Bottled my first homebrew!

[BurtConnor]

Hey guys.

Been wanting to start homebrewing for ages now, but never had the guts to get on with it. A short while ago I plunged in and have started my first brew and got it bottled on Saturday.

I bought a cheap Youngs kit off eBay to get me started. One of those that you add sugar to. I'm not expecting amazing results, but as long as it is drinkable, I'm happy!

I have made loads of mistakes along the way too -

• I tried to take my original gravity ready by putting the hydrometer in the fermentation bin.
• I took a reading every day, normally by dunking the trial jar in the brew.
• Used granulated sugar instead of brewing sugar.
• I bought those clear swing-top bottles from Ikea instead of brown bottles
• I've had a cold for the past week and needed to devise a no-suck way to get the syphon going.

Heres hoping that I get no bottle-bombs in the next couple of weeks!

While that is maturing, I'm planning my next brew. I am quite partial to wheat beer. I'm unsure whether or not to buy another tin and do it properly this time, or to go all in and mash my own hops and stuff like that.

Also need to get some better equipment. Like a wine thief and an auto syphon. Half wondering if there is a large water boiler with a decent thermostat that was suitable mashing. Keeping a stock pot at a constant 65°C for an hour-plus could prove too much for me.

Still have lots to learn. I'll give these forums a good read and hopefully I'll have a nice stockpile of homebrew in time for xmas!

 

[birvine]

Welcome to the hobby! We all have so much to learn, eh?

Might I suggest a good kit for your next batch and work on technique. Once you have it down, then move toward all-grain.

Either way, you'll still get beer.

B

 

[BurtConnor]

You pretty much summed up my thoughts there. I bought a book... Homebrewing by Kevin Forbes, I think, which suggests a better way to brew a kit. I was going to follow that next, and make sure I can repeat it 2 or 3 times.

Anyway, 20 x 1 litre bottles won't last long between family and friends, so I should be up and running with my next batch soon.

One thing I did do well was my note taking, and recorded any anomolies and techniques I used along the way. I think my beer started at around 1.040 and finished at around 1.006, but I found my SG readings were varied every day. the last few days it went down to 1.004 and rose again to 1.006, but I never took into account teperature.

What decent wheat beer kits can you think of? I was thinking of somethign like Munton's Wheat Beer, but mostly because I find the word Munton hilarious.

http://www.hopshopuk.com/products/v...r-kits/munton-s-connoisseurs-range/wheat-beer

Possibly using spraymalt instead of sugar.

Anyway, I have lots of shopping to do!

 

[unionrdr]

Sounds like you need to study basic processes more. Find a book on home brewing & give that a read. And read the stickies at the top of the forums. I'd do some extract kits to get a good process down before going on to steeping grains,mini-mashes & all grain.

 

[Germelli1]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Even if the first batch isn't great, it will be a good starting point on how to improve!

And don't sweat the clear bottles. As long as you store them correctly, the color of the glass does not matter!

 

[BurtConnor]

Tasting the beer when testing was certainly a positive. Tasted like beer. You could tell that it just needed a bit of time.

As for the storing the bottles, I've still got them 'somewhere warm' with a thick blanket over them to keep the light out. Can probably move them to the garage later though.

Got my next batch all planned now. I'll feel so much better about it next time as I'd feel I'd done it properly.

Overall, I'd describe the experience much like baking bread. My first attempt was god-awful, using scraps of information I'd pieced together. It didn't take long before I was teaching friends how to do it. If there is a problem that can't be solved using yeast, then it probably isn't worth solving.

 

[temptnmonkey]

Buy some beer and save the bottles (don't save twist off bottles). You can slowly wean out the clear ones.

I hope you know to not stick your trial jar/hydrometer into the brew now

Also, your inconsistent hydrometer readings might be because of airbubbles or the hydrometer resting on the side of the trial jar. When the hydrometer is in the jar, give it (the hydrometer) a spin so any airbubbles will be gone directly underneath the hydrometer (the bubbles can give a gentle raise to the hydrometer).

Keep reading through the forum (or howtobrew.com) and you'll pick up a lot of great advice.

Have fun!

 

[Germelli1]

Tasting the beer when testing was certainly a positive. Tasted like beer. You could tell that it just needed a bit of time.

As for the storing the bottles, I've still got them 'somewhere warm' with a thick blanket over them to keep the light out. Can probably move them to the garage later though.

