New to the Brew

[PattonLovesBeer]

Hey guys,

I got the Northern Brewer Sweet Porter extract starter kit over the holidays and it was a complete success, (well so far... it's still fermenting but everything seems to be going well). I was recommended here by a coworker as a good place to learn.

The porter is going into 12 oz bottles in two weeks and i can't wait to try it. I've got about 72 bottles at the house right now and i was wondering what's the easiest way to clean them? I was thinking about running them through the dishwasher twice, (once with soap and once without). Also is it okay to reuse beer bottles that i collect from here on out.

My other question is more of a request. Where is a good place to learn about the varieties of hops and grains and what is used typically with what.? I'm very curious how people know that you use this and this to make this type of beer.

On deck once the porter is done is a nice Kolsch. The wife and I are super excited to make it.

 

[flars]

The dish washer is probably the poorest way to clean bottles. The narrow mouth of the bottle doesn't allow for much cleaning action. Use 5 gallon buckets to soak/clean bottles that may have dried gunk in them. PBW is an excellent cleaning solution. After cleaning and before filling Star San solution is a great no rinse sanitizer.

Twelve ounce pry off cap commercial bottles are okay for almost any beer you may bottle condition. These bottles are safe for ales but may not be safe for very highly carbonated Belgian brews.

Begin looking at established clone recipes to learn about hops and grains. Distributors of hops and grains have some very good information on their sites. Then experience and good notes take over.

 

[PattonLovesBeer]

The dish washer is probably the poorest way to clean bottles. The narrow mouth of the bottle doesn't allow for much cleaning action. Use 5 gallon buckets to soak/clean bottles that may have dried gunk in them. PBW is an excellent cleaning solution. After cleaning and before filling Star San solution is a great no rinse sanitizer.

Twelve ounce pry off cap commercial bottles are okay for almost any beer you may bottle condition. These bottles are safe for ales but may not be safe for very highly carbonated Belgian brews.

Begin looking at established clone recipes to learn about hops and grains. Distributors of hops and grains have some very good information on their sites. Then experience and good notes take over.

Thanks for the fast reply! I'll pick up some 5 gallon buckets this weekend and start soaking them. Do i just put water in them or some sort of cleaner?

I'll keep collecting bottles then, guess you can never have too many. Also when you say note keeping, do you mean just writing down everything you did and added and when you did it on your brew days i'm guessing?

 

[PADave]

As soon as you pour a bottle, rinse it with water. Then not much cleaning is needed. I've only ever soaked in PBW to clean. Rinse with water. Starsan when bottling.

 

[KonservativeJay]

I have found that arm and hammer washing soda (found int the laundry soap isle) and a cheep baby bottle brush with foam at the end works very well for cleaning bottles. I did have to take the head off the bottle brush and duct tape it to a chopstick for it to get inside the beer bottle.
Just fill your sink with hot water and about one cup of the washing soda and soak as many bottles as you can at a time. Most labels will almost fall off and the glue from the label will wipe off with a cloth. Then use the bottle brush for the inside of the bottle, rinse well with warm water, and dry. Use diluted star-San to sanatize before filling with you beer.
I have definitely learned the advantages of rinsing you bottles right away as this makes cleaning then much easier and WAY less nasty.

 

[KonservativeJay]

Oops. Double post

 

[ancientmariner52]

Clear ammonia from the grocery store will shift the worst moldy gunk. Just pour enough to cover and let it sit for an hour or so. Once you've got them clean, rinse after you pour and you'll never have problems.

 

[C-Rider]

As soon as you pour a bottle, rinse it with water. Then not much cleaning is needed. I've only ever soaked in PBW to clean. Rinse with water. Starsan when bottling.

I pretty much agree....here is a short video from right after finishing a beer to refilling the bottle.

 

[flars]

I was a little rushed before. I would suggest going with the simple kits as you begin your new life time hobby. There is a lot to learn but it comes easily with basic steps. Good kits are a great starting place. Next is your brewing water and problem areas to avoid like using municipal water which will contain chloramine or chlorine. Fermentation temperature control, yeast viability, and pitch rate for the original gravity of the beer being brewed. Time in the fermentor and patience for an appropriate conditioning time after bottling.

