Grain bill question from a complete newbie

[mac_1103]

As noted there's lots out there for used, just watch what you're getting.

And check for hairline cracks before filling. And put them in a sturdy container in a safe place while conditioning.

 

[mac_1103]

I have no idea what the IBC bottles are like now; they may have gone to thin, twist-offs like nearly everyone else.

I think they have gone to twist offs, but as I recall IBC is pretty fizzy stuff and they don't ship it cold, so the bottles have to be able to handle a decent amount of pressure.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Well, let me just ask; can the twist-offs be capped? I mean, they are obviously capped when you get them. Maybe it’s not possible due to design, or risky with the thin lip. I just don’t know; never considered trying it.

 

[mac_1103]

can the twist-offs be capped?

I seem to recall that at least one member here says he has capped twist-offs. Don't remember who. Maybe I'll try a search later if I'm even more bored than I am now.

 

[Abdul Muhamed]

My understanding is NO they cannot be capped. I did an experiment with a Yuengling twist-off bottle and my bottle capper and there was no lip to fully seal the cap. No matter how hard I pushed on the capper, the cap only loosely sat on the bottle. I'm sure most beers nowadays are "force carbonated" rather than adding sugar and carbonating in the bottles. This allows them to avoid exploding bottles and gives them a cheaper bottle b/c they don't need to withstand higher pressures. Not sure what would happen if you saved the twist caps and the bottles and re tightened them on, but I don't think I'd want to chance it.

 

[An Ankoù]

As for measuring, I'm in the medical field and everything scientific in the U.S. is Metric. I don't know why we refuse to convert to metric. it is much easier to do conversions. All my cooking, baking, and fermentables I do in metric- it's just much simpler than Imperial units.

I actually picked up a copy of Joy of Homebrewing on Ebay for like $5. It looks like a good place to start.

An excellent starting point, and beyond. I'm going to dig mine out and give it another read.
You're right about units of measure. I don't have a problem with lbs and oz as I' m old enough to have been brought up with them. And, knowing that your gallon has 16 oz instead of 20, I can handle that easily. BUT I absolutely refuse to follow cooking recipes where the measures are in cups. Illogical, I suppose, since I'm happy with teaspoonsful and dessert spoons, but I have never been able to get a consensus on conversions of cups; either the volume or the weight of common ingredients.

 

[mac_1103]

This allows them to avoid exploding bottles and gives them a cheaper bottle b/c they don't need to withstand higher pressures.

The bottle still has to be able to withstand the pressure even if the beer is carbonated before filling. And pressure increases with temperature and BMC isn't shipped cold.

 

[Abdul Muhamed]

An excellent starting point, and beyond. I'm going to dig mine out and give it another read.
You're right about units of measure. I don't have a problem with lbs and oz as I' m old enough to have been brought up with them. And, knowing that your gallon has 16 oz instead of 20, I can handle that easily. BUT I absolutely refuse to follow cooking recipes where the measures are in cups. Illogical, I suppose, since I'm happy with teaspoonsful and dessert spoons, but I have never been able to get a consensus on conversions of cups; either the volume or the weight of common ingredients.

Problem with cups, tablespoons, etc is they are volume not weight I can pack a measuring cup with flour for bread and it might weigh 150g, or I can loosely fill a measuring cup with the same flour and it weighs 100g. Huge difference when it comes to following a bread recipe. I just use a digital scale and measure all ingredients in grams.

 

[An Ankoù]

Me too. Much easier.

 

[bike2brew]

Pennsylvania. Yeah, $3...but $8.50 with shipping. I have a rule, NEVER pay more for shipping than the item costs. I have a brew store about 40 min away, I may make a trip there. I have Amazon free shipping so I could get it for $3.5/pack if I buy 6...How long does Brewer Yeast last in a fridge? I have Champagne Yeast from 3 years ago in my fridge that still works great.

I try to buy my yeast and hops local too. I'm 60 miles from my LHBS so tend to buy for next couple of brew batches in advance. Able to transport home in cooler and transfer to fridge for next use.