Got my next batch all planned now. I'll feel so much better about it next time as I'd feel I'd done it properly.

Overall, I'd describe the experience much like baking bread. My first attempt was god-awful, using scraps of information I'd pieced together. It didn't take long before I was teaching friends how to do it. If there isn't a problem that can't be solved using yeast, then it probably isn't worth solving.

LOVE that! Good luck to you and keep us updated on your progress!

 

[BurtConnor]

I hope you know to not stick your trial jar/hydrometer into the brew now

Also, your inconsistent hydrometer readings might be because of airbubbles or the hydrometer resting on the side of the trial jar. When the hydrometer is in the jar, give it (the hydrometer) a spin so any airbubbles will be gone directly underneath the hydrometer (the bubbles can give a gentle raise to the hydrometer).

Yup! I didn't (still don't) have a wine thief. I'll be ordering one next. Along with an auto syphon, 23 litre carboy and my next batch. I'll then use my current fermenting bucket as a priming bucket as I didn't have a large enough vessel to d that, so just added sugar to my bottles.

I had given the hydrometer a spin in the trial jar, but not all the bubbles were off. Also, some days I left the hydrometer for 30 mins before taking a reading and got a much lower reading.

I've enjoyed it. Still not ready for an all grain, but I am looking forward to it when I do.

 

[temptnmonkey]

If you want to save a little money, you can just get a "beer only" turkey baster and sanitize in place of a wine thief. The auto-siphon will be a godsend, and the bottling bucket will be as well.

 

[the_Sliver]

I hope you know to not stick your trial jar/hydrometer into the brew now

Newbie question! How are you supposed to take a hydrometer reading without putting the hydrometer into the fermenter?

I was planning on sanitizing the hydrometer (the 'bobber') and placing it into the wort after 6 days to start the measurements before putting it into the secondary! How do you take the readings otherwise?

 

[Germelli1]

sanatize a turkey baster and suck up a smple (or two or three...however many times it takes to fill the hydrotube).

Or sanatize a cup (a measuring cup with a spout is best) and pour it into you hydro tube!

 

[jbsengineer]

Beginner question. Why is it bad to put the sanatized hydrometer directly into the wart?

 

[Germelli1]

Not bad, just unnesecary!

I can just take the bung out instead of removing the entire lid. (I drill all my lids to use universal stoppers...I have popped to many of those damn little black grommits through the hole when putting the airlock in).

For me all I do is take the bung off my bucket lid I fit my baster ($.75 at walmart) through the hole, suck up a sample, hit the bottom with a mist of starsan and replace.

Little stopper hole exposed vs entire surface of beer when entire lid off and touching who know what in my basment while I collect and read the sample

 

[the_Sliver]

Ahh... Yeah I had to take the whole lid off my beginner's bucket!

 

[1ratdog]

welcome to the addiction/hobby

 

[BurtConnor]

Beginner question. Why is it bad to put the sanatized hydrometer directly into the wart?

Not bad, just unnesecary!

Also, as I found out, it is very difficult to take an accurate reading through an opaque fermenting bin!

 

[PIGMAN]

Beginner question. Why is it bad to put the sanatized hydrometer directly into the wart?

They are extremely fragile, and if it breaks, kiss your brew goodbye. Transfer some of the wort into a cylinder, and take your reading there. It's too easy to break these things, even if you're careful. You can even use the tube that the hydrometer came in as your test cylinder.

 

[BurtConnor]

Couldn't wait 2 weeks for my first brew. Opened a half-bottle that I had prepared. It was very gassy, Had a nice colour. Flavour was good, but had a strong aftertaste (not unpleasant, but unexpected). I suspect that leaving to mature will help it settle down though.

 

[EROK]

If you want to save a little money, you can just get a "beer only" turkey baster and sanitize in place of a wine thief. The auto-siphon will be a godsend, and the bottling bucket will be as well.

Listen to me for a second, there are a lot of folks here that cheap out on things and then wonder why they can't get good results. I encourage the OP to read these forums and learn what the better brewers do, and copy that. In life and brewing there are no shortcuts, don't cheap out and do it the cheap way.

