End of first fermentation

More noob questions from a noob!

As my brew is hopefully brewing, my next plan was to let that finish then try to siphon it out into bottles

As my fv doesn't have a tap, I could imagine this getting tricky.

However a kindly soul has offered me a barrel with a tap.

Is this better than the straight to bottle method?

I can see that it will be a hell of a lot easier to bottle this way. Will extra time fermenting in a barrel make better beer?

Make the process quicker?

thegoatboy said:

More noob questions from a noob!

As my brew is hopefully brewing, my next plan was to let that finish then try to siphon it out into bottles

As my fv doesn't have a tap, I could imagine this getting tricky.

However a kindly soul has offered me a barrel with a tap.

Is this better than the straight to bottle method?

I can see that it will be a hell of a lot easier to bottle this way. Will extra time fermenting in a barrel make better beer?

Make the process quicker?

Click to expand...

If I were you, I would leave your beer in the fv for a couple of weeks, don't worry about moving it to another barrel for extra fermenting time. However, a barrel with a tap that you can fit a bottling stick onto will make you're life a helluva lot easier than trying to syphon into individual bottles. My advice, get a bottling stick, make up a syrup with your priming sugar in boiling water (cool it to the same temperature as your beer after). Add this to your barrel, then siphon your beer into the priming syrup. Try to keep the end of the siphon submerged, you don't want to be adding oxygen to your beer at this stage. Once all your beer is in the barrel, use the bottling stick to fill your bottles. Remember - sterilise EVERYTHING that is going to come into contact with your beer.

thegoatboy said:

More noob questions from a noob!

As my brew is hopefully brewing, my next plan was to let that finish then try to siphon it out into bottles

As my fv doesn't have a tap, I could imagine this getting tricky.

However a kindly soul has offered me a barrel with a tap.

Is this better than the straight to bottle method?

I can see that it will be a hell of a lot easier to bottle this way. Will extra time fermenting in a barrel make better beer?

Make the process quicker?

Click to expand...

Hi Goatboy,

Bottling using just a siphon can be done, if the siphon has a tap. Otherwise, it will be very tedious.

If your mate will lend you the barrel for a week, then I suggest you brew for 2 weeks in your FV, siphon to the barrel and leave for a further week before bottling.

If you only get the barrel for a day, then you could use the barrel to add your priming sugar, dissolved in hot water, to make the bottling easier.

Leaving the beer in bulk for 2-3 weeks will get you better beer quicker than bottling cloudy beer, that has not gone through the whole fermentation process, at 10 days.

Patience is the most important ingerdient!

I think the barrell is a keeper.

Isn't best to buy decent sugar?

Table sugar works fine. There are other things you can use, and whatever you choose, the key is the correct amount. There is a priming sugar calculator in the 'calculators' link at the top of the page.

Thanks everyone.

The thing I've learned most about my first flight into brewing is the instructions in the kit are not quite correct!

:-)

So if I get the barrell for longer should I just dissolve the sugar in the beer rather than in hot water?

thegoatboy said:

So if I get the barrell for longer should I just dissolve the sugar in the beer rather than in hot water?

Click to expand...

You need to prime just before you bottle, otherwise the yeast will just use the sugar and you'll be back to square one. I'm sure you know but the idea is to give a small amount of sugars that the yeast will use to carbonate your beer.

When I do it, I take a small amount of beer and put the sugar in, warm it gently on the stove and stir until it dissolves (doesn't need to get very hot) and add it back halfway through racking.

HebridesRob said:

You need to prime just before you bottle, otherwise the yeast will just use the sugar and you'll be back to square one. I'm sure you know but the idea is to give a small amount of sugars that the yeast will use to carbonate your beer.

Click to expand...

Well I do now:-)

So in the earlier scenario, leave it as it is for another week or two weeks, then siphon to the second barrel for a week, then add the sugar and bottle?

I'm loving this chemistry already! If I can get drunk k off lovely beer too, I'm gonna be very happy!

thegoatboy said:

Well I do now:-)

So in the earlier scenario, leave it as it is for another week or two weeks, then siphon to the second barrel for a week, then add the sugar and bottle?

I'm loving this chemistry already! If I can get drunk k off lovely beer too, I'm gonna be very happy!

