Conditioning
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mrgrimm101
Well-Known Member
What style of beer is it?
2 weeks is a good minimum..it depends on the style. I let my IPAs sit for 2 weeks and then refrigerate and drink. They're typically better after the 3rd week. Hoppy beers are best fresh, as the hop flavor and aroma can be greatly depleted after sitting for too long.
Other types of beers can sit for longer in bottles. Big beers, like imperial stouts and barleywines, can sit for weeks or months and typically mellow out and get better with some age. Properly brewed barleywines can sit for years in bottles.
2 weeks is a good minimum..it depends on the style. I let my IPAs sit for 2 weeks and then refrigerate and drink. They're typically better after the 3rd week. Hoppy beers are best fresh, as the hop flavor and aroma can be greatly depleted after sitting for too long.
Other types of beers can sit for longer in bottles. Big beers, like imperial stouts and barleywines, can sit for weeks or months and typically mellow out and get better with some age. Properly brewed barleywines can sit for years in bottles.
mrgrimm101
Well-Known Member
It should be fine to sit for a few weeks. Wait 2 weeks, refrigerate for 12-24 hours, then drink one. If it's good, awesome, have another! You could stagger them out so at 2 weeks have a couple, then at 3, then 4, etc. That way you will know for that particular recipe how long it's good for, and what some slight aging will do to it.
I use PBW for delabeling. Otherwise, after drinking some home brews, I dump the dregs, rinse once. Then refill with water & go back over them with a bottle brush. Dump & rinse once more then onto the bottle tree to dry before storage.
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mrgrimm101
Well-Known Member
If you're reusing bottles it's best to rinse them really well after you pour beer from them, as this will get the yeast and any left over beer out of the bottom of the bottle.
I use OxiClean free (the green tub) to get labels off. I put them in a tub with water and a scoop of oxiclean and let them sit. Most labels come right off. Some don't. This pretty much cleans the bottles, but I still clean them again on bottling day just to be double sure.
I've yet to really get a cleaning/sanitizing system down too efficiently..it always takes too long. On bottling day, I set up a bucket with cleanser and one with sanitizer. I fill each bottle with cleanser, scrub with a brush (probably not necessary as the bottles are mostly clean to start with), rinse each bottle in water, then drop em in the sanitizing bucket to fill and sit for a moment. After I empty the sanitizer from each bottle I set them in a rack that I built for drying.
The drying rack is based on this:
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/fa/b6/88/fab68842152458c03fdc11aa23052ad6.jpg
The rack works well, it's just very long lol.
I use OxiClean free (the green tub) to get labels off. I put them in a tub with water and a scoop of oxiclean and let them sit. Most labels come right off. Some don't. This pretty much cleans the bottles, but I still clean them again on bottling day just to be double sure.
I've yet to really get a cleaning/sanitizing system down too efficiently..it always takes too long. On bottling day, I set up a bucket with cleanser and one with sanitizer. I fill each bottle with cleanser, scrub with a brush (probably not necessary as the bottles are mostly clean to start with), rinse each bottle in water, then drop em in the sanitizing bucket to fill and sit for a moment. After I empty the sanitizer from each bottle I set them in a rack that I built for drying.
The drying rack is based on this:
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/fa/b6/88/fab68842152458c03fdc11aa23052ad6.jpg
The rack works well, it's just very long lol.
Once I've got them cleaned & dried, they're stored in covered boxes. So I just sanitize them on bottling day & onto the tree waiting to be filled. I see no need to clean twice.
mrgrimm101
Well-Known Member
I use PBW as a cleanser and then Iosan for sanitizing. It's an iodine sanitizer. Works well, but it seems to stain some equipment (buckets, hoses, etc.). I only use it still because I bought a big jug of it. When it's out I'm going to buy some Starsan and give that a try.
The 2nd post on this page has a comparison between different sanitizers.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/vs-pro-con-analysis-109318/
The 2nd post on this page has a comparison between different sanitizers.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/vs-pro-con-analysis-109318/
Starsan, hands down. Easy to use wet sanitizer. An 8oz bottle has lasted me a couple years.
Hamaki
Well-Known Member
Yup, starsan for sure. One point I'd like to add on the cleaning aspect, I always clean my bottles where there is really good lighting so that I can inspect the inside really well. I'm not the only one who drinks my HB and some just don't seem to grasp the concept of rinsing the bottle well after you pour. Sometimes there is really stubborn crud that's not worth the time & effort to get out. If I just "assumed" a standard wash/rinse/sanitize was enough I'd have a nasty bottle sneak through once in awhile.
Yeah, I agree. I clean mine at the kitchen sink, so I can hold'em up to the window to do a quick inspection. The bottle brush usually takes care of anything in the bottles though.
I use oxyclean to delabel and after they are in my pipeline of bottles i rinse with water after drinking the beer and store on my fastrack till it dries. then store them in cases till bottling day. I usually rinse again on bottling day to make sure there is no dust or anything in the bottles. Then I sanitize with starsan. The two biggest helps for me in this process was a jet bottle washer & 2 fastracks
I know we are kind of all over the place here but quick question regarding the fermentation process. I've been told that after the first few days of fermentation you can bring your wort up to room temp, was I told right? Or is there a way of telling when keeping temp at 65 is no longer needed?
Generally, when initial fermentation is over. In other words, when the rapid bubbling slows or stops.
