4th Attempt at a brew....pre pitching tips?

[Kevnlis]

Yes Swainy, this is why it is recommended to use a bit of sanitiser in the ice bath. Just put a bit of whatever you use to sanitise in the water when you start and that will certainly help to keep your brew safe and you sane!

[beattun]

if i disinect the tap before any time im opening it, theres no way for any infection to get into the fermenter though is there?

alternatively, i could change the water every couple of days, but is it a good idea to be moving the fermenter so often?

just picked up some milton today and a small spray bottle, should be right for doin the tap?

[Kevnlis]

I am not sure what milton is...

I would still put some sanitiser in the ice bath, the spray of sanitiser is just a precaution and is in no way fool proof!

[beattun]

I am not sure what milton is...

I would still put some sanitiser in the ice bath, the spray of sanitiser is just a precaution and is in no way fool proof!

ok, would the coopers sanitizer be right to chuck in? what about the brigalow sodium metasomethingsulphate?

milton is some sort of baby steriliser thing, apparently its good for homebrew

[Kevnlis]

milton is some sort of baby steriliser thing

Milton... the opposite of the little blue pill

Yeah the coopers sanitiser and the sodium met would both be fine!

[beattun]

thanks for the help, ive just done that, also noticed the temp has come down from 28 to 22 in about 5 hours, is it risky to keep on aiming to get the temp down to 15 as you suggested earlier? or let it settle sooner rather than later and just go with it at whatever it settles at?

[Kevnlis]

Let it settle and try to keep it constant, that is more important. Whatever temp you think you are capable of holding with reasonable reliability.

[beattun]

id say 20 - 22 would be the most likely, i wonder if i took out of the water would it stay at that now?

the only reason it was 28 was cos that was how hot it was when i sealed it, i need to find something to bulk cool water in after adding the fermentables in future i think

[beattun]

Rightio, its been about 2 weeks since i pitched it, hydrometer reading today says 1015, thats down from 1034 when i pitched it

Does that seem right to bottle?

thanks, Brian.

[spatch]

I'm but a newbie myself but everywhere I've read is to wait till you get 2 gravity readings the same.
Try it again tomorrow morning.

[Kevnlis]

I'm but a newbie myself but everywhere I've read is to wait till you get 2 gravity readings the same.
Try it again tomorrow morning.

Spot on!

Though after two weeks at 20-22C I doubt you would have any problems bottling. You would not have had any problems a week ago

[beattun]

all bottled now, the temp actually got down to about 16, 12 at one stage, but generally stayed between the 16 to 18 mark for most of the 2 weeks.

how long before they start exploding, if they do. i have them in covered boxes for now

[lethaldog]

They wont if you didnt over prime so dont panic, like kev said 2 weeks is long enough to have fermented out and you probably could have bottled a week ago

[beattun]

good stuff, fingers crossed ill make a drinkable brew this time!

thanks for the help!

[PaulSteele]

I always spray my tap with straight no rinse sanitiser, all over and up the outlet, before a bottling session. No point in taking risks for the sake of a few cents worth of sanitiser.

Could not agree more warra.

One other thing I do is to use what I call my 'shit' bucket. Before every beer I pour from my taps (be they on the kegerator or in the fermentation fridge) I squirt a good gush into the 'shit' bucket to give them a clean and clear any sediment or gas pockets in the lines etc. The bucket I use is an old 2kilo washing powder bucket and it is perfect for the job!

un-carbonated beer is no shit!!

[beattun]

just another quick question, i bottled this brew 12 days ago, do i really need to wait the 14 days before i can try it and know if it worked out ok? or am i right to have a sneaky one now and get a good idea whether its yay or nay?

[spatch]

just another quick question, i bottled this brew 12 days ago, do i really need to wait the 14 days before i can try it and know if it worked out ok? or am i right to have a sneaky one now and get a good idea whether its yay or nay?

Again, I'm just a newbie so take this how you like.

I opened one of my 1st brew after 2 weeks in the bottles.......... the suspense was killing me!
It was allright too but much different than it is now at 1 mth.
Mind you, I have drunk nearly half the batch already!!!
Put a few 6 packs out of sight this arvo so I can come back to 'em in a few months time.

Cheers mate,
spatcharoony

[matr]

I waited a whole 5 days...

You could tell it was really green but I didn't care. It was better than VB.

Don't be scared have a go... What's the worst that could happen?????

[beattun]

tried it, didnt taste too bad, very very cloudy though and didnt retain head, im guessing it will improve over time?

[matr]

Tried mine again after 2 weeks. And yep it was better & head retention also better.

The only problem I have is waiting to recieve the full benefits...

But at the end of the day it's cheap beer and tastes good so what the hell....