Sam's first beer kit

[Swancu]

Hi all,
I'm new to brewing and could do with a bit of help

I've purchased one beer kit (burton bridge bitter) and been given one for Christmas (John Bull IPA). I think I'm going to do the IPA first but I have several questions
Both 40 pint kits.

I've read a few posts but I'm not sure how to treat my tap water (Birmingham by the way...)
Should I boil it (if so, for how long)?

Or should I add half a campden tablet to it and then just boil the 4 pints (or so) that it says to mix with the cans contents ?
How long do I leave it sit with the tablet in ?

I don't have a heating mat / belt so I was planning on putting the FV on the dining room table next to a radiator. House doesn't drop much below 19degC or above 22. But I guess it might be better to put it on the cupboard on the landing next to the central heating thermostat for the house ?

Not sure what I'm going to do when I put it in a pressure barrel as it says I should put it somewhere cold... Maybe the shed ?

I'm sure to have more questions but thanks for any help

Sam.

 

[Green Ninja]

Hi Sam,

I'm in Kidderminster and I think you'll find the water in this area pretty good without having to worry about treating it.

I've never treated any of my brews (not even campden tabs) and have never had an off taste in kits or AG.

As for the pressure barrel I've always left it in a warm place for a week then stuck it in the kitchen. Not a cold place but the beer seems to condition ok.

Your place for fermentation sound good. Around 19 - 22 is perfect. What you don't want is the temp getting up more than that as this can impart nasty flavours to the beer, slightly cooler is ok, it'll just take a little longer to ferment out.

Hope this helps you mate,

Terry.

 

[carl_saint]

If you have some campdens then just crush a whole one and Bosch it in the you FV at the start before you add anything else. Cant hurt even if tour water is good quality! That way once you start adding hot water it will dissolve.

 

[Swancu]

Right, I'm encouraged, thanks for the replies

Bit more info / questions... Sorry it's so long but hopefully it will help others

for the IPA I have:
VinClasse Brewing & Wine Making Sugar 1Kg

for the Burton bridge bitter I have:
Glucose Powder (dextrose monohydrate) 1kg

Relevant kit that I have...

Youngs Fermentation Vessel (bucket) 25 Ltr (tight fitting lid but no tap or airlock)

Ritchie 5 gallon wine fermenter has:
screw top, no airlock (but I guess I could drill it and fit one)
no tap - but it has an area where one could be fitted

Balliihoo 5 Gallon Pressure Barrel / Beer Keg With LCD Temperature Indicator (has tap)
2" Pressure Barrel Cap With Full 8 Gram CO2 Injector System & Co2 Bulbs

I've also been given another pressure barrel that has a similar looking injector system but neither have a pressure release valve / system (should they have one ?)
--

So, I'm planning to clean the Balliihoo barrel and bucket, fill the barrel with cold tap water, boil a kettle full of water for the can.

mix the can in the bucket with the hot water, let the cold water drop from the tap into the bucket (to aerate it?) - wait for it to reach the correct temp (from instructions then add the yeast (will have to read about that too)

Seal the lid on the bucket (do I need to let the gas out every day or so ?)...

--
Then I'll have a question or two about the pressure barrel e.g. how do I know when to use a CO2 bulb ?

 

[Swancu]

OK, so, I decided not to treat the tap water, just cleaned everything and went for it.

Mixture got to 18 deg C and I took a hydrometer reading of 1.042.
Added the yeast as instructed and gave it a stir then place the lid on, didn't clip it down as I read other posts and they said if it doesn't have an airtrap then we need to allow the gas out.

Hope it doesn't try to escape from the bucket in the night :O

I've put my temperature sensor from my weather station next to the bucket so at least I'll know it's max & min temperatures until I can get one of those digital temp' strips for it.

Thanks again

 

[Swancu]

No problem of it escaping the bucket, the yeast doesn't appear to have got going yet
Is that normal ?

It's been at 20°C since I put the yeast in at 10:30pm last night
When I've done wine it was bubbling away within hours....

 

[andyd]

Give it 36 hours, it'll be looking lively by then :)

 

[carl_saint]

+1 on giving it time!

Started a Canadian Blonde last week and it took nearly 48 hours to get going but then it went crazy!

 

[Swancu]

thanks guys

Any ideas on the two questions below ?
Although I've got a few weeks to wait before it goes in the barrel :whistle:

Cheers

Balliihoo 5 Gallon Pressure Barrel / Beer Keg With LCD Temperature Indicator (has tap)
2" Pressure Barrel Cap With Full 8 Gram CO2 Injector System & Co2 Bulbs

I've also been given another pressure barrel that has a similar looking injector system but neither have a pressure release valve / system (should they have one ?)

how do I know when to use a CO2 bulb ?

