What's your least favourite thing about brewing?

[MyQul]

I really hate cleaning my FV's

 

[BeerCat]

After my first time bottling with Grolsch bottles yesterday, bottling. Removing the tops and washers, using the cleaner/steraliser, rinsing, Starsaning, refitting tops and washers and then finally filling the bottles. Took for ever

I never remove them and not had a problem yet. I just rinse them and sterilise as a normal bottle.

 

[Deadhead]

I really don't like making yeast starters, really because I loathe DME. That stuff always seems to get all over my countertops and my scales and the sides of the flask. Yuck!! It is so sticky and gross and just when I think I've wiped it all up, I find more. I'd really like to find some of those tinned worts for starters like they have in America. Or I should probably make some up myself and store in kilner jars. Eww, lots of malt extract at once!

 

[MyQul]

I really don't like making yeast starters, really because I loathe DME. That stuff always seems to get all over my countertops and my scales and the sides of the flask. Yuck!! It is so sticky and gross and just when I think I've wiped it all up, I find more. I'd really like to find some of those tinned worts for starters like they have in America. Or I should probably make some up myself and store in kilner jars. Eww, lots of malt extract at once!

Just use your own wort. You have to plan one brew ahead though as you need time for the starter to ferment out. So you portion off 2L of wort from a brew, ferment out your starter in it, stick it in the fridge until the next brew then chuck the starter in that. Bingo - no DME

I no chill, so I portion off the wort, ferment out the starter for 2 days whilst the wort is cooling then pitch the fermented out starter into my now cool wort

 

[GHW]

Just use your own wort. You have to plan one brew ahead though as you need time for the starter to ferment out. So you portion off 2L of wort from a brew, ferment out your starter in it, stick it in the fridge until the next brew then chuck the starter in that. Bingo - no DME

I no chill, so I portion off the wort, ferment out the starter for 2 days whilst the wort is cooling then pitch the fermented out starter into my now cool wort

Or steep some grain. I don't mind using dme

 

[SkyStar]

I'm the only one here who likes to clean and sterilize very well the FVs and the equipment?XD

 

[Pope]

I've made just the one brew...which was from a beer kit.

The worst thing was cleaning out the FV afterwards. Pouring out about 25L of water, was a nightmare...Water all over my kitchen top, floor, pants and socks.

 

[nigelnorris]

Sore patch on the inside of my thumb from screwtop PET bottle caps. Even through layers of towels the friction after tightening 40 odd bottles is enough to be irritating. First kit I did I didn't realise and screwed them all down with my bare hand, couldn't hold a pen for about a week after.

 

[JonD_87]

I've made just the one brew...which was from a beer kit.

The worst thing was cleaning out the FV afterwards. Pouring put out about 25L of water, was a nightmare...Water all over my kitchen top, floor, pants and socks.

Once I have an empty (dirty) FV, I fill it up in the bathtub using the shower attachment with some oxi. Leave it for about an hour and all the crud comes off with a gently wipe. Much easier to tip out the water into the bath too.

 

[MyQul]

Sore patch on the inside of my thumb from screwtop PET bottle caps. Even through layers of towels the friction after tightening 40 odd bottles is enough to be irritating. First kit I did I didn't realise and screwed them all down with my bare hand, couldn't hold a pen for about a week after.

Time to go glass and get a capper?

 

[nigelnorris]

Time to go glass and get a capper?

Not for me, the positives of PET bottles outweigh the negatives. I make wine too and I've even stopped using glass for that.

 

[MyQul]

Not for me, the positives of PET bottles outweigh the negatives. I make wine too and I've even stopped using glass for that.

I went from coopers PET to glass about 15 months ago. I bought a bench capper about a week ago too.

I found with my coopers PET either the oxy-barring wasnt as good as it advertises or I wasn't/couldn't screwing the caps down tight enough, as after a couple of months conditioning my beer was starting to oxidise

 

[Pope]

Once I have an empty (dirty) FV, I fill it up in the bathtub using the shower attachment with some oxi. Leave it for about an hour and all the crud comes off with a gently wipe. Much easier to tip out the water into the bath too.

This is a great idea...simple too.

 

[nigelnorris]

I went from coopers PET to glass about 15 months ago. I bought a bench capper about a week ago too.

I found with my coopers PET either the oxy-barring wasnt as good as it advertises or I wasn't/couldn't screwing the caps down tight enough, as after a couple of months conditioning my beer was starting to oxidise

I keep my beers for a year quite often and still enjoy them, wine at least a year. Horses for courses of course, most likely I don't have the palate to spot the flaws but if I'm missing something I'm happy to trade for the convenience.

Here's something interesting about PET which I've learned as a consequence of making sparkling wine in Coopers 500ml bottles. It's monumentally unlikely you'll ever get one explode on you [short of the bottle being faulty]. I use 100g of sugar per gallon for priming and have never had one even warp or distort let alone actually break. Hard like bricks they are but no problems yet. They're a lot stronger than they look, and you'd have to have a monumental beer priming cockup to get anywhere near that pressure.

Which, in a vain effort to make it look like my posting is still on topic, eliminates at least one least favourite thing, bottle bombs.

 

[chuffer]

Once I have an empty (dirty) FV, I fill it up in the bathtub using the shower attachment with some oxi. Leave it for about an hour and all the crud comes off with a gently wipe. Much easier to tip out the water into the bath too.

Me too....though I like to back it up with a bleach solution too....after my last brew I got sick of running up and downstairs to the bathroom and so have recently upgraded my sanitization zone / ice bath location from the bath to a large plastic 135l container from Argos ....£30 but it's massive with a lid and I can just leave it outside and hose it down/sanitize as necessary

 

[Richie_asg1]

Me too....though I like to back it up with a bleach solution too....after my last brew I got sick of running up and downstairs to the bathroom and so have recently upgraded my sanitization zone / ice bath location from the bath to a large plastic 135l container from Argos ....����£30 but it's massive with a lid and I can just leave it outside and hose it down/sanitize as necessary

Good excuse for an outside hot tub.

Actually.....:hmm: How close is a hot tub to a mash tun ? :grin:

I'm starting to dislike DME for it's stickyness. That and spilt wort on the floor. I hate sticky floors!

 

[stevey]

I hate the sticky kitchen floor, and SWMBO moaning at me until I get the mop and flash out.

 

[Robin54]

This is a great idea...simple too.

I do exactly the same...works well

 

[MyQul]

Good excuse for an outside hot tub.

Actually.....:hmm: How close is a hot tub to a mash tun ? :grin:

I'm starting to dislike DME for it's stickyness. That and spilt wort on the floor. I hate sticky floors!

I dislike it for starters for this reason too, as well as the cost. I've fairly recently started, for the past few starters/yeast culture step ups, to use my own fresh wort rather than DME. If I dont need it straight away I put in a tuppaware box and freeze it.

 

[rubby]

It does't get any worse than cleaning afterwards. Nobody Surely likes that!