Click to expand...

Yes.

It's one of those things where there isn't really a "right" way. I think most people nowadays would leave in the fermenter for two weeks (or more, possibly), then rack the beer off the yeast, dissolve the appropriate amount of sugar, add it in, stir gently to mix then bottle right away.

Other people (me) would measure sugar into each bottle and syphon (or tap and bottling stick in my case) the beer into the bottle directly from the fermenting vessel.

A few people would rack off the yeast after a week or so and leave in another container for a few weeks, racking once again before adding sugar and bottling.

There are pros and cons but your aim should be to get as little yeast into the bottle as possible. A paint thickness in the bottom of the bottle after settling in the bottle.

Have a read through this on-line book. It's good.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11.html

If you're going to bottle from that barrel I would see into getting a bottling stick to fit on to it, you don't want to tap right into the bottle , you will cause slashing air bubbles and it will oxidise your beer.

Plan in work today is to purchase a bottling stick and an auto-siphon.

what does "rack off the yeast" mean exactly?

thegoatboy said:

Plan in work today is to purchase a bottling stick and an auto-siphon.

what does "rack off the yeast" mean exactly?

Click to expand...

Hi mate. In brewing, racking off is just the process of transferring your fermented beer into a barrel or some bottles.

In HebridesRob's post earlier about racking off the yeast I think that was referring to leaving your brew in your fermenter for a full 2 weeks which will result it in clearing fairly well, with a layer of yeast sediment sitting a the bottom. So you'd be drawing relatively clear beer off the top of a layer of yeast sediment. Hope that makes sense?!

Anyway it sounds like your first brew is going really well, and hopefully you are picking up some useful advice on here! You are certainly right in your earlier comment about kit instructions being bad. It is AMAZING how bad kit instructions are. They seem to leave out glaring chunks of information!!

My top tip (which I think has been mentioned earlier also) is to avoid any splashing of your beer at all costs when in the fermenter, and when you are racking it. I lost 120 pints down the sink before I learnt this one, and again you won't see it in any instructions!

If you are siphoning into a barrel, be sure to submerge the end of your pipe in the siphoned beer. Don't do what I used to do and dangle the pipe in the neck of the barrel so it falls in from a height!

Similarly if you are bottling it definitely pays to get a bottling stick (sometimes called a "little bottler" - check brewuk.co.uk) because these insert into the bottle and fill from the bottom. So definitely no oxidising. Work out how much sugar to need to "prime" your beer and dissolve that quantity in boiling water. Let your sugar solution cool a bit then pour it into your barrel first, then siphon the beer in with it. This should be enough usually to mix the sugar in properly. But if you want to you CAN give it a stir - but you MUST stir really carefully so there are no splashes and no bubbles.

Good luck with it, and hope you enjoy drinking some awesome home brew!

this forum is ace.

I've learned so much today already :-)

Hopefully I will get the barrel soon.

Just ordered an auto siphon, some sugar and a little bottler in perpetration.

you mentioned a full two weeks.

what happens if its a bit longer?

It's easier for me to do all this stuff on weekends.

Great stuff - yeah this is a brilliant forum to be honest! I have found everyone to be so knowledgeable and always happy to give great advice.

More than two weeks in fermenter is fine! In fact a lot of people advocate 3 weeks. The common trait with new brewers (me included) is being overly keen to keep the process rolling by transferring fermented beer to barrel or bottles the very moment it seems to have stopped fermenting. But I have since learnt from this forum that it pays to leave it in the fermenter for longer because - even if all of it has fermented fully - the yeast then "cleans up" any nasties that could be floating around and which might cause some unwanted bad flavours in your end result. So yeah, 3 weeks in the fermenter is certainly fine, and in fact your beer will end up being much better for it!

OK, bringing this back to life.

The barrel is currently sat behind me.

it is a king keg.

the tap appears to be at the top, rather than the bottom.

do I have to pressurise the barrel to get the beer out?

It's officially been 10 days in the fv

Gonna start taking measurements today to see where we are

Just took the first measurement - this is 10 days in

It was 1040 and is currently at 1016.

It has stopped bubbling as much as it was

Seems to taste OK. EDIT: It tasted bloody lovely!

Should I be worried it not still fermenting?

Going to check again Friday.