First kit (Blonde) Finished, what are your tips?

[The__Brit]

Greetings,

So I just bottled my very first beer.
It came from a Kit (Refinery - 1Gallon Blonde Ale) which I got from goodwill for $12 and, while the basics are included there seemed to be a lot missing, like the instructions... those I managed to cobble together from a few videos.
I need to go back and type them up properly.
I recorded the whole process and will edit it and post it on YouTube later this week.
I did learn a few things though. Like, you need at Least a 2 gallon boiler for a 1 gallon product (or 2 1 gallon boilers, LOL )

When it came to bottling, I felt a little lost though.
The basic instructions just say "Bottle". But when you look online, people syphon the beer into a plastic bucket (with a spigot!) which they "prime" with a boiled water solution? Whats that about?.
Once bottled, how long does one let it sit?
From what I gather, beer straight fresh from the fermenter seems to have a slightly unexpected taste profile?.

I did order a hydrometer from Amazon today, that was missing from my kit. I thought about just using an aquarium one, but doing the conversion between the measurements is just too much hard work. Plus, a reasonable Hydrometer is about the same price anyway.

 

[hotbeer]

Once bottled, how long does one let it sit?

For carbonation, maybe as little 4 or 5 days. For taste, anywhere from 2 weeks to several months. I usually try one at one week. Then every week or so till they have what you think is the best taste and then enjoy them as fast as you want. I try to hold back a few beers to see what they are like when months older. Type of beer matters. As well, how good you were at minimizing O2 getting into the beer as you take it out of the FV and bottle it will be in play too. So if it quickly goes downhill and starts tasting like cardboard or no hop notes at all, then you know O2 was likely a culprit.

As for the instructions or lack of instructions... There are all sorts of ways to make beer. From very simple to very complicated. Kits many times give you the simple instructions. And following those will work. But when you need to know what and why something happened different than before, it's good to know the SG's, temps and other things we do that fill the conversations here. As well, some of us enjoy doing the extra stuff because it makes or makes us believe our beer is that much better. Or we just enjoy the extra efforts or the science behind them.

 

[RM-MN]

Here's a good way to start your brewing of beer.

www.howtobrew.com

While this edition of the book is free thanks to the generosity of John Palmer, newer versions are better but are not free.

 

[The__Brit]

For carbonation, maybe as little 4 or 5 days. For taste, anywhere from 2 weeks to several months. I usually try one at one week. Then every week or so till they have what you think is the best taste and then enjoy them as fast as you want. I try to hold back a few beers to see what they are like when months older. Type of beer matters. As well, how good you were at minimizing O2 getting into the beer as you take it out of the FV and bottle it will be in play too. So if it quickly goes downhill and starts tasting like cardboard or no hop notes at all, then you know O2 was likely a culprit.

As for the instructions or lack of instructions... There are all sorts of ways to make beer. From very simple to very complicated. Kits many times give you the simple instructions. And following those will work. But when you need to know what and why something happened different than before, it's good to know the SG's, temps and other things we do that fill the conversations here. As well, some of us enjoy doing the extra stuff because it makes or makes us believe our beer is that much better. Or we just enjoy the extra efforts or the science behind them.

how good you were at minimizing O2 getting into the beer

Ooh, thats an interesting titbit.
I mentioned Priming when the beer was syphoned, but when I came across those articles, I didnt see anything about being "gentle" and not letting any O2 enter the beer as it was transferred.
Interesting, Ill have to read up on that one. Thank you.

 

[AlexKay]

Things to keep in mind about the bottling process:

• Sanitize everything that is going to touch your beer. Beer is not quite as prone to infection as wort is, but it is certainly possible to spoil a batch at this point in the process.
• "Natural" carbonation means you use the CO2 from fermentation to carbonate the beer. If you're bottle conditioning, this means sealing the beer (which still contains live yeast) in a bottle with a measured amount of "priming" sugar. (Measured, because too much fermentation means too much CO2, which can make bottle bombs.) You can weigh out sugar directly into individual bottles, use carbonation "drops" which are pre-measured for you, or mix the beer with a sugar solution. This last is usually done in a bottling bucket to ensure good mixing, and to provide a spigot to bottle from.
• Once the bottles are sealed, two weeks at room temperature is probably a good starting point for conditioning. Sometimes it can be faster. Slower is not uncommon. It's a squirrelly process.
• Oxygen is the enemy at this point. When you're moving beer around (fermenter to bucket, bucket to bottles), try to do so gently. This is also a great reason to boil the priming sugar solution -- boiling drives out dissolved oxygen from the water.
• Beer out of the fermenter is warm and uncarbonated. If you're bottle-conditioning, there will be further metabolic activity by the yeast. Time in the package, especially at room temperature, also changes flavors. Most beers will be far from their best right out of the fermenter. Over time, you may be able to calibrate yourself so that you can taste it and have a decent idea of what it's eventually going to turn into.