 

[Swancu]

I've just taken a reading... 1.008 @ 21°C
Instructions say to wait until I get a reading of 1.006 or below for two consecutive days. Shouldn't be long before I can barrel it

Need to get more steriliser first :shock:

 

[Green Ninja]

Doubt it'll drop lower than that.

I've never had one drop that low ever.

I'd say it's ready now. Do another test tomorrow and if still the same jobs a goodun.

 

[eggman]

thanks guys

Any ideas on the two questions below ?

Balliihoo 5 Gallon Pressure Barrel / Beer Keg With LCD Temperature Indicator (has tap)
2" Pressure Barrel Cap With Full 8 Gram CO2 Injector System & Co2 Bulbs

I've also been given another pressure barrel that has a similar looking injector system but neither have a pressure release valve / system (should they have one ?)

how do I know when to use a CO2 bulb ?

I use 8grm bulbs, the valve is all in one. The rubber band on the outside round the top is the pressure relief valve, and the rubber band on the inside is for the gas in.
When the gas in the keg is getting low the flow will slow down, this is when you will need to use a bulb. Make sure you do it before the tap glugs air back into the barrel as this will lead to oxidisation of your brew.
While your brew is fermenting take some time to have a read up on setting your barrel up properly ie putting vaseline on the seals and not over tightening the tap
:

 

[Swancu]

Thanks again
Have prepared the barrel and got steriliser. Was going to barrel it tonight but when it said priming sugar I thought that was brewers talk for sugar that primes your barrel ready for the beer :S

So, priming sugar is special... :?

Can I use 60 grams of normal white sugar ? :shock:

Thanks :)

 

[StrangeBrew]

Thanks again
Have prepared the barrel and got steriliser. Was going to barrel it tonight but when it said priming sugar I thought that was brewers talk for sugar that primes your barrel ready for the beer :S

So, priming sugar is special... :?

Can I use 60 grams of normal white sugar ? :shock:

Thanks :)

80 grams of sugar dissolved in a small amount of hot water and then added to the barrel just before the beer goes in is what I do for a 5 gallon barrel.

White sugar, Brewing sugar or Dry malt extract can all be used to prime... any of them will be fine...

:

 

[StrangeBrew]

--
Then I'll have a question or two about the pressure barrel e.g. how do I know when to use a CO2 bulb ?

After the barrels primed and been left in the warm for a week, move it to a cool place to condition... no need for Co2 yet...

Once you have started drinking the beer, depending on how fast you drink, the natural pressure will gradually reduced and the beer flow start to dwindle. This is the time to add Co2... I usually have to add one bulb just after the barrels about half empty occasionally a 2nd bulb when it's down to the last gallon....

:

 

[Swancu]

Thanks

I'll give it a bash then... The bit I might have trouble with is putting it in a cool place, the house is never below 18°C, in fact, SWMBO loves this new brewing hobby as I'm less likely to sneak the central heating down a notch or two :twisted:

I'll pop a thermometer in the cupboard under the stairs (it has a few airbricks in there) and see what it's like, otherwise it would have to be the shed, I'd call that cold not cool, it's ranged from -5°C to +10°C this week :shock:

 

[Swancu]

Well, it's only 15°C in the cupboard under the stairs, is that going to be cool enough ? :?

Where do the rest of you put your beer to condition / finish brewing ?

I loosened the top on my barrel a little and it has plenty of pressure in there now

 

[Green Ninja]

Leave it to condition at 15 degrees.

It'll be ok. I leave mine in the kitchen and that's about 18 and mine's always ok.

 

[Swancu]

Just thought I'd pop back and say thanks for the help :

The brew went well and tastes pretty good but I can see why some people add hops to their kits.

Also, had a little accident with the barrel, seems that you can tell when it needs the gas because the beer slows to a trickle then takes a large gulp of air and blows beer all over the room :shock:


I'm going to start the Burton Bridge bitter next

 

[andylanc1975]

I'm going to start the Burton Bridge bitter next

I've just transferred my Burton Bridge bitter to the barrel, and have to say so far so good. One word of caution although others please feel free to correct me if I've done something wrong, however I found that the yeast on the bottom of the barrel (Admins/ clever people, correct word please?) wasn't as deep compared to the last kit I did (Woodforde's Wherry) and was a lot more easily disturbed into the beer. With the Wherry I could tip the FV to a fair angle before the sediment shifted, whereas the Burton required no hesitation to start shifting around. Upshot of all that is that more yeast has gone into the barrel than I would have liked so think that barrel is going to have to sit outside on the naughty step for a good month or so.

Having said that, the small amount I tasted off the top was outstanding, properly up my street as a session beer. Starting gravity 1038, eventually after 10 days in the FV the end gravity stabilised at 1010, a very acceptable 3.7% beer.

Good luck! :thumb: :