I have finished brewing my very first batch of homebrew (an American Pale Ale from a kit)! I made the rookie mistake of following the kit directions and let the beer ferment only one week in the primary (no secondary), added the priming sugar that came with the kit, and bottled.
I was so eager to brew that I didn't have nearly enough glass bottles so the beer is spread across various vessels: half gallon growler, a gallon jug left over from some apple cider, ~10 beer bottles, ~24 plastic water bottles.
Everything was sanitized with iodophor and the beer had a good ABV before going into the bottle (4.56%, if I didn't screw up the measurements). I've been tasting the beer as it's been sitting around to make sure nothing went wrong, and I am happy with the taste (will definitely be doing 3 week primary next time).
The beer is finishing up its two week stint in the bottles, but it seems that some of the bottles have gone flat. One of the first bottles I opened about a week ago had a great head and good bubbles, but I opened one last night and it was completely flat (I was opening the ones from the plastic water bottles).
Do you guys think that the bottles are just letting the gas escape or could I have done something that threw off the process chemically? (for example maybe not stirring in sugar evenly enough)? The bottles are sitting in the basement where it stays pretty cool (low 70s), could it be they need more heat?
I would try to open a glass bottle, but I'm trying to save those so I can give friends to try and have it not look so ghetto...
I'm hoping to have enough glass bottles/growlers for next time so I don't have to use any plastic water bottles, but is there a consensus on whether plastic water bottles are a viable container?
Thanks!
I was so eager to brew that I didn't have nearly enough glass bottles so the beer is spread across various vessels: half gallon growler, a gallon jug left over from some apple cider, ~10 beer bottles, ~24 plastic water bottles.
Everything was sanitized with iodophor and the beer had a good ABV before going into the bottle (4.56%, if I didn't screw up the measurements). I've been tasting the beer as it's been sitting around to make sure nothing went wrong, and I am happy with the taste (will definitely be doing 3 week primary next time).
The beer is finishing up its two week stint in the bottles, but it seems that some of the bottles have gone flat. One of the first bottles I opened about a week ago had a great head and good bubbles, but I opened one last night and it was completely flat (I was opening the ones from the plastic water bottles).
Do you guys think that the bottles are just letting the gas escape or could I have done something that threw off the process chemically? (for example maybe not stirring in sugar evenly enough)? The bottles are sitting in the basement where it stays pretty cool (low 70s), could it be they need more heat?
I would try to open a glass bottle, but I'm trying to save those so I can give friends to try and have it not look so ghetto...
I'm hoping to have enough glass bottles/growlers for next time so I don't have to use any plastic water bottles, but is there a consensus on whether plastic water bottles are a viable container?
Thanks!