My first brew. Just got couple questions

[Spudsy87]

Hello everyone. I currently have my first brew fermenting. It is a Muntons premium lager kit. I bought as it was fairly cheap and included everything I needed to get going and from here on will only have to buy my ingredients.

The brew is on day 5 of fermentation and the airlock is still bubbling so I plan to leave it till Friday and check it with the hydrometer. Ok here's my questions.

I plan to bottle in 2ltr PET bottles so how much sugar will I need to add to each bottle for a decent amount of carbonation?

Also when bottles are left in a warm place does the fridge count as a cooler place or is that going to be too cool?

Also it is my birthday 2weeks this weekend. Is there any chance it will be drinkable by then?

Many thank in advance and look forward to getting to know you all. :

 

[calumscott]

2l PET bottles - 14g each.

Cool place - do you have a garage? Somewhere around 10-13 degrees, same as a pub cellar really...

2 weeks time - erm, no. It may well be fizzy but it'll not be good.

Have a read of my "OMG" how to - should help you get your head round what's going to happen from this point on.

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[Spudsy87]

Thanks for the reply. No garage but got a couple of sheds. Or a downstairs toilet,its old brick work toilet (it's and old building).

I'm not too fussy if its not ready I'd rather wait and enjoy a better drink. Any suggestions for an Indian style lager like cobra?

 

[calumscott]

In that case, yes, leave it well alone (except for the one cheeky little bottle - do a few 500ml ones) as soon as it carbonates and clears. Quality control you see... You need to know what it is you're waiting for!

The only kit lagers I've done are Youngs Harvest Pilsner with dextrose (OK), Better Brew Czech Pilsner with Liquid Malt Extract (Really Good) and Better Brew Export Lager with Extra Light Dried Malt Extract (Exceptional).

The nearest of those to that Indian, overtly hoppy, style is probably the Better Brew Czech Pilsner.

 

[RobWalker]

pub lagers are basically ale the same so the subtle differences in different brands isn't easy to emulate in a kit. I'd suggest just trying different brands of kits and see what you enjoy. Coopers and Better Brew both make pretty good lager kits.

You can add Golden Syrup (1 tin in place of 300g sugar or so) for a San Miguel type beer, or you can add Saaz hops (they sell them in a Finishing Hops tea bag in a lot of home brew places) for a Stella type.

2 weeks is tough, but if you give the stuff you want to drink on your birthday 1 week in the warm and 1 in the cool from now, it'll probably be acceptable (clear, fizzy, not terrible.) On bonfire night, my brother racked a lager straight into a king keg from the FV, served it 2 days later using the S30 gas attachment, and the whole keg went before midnight...so whilst it's not desirable in the long run, I dont think you will struggle too much :lol:

 

[Spudsy87]

Ok mate cheers for the advice I will do a couple of little bottles then,will be nice to have something to try with my mates on the day.

so am I right in saying 3.5g sugar for the 500ml bottles?

 

[calumscott]

Yup. 7g/l will be nice and fizzy but not crazy. You will have to chill them before opening though, they could be lively at room temp. :thumb:

 

[RobWalker]

Yup. 7g/l will be nice and fizzy but not crazy. You will have to chill them before opening though, they could be lively at room temp. :thumb:

plus to get the co2 absorbed into the beer, giving it fizz instead of just pressure!

 

[Spudsy87]

Cheers for the post Rob. I've been looking at the king kegs so I might invest in 1 at some point. The bigger picture is to have a couple of brews on the go and supply myself with my own beer for the foreseeable future.

My next one once the lager is conditioning will probably be an ale of some sort.

 

[Spudsy87]

Nice one guys thanks for the swift replies will keep all posted on how it turns out. :thumb: :

 

[calumscott]

Kegs are good for ales but don't bother for lagers - they just will not get them fizzy enough. :thumb:

 

[Spudsy87]

Kegs are good for ales but don't bother for lagers - they just will not get them fizzy enough. :thumb:

This is what I found is the general opinion across the wide web while I was researching so I decided to go for the 2l bottles. I'm thinking they will be easier to store than loads of little bottles and make bottling a little bit quicker and easier.

 

[joe1002]

Cheers for the post Rob. I've been looking at the king kegs so I might invest in 1 at some point. The bigger picture is to have a couple of brews on the go and supply myself with my own beer for the foreseeable future.

My next one once the lager is conditioning will probably be an ale of some sort.

You have exactly the right idea, build up a stock then it will be easier to let it condition for longer, therefore taste better :thumb:

 

[RobWalker]

yep, they only supply mild fizz. they're hard to keep cool in the summer too. I still use 2L bottles for a lot of batches to be honest, aside from the fact you have to drink 3.5 pints at a time they're pretty solid! easy to bottle, transport, and can hold all the fizz you want. :thumb:

 

[Spudsy87]

Cheers for the post Rob. I've been looking at the king kegs so I might invest in 1 at some point. The bigger picture is to have a couple of brews on the go and supply myself with my own beer for the foreseeable future.

My next one once the lager is conditioning will probably be an ale of some sort.

You have exactly the right idea, build up a stock then it will be easier to let it condition for longer, therefore taste better :thumb:

Lets just hope I can hold out for this lager lol. I was quite surprised at how exciting some bubbles and gurgles in an airlock can be lol. The first 24 hours of fermentation was pretty violent. I was quite a lucky I couldn't sleep on the first night i started it. I came down stairs to a brew flooded utility room. Turns out there wasn't a lot of room left in the top of the fermentation bin and I had pushed the airlock in too far so some of the brew escaped

All is good now though

 

[Spudsy87]

Hi guys, im struggling to find time to bottle my brew at the moment. It has been in the fermenting bin for 11 days till now will it be alright till Friday when i will have more time as i dont really want to rush bottling incase i make a mistake.

Cheers :

 

[JulesRS]

It will be fine. Most people on the forum don't even touch their brew until 2 weeks in. Take hydrometer readings 3 days in a row. If they are all the same you should be good to bottle. Enjoy.

 

[RobWalker]

that's providing you made the kit up to 23L in a normal fermenting bin, so you only have a few litres headroom.

I'd left a 2 gallon brew in a 5 gallon fermenter once, and it went completely rank...

 

[Spudsy87]

Yes it's a 23 litre bin and there wasn't a lot of head room left in the top.

 

[Spudsy87]

Hey guys here is the bottled product. Finished up with 22 Litres of Muntons Premium Lager. Been out for a couple of days and now its going into a nice cool cupboard. It is already showing signs of carbonation, very much looking forward to trying this!

Next up is a 23 Litre batch of Wilcos own sweet newky brown which i will be putting in a pressure barrel.

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