Newbie - help needed please :)

[Pete7811]

Afternoon all,

I am very sorry for the silly questions here but really keen to get in to home brewing, if anyone could support with answering the below it would be a massive help.

1. I recently fermented my 1st beer kit which I have now bottled and is storing in a cool dark room for some weeks now however I did not take any readings (rookie error I know), is there a way of knowing the strength of the beer, possibly through a machine I could buy? I have tried googling but no much luck.

2. I watched a video where the bloke was saying that Munich malt, hercules hopps and S23 lager yeast makes a really nice beer, what proportion of each would be need to make 23L in my fermentation bucket.

3. I basically made my own fermentation heater for the bucket to go in and keep a stable heat which seemed to be great for my first beer kit but not the most professional, I have read plenty of threads in regards to what is the best to buy, although I am still confused which is the most cost effective buy to support beer and wine, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

4. What is the best way to store home brew, although on this occasion I have bottled my brew with plastic bottles, it doesn't look the most attractive. I thought about putting the future ones into smaller kegs possibly reusing uses from the shop, however I am not sure on how long it would stay good for if I was to do it this way?

Again, sorry for the all the questions and thank you for your support :)

 

[Banbeer]

1. I recently fermented my 1st beer kit which I have now bottled and is storing in a cool dark room for some weeks now however I did not take any readings (rookie error I know), is there a way of knowing the strength of the beer, possibly through a machine I could buy? I have tried googling but no much luck.

There's a gadget like a hydrometer that I've seen while looking at other things just put it in your brew and it floats like a hydrometer, can't remember where though, also you can buy test strips that change colour and you use a chart to determine the ABV

2. I watched a video where the bloke was saying that Munich malt, hercules hopps and S23 lager yeast makes a really nice beer, what proportion of each would be need to make 23L in my fermentation bucket.

Have a look at the one of the calculators off the forum, like 'Brew Builder' and put your details in the relevant boxes and it will give you ABV, colour and bitterness. This beer would only work if you can do Extract or All Grain tho'

3. I basically made my own fermentation heater for the bucket to go in and keep a stable heat which seemed to be great for my first beer kit but not the most professional, I have read plenty of threads in regards to what is the best to buy, although I am still confused which is the most cost effective buy to support beer and wine, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Personally I prefer brewfridges but I have lots of space, search the forum for heating, cooling there are lots of posts on this.

4. What is the best way to store home brew, although on this occasion I have bottled my brew with plastic bottles, it doesn't look the most attractive. I thought about putting the future ones into smaller kegs possibly reusing uses from the shop, however I am not sure on how long it would stay good for if I was to do it this way?

I've just turned to 19Litre cornelius kegs after using 5L minikegs (like you get beer in from supermarkets) and before that I used to bottle and hated the process and the space used, growlers are good for storing beer in, check out our forum sponsor Gareth from Dark Farm Dark Farm Hops

 

[Pete7811]

Thank you Banbeer for your time I will certainly have a look at the links :)

 

[Thenp]

Thank you Banbeer for your time I will certainly have a look at the links :)

Good luck am also a newbie to the home brew scene, unfortunately I can help you with any of your questions but wish you the best of luck

 

[Pete7811]

Thanks ThenP, Just read yours actually, sounds like you are a few weeks ahead of me I only bottled my 1st batch 4 days ago. Keen to try doing grain brew next rather than the packs, feels like I am cheating.

 

[terrym]

1. I recently fermented my 1st beer kit which I have now bottled and is storing in a cool dark room for some weeks now however I did not take any readings (rookie error I know), is there a way of knowing the strength of the beer, possibly through a machine I could buy? I have tried googling but no much luck.

2. I watched a video where the bloke was saying that Munich malt, hercules hopps and S23 lager yeast makes a really nice beer, what proportion of each would be need to make 23L in my fermentation bucket.

3. I basically made my own fermentation heater for the bucket to go in and keep a stable heat which seemed to be great for my first beer kit but not the most professional, I have read plenty of threads in regards to what is the best to buy, although I am still confused which is the most cost effective buy to support beer and wine, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

4. What is the best way to store home brew, although on this occasion I have bottled my brew with plastic bottles, it doesn't look the most attractive. I thought about putting the future ones into smaller kegs possibly reusing uses from the shop, however I am not sure on how long it would stay good for if I was to do it this way?

