A few newbie questions..

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Canadabrew

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I'm only using 1 fermenter not two and am planning on leaving my beer in there for 3-4 weeks.

1. What is conditioning of beer? Is this letting the beer sit in the bottles for a further week before putting it in the fridge? Should I put it in the same temperature that I fermented in? 68 degrees.

2. When the fermentation period is over and I'm measuring specific gravity. If I extract some liquid and test it in a tube should I then put the beer back into the bucket or is this a no no so as not to infect brew?

3. What is the general consensus on bottling with glass bottles or plastic PET bottles or is it just personal preference.

4. I've read a lot about making a yeast starter, I just used the one that came with the kit.. Will this be OK?

Thanks!
TC
 
Conditioning is letting your beer carb up. A good minimum is 3 weeks. 4 - 6 is ideal.

Do not put your sample back into the bucket. Suck up the loss of beer instead of potentially infecting the rest.

I do glass all the way. I've heard people have had good results with PET and that's cool. But I like glass.

Yes it will be fine. You typically need starters if a) You're brewing more than 5 gallons at a time b) You're brewing a higher gravity beer or c) If the quality/viability of the yeast your using is in question.

But typically you should be okay. So Relax. Don't Worry. And Have a Homebrew.
 
1. Your beer is going to take at least a week to carb up after you put it into bottles. Most likely longer. Bottle condition would be leaving the beer out for weeks or even months after you bottle before drinking.

2. There is a risk of infection or even slight oxidation, however both are very small if you follow good procedure. Why not just drink it?

3. Most people use glass bottles, but PET plastic bottles are acceptable as well.

4. With dry yeast, people seem to state that a starter is not necessary. However it is a good idea to rehydrate in warm water before pitching. With liquid yeast, a starter is helpful, but not 100% vital. When making a high gravity beer a starter becomes more necessary.
 
Canadabrew said:
I'm only using 1 fermenter not two and am planning on leaving my beer in there for 3-4 weeks.

1. What is conditioning of beer? Is this letting the beer sit in the bottles for a further week before putting it in the fridge? Should I put it in the same temperature that I fermented in? 68 degrees.
- Conditioning is another term for 'aging'. Let the beer sit in the bottle for 3-4 weeks at 70 degrees - see sticky about bottle conditioning under bottle / keeging; a lot of great info

2. When the fermentation period is over and I'm measuring specific gravity. If I extract some liquid and test it in a tube should I then put the beer back into the bucket or is this a no no so as not to infect brew?
- Big no-no. Just drink it and experience all aspects of brewing. Don't expect much since it hasn't been carbed or conditioned. It still tastes good, it's beer after all

3. What is the general consensus on bottling with glass bottles or plastic PET bottles or is it just personal preference.
-Glass. PET are good for ball games etc, but I would carb / condition in PET - again, search PET and there are a lot of topics that cover this.

4. I've read a lot about making a yeast starter, I just used the one that came with the kit.. Will this be OK?
- It will be fine. Yeast starters are great for liquid yeast, but don't get over your head too fast.

Good luck, welcome to the addiction!!! Take your time, read a lot, have fun and most of all keep it simple!! :rockin:

Thanks!
TC
Click to expand...
1. What is conditioning of beer? Is this letting the beer sit in the bottles for a further week before putting it in the fridge? Should I put it in the same temperature that I fermented in? 68 degrees.
- Conditioning is another term for 'aging'. Let the beer sit in the bottle for 3-4 weeks at 70 degrees - see sticky about bottle conditioning under bottle / keeging; a lot of great info

2. When the fermentation period is over and I'm measuring specific gravity. If I extract some liquid and test it in a tube should I then put the beer back into the bucket or is this a no no so as not to infect brew?
- Big no-no. Just drink it and experience all aspects of brewing. Don't expect much since it hasn't been carbed or conditioned. It still tastes good, it's beer after all

3. What is the general consensus on bottling with glass bottles or plastic PET bottles or is it just personal preference.
-Glass. PET are good for ball games etc, but I would carb / condition in PET - again, search PET and there are a lot of topics that cover this.

4. I've read a lot about making a yeast starter, I just used the one that came with the kit.. Will this be OK?
- It will be fine. Yeast starters are great for liquid yeast, but don't get over your head too fast.

Good luck, welcome to the addiction!!! Take your time, read a lot, have fun and most of all keep it simple!! :rockin:
 
Thanks guys awesome advice. Best advice seems to be to relax.

I'm thinking I'm just going to start another batch as this clearly takes some time :)
Have a good night.
 

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