Viewing 27 posts - 1 through 27 (of 27 total)
  • Homebrew 'problem'
  • thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Made up a barrel of IPA on Friday night for the first time in ages, instructions called for 500g of malt and 300g sugar in 40 pints.

    All was going (very well) untill Saturday afternoon when the head started bubbling out of the lid*, lifting the spring valve to release some pressure resulted in even more head coming out, presumably as the barrel decompressed the bubbles were pushing the head out.

    Carried the barrel outside to the shed and wrapped it in a binbag (to keep any further mess in) and an old douvet (to keep it warm). Now it’s settled down again and only lets out a brief hiss if the valve is lifted (the spring cant be more than a fraction of a psi).

    So, either the valve is doing it’s job and it’s still bubbling away nicely in there, or I’ve killed it, or it did all it’s fermentation in 24h. Seems unlikely, room/water temp was about 20-21C when I added the yeast, and the kit recomended 20-25 (18 mi 27 max) with a brewing time of 4-7 days over that temperature range.

    What do you reckon, is it still worth bottling?

    *I was cheating and doing it in the pressure barrel as I inteded to bottle it and thought it could avoid having to dick about with the syphon. How it’s getting through the O-ring seal I’ve no idea. Next time I’ll not be lazy and buy a tap and airlock kit for the fermentation bin.

    Haze
    Full Member

    Most of mine are usually a bit manic for the first couple of days, it’ll creep down to FG over the last few days.

    Assuming you get it below 1010 and it doesn’t taste like vinegar (run a sample off before you bottle the lot) it’ll be fine.

    Garry_Lager
    Full Member

    Sounds in rude health that – would bottle without any worries. Prob bring it back into the house if you haven’t already.

    btw, You don’t need an airlock if you’re fermenting in a plastic bin – waste of time IME. A tap, though, is v useful.

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    allthepies
    Free Member

    You’re fermenting in a pressure barrel with the lid screwed down and relying upon a pressure relief valve* to vent the gas produced ? 😯

    * A valve that may get gunked up with the krausen from the fermentation.

    john_drummer
    Free Member

    Or a richie fermenting bin with an airlock.

    sounds fine. Might be a tad on the warm side for it to be as exuberant as that but should calm down soon enough. If in doubt get a builder’s trub that’s bigger than the fermenting bin and stick the bin in that to catch any overflow

    john_drummer
    Free Member

    Btw, ignore what the instructions say regarding brewing time. It’s done when it’s done and the only way to check that is with a hydrometer. Same reading, under 1012 for 3 consecutive days = finished

    purpleyeti
    Free Member

    whats was the kit also? if it was a standard one can kit the added fermentables seem a little on the low side.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    whats was the kit also? if it was a standard one can kit the added fermentables seem a little on the low side.

    Coopers brewmaster IPA, that’s what the instructions said, although thinking about it it is low, most kits ask for 1kg of sugar one way or the other. A bit of googling suggest some people puting almost double that in the same kit.

    No hydrometer, I usualy just press the lid down on the fermenting bin every 24h to expel some gas, then put it in the pressure barrel as soon as it no longer poops up. Although with te pressure barrel I was just going to wait untill I lifted the valve and didn’t get a hiss.

    I doubt it’ll be alllowed back in the house, might have to invest in a heater and thermostat for the next batch.

    BenjiM
    Full Member

    For bottling get a little bottler, great piece of kit and you don’t have to worry about syphoning. There’s no need to keep expelling gas from the fermentation bin itself I’ve found, it will do it over time. If it’s a bit chilly I have a cheap aquarium heater set at 22C which is great. Only about a tenner of ebay.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    There’s no need to keep expelling gas from the fermentation bin itself I’ve found, it will do it over time.

    It’s not to expel the gas per-se, just a rough way of observing the end of fermentation as it won’t pump up again when there’s no more CO2 being produced.

    Haven’t seen those little bottlers before, neat idea! Anyone know if they’re available to fit on a standard homebrew tap seeing as I’ve already started? I was just going to get a bit of hosepipe.

    singletrackmind
    Full Member

    Last time I looked hose pipe didnt have ‘Foodsafe’ stamped on it.
    why not make asimple air lock bubler ? place long length of hose into a tall container and watch as the bubbles fizz out ? Much safer than relying on a 1/4″ PRV that will be filled with protein. I sort of get the whole doing it in 1 bucket thing, but if its going like a train and popping the l;id, Why would you insulate it? To keep the heat in so it goes even faster?
    300gm is alot of sugar too, but its easy accessable for the yeast ( mono sacchaerides) so quick boost for ABV.
    Just check it every 24hrs with you saccheromometer. Watch for the temp to start to drop and the fermantation slowing. Allow to cool naturally or force chill from 1014 if not priming , or maybe 1009 if screwing around with priming suagrs.
    HTH

