First Home Brew Started this evening . . .

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Just took this hydrometer reading, been in the FV for 11 days now.
Any opinions on the reading?

[Ciderhead]

decant into secondary leave it a week and then take reading 2 days apart if its the same value its ready for the bottle

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

I don't have a secondary with the set-up I bought so should I leave it where it is or think about bottling?

[Ciderhead]

Trick about brewing beer is to brew them on a rolling basis so that you always have beer.
Can you get another bucket somewhere? It looks very cloudy has that been stirred up?
Are you going to use carbonation drops or batch prime with sugar?

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Nope it hasn't been stirred up but I was thinking it looks more like a weissbier, defo too cloudy anyway?
I have carbonation drops so I was gonna use them, presume they'll be easier for a newbie?

[Damo]

CH your not giving the answers he wants to hear :

Look, 9 days in you'll be fine.

Go ahead and bottle just please don't be expecting to be drinking this on thurs

As soon as you bottle put them back into the corner they fermented in for at least 7days, preferably 14.
then pop em into the shed for as long as you can keep your hands off.

Trick is get another on as soon as you empty. after 2-3 brews you'll have no problems leavin them alone.

We were all the same starting out, I know I was

You should change your signature:  eager as Fcuk!!

Go on, do it...

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Cheers Damo, I might bottle them tomorrow evening so!

I defo wont be drinking them next thursday, the plan is to leave them until Christmas (Of course I will have to sample one or two before then). I plan on putting the bottles (glass and PET) back into their cardboard boxes and be put into the bottom of my wardrobe until they are needed to be chilled.

I'm eager to get them bottled so I can start on my next kit - I've a Tooheys Special Lager Kit and a tin of LME waiting to be popped into the FV.

Oh . . . and I might have a look at that signature . . .

[Ciderhead]

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The longer you leave it the less shit will be in the bottom of your bottle.
1 Carbonation drop in 500Ml bottle 10-12 weeks 20 degrees. 2 and it will go quicker but be sweeter.
If you have plastic bottles squeeze them once a week to determine if they are carbed or not.
If you intend on using glass, get a couple of lucozade or bottles that has sparkling water and do the same thing to see if they are carbed or not.
Buy another bucket and put on another kit to distract yourself in the meantime!!
Whats your preferred style of beer?

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

10-12 Weeks?
How do I know if they are carbed or not?

Another bucket is a good idea but I dont think the missus would be too happy!

I don't have any one preferred style of beer but i do have a few favourite beers - Tsingtao, Peroni, Cobra to name a few. I am quite fond of many different styles of beer with my time in the past spent working in O'Briens Off Licence, The Porterhouse and a few pubs in Australia too aswell as going to this years Oktoberfest in Munich all helping me taste and like many different styles.

[Damo]

Ch, what happened to your 1-2-3 rule?

It's your first kit! Go for it. You'll have plenty of time to master the art.

I've done plenty of kits way to early, all turned out ok.

The advice you've been given here is for your own good! We all know its very hard to keep away from your first brew. The longer you can leave it cold conditioning the better. Yeast in bottom of bottle will compact and stay put.

[Ciderhead]

10-12 Weeks?
How do I know if they are carbed or not?

If you have some in plastic the bottle will go hard as the pressure builds up, nothing more disappointing that opening a bottle thats not carbed

Another bucket is a good idea but I dont think the missus would be too happy!

If you are tight on space brewing can be difficult

I don't have any one preferred style of beer but i do have a few favourite beers - Tsingtao, Peroni, Cobra to name a few. I am quite fond of many different styles of beer with my time in the past spent working in O'Briens Off Licence, The Porterhouse and a few pubs in Australia too aswell as going to this years Oktoberfest in Munich all helping me taste and like many different styles.

Consider the Muntons gold 2 can kits, more expensive but much better flavour profile before you go onto modding your kits. Lord Eoin will help you down that path.

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Thanks Damo ... thanks CH!!!

I understand what a carbed bottle is now, cheers.
Will defo look into the Muntons too.

Damo, when I bottle them is it better to leave at the same temp until ready to drink or should I, as you mentioned, put them straight into my cold shed?

[Ciderhead]

Why are you asking him he doesn't brew  : :
18-20 to carb and then into the shed to help drop the yeast and suspended crud to the bottom of your bottle.

[Damo]

After bottling they need to carb.

This is a kind of secondary ferm in the bottle. The priming sugar/carb drops will produce Co2 which will be absorbed into the beer.

So, after bottling put them somewhere warmish, ideally in the same place it fermented.  You then put them somewhere cold.

Cool sig!

[Damo]

FFS!!!