First time brewer with questions about bottling

[monkeybutler]

Hi there. So I feel like I've been reasonably successful with my first brew so far (a starter kit American Pale Ale), by which I mean nothing appears to have gone disastrously wrong and I'd like to keep it that way. I've decided I want to bottle my beer but I'd never really paid attention to the process up until now and the more I look into it the more I get confused about which way to go. It seems everyone has different advice on if to cold crash, store at a cooler or higher temperature. Whether to leave the beer in the bottling barrel for a while (to let the sediments settle?) and how long for etc. I was wondering what the advice would be from those helpful brewers on here and if I could have a quick step by step guide on times, temperatures etc. I really would like my beer to be as clear as possible with as little sediment as possible but being a beginner I also don't want to over complicate matters.

In terms of temperature my house is difficult to heat, when I am out of the house it is usually around 16C-18 C (or 60F-64F) but when I get home I can raise the temperature up to about 20C-24C (68F-75F) using a halogen heater in the room the beer is stored.

For cold temperatures I really am limited to the outside which over the next couple of weeks could be anywhere between -2C and 8C.

Thanks!

 

[stephen1546]

Im relatively new to home brew, have done a few ale and wine kits which have turned out well. After the ale has fermented/bottled i would leave beer to carbonate in room temperature for 2 weeks, followed by 2 weeks in cooler conditions which is usually the fridge, was thinking about a batch i have just now putting them in the greenhouse to condition.

Cheers

Stevie

 

[Horners]

Hi there. So I feel like I've been reasonably successful with my first brew so far (a starter kit American Pale Ale), by which I mean nothing appears to have gone disastrously wrong and I'd like to keep it that way. I've decided I want to bottle my beer but I'd never really paid attention to the process up until now and the more I look into it the more I get confused about which way to go. It seems everyone has different advice on if to cold crash, store at a cooler or higher temperature. Whether to leave the beer in the bottling barrel for a while (to let the sediments settle?) and how long for etc. I was wondering what the advice would be from those helpful brewers on here and if I could have a quick step by step guide on times, temperatures etc. I really would like my beer to be as clear as possible with as little sediment as possible but being a beginner I also don't want to over complicate matters.

In terms of temperature my house is difficult to heat, when I am out of the house it is usually around 16C-18 C (or 60F-64F) but when I get home I can raise the temperature up to about 20C-24C (68F-75F) using a halogen heater in the room the beer is stored.

For cold temperatures I really am limited to the outside which over the next couple of weeks could be anywhere between -2C and 8C.

Thanks!

For the beers I bottle my regime which seems to produce consistently clear, nicely carbonated beer, is as follows:

• Once primary fermentation has finished and the beer has had another week or so in the FV for the yeast to work its cleaning magic I will take the gravity readings daily and provided consistent (and FG in line with expectations) over three days will then 'cold crash'. For me at this time of year with ambient temperatures in the brewhouse around 4 degrees that just means sticking the FV on the brewhouse floor for 2-3 days.
• I batch prime which involves making a sugar syrup in the correct quantities (see online calculators based on style and volume - also note that the temperatures quoted are the highest temperature during fermentation, not the temperature of the cold crashed beer), pouring that into a bottling bucket and then syphoning the beer onto the sugar. In the pursuit for clearer beer it is important to try not to disturb the sediment. This means perfecting syphoning technique and potentially being prudent in terms of how much you are prepared to leave behind on the yeast. How flocculant the yeast is may also play apart here - I bottled one batch of a Belgian style last year which has remained forever cloudy, the yeast cake being a lot looser than some of the beers made with English yeasts and therefore much more prone to being stirred up. Also syphon should have some kind of trap on it which also helps.
• A gentle stir and then good to go with the bottling - to your point about leaving it in bucket for a while, I don't due to concerns around oxidation which I don't really know whether are valid or not. Like most I use one of those little bottler bottling wands attached to the tap on the bucket.
• Once bottled its in the house for a couple of weeks in a box covered with a blanket to be left fairly near a radiator. I would say that ambient temperