Newbie question on potential options

[djkelly99]

Hi all,

Total newbie here but I would love to get more into brewing as a hobby. I have only ever brewed using a Pinter (www.pinter.co.uk). It's pretty simple to be honest. I would like to have more control over the process and brew larger batches (that will hopefully work out cheaper!)

From what I've read up on so far, I'm leaning towards fermenting a 23L batch (any type of Lager) in a basic fermenter (non pressurised). I understand that after fermentation, I need to store it and serve it somehow. Refrigerator space is at a premium and I would rather not have to buy a dedicated one. My options for storing it seem to be either bottles or a corny keg ( feel free to correct me).

- The bottle approach seems straightforward enough and not too costly. Simply add the sugar to each bottle so it carbonates and wait. This solves storing all 23L and I can chill a few bottles as needed. The idea of sanitising all those bottles isn't very appealing though!

- My other option seems to be to store the beer in a corny keg, and then transfer it to a mini keg when I want to serve it. I could chill this mini keg then in my refrigerator and simply repeat the process by taking more beer from my corny keg as needed. With this approach do I have to buy CO2 or can I add sugar to carbonate like you would for bottling? I would rather avoid it if possible. I'm guessing this is a much more expensive option.


First of all, is my understanding correct here? What would folks recommend and are there other better options available? Thanks in advance!

 

[mac_1103]

There are lots of ways to sanitize bottles and none of them are hard. I just dunk mine in a bucket of starsan and let them drain before filling. You can also bake them in your oven or run them through your dishwasher if it has a sanitize cycle.

You can carbonate in a corny keg with priming sugar just as if it was a 20 liter bottle, but you'll still need to buy CO2 to push the beer out of the corny and into the minikeg (and out of the minikeg and into your glass). You can buy mini-regulators and disposable CO2 cartridges, but that will get expensive over time. If you were in the US I'd post links to examples of these items on Amazon, but they probably wouldn't work for you from your location.

 

[AlexKay]

Seems like bottling matches your situation just about perfectly. You’ll want to store bottles at 70-75 F for a couple of weeks while they’re carbonating. Ideally cold storage after that, but it won’t hurt too much to leave them at ambient until they’re ready to go in the fridge.

Look into a fermenter with a spigot and a stainless steel bottling wand. You can put sugar into the bottles (maybe even carbonation drops) and transfer directly from the fermenter.

If you decide you don’t like bottling and still don’t want a kegging setup, there are always 1-L EZ-Caps.

 

[hotbeer]

You mentioned "cheaper".

In the context of home brewing sure you can do it for less money than others do if you aren't fussy about having the best of the best.

However in the context of beer. Just be ready to brew some of the most expensive beer you'll ever drink. Otherwise you'll be better off with a six pack from the store on the corner!

 

[mac_1103]

I think he just means cheaper than the 10-pint kits he started with.

 

[DBhomebrew]

When you brew in your old turkey stock pot, mill with a Corona, ferment in a bucket, buy grain (imported, even!) by the sack, bottle in second-hand bottles, harvest yeast, etc., etc., one can easily brew beer less expensively than most local craft beer.

And, I'm rather fussy.

 

[mac_1103]

When you brew in your old turkey stock pot, mill with a Corona, ferment in a bucket, buy grain (imported, even!) by the sack, bottle in second-hand bottles, harvest yeast, etc., etc., one can easily brew beer less expensively than most local craft beer.

I don't have any fancy equipment, but I find it hard to brew for much under a buck a glass. So it's basically good beer for the price of BMC which I'm OK with. I don't buy grain or hops in bulk because I worry about long term storage given that I only brew about once a month on average. But maybe I'm doing something else wrong, like mostly brewing high ABV beers.

 

[DBhomebrew]

So it's basically good beer for the price of BMC which I'm OK with.

That's a pretty fine target in my book.

 

[djkelly99]

Can I just say thanks to all for the replies! I rarely post in forums of any kind and I'm amazed at the help and support that was given here. Thanks a lot.

As for 'cheaper', yes, I just meant cheaper than the Pinter option that I've been using up until now.

Thanks for the advice. It sounds like bottling is the way to go so.

One last question, I know I said that I was settled on a non-pressurised fermenter, but thinking about it now, would it make more sense for me to go this route if I'm brewing lagers at room temp. I kind of shied away from it initially as I was afraid of making a beer bomb, but looking into it a bit more it seems pretty safe once you use a decent setup and stay away from glass?

