TC newbie and possible idiot !

[randomdave]

when i primed my first batch i put it in another demijohn for a couple of days to clear a little bit then poured in another ltr of Apple juice left it an hour to settle then bottled. Left it in the bottle 3 days an began drinking. very appley. drank some a week later an my oh my mouth puckeringly good ^^

[Marts]

What are you priming with?

[RatboyOllie]

well ive got a choice of priming, i have been scouring these forums to see what others are doing, but i bought an extra litre of AJ and I also went crazy and bought a litre of cloudy pear juice, i was thinking maybe cider primed with pear juice might be a taste sensation??? failing that i was just going to stick to AJ, or maybe sugar.

I've been reading and reading and seems like most people just prime with a bit of juice. Shall i prime in the demi jon and then just bottle or put a little in each bottle?

Ive got loads of old Leffe bottles, they will be pressure resistant wont they? Failing this I can always crack open a few Bulmers, drink, and then use those bottles as they seem to be being used by people on these forums. Will my Leffe bottles be ok?

Cheers again,

I have a hydrometer, looks really old though, a friend gave it me, no trial jar but someone said earlier i can use an empty pop bottle cut down, howver i think i might be visiting the home brew shop for an extra fv this weekend, so i might just pick one up for the sake of a couple of quid.

The woman has bought me a Brewferm Belgian beer kit and Beverdale Merlot wine kit for xmas, she wont let me start em till xmas though coz they have to be wrapped up and put under the tree apparently? FFS...............................

[Marts]

If you're using juice then I would prime the bottles with it rather than the secondary DJ you're syphoning off into first. This avoids any accidents happening - I've syphoned many DJ's but only last week I managed to screw it up and syphoned off loads of sediment. As I had primed the secondary DJ I ran it off into it was not possible for me to leave teh brew for a few days to clear and I just had to bottle it. My mead bottles now have cleared but have an inch of sediment in the bottom of each one.

If your leffe bottles are the big ones then they have larger necks than a normal bottle capper can handle. The smaller ones (33cl) will be fine though. bulmers are fine too I believe. Wychwood bottels are the right size opening but the two-handled capper cannot get hold of them properly (unless you are Martialant)

If you h\ven't already got one get a little bottler. It's worth its weight in gold. You might also want to consider 1 litre plastic PET bottles, especially for highly pressured brews.

[Marts]

Just to add my suggestion about priming in the bottles rather than the secondary fv/dj only applies when you're syphoning out of the neck of one DJ with a tube and into the other. If you are syphoning via a bottom tap on an FV then I would add your primin fluid directly to the secondary FV as it will mix well and you are not going to have any trub accidents.

Oh and don't syphon by sucking on the end of the tube

[RatboyOllie]

hey thanks for that, i have a mix of small and large Leffe bottles and a 2 handled capper, i will get rid of the large ones on your advice and not waste my time ! Cheers ! I'm off to the brewshop this weekend for a bottling stick, is that the same as a little bottler? Presumably they will know what I mean at the shop?

I will prime in the bottle, cheers. Maybe i will so some with AJ and some with pear juice and compare and contrast, in fact, thats exactly what i will do !

Ive got some 1 litre PET bottles on standby. I only plan on bottling half a dozen little Leffe bottles for storing and the rest is going in PET's to drink as soon as I can resist temptation no more..........

cheers!

[TC2642]

I wouldn't use the pear juice myself, the last time I did this the result was something akin to drinking pear sick.

[TC2642]

Oh and don't syphon by sucking on the end of the tube

Really? My Dad does it all the time and has had no problems. Still I wouldn't do this with an all grain beer but a cheap cider I don't think it really matters.

[RatboyOllie]

how do you start the siphon going without sucking? Thanks.

i will heed your advice regarding the pear juice, cheers. Pear sick wasnt quite what i was after!!

[adm]

how do you start the siphon going without sucking? Thanks.

i will heed your advice regarding the pear juice, cheers. Pear sick wasnt quite what i was after!!

If you fill the tube with water,holding both ends level, then QUICKLY stick one end into the DJ, while at the same time lowering the other end, the syphon will start by itself.

Have a glass or something handy near the lower end as the water in the tube will start to piss out all over the floor otherwise Once the water is through the tube, stick it in the bottle neck!

[TC2642]

how do you start the siphon going without sucking? Thanks.

i will heed your advice regarding the pear juice, cheers. Pear sick wasnt quite what i was after!!

If you fill the tube with water,holding both ends level, then QUICKLY stick one end into the DJ, while at the same time lowering the other end, the syphon will start by itself.

Have a glass or something handy near the lower end as the water in the tube will start to piss out all over the floor otherwise Once the water is through the tube, stick it in the bottle neck!

Another good way is to use a turkey baster. squeeze the bulb and insert it into the tubing to start the syphon off.

[RatboyOllie]

is there a scientific reason why i cant just suck the siphon to start? How is that any different that sucking air through it using a turkey baster?

I will use the turkey baster idea seen as i have one, i just wondered for future reference............

cheers

[adm]

Your mouth (not just yours, but everyone's) is full of all kinds of bacteria....you don't really want to mix it with your beer/cider wine as it could breed and start an infection.

However, if you are siphoning fermented TC (or beer) then the chances are that the alcohol will kill any bugs anyway. It's better not to chance it though.

[farmhousekeg]

is there a scientific reason why i cant just suck the siphon to start? How is that any different that sucking air through it using a turkey baster?

I will use the turkey baster idea seen as i have one, i just wondered for future reference............

cheers

Thinks its so that you don't cause contamination via all the manky little bugs that live on your lips, in your mouth etc!! Nothing personal!

Glad the TC took off in the end!

[RatboyOllie]

ahhh yes, makes sense

cheers !