Save your money if you like the hobby and do it right, buying once you research the items that you need. What's cheap is not always the answer to what's best for you. This "hobby" is an investment for me. Do it right the first time. :rockin:

 

[temptnmonkey]

Listen to me for a second, there are a lot of folks here that cheap out on things and then wonder why they can't get good results. I encourage the OP to read these forums and learn what the better brewers do, and copy that. In life and brewing there are no shortcuts, don't cheap out and do it the cheap way.

Save your money if you like the hobby and do it right, buying once you research the items that you need. What's cheap is not always the answer to what's best for you. This "hobby" is an investment for me. Do it right the first time. :rockin:

While there are some items that inherently cost a lot of money (stainless steel kettles for instance), one item that that doesn't cost money is technique.

When you can accomplish the same thing (pipetting out a sample to perform a hydrometer reading) using proper technique with a cheaper item ("turkey baster") than an unnecessarily more expensive item ("wine thief"), I'd go for the cheaper item and use the saved money to buy more beer (or ingredients).

Granted this difference is only a few dollars (probably trivial), but I'm not sure I support the principle of "what's not cheap" being the right answer either. It's a tricky issue. Sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you get to pay twice as much with no return. I do support your idea to "research" though!

Anyway, to each their own. Drink on!

 

[BurtConnor]

Sorry to dig up my old thread, but I just thought I'd let you know the results.

I bottled my beer 3 weeks ago tomorrow. It is lovely and clear. Taste wise, it is good. It has a slight tang, which is down to the use of granulated sugar, I assume. If I was served it in the pub, I wouldn't mind. Probably order another pint, too! The only major downside is the carbonation.

I think the bottles I used are mostly to blame. Some of them pop when opened. Others appear to have no pressure at all. I'l get them replaced, but I'd like to make sure I keep to homebrewing first.

There is a fair amount of sediment at the bottom of each bottle. I guess this is because I only left it in the primary for around 10 days before bottling. I would say that I was on the side of 'too much sediment', if I'm honest.

I have planned my second batch and bought more equipment to help be a bit more prepared. I got me a wine thief, a new hydrometer (my old one, the paper guide inside was misaligned so it was always at a slant), a PET carboy to use as a secondary (really want to get rid of the sediment this time), auto syphon and a few other bits to help. Forgot to order a bottling cane, like a numpty though. Oh well!

I have one major problem though. I have 14 litres of homebrew left, and am eager to start my second batch. Would rather hold off buying more bottles for now, so need to get a wriggle on with the drinking!

One question I have: Where do you store bottles? And how? I was thinking a load of milk crates - Keep them safe and stackable too, but I'm not sure where to get one from! Actually, two questions. I read that wheat beer doesn't benefit from a secondary, but does it hinder it? I really want to get rid of this sediment. If a secondary can help, I'm all willing to give it a go.

Actually, that was 3 questions.

 

[unionrdr]

I wouldn't think it's the bottles. Sounds more like uneven priming to me. Did you bulk prime in a bottling bucket,or just add some sugar to each bottle? If you bulk primed,did you make sure the priming solution mixed evenly? Did you crimp the caps on all the way? I have videos in my profile if you'd like to see a bottling day. Maybe get some hints...

 

[tangofoxtrot308]

Buy glass bottles! 22oz bottles are about $1 a piece at my local store and 24 will hold 5gl. Also instead of brewing gallons of beer half a** save up couple hundred bucks buy a good kit and brew whole a**! Never understood why people jump in so unprepared but want excellent results?

 

[BurtConnor]

I wouldn't think it's the bottles. Sounds more like uneven priming to me. Did you bulk prime in a bottling bucket,or just add some sugar to each bottle? If you bulk primed,did you make sure the priming solution mixed evenly? Did you crimp the caps on all the way? I have videos in my profile if you'd like to see a bottling day. Maybe get some hints...

I had to do the sugar individually. Well, I left my wife to it, so I'll blame her.

The bottles were the swing tops from IKEA. Apparantly the washers on them are a bit naff.

Basically it could be a number of reasons.

Luckily the wife has just told me to buy more bottles.and another kit. I'll get some proper brown bottles this time.

 

[BurtConnor]

Buy glass bottles! 22oz bottles are about $1 a piece at my local store and 24 will hold 5gl. Also instead of brewing gallons of beer half a** save up couple hundred bucks buy a good kit and brew whole a**! Never understood why people jump in so unprepared but want excellent results?

Ha! I wasn't expecting good results on my first batch. It was more just a dry run to see how it goes and what not.