 

[Jack_0106]

Hi all,

Total newbie here but I would love to get more into brewing as a hobby. I have only ever brewed using a Pinter (www.pinter.co.uk). It's pretty simple to be honest. I would like to have more control over the process and brew larger batches (that will hopefully work out cheaper!)

From what I've read up on so far, I'm leaning towards fermenting a 23L batch (any type of Lager) in a basic fermenter (non pressurised). I understand that after fermentation, I need to store it and serve it somehow. Refrigerator space is at a premium and I would rather not have to buy a dedicated one. My options for storing it seem to be either bottles or a corny keg ( feel free to correct me).

- The bottle approach seems straightforward enough and not too costly. Simply add the sugar to each bottle so it carbonates and wait. This solves storing all 23L and I can chill a few bottles as needed. The idea of sanitising all those bottles isn't very appealing though!

- My other option seems to be to store the beer in a corny keg, and then transfer it to a mini keg when I want to serve it. I could chill this mini keg then in my refrigerator and simply repeat the process by taking more beer from my corny keg as needed. With this approach do I have to buy CO2 or can I add sugar to carbonate like you would for bottling? I would rather avoid it if possible. I'm guessing this is a much more expensive option.


First of all, is my understanding correct here? What would folks recommend and are there other better options available? Thanks in advance!

Aha! A fellow Irish man! Welcome to the forum!

 

[sibelman]

brewing lagers at room temp

Many have reported that pressure fermentation produces good lager at temperatures otherwise not recommended. The least costly method would be to ferment in a Cornelius keg, a method with many fans here.

 

[AlexKay]

Yes! Ferment in a keg. It's pretty much the cheapest stainless pressure-capable fermenter, by a whole lot.

Grab yourself the floating dip tube and spunding valve from https://homebrewerlab.com/ (you may have to order off eBay).

I'm not familiar with the process of bottling after pressure-fermenting. Since the beer will already be carbonated, it might get tricky. You may be able to rig up something with the Picnic Tap 2.0 (same link as above), or you may need a counter-pressure filler. Hopefully someone with experience will chime in.

 

[Jeroen79]

I would go for botteling you can referment in the bottle wich also gives better flavor then pumping in CO2 and you also don't have to buy CO2 canisters, sanitaizing bottles is easy peasy.

 

[Yesfan]

The keg route is more expensive than the bottle route. That said, unless you just don't want or have the space for a second fridge, even with the price of a kegerator, kegs, and co2 tank, it's still totally worth it to me. You don't have to go elaborate and get a 12 tap setup with all the bells and whistles. I think a simple 1-2 tap setup could be easy on the wallet and wouldn't take up a lot of space. Check out this thread showing a lot of our setups. This will give you some ideas and how to do your space.

Show Us Your Kegerator

 

[Kickass]

So Some lager yeast does really well in the low 60's. A plastic fermenter in a larger storage container with water and frozen water bottles is a very easy way to get good lagers with very little cost.

Homebrewing can be very inexpensive and easy to get good beer when you sanitize properly, take good notes and follow general best practices when it comes to recipes.

Edited to correct “So” to “Some”.

 

[Rish]

The idea of sanitising all those bottles isn't very appealing though!

I rinse my bottles as soon as I empty them, let them air dry then cover the opening with a piece of aluminum foil. I set those aside until I have enough to fill my kitchen stove oven then load it up (in their cardboard six pack holders). I then set the temp to 180°F. When it reaches that temp I hold it for 20 minutes, turn it off, leave it closed until it cools to room temp (overnight if I do this later in the evening). I then set them aside until bottling day. They're good to use as long as the foil stays in place. You don't have to deal with sanitizing on the day you're brewing and you break the task up into smaller chunks of time. Good luck!

 

[djkelly99]

Brilliant, thanks all for the advice. Plenty to think about now. Will do a bit more research into everything above

 

[seatazzz]

Rather than trying a lager (which can be tricky to get right), might I suggest you start with something simpler, like a blonde fermented on ale yeast. Lagers can seem simple on paper, but they do take longer to condition to a point where you'd call it a 'good' beer. Ales typically finish out faster, don't need colder temperatures, and you'll have drinkable beer in less time.