Confused first time brewer

[BoozeMuse]

Hi,

I received a home brew kit for christmas (from a home brew shop in Kirkstall, Leeds) and I have been searching around on this forum and other websites trying to piece it all together in my head before i actually start. I'm confused by some of the bits in the kit but i'll start off with what i actually have in the kit:

1 - Milestone Lions Pride 40 pint, 2 tins
2 - 28l FV with a rubber gromit in the lid (no tap on the main vessel)
3 - Syphon tubing
4 - Bubble air lock (fits in the gromit on the lid)
5 - bottling tube (pours when needle at the bottom is pressed down)
6 - Hydrometer
7 - VWP steriliser
8- 16" tube with what looks like a plastic bottle top on the end of it. This end part would allow me to extract the wort without taking the sludge at the bottom... i think (I think this is for the bottling process as it fits to the bottom of the FV and also fits through the gromit on the lid, so it would be held in place)

I know i'm missing some kit which i'm looking at buying now, these are:

1 - Thermometer
2 - Brew belt (its going to be in the garage with no heating)
3 - Beer Paddle
4 - Bottles

Questions:

1 - Firstly can anyone explain item 8 on my kit list?

2 - Can I use plastic bottles with screw caps instead of glass bottles? I've seen them for sale on home brew sites but nobody on here seems to mention them.

3 - I'm thinking about syringing the priming sugar into the bottles as i dont have a bottling vessel, would i just divide the sugar solution (200ml) between the 40 bottles and then using my bottling adapter just fill the bottle up to the top and screw the lid on?

4 - One more possibly obvious question, when i want to get the beer out of the FV using the unidentified pipe, tubing and bottling adapter, would i first have to suck the air and the beer up the tubing and then fit the adapter on the end or is there another way to do this without making a mess?

Thanks in advance.

[albacore]

Drinking my first kit, so I'm only one ahead.

Didn't use a thermometer - my kit instructions (plus Jim's on the site) just had me using one big pan of boiled water which went into the FV, the syrup was mixed into that, then topped up with cold. Someone must have figured out that this gives about the right starting temperature.

For syphoning, I filled my syphon with water, held my thumb over the end without the tap, then got it into the beer. Opened the tap at the other end and it all started flowing. I was filling a keg though, not bottles.

Good luck.

Matt

[EliteEvil]

2 - Can I use plastic bottles with screw caps instead of glass bottles? I've seen them for sale on home brew sites but nobody on here seems to mention them.

Should be able to, but people say that the darker the bottle the better the beer keeps so if you have Blackthorne bottles or something similar it should be ok? I did ginger beer in plastic bottles and it went funny after a few months but that might have been because there was so much yeast in them it took on the flavour of the yeast or something. None of them exploded though and it was incredibly fizzy.

4 - One more possibly obvious question, when i want to get the beer out of the FV using the unidentified pipe, tubing and bottling adapter, would i first have to suck the air and the beer up the tubing and then fit the adapter on the end or is there another way to do this without making a mess?

I just suck the end of the tube until the beer is about 5" from the end, put my finger over the end, put the tube into my barrell and let gravity take it's course. I don't have an adapter or anything though it is just food grade tubing from B&Q and was a real pain the arse when I put my ginger beer into bottles. As long as you don't gob into the pipe then it shouldn't cause any infection, I have done about 7 or 8 brews and haven't had any infected yet.

[Ditch]

Brew belt

Fish Tank Heater.

I keep Dogs. Ye'll never hear me barking

[Horatio]

Hi BoozeMuse,

I'll try to answer your questions as best I can; although I'm sure others will offer better advice at some point.

Item 8 on your list is a racking cane of sorts. It is supposed to sit on top of the slurry at the bottom of the FV and only draw the beer through. They have a knack of floating about and are a real PITA! If you put it into the small hole on the FV lid it may not reach the bottom of the FV; I think you can buy a clip to hold it in place? Does yours look like this:


Yes you can use plastic bottles (coke etc) but if they are clear keep them in a dark place (cardboard box?). They are not meant to be that good for long term storage (maturing) so I'm told but I have never used them myself.

When I bottle (500ml bottle that is) I just put 1/2 to 3/4 of a teaspoon of sugar into a the bottle first, through a small funnel.

When I syphon from the FV I use a stainless steel racking cane that I had made. I place a small tap at the end of the tubing and a small (6 inch) length of tubing on the other end of the tap like this:


I then suck until the beer/wort reaches the tap, turn the tap off and remove the small length of tube. I then connect the bottling rod via another length of tube to the tap. like this:

(sorry not the best pic I know!)

Place the rod into the primed bottle and open the tap. Then, as you have said, the rod stops filling when you lift it free from the bottom of the bottle; then onto the next bottle and so on. Make sure you have sufficient head above the bottles; I place the FV on a counter top and bottle on the floor.

Like most things in brewing, sanatation is key. Steralise everything.