Again, sorry for the all the questions and thank you for your support :)

Just adding to what @Banbeer said
1. A hydrometer is good enough for homebrewing. Here's a guide
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...ic-gravity-using-a-homebrew-hydrometer.60895/Some homebrewers use refractometers but these require the reading to be adjusted as the fermentation progresses
2. Get hold of a book by Greg Hughes 'Home Brew Beer'. Plenty of recipes for different sorts of beer and importantly gives background to the brewing process.
3. I have a water bath in which I place my FV. It's functional and does the job except in the hottest months of the year. See here
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/how-to-set-up-a-water-bath-for-your-fv.66407/You don't have to spend a fortune or have equipment that doesn't look professional to brew good beer.
It's how you do it that matters
4. I use a combination of flip top glass and reused PET bottles from tonic water. The PET bottles might not look so good but you can squeeze the air out of them at bottling time to reduce the likelihood of oxygen spoilage. If you are thinking of using 5 litre minikegs/easykegs, those that have previously held commercial beer like Hobgoblin seem to have a limited life due to lining failure, but they are, after all, only intended as one trip. However there are more durable versions available to buy with dispensing systems. And my advice to anyone, although others may disagree, is don't buy a plastic PB they are subject to leaks and failures. I had four and the last one failed yesterday. If you want to store beer in volume one method that seems to be well thought of is a corny keg set up which apparently doesn't cost all that much more than the most expensive plastic PB.

 

[wheelsofsteel]

I don't so much like the effort of bottling but do enjoy admiring the end product with a nice label. It's the little things in life, but beerlabelizer for a minimal fee provide a good design portal and templates for bottles. You can see one in my avatar. Print, cut, mix some water and flour and you're all set

However, as others have mentioned, I also use corni kegs and have a couple of beer fridges, one with a couple of taps mounted on top with lines running inside so I can chill my beers.

If that's the way you want to go a diy job is cheapest, but there are assembled, commercial ones too which look nice.

Anyway, good luck and if I could impart some advice it would be don't over think it and keep it simple.

Good luck.

 

[Pete7811]

Thanks Terry for such a detailed response, I have added some comments below.

Just adding to what @Banbeer said
1. A hydrometer is good enough for homebrewing. Here's a guide
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...ic-gravity-using-a-homebrew-hydrometer.60895/Some homebrewers use refractometers but these require the reading to be adjusted as the fermentation progresses
I have just bought one if of these, although I am not sure it will work... TEKCOPLUS Optics Grape Wine Refractometer with ATC, Dual Scale 0-25% vol and Alcohol & 0-40% Brix, for Wine Making, Homebrew Kit, Winemakers, with LED light and pipettes:Amazon.co.uk:Kitchen & Home

2. Get hold of a book by Greg Hughes 'Home Brew Beer'. Plenty of recipes for different sorts of beer and importantly gives background to the brewing process. Great I will look to get that now,
3. I have a water bath in which I place my FV. It's functional and does the job except in the hottest months of the year. See here
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/how-to-set-up-a-water-bath-for-your-fv.66407/You don't have to spend a fortune or have equipment that doesn't look professional to brew good beer.
It's how you do it that matters That's also good to know, I guess like a brand of car I felt the performance would not be as good.
4. I use a combination of flip top glass and reused PET bottles from tonic water. The PET bottles might not look so good but you can squeeze the air out of them at bottling time to reduce the likelihood of oxygen spoilage. If you are thinking of using 5 litre minikegs/easykegs, those that have previously held commercial beer like Hobgoblin seem to have a limited life due to lining failure, but they are, after all, only intended as one trip. However there are more durable versions available to buy with dispensing systems. And my advice to anyone, although others may disagree, is don't buy a plastic PB they are subject to leaks and failures. I had four and the last one failed yesterday. If you want to store beer in volume one method that seems to be well thought of is a corny keg set up which apparently doesn't cost all that much more than the most expensive plastic PB.

Corny kegs were exactly what I was looking at, I have watched a few videos on how to set them up which seems fairly straight forward, it's just getting the understanding on how to operate the CO2 system correctly.

Thank you once again for your comments, doing something new like this can be daunting so without support from people in the forum I would have no hope.

 

[Pete7811]

Great replies so far, thanks again everyone.