 

[hotbeer]

• Beer out of the fermenter is warm and uncarbonated.

I'm going to disagree with that particular statement. It's got dissolved CO2 in it. If there is enough turbulence in the flow or agitation then it will bubble up or even foam up as the CO2 comes out of solution.

 

[mac_1103]

people syphon the beer into a plastic bucket (with a spigot!) which they "prime" with a boiled water solution? Whats that about?.

As mentioned, the priming solution is about giving the yeast something to eat so they will carbonate your beer. If you skipped that part your beer will be flat. Transferring to a bottling bucket is about getting the beer away from the sediment so you can mix the priming solution in well. The spigot is optional (you can siphon into the bottles) but does make things easier.

edit: there are lots of other ways to approach bottling, including ways of adding the priming sugar to individual bottles; plenty of ways to skin this cat.

Beer out of the fermenter is warm and uncarbonated.

I'm going to disagree with that particular statement.

OK, it's warm and undercarbonated. Which is definitely going to affect the way it tastes and make it hard to judge how the beer turned out, especially for someone who's never tasted beer straight out of the fermenter before.

 

[The__Brit]

Thank you all,
Some great info there.
I suspected the sugar solution was simply to add carbonation, but I wasnt 100% sure and didnt want to assume anything.
This first batch is an 'ale' so Im guessing its supposed to be less carbonated. 2 more days and I can crack one open and see what Iv got.
To be honest, Im excited to find out how it went so I can open my Octoberfest kit.

 

[mac_1103]

You might find this calculator helpful. Scroll down for carbonation guidelines by style, but remember that they're just guidelines. Carbonate your beers the way you like them. And keep in mind that most regular beer bottles shouldn't be trusted to handle the higher levels for some styles. Safety first.

Bottle type ​	Max. CO2 Volume ​
12oz​	3​
33cl Belgian​	3.5​
500ml European​	3.5​
Swing top​	4​
Champagne​	7​
PET​	10​

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Thank you all,
Some great info there.
I suspected the sugar solution was simply to add carbonation, but I wasnt 100% sure and didnt want to assume anything.
This first batch is an 'ale' so Im guessing its supposed to be less carbonated. 2 more days and I can crack one open and see what Iv got.
To be honest, Im excited to find out how it went so I can open my Octoberfest kit.

Congrats, you’ve made beer!

 

[Tonybrews]

Greetings,

So I just bottled my very first beer.
It came from a Kit (Refinery - 1Gallon Blonde Ale) which I got from goodwill for $12 and, while the basics are included there seemed to be a lot missing, like the instructions... those I managed to cobble together from a few videos.
I need to go back and type them up properly.
I recorded the whole process and will edit it and post it on YouTube later this week.
I did learn a few things though. Like, you need at Least a 2 gallon boiler for a 1 gallon product (or 2 1 gallon boilers, LOL )

When it came to bottling, I felt a little lost though.
The basic instructions just say "Bottle". But when you look online, people syphon the beer into a plastic bucket (with a spigot!) which they "prime" with a boiled water solution? Whats that about?.
Once bottled, how long does one let it sit?
From what I gather, beer straight fresh from the fermenter seems to have a slightly unexpected taste profile?.

I did order a hydrometer from Amazon today, that was missing from my kit. I thought about just using an aquarium one, but doing the conversion between the measurements is just too much hard work. Plus, a reasonable Hydrometer is about the same price anyway.

Hi Brit
Just like you, I have my first batch down , bewn down for a week now , going to try a bottle tomorrow , I used a Tynside brown ale pack and bottled ( hopefully) with 100g of dry hops citrus US , and because I'm using 750ml bottles dropped 2 x sugar drops in each bottle , the wife loves cook with a beer so I gave her one the other day and said when you want to use it let me open it ( she didn't) she opened it in the kitchen and WOOSH , she won't do that again , anyway the ale I'm trying for is a hoppy Newcastle brown , I might have stuffed up my putting 2x sugar drops in , didn't want it too fizzy , I likable of fizzy but also like it flat , we'll see