Hope this helps

[Swiller]

Fit a tap to your fermenter no more syphoning.

J

[Swiller]

Hi Horatio

I notice in your signature you have a recipe for 6X can it be adjusted for an extract brew?
Cheers
Jules

[Horatio]

Hi Horatio

I notice in your signature you have a recipe for 6X can it be adjusted for an extract brew?
Cheers
Jules

Hi Jules, Yes it can. Mine is based on info from Roger Protz Real Ale Almanac and a recipe from Graham Wheelers book Brew Your Own British Real Ale (both of which I highly reccomend if you haven't already got them) and GW says that you can replace the pale malt with the appropriate quantity of pale colored malt extract. I ahve only ever made one extract brew so others on here will be able to advise you better.

My AG recipe is as follows:

3.9kg Pale Malt MO
136g Crystal Malt
32g Black Malt
66g Fuggles (may reduce this as it seems a tad high) 90 mins
10g Goldings 15 mins

[BoozeMuse]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the quick replies its much appreciated!

Horatio, that is the extact same bit of kit, thanks for the pictures they are a real help . I am definately going to get the same syphon/ tap/ syphon setup and let gravity be my friend!

One more question:

On the bubbler airlock do you just plug it onto the top without its red cap on or do you leave it open? Also I've read threads on here which say to put water in some of the "bubble sections" is this advisable?

Thanks again for all your help, I can't wait to get it started up!

Greg

[dedken]

No 8: It's a racking cane. Attaches to your syphon tube and sits at the bottom of your fv. To stop it moving about just stick something heavy like a hardback book across the fv opening on top of the tube (but not too heavy that it limits the flow!).


Bottles - I will alway use glass. I mean, who wants to drink a pint out of one of those horrible plastic glasses?? No-one does, do they! This means you will have to get a bottle capper though, unless you're in Australia where almost everything is a screw cap.
Remember - don't fill all the way to the top because there needs to be space for the pressure created by carbonation (This means you'll need to have a bottle or two spare for the excess, or you could just drink it then and there).

Priming - lots of methods of doing this. It depends on how accurately you can be bothered to distribute the sugars. I've always used the same method: Sterile teaspoon and funnel; approx 1/3 teaspoon (or just over) for ale, bitter, stout. Approx 1/2 (or just over) for lager /continental styles. Adjust accordingly for different sizes of bottle.

Syphoning - Stick your fv on a table or worksurface. Bottles on the floor. Suck the beer through most of the way through the syphon tube (verrrry gently - it comes quickly) and then turn the end towards the ceiling holding it just above the level of the beer in the fv - put a (clean) finger over the to hold the liquid and stick the bottling aid on. Put into first bottle and away you go. Don't worry about getting an infection as long as you don't regurgitate down the tube or do it when you're ill! The first time I syphoned I made a puddle on the kitchen floor. By the time I was doing my second brew I'd bought a tap for the end and made no mess at all.

Leave bottles somewhere warm for 2-3 days and then transfer to somewhere cool, like the garden shed. 4-6 weeks is a good maturation period but you won't be able to resist having one or two snifters beforehand though!! Obviously the longer you leave it, the better it becomes. So in the meantime you'll be wanting to get another one going won't you, get that beery conveyor belt moving....

Best of luck mate, this hobby is totally adictive and absorbing.

[Swiller]

I will be purchasing GWs book very shortly I know it's a must have, I am just about to get my kit together for AG but thought I would have a practice with extract before I make the leap!

Thanks for your help Horatio much appreciated, by the way is the recipe for a 23L brew length?

Cheers,

Jules

[Horatio]

Hi Jules, Yes 23 litres; sorry forgot to mention the brew length!

This is the stainless racking cane i had made. It stays in place but is only suitable foor FVs of a certain depth.


Good luck with it; this place is full of people who can teach us all a great deal and I am constantly reading old threads and gaining more knowledge.

[crafty john]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the quick replies its much appreciated!

Horatio, that is the extact same bit of kit, thanks for the pictures they are a real help . I am definately going to get the same syphon/ tap/ syphon setup and let gravity be my friend!

One more question:

On the bubbler airlock do you just plug it onto the top without its red cap on or do you leave it open? Also I've read threads on here which say to put water in some of the "bubble sections" is this advisable?

Thanks again for all your help, I can't wait to get it started up!

Greg

Half fill the airlock with sodium metabisulphite solution which will stop any infection getting to your beer, I put a small plug of cotton wool in the top of my airlocks as well as using the red cap, it will stop any small flies getting in there.

[thedeckking]

Didn't use a thermometer - my kit instructions (plus Jim's on the site) just had me using one big pan of boiled water which went into the FV, the syrup was mixed into that, then topped up with cold. Someone must have figured out that this gives about the right starting temperature.

You need to be careful if you're not using a termometer. I find I need to add more boiled water at this time of year because the water coming out of the taps is alot colder.