 

[Pete7811]

I don't so much like the effort of bottling but do enjoy admiring the end product with a nice label. It's the little things in life, but beerlabelizer for a minimal fee provide a good design portal and templates for bottles. You can see one in my avatar. Print, cut, mix some water and flour and you're all set

However, as others have mentioned, I also use corni kegs and have a couple of beer fridges, one with a couple of taps mounted on top with lines running inside so I can chill my beers.

If that's the way you want to go a diy job is cheapest, but there are assembled, commercial ones too which look nice.

Anyway, good luck and if I could impart some advice it would be don't over think it and keep it simple.

Good luck.

Hi WheelofSteel,

Thanks for your comments I will certainly look at the labels, yours looks great. Conry keg does seem to be the most popular I just don't quite fully understand the operational process re the CO2 as of yet. In terms of the fridge, did you custom one yourself or buy one? I would quite like mine for my garden bar which I built. Also (stupid question in coming) how long does the beer last in kegs before going off.

 

[wheelsofsteel]

Hi WheelofSteel,

Thanks for your comments I will certainly look at the labels, yours looks great. Conry keg does seem to be the most popular I just don't quite fully understand the operational process re the CO2 as of yet. In terms of the fridge, did you custom one yourself or buy one? I would quite like mine for my garden bar which I built. Also (stupid question in coming) how long does the beer last in kegs before going off.

Hi Pete,

Re. the fridge or kegerator I think they're called; I made my own. Ebay'ed a fridge and bought some taps. Few holes drilled, taps mounted and you're done. You can also butcher it and just use the refrigeration hardware...

Co2 is simple enough and loads of articles around. Biggest challenge I found was finding a pub gas place. I now use one near Stoke. If you're near, PM me and I'll give you the details.

How long does it last. That's a tough one and one I don't get too fixated on. I treat beer like a food product in so far as, if I left tomatoes at room temp just sitting around they'll spoil a lot quicker than if I put them into a container and fridged them. However, longevity of beer will be more complicated as it'll be a function of numerous variables such as temp, style, ABV, sanitation-levels, etc. Style in itself will I'm sure have it's own derivation, especially when you get to lambics, sours and other types e.g. open-fermentation types. I'm going off on a tangent a little and not adhering to my keep it simple advice

Generally, I've had bottles of circa 5% that I've enjoyed years after bottling even in pet bottles. But that's me. I enjoy seeing how tastes develop, improve, decay, and it's gota be pretty bad for me to pitch.

It's also somewhat subjective, but a heavy stout or barley wine i'd imagine you'de want to give it time to develop > 6months. An easy drinking IPA a few months and probably at it's best circa a month or so but very enjoyable way beyond.

 

[Pete7811]

Hi Pete,

Re. the fridge or kegerator I think they're called; I made my own. Ebay'ed a fridge and bought some taps. Few holes drilled, taps mounted and you're done. You can also butcher it and just use the refrigeration hardware...

Co2 is simple enough and loads of articles around. Biggest challenge I found was finding a pub gas place. I now use one near Stoke. If you're near, PM me and I'll give you the details.

How long does it last. That's a tough one and one I don't get too fixated on. I treat beer like a food product in so far as, if I left tomatoes at room temp just sitting around they'll spoil a lot quicker than if I put them into a container and fridged them. However, longevity of beer will be more complicated as it'll be a function of numerous variables such as temp, style, ABV, sanitation-levels, etc. Style in itself will I'm sure have it's own derivation, especially when you get to lambics, sours and other types e.g. open-fermentation types. I'm going off on a tangent a little and not adhering to my keep it simple advice

Generally, I've had bottles of circa 5% that I've enjoyed years after bottling even in pet bottles. But that's me. I enjoy seeing how tastes develop, improve, decay, and it's gota be pretty bad for me to pitch.

It's also somewhat subjective, but a heavy stout or barley wine i'd imagine you'de want to give it time to develop > 6months. An easy drinking IPA a few months and probably at it's best circa a month or so but very enjoyable way beyond.

Hi WheelofSteel,

That is a huge help once again so thank you, I would love to see your fridge set up including taps, sounds like you have mastered the home set up and I like the fact you have done it yourself, I quite like to improvise and create something myself rather than to simply buy and pay over the odds for it.