Thread: Homebrew beer, who's doing it?

Originally Posted by kimjon

Way to much time on my hands today, so I joined a coopers beer forum so I could use the label maker. Named my first batch "little red hen" after the children's story where no one would help the little red hen make bread...so she ate it all by herself. This came about when my wife wouldn't help me make the beer and I jokingly said "do you know the story about the little red hen"...she laughed and said that's gotta be the name of your beer.


Kj

If your beer is as good as your label you'll be onto a winner Kimjon

Cheers
Pete

@P38 and @kiwijames how do you store you beer while its aging?

Mines been in the hot water cupboard for 2 weeks now in bottles. My kestrel reads 19.3°c when I leave it in there over night.

Do I leave the bottles in there longer, or should I move them somewhere else? Note they are contained within a large plastic container with a lid just in case they pop, so no worries about spillage...just wanna know optimum place and procedure for nz conditions as all literature on the web in Australian or US where temps vary a lot from ours.

Cheers
Kim

Originally Posted by kimjon

@P38 and @kiwijames how do you store you beer while its aging?

Mines been in the hot water cupboard for 2 weeks now in bottles. My kestrel reads 19.3°c when I leave it in there over night.

Do I leave the bottles in there longer, or should I move them somewhere else? Note they are contained within a large plastic container with a lid just in case they pop, so no worries about spillage...just wanna know optimum place and procedure for nz conditions as all literature on the web in Australian or US where temps vary a lot from ours.

Cheers
Kim

@kimjon

I also place the freshly bottled brews in my hot water cupboard for a couple of weeks to allow the secondary fermentation to get a good start, then I move them out to the back room of my shed and place a sack over them to exclude the light.

Light can oxidise beer in the bottle and give it an off flavour.

Then I just forget about them for a couple of months.

I have just shifted a couple of dozen cider bottles, one batch bottled December 2014 and the second bottled February 2015.

These will be drunk throughout next summer.

Cheers
Pete

They are few tips you need to be aware of:
1) clean and sterilise everything.
2) see tip one, repeat.
3) longer is better
4) if you are worried about you alc % then toss your hydrometer, it's no good for anything really.
5) the lower the temp, the better the product will taste.
6) don't use sugar, except for priming and then only Chelsea sugar, but drops are better.
7) kits are ok, biab is better and full grain will give you the best flavours and ability to personalise your beer.

Originally Posted by kimjon

@P38 and @kiwijames how do you store you beer while its aging?

Mines been in the hot water cupboard for 2 weeks now in bottles. My kestrel reads 19.3°c when I leave it in there over night.

Do I leave the bottles in there longer, or should I move them somewhere else? Note they are contained within a large plastic container with a lid just in case they pop, so no worries about spillage...just wanna know optimum place and procedure for nz conditions as all literature on the web in Australian or US where temps vary a lot from ours.

Cheers
Kim

I have always just transferred it into the bottle and left it inside. The yeast needs a bit of warmth to ferment out your priming sugar and give the CO2 volume required to give the beer some fizz. Ideally the beer wants to run in its optimum fermentation range and will be with the yeast packet. 18 - 20 deg should be fine. There will already be CO2 in the beer out of the fermenter but not as much as desired. After a couple of weeks it should be carbed up but may require a week or more to condition. I have found the lighter beers both in colour and ABV are more drinkable earlier. I don't know how some people can wait months to condition a big stout or other but patience was never a virtue of mine.
I have been using corn sugar as of late to prime. I did find the carbonation drops are very convenient but sometimes a bit overkill resulting in too much head and over carbed beer. My Chargemaster powder scale is currently the best way to weigh out sugar into each bottle.
I have also started to use a 500ml bottle rather than the old 750 pint bottle. One can be not enough but two too many for my liking.
You should have a bottle filler to fill the bottles too (long tube with a spring valve at the end). You don't want to oxygenate your beer now that you've got it this far.

I've got the bug too.
On to our 4th brew, a chocolate malt stout.
So far have a stout, a bock and a cider to drink.
The stout was our first (Coopers) and it was bottled March 20th. It is improving with every bottle opened but only have about 10 left now.
I have to confess, my wife is the brewer. I am more the drinker.

Originally Posted by Shearer

I've got the bug too.

I have to confess, my wife is the brewer. I am more the drinker.

A perfect match then Shearer.

She's a keeper for sure.

Cheers
Pete

Cheers guys, your advice is much appreciated.

Kj

Well bugger, I missed this this tread, I just use the tin kits, nice and easy ,clean every thing in boiling water, glass bottles only and leave it for 3/5 months under the house, dam good, gets better after the second bottle! , Cheers, Homebrew.357.

Originally Posted by homebrew.357

Well bugger, I missed this this tread, I just use the tin kits, nice and easy ,clean every thing in boiling water, glass bottles only and leave it for 3/5 months under the house, dam good, gets better after the second bottle! , Cheers, Homebrew.357.

What's the best tin kit you've used? Do you just follow the instructions on the tin, or do you change it up a little?

Cheers
Kj

Hi, Was using Coopers for a while then to Mangrove Jack`s range, and Black Rock , use their beer making add in stuff, so no sugar. Makes a nice drop and I don`t add anything to it, brewed as is. Should ferment for about 5/6 days before bottling with teaspoon of sugar. Cheers, Homebrew.357.

Cool, thanks for that. I've put down a coopers og lager. It's only a few weeks in the bottle, could help but try one in the weekend. Want the best flavor and was really flat...will give it time, then try again.

Kj

Originally Posted by kimjon

Cool, thanks for that. I've put down a coopers og lager. It's only a few weeks in the bottle, could help but try one in the weekend. Want the best flavor and was really flat...will give it time, then try again.

Kj

A couple of weeks in the bottle should have it carbed up. How warm is it up your way? Could want a bit of warmth to get your yeast going again. I've had to put my last batch in the lounge (much to the wife's disgust) as an early trial was also flattish. I'm hoping I'm not going to be under carbonated as I cut the priming sugar down by half due to being bottled at 2degC.

Update:

So basically, all the work is worthless unless you end up with something drinkable eh?



So how did it taste, well here's a summary, drinking a bottle a week to see how it develops in taste.

1 week in the bottle; pretty much tastes like Satan's cock! Down the sink with that bottle!!!

2 weeks in bottle; not a lot better...but now has a cidery aftertaste, yup mostly down the sink once I couldn't fake the enjoyment anymore!!!

3 weeks in bottle; couldn't face the disappointment, so brought some nice beer from the shop...

4 weeks in the bottle; got a pleasant surprise! Still has a hint of cider and yeast, has a pretty light/weak flavour that an unkind person would describe as "piss week".... yet strangely it's very drinkable.

So, there's hope. Should've listened to Pete and not opened it so early...but come on, we learn by or mistakes and this is the price of education :-)

Kj

I have only done one kit beer and had similar results. Not bad but Lion and DB certainly were not getting too worried. I guess you can work them up to be better but All Grain is a good step up.
Put 30L into the boil pot today. Just have to take my girls to the circus so will finish it off tonight.