    BenjiM
    Full Member

    The little bottler comes with a tap they’re usually less than a tenner online or at your lhbs. They have a button on the bottom that releases your hooch when it touches the bottom of the bottle and stops when you remove it. The great thing is you don’t need to keep turning the tap on and off. Just because the top isn’t bulging doesn’t always mean its finished. It could just have slowed right down. As others have mentioned make use of the hydrometer. You can get handy apps like abv calculator to work out your alcohol content easily.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Bottled it after 4 days, probably a bit quick, but no exploded bottles yet. Bought a hydrometer for the next batch, and a tap for the bottom of the fermentig bin, so no more blocked PRV’s!

    Got one more kit to do for christmas but I was thinking of doing some from scratch rather than kits as well. Does anyone brew in ~10pint batches? I was thinking that rather than making 5 gallon batches, that took three months to condition, and another three to drink, I could have a batch of something different every fortnight, and I already have a suitable 2 gallon pan with a built in collinder!

    davidrussell
    Free Member

    do a search for the “brewers of STW” thread mate, tons of good advice in there from some accomplished brewers (i don’t include myself in that category 🙂 )

    allthepies
    Free Member

    Refractomoters can be had fairly cheap and are a whole load easier to use than the hydrometer faff.

    and a tap for the bottom of the fermentig bin, so no more blocked PRV’s!

    Yay!

    Got one more kit to do for christmas but I was thinking of doing some from scratch rather than kits as well. Does anyone brew in ~10pint batches?

    I did do a few 1 gallon brews a few years ago and fermented in a demijohn. But given the time to make such a small batch I decided that I might as well do large batches instead.

    I was thinking that rather than making 5 gallon batches, that took three months to condition, and another three to drink, I could have a batch of something different every fortnight, and I already have a suitable 2 gallon pan with a built in collinder!

    Three months to condition ? Do you only brew 7% monster brews 🙂 Three weeks would be more like it IMO.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Three months to condition ? Do you only brew 7% monster brews Three weeks would be more like it IMO.

    I always found it tasted much better the futher into the batch I got, so this time I’m determined not to start it untill Christmas! Tasted a bit out of the fermenter, a bit watery/bland but hopefuly that’ll improve.

    irc
    Full Member

    Coopers brewmaster IPA,

    That’s my standard brew. A very active start to fermentation is normal. I tend to make mine up to around 10% less volume than suggested. Even with the level in the bin that much lower it sometimes overflows. I use standard buckets with the lid seal broken just enough to let the pressure escape. I leave it for 10-14 days before bottling. Longer than needed but I reckon it lets more of the yeast drop out of solution. Final gravity around 1004.

    duckman
    Full Member

    Right,thats it. Somebody point me in the direction of everything I need to get started. A checklist would also be great.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Most of this you can get form wilkinsons, or your local homebrew store (google for one, there’s one hidden away in the dodgy area of most towns, a bit like going to halfords or LBS)

    Equipment
    1x fermentation bin 25l, with a lid (about £12)
    1x little bottler (about £12, i don’t have one but know I know they exist I’m wondering how I cope)
    (drill/holesaw/whatever to make the right sized hole in item 1, for item 2)
    Hydrometer (about a fiver, I’ve always done without, but probably a good idea)
    Thermometer (as above, you know when it’s too hot/cold/about right, but it means you can join in on discussions about the relative merrits of fermeting at 18C or 19C, it’s the tyre pressure of the homebrew world)
    About 40 empty beer bottles (freecycle, friends, hang arround the recycling bins)
    Capper (about £12)
    Caps
    Sterilising powder
    A big metal/plastic spoon

    Ingredients
    1x single can kit, or a double can kit, this will be a big can of what looks and smells like marmite, and a sachet of yeast, and maybe a sachet of hops.

    Appropriate ammount of “brew enhancer” or “spray malt” or “malt extract”, it’s called various things, but it’s really just beer/marmite tasting sugar. Most kits call for either a kilo, or 500g + 300g normal sugar, or more, check the lable on your kit. If it’s a double can kit you probably don’t need any more malt/sugar.

    That’s it.

    The only thing you can do wrong is not be clean enough, getting bacteria in the brew is pretty much the only thing you can do to f*** it up. So be absolutely retentive about sterilising and cleaning stuff, the fermenter, the spoon, the can opener, the hydrometer, the bottles, whatever you measure with.

    Only other tip is to work quickly, the normal process is:

    Sterilise and rinse everything

    Stand the can in a pan of hot water to soften the goo inside

    Boil another 6 litres of water in a big pan

    Pour can contents and water and sugars/malt into fermenter

    Top up with cold tap water, hopefully the resulting temperature is 18-25C, add the yeast and get the lid on. Once the yeast is in the yeast is fermenting its alcoholic (and therefore antibacterial). If it’s too cold at this point the yeast will take a while to get going and it’s not antibaterial quickly enough, too hot and it’ll kill the yeast.

