effort. If you keg or bottle it wont go off, in most styles the longer you condition the better it is I find. Also this time of year you might have guests that will help you out with it!

Certainly give the aio a good clean / trial run / get to know how to use it with water in it etc. Use pbw or similar (I'm using chem clean that seems as good but much more reasonably priced).

With regards to kegging/bottling. If I was still bottling 20l at a time, I don't think I would still be brewing, it is a laborious task. But there is nowt wrong with it. As for kegs get a corny keg (or 2!) from naked keg on Ebay, I have found them really good, may as well spend £20 more for a new / reconditioned one than buy one with leaks/ problems. Get a party tap to start. Then some gas, I use Adam's gas off internet, they have agents in most regions I think. Gas and regulator are the expensive bit, but that's all you need to start you can add as you buy more kegs / secondary regulators / get more fancy taps.

But other than that I would say dive in, you will learn by doing, and if you get something drinkable from your first brew then I would consider it a success. If it goes down the drain... well you will work out the mistake and you will know what not to do next time round!

I done hours of YouTube research before my first brew and I think it helped no end, not all that you see on there is 100% correct but if you watch enough you will get to know what the majority do!

All the above is just my opinion, opinions.... they're like ar*seholes... everyone has them and none are wrong! Just wanted to throw some positivity out there and say go for it. Really look forward to hearing how you get on! All the best.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I've never heard of anyone putting petroleum jelly on to make a better seal. PET bottles (except for the colour and shape) are the same as soft drinks bottles. I've never picked up a bottle of coke from the back of the cupboard that was flat. .

Pro tip for using PET bottles. When filled, tighten the cap a bit, then squeeze all the air out of the bottle so the liquid comes up to the top. Then seal it properly. Beer will last many many months in the bottle normally, but much longer if you remove the oxygen (this is especially true for hoppy beers).

 

[Haversham]

hey Haversham, have you managed to taste the fruits of your labour yet ?

Update -- St Peter's Ruby Red tasted again a couple times this week and it's now very good IMO. This is after 12 weeks (with week 1 being the start of fermentation). I'm sure that it could be good before this but this is how it worked out for me. I used a different yeast from the one supplied which may have altered things. I also conditioned in/served from a King Keg pressure barrel rather than bottle. YMMV.

 

[shd]

Update -- St Peter's Ruby Red tasted again a couple times this week and it's now very good IMO. This is after 12 weeks (with week 1 being the start of fermentation). I'm sure that it could be good before this but this is how it worked out for me. I used a different yeast from the one supplied which may have altered things. I also conditioned in/served from a King Keg pressure barrel rather than bottle. YMMV.

Glad to hear @Haversham

What yeast did you use please for the record ?

 

[Haversham]

Glad to hear @Haversham

What yeast did you use please for the record ?

MJ Liberty Bell. No idea if that was a good idea or not but I thought I'd give it a go.

 

[shd]

MJ Liberty Bell. No idea if that was a good idea or not but I thought I'd give it a go.

Are your bottles in the cool now @Haversham or are you still keeping them warm ?

 

[Haversham]

Are your bottles in the cool now @Haversham or are you still keeping them warm ?

I've used a King Keg pressure barrel for storing the St Peter's Ruby Red. After 2 weeks fermentation + about 10 days carbonation at roughly room temp, I moved the keg to the garage where it's been ever since. It's cool in there at the best of times but for the last several weeks it's been positively icy in there. This may well have slowed down the natural processes of the beer conditioning but it doesn't seem to have damaged it in any way. It's drinking very nicely now and probably won't hang around much longer. The beer I bottled 12 weeks ago (Woodforde's Admiral's Reserve) has been in the garage ever since, I've drunk a few of them and that's also still going strong. Based on what people say, that should continue to last and even improve in bottle over a longer period.

 

[shd]

I've used a King Keg pressure barrel for storing the St Peter's Ruby Red. After 2 weeks fermentation + about 10 days carbonation at roughly room temp, I moved the keg to the garage where it's been ever since. It's cool in there at the best of times but for the last several weeks it's been positively icy in there. This may well have slowed down the natural processes of the beer conditioning but it doesn't seem to have damaged it in any way. It's drinking very nicely now and probably won't hang around much longer. The beer I bottled 12 weeks ago (Woodforde's Admiral's Reserve) has been in the garage ever since, I've drunk a few of them and that's also still going strong. Based on what people say, that should continue to last and even improve in bottle over a longer period.

thanks @Haversham
as i posted on another thread, i bottled on the 2nd Dec but was then on holiday which was the cold snap in the midlands and most other places too
i know the bottles had at least 4 days or so of decent ambient temperatures in the house but no idea what temps it dropped to for the rest of the time
from saturday 17th, the bottles have been kept around 19-20c so i'm just deciding when to move into the garage
i'll open one tonight but think its time to shift to the garage now

 

[Haversham]

thanks @Haversham
as i posted on another thread, i bottled on the 2nd Dec but was then on holiday which was the cold snap in the midlands and most other places too
i know the bottles had at least 4 days or so of decent ambient temperatures in the house but no idea what temps it dropped to for the rest of the time
from saturday 17th, the bottles have been kept around 19-20c so i'm just deciding when to move into the garage
i'll open one tonight but think its time to shift to the garage now

I'm no expert but for conditioning I would prefer cooler rather than room temperature.