Tips for 2nd brew?

[lambono]

Hi All,
Ok so my first batch of beer is conditioning nicely, so to take my mind off drinking it before it is ready I'm going to get straight into my second brew.
I was hoping some of you could help out with a few questions I thought of as I was going through the first batch.

Note. This is just using the beer kits.

* To stir or not to stir? #1 -
Ok, so once all the water has been added to the fermenting bin and it is nicely mixed with the kit ingredients it is time to add the sachet of yeast. Do you just let the yeast sit on the top of the mixture or do you stir it in.

* Closed lid on fermenting bin
During primary fermentation, do you keep the lid tightly sealed on the fermenting bin. I don't have an air lock so I'm guessing it would need to be opened every now and again to let the CO2 vent, though I don't want to let any air round the beer that might contaminate it. Any thoughts on this?

* To stir or not to stir? #2
Should you stir the beer during primary fermentation every few days or should you just leave it be?

* Suck the tube
So after all the thorough sterilization, is it OK to just suck the end of the syphon tube to get the beer flowing when bottling?

* Space in the bottle
When bottling for 2nd fermentation / conditioning, how much space do you need to leave at the top of a 500ml glass bottle, 2 litter plastic bottle or 2 Gallon pressure barrel.

* Any other tips?

Thanks!

 

[phettebs]

Hi All,
Ok so my first batch of beer is conditioning nicely, so to take my mind off drinking it before it is ready I'm going to get straight into my second brew.
I was hoping some of you could help out with a few questions I thought of as I was going through the first batch.

Note. This is just using the beer kits.

* To stir or not to stir? #1 -
Ok, so once all the water has been added to the fermenting bin and it is nicely mixed with the kit ingredients it is time to add the sachet of yeast. Do you just let the yeast sit on the top of the mixture or do you stir it in.
<I rehydrate the dry yeast, pour it into the FV, and stir it up well>

* Closed lid on fermenting bin
During primary fermentation, do you keep the lid tightly sealed on the fermenting bin. I don't have an air lock so I'm guessing it would need to be opened every now and again to let the CO2 vent, though I don't want to let any air round the beer that might contaminate it. Any thoughts on this?
<I keep mine closed up tight with an airlock. Once fermentation starts, you get a nice blanket of CO2 covering the beer that will help to keep nasties out. I know some people who just lay the lid on top of the FV and do not close it up. Yes, if you seal it without an airlock, it will blow. I've had airlocks clog up and they blew off the FV along with the lid. A mess you do NOT want to clean up!>

* To stir or not to stir? #2
Should you stir the beer during primary fermentation every few days or should you just leave it be?
<You do not want to introduce oxygen after a certain point during fermentation. If you watch the fermentation go via a glass FV, you will see it is quite active and "stirs" itself. However, one of the ways to try to restart a stuck fermentation is via stirring gently. I would say under normal circumstances, you should not need to stir after mixing in the yeast.>

* Suck the tube
So after all the thorough sterilization, is it OK to just suck the end of the syphon tube to get the beer flowing when bottling?
<I would not do it but other do and have had no problems. I use an autosyphon tube that does it for me.>

* Space in the bottle
When bottling for 2nd fermentation / conditioning, how much space do you need to leave at the top of a 500ml glass bottle, 2 litter plastic bottle or 2 Gallon pressure barrel.
<When I bottle, I use a bottling wand with a spring tip on the end. I push that to the bottom of the bottle and fill to the very top. When I remove the wand, whatever displacement the wand had is the space I'm left with. Works well for me.>

* Any other tips?
<Have fun and enjoy the obsession!>
Thanks!

 

[WelshPaul]

* To stir or not to stir? #1 -
Ok, so once all the water has been added to the fermenting bin and it is nicely mixed with the kit ingredients it is time to add the sachet of yeast. Do you just let the yeast sit on the top of the mixture or do you stir it in.

I stir mine as much as possible before adding the yeast. The aim is to introduce as much oxygen as you can to the wort so that the yeasts have a healthy supply. You can stir it for a little while just after introducing the yeasts, but once fermentation has begun, you DO NOT want to introduce any oxygen to the beer as this will cause some unpleasant tastes in the finished product.

 

[lambono]

Thanks guys!
Great to get those clarified.
No doubt I have I will have a few more queries before brew No 3 but that should certainly help me on my way for number 2.

Any more thoughts on the amount of space at the top of bottles?

Cheers

 

[Brewedout]

I leave about 20 to 25mm from the top of the bottle.

When using syphon tubing just fill it with some boiled water to about the half way point, let this drop into an,empty cup or similar and this will draw your beer through without the need to contaminate with your mouth

 

[Hollow Legs]

I always have a videne mixture in a spray bottle so if I do need to suck the syphon at any stage I wait until it is half way down the tube, stop it with the tap, spray with videne mixture on it and that should kill the nasties.

Also not a great fan of sprinkling the yeast and just leaving it to do it's own thing as I did it a couple of times as a trial and it just sought of made a yeast cake on top, no Fermentation until I stirred it so might as well do it at the start in my opinion.

 

[lambono]

I rehydrate the dry yeast

Please enlighten me. Does this mean you add the yeast to some warm water before adding it to the FV? What's the advantage of this?

I leave about 20 to 25mm from the top of the bottle.

And is this the same for the 1litter sparkling water bottles? Just don't want any explosions!

Thanks!

 

[Brewedout]

I leave this space for any bottle above 500ml without any issues, BUT my bottles are all suited to purpose i.e. ex beer bottles for beer, ex wine bottles for wine. The amount of priming sugar, and whether your brew has finished primary fermentation will also decide if your bottles become explosive.