The book "How To Brew" by John Palmer is a very good resource. "The Joy of Home brewing" by Charlie Papazian is another.

Ask questions. Always a lot of help around here.

 

[PattonLovesBeer]

Oh wow. Just got back home from the gym to all these responses! Thanks guys. I've been trying to watch a video or two every day to learn what i can but sometimes it's like a foreign language haha. I'll definitely try out these different methods on bottle cleaning this weekend.

Next is your brewing water and problem areas to avoid like using municipal water which will contain chloramine or chlorine.

As for this i was actually reading about it today in another thread. How damaging can this be to the beer? Because i definitely made my first beer with tap water.

 

[ancientmariner52]

I would definitely recommend getting a book or two on basic brewing. Anybody can make a video these days, but books undergo a vetting process that makes them much more reliable. Charts, tables, formulas, lists, diagrams, glossaries, they just don't come across in video format. Videos are wonderful for demonstrating physical processes, but not good at explaining the science behind the process.

 

[BoomGoestheTNT]

I’d suggest stocking up on some 22oz bottles. Just that much less to clean/sanitize/fill on bottling day.

 

[flars]

Oh wow. Just got back home from the gym to all these responses! Thanks guys. I've been trying to watch a video or two every day to learn what i can but sometimes it's like a foreign language haha. I'll definitely try out these different methods on bottle cleaning this weekend.



As for this i was actually reading about it today in another thread. How damaging can this be to the beer? Because i definitely made my first beer with tap water.

The treated municipal water creates an off flavor called band aid. I never chewed a band aid but the aroma is enough to not like. How much of an off flavor you may notice depends upon how heavily the water is treated and the beer brewed. Might not be noticeable in very dark beers or a heavily hopped IPA. With extracts you can use RO or distilled in the boil kettle. (Don't use RO or distilled for rehydrating dry yeast though. Osmotic pressure on the cell walls will kill around half of the cells.)

 

[Sadu]

Brewing Classic Styles is an excellent book for learning about beer recipes and ingredients. For a start it comes with 80 solid and tested recipes to get you started. But it also talks about the different malts and why you might not want to use too much say crystal malt in an APA but how you would use more in a bitter or amber.
In a lot of cases, what is right or wrong really comes down to the style you are aiming for.

 

[PattonLovesBeer]

Well it looks like i have some books to order. Hopefully the fact that this is a dark porter will save it from Atlanta's water. But with the Kolsch i will probably use distilled water. I'll let you guys know how everything turns out.

 

[ncbrewer]

Lots of brewers use municipal tap water - you can treat it with campden tablets. One tablet should treat 20 gallons - I use it at twice that rate to be on the safe side. Some of this treated water is used for rehydrating the dried yeast. Tap water is almost free, and it seems a lot easier than getting RO water from the store. If you're doing a partial boil with top-off water, the top-off water should be treated with campden as well.

 

[PattonLovesBeer]

Lots of brewers use municipal tap water - you can treat it with campden tablets. One tablet should treat 20 gallons - I use it at twice that rate to be on the safe side. Some of this treated water is used for rehydrating the dried yeast. Tap water is almost free, and it seems a lot easier than getting RO water from the store. If you're doing a partial boil with top-off water, the top-off water should be treated with campden as well.

So if one tablet can treat 20 gallons, does that have to be dialed back for say 6 gallons? Or can you just do a tablet per brew session up to 20 gallons?

 

[ncbrewer]

So if one tablet can treat 20 gallons, does that have to be dialed back for say 6 gallons? Or can you just do a tablet per brew session up to 20 gallons?

Using a half tablet for about 6 gallons works for me - the excess seems fine. But I don't know whether a whole tablet in 6 gallons would be too much. I'd say cut it in half. I actually crush and dissolve a tablet in a quart of water, stir, and quickly dip out two cups (with a sanitized measuring cup) to get the amount I want. I sanitize my hands and the spoons used for crushing the tablet also.