 

[InspectorJon]

I know that for moonshine, wine, or other fermentables you can keep the sediment in a jar in the fridge after fermentation and racking and use it several more times as a starter. I must sound like a cheapskate, but I've spent too much money on new hobbies before I knew if I'd like them or not.

It is common practice to use yeast from a previous fermentation. If you save yeast you will likely want to make a starter. Look into overbuilding starters. There are lots of threads here about saving yeast.

One other question: Where do you all pick up bottles?

Save bottles from beer you drink, have friends save them, ask a local bartender to save them for you.

 

[Abdul Muhamed]

A survey of my local bars show that around here, nobody drinks anything that doesn't come out of a tap or has a screw-cap. I just picked up some more Guinness to drink. 4 years ago domestic beer was about 50 cents a can/bottle. Today thanks to inflation, it is $1/can/bottle. The Guinness, while $2/bottle has bottles that are worth over $1 each to me to reuse, so it is really a better deal to drink my way to a bottle supply than to order new ones from a company.

 

[mac_1103]

around here, nobody drinks anything that doesn't come out of a tap or has a screw-cap

Where is around here? Cans are becoming much more prevalent, even among smaller craft breweries, but I can still get 12-packs of non-screw cap bottled offerings from Sam Adams, New Belgium, Blue Moon, etc for about $1.50 per bottle. Guinness is a buck more, but the bottles are smaller.

 

[Steveruch]

Yeah, bottles can be expensive if you have to have them shipped. I often see them up on things like FB marketplace, or NextDoor, so they're both local (no shipping cost) and cheaper, usually. Just an example. Hate to admit it but I have way too many bottles, just from drinking beer.

Occasionally Amazon has a deal on bottles* and they qualify for free shipping if the total is over $35. Early this year I got three cases for around $18 each and they shipped free.
* sign up for homebrewfinds.

 

[Abdul Muhamed]

Where is around here? Cans are becoming much more prevalent, even among smaller craft breweries, but I can still get 12-packs of non-screw cap bottled offerings from Sam Adams, New Belgium, Blue Moon, etc for about $1.50 per bottle. Guinness is a buck more, but the bottles are smaller.

Rural area southern PA. Sam Adams is semi-popular, but it is expensive and most blue-collar bars don't sell much. Blue Moon I've only seen in beer distributors, and mostly just the cans. PA has no deposit laws, so nobody brings bottles back. There is some recycling, but not like a metro area. I almost bought Sam Adams pumpkin beer since Halloween is near, but at almost $4/bottle, I passed on that one. I miss the previous administration and the good ol' days where Coors Extra Gold Lager was still around and it was 50cents/can Case of 30 for $15

 

[Abdul Muhamed]

I started my first batch of dark Stout type beer using the recipe:

3.75 lb two row
1/2 pound Munich
10 oz chocolate
0.25lbs flaked oats

3.25 gallons of water (including 1 gallon for BIAB sparge)

1 oz Sterling hops 20 min boil

Final volume about 2.1 gallons


The starting gravity was low at 1.030 so I added some sucrose (table sugar). I totally forgot that after the boil the H2O would boil off and raise the starting gravity. After cool down, I got a whopping 1.090 (corrected for temp.)
Is that crazy high? That's like 12% ABV...Everything I see says shoot for 1.040 but I've seen some articles that say for stout, it can go as high as 1.1 S.G. so any thoughts? Will the yeast (SafAle S 04) survive? specs. says max ABV 11%. for that yeast.

Taste before Fermentation: Top notes are black coffee and burned toast. Caramel then comes in. It is perhaps a 7/10 but its bitterness is a bit high. I like bitter beer, I love Guinness extra stout, which here in America is about the highest bitterness you can get. BUT I think 1oz hops may be a bit much for a 2 gallon batch, the bitterness lingered a bit long. I'd either cut back on the chocolate malt or the hops, or both.
Whatever happens happens now b/c I pitched my yeast (S.O. 4) and put the airlock on...