    I prefer bottles, as once you start drinking from a barrel, however careful you are topping it up with CO2, air gets in and it spoils quickly. Great if you want a keg for a party though. The other downside it it’s all or nothing, bottles seem as likely as kegs to spoil, but you’ve got 40 bottles to spread that risk over.

    BenjiM
    Full Member

    I started with one of these, which are pretty good value to get you started. Wherry is a good brew too. The only extra sugar you need is for bottling/kegging, usually about 80g for a keg or half a teaspoon for a 500ml bottle. They do have bottle options for these kits however beer tends to mature better in bulk. I’ve been using Brewferm (Single can) kits of late, smaller batches 9 – 12l, and a very long maturing time generally, but they’re really worth the wait.

    Most of the British 2 can kits are being made by Muntons now and they’ve had a recent reputation for being a bit slow. I had an Olde Home Wrecker that took a month to get to FG, a bit frustrating for a 4.2% beer.

    Also when you get into it and are bottling a lot, a rinser and bottle tree are worth the investment, pretty cheap too. Try and get hold of a rinse free steriliser as that can make life easier too.

    john_drummer
    Free Member

    I’d add another fermentation vessel and a big long plastic spoon to that list. Ditch the sterilising powder and use beer line cleaner and/or Starsan instead.

    second fermenter is to rack the fermented beer into a few days before bottling. Isinglass finings help to clear the beer quicker too.

    sterilising powder is often chlorine based. If you don’t rinse thoroughly some can be left behind and produces phenols when fermented. Think germolene or TCP flavours in your beer. Not nice

    I siphon my beer rather than using a tap at the bottom of the fermenter, to avoid disturbing the yeast sediment. Little Bottler works with siphon tubing too.
    stick on thermometers are useful too.

    irc
    Full Member

    Somebody point me in the direction of everything I need to get started.

    http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/kits.htm

    Loads of ideas on the site.

    I’ll second the suggestion upthread of stick on thermometers. Let’s you keep and eye of temps without having to open the lid to take a temp.

    I use about 8-10L of still spring water along with tap water when making a brew. Either Tesco or Asda at around £0.19 for 2L. May not make any difference but on the theory that reducing the amount of chlorine in the brew water can’t do any harm.

    When making up the brew check the temp when it’s about 2L from the mark. Lets you fine tune the temp by adding boiling water or ice if it’s too hot or cold.

    john_drummer
    Free Member

    oh yeah, I forgot the Campden Tablets. One crushed into the water before every brew if using tap water

    duckman
    Full Member

    Thanks, just bought the St Peters IPA(I would drink it anyway)I also like the bottled water tip as well,cheers.

    jpacey
    Free Member

    Ive been tempted to give this a try for a while but have too many bad memories of home brew from when my mates made it when we were teenagers!
    Can you really make some great tasting beer at home? what types tend to lend themselves to home brewing and the inexperienced home brewer

    Cheers

    northernmatt
    Full Member

    Right that’s it, I’m going to dig my bucket and make up the Milestone kit I’ve had sat around for months this weekend and get it on the go. Been putting it off for ages.

    john_drummer
    Free Member

    Can you really make some great tasting beer at home?

    yes you can

    Kits are the easiest way to start. Some kits produce better results than others. There are one-can kits that require added sugar or spray malt (dried malt extract), and two-can kits that don’t need any extra sugar.
    Bulldog Brews are new-ish on the market and the concentrate comes in a plastic pouch rather than one or two cans. Some newer styles to the market too such as American IPAs

    For one can kits I’d stick to Coopers. Advantage to this brand is it can be found in larger Tesco stores – you can buy a pack containing everything you need to get started, including the bottles.
    One and Two can kits can be found in Wilkinsons.
    If you have a Local HomeBrew Shop that’s any good, it’ll stock all the above kits, and grains, hops and all the equipment necessary to brew from grain (known as All Grain or AG brewing)

    For best results, IMO, you can’t beat All Grain – but for many people starting out this is often too complicated and the extra equipment needed over kit beers can make it too expensive to even consider.
    However, once you’ve tried AG, you may never go back to kit beers. I have done a mighty total of 2 kit beers since I started AG brewing nearly 3 years ago. One was an experiment with cleaning solutions, the other simply said “try me” (it was a Bulldog Brews kit. Turned out ok but probably would’ve been better with a separate yeast – Safale US05, the same yeast as used in Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from California – rather than that supplied)

Viewing 27 posts - 1 through 27 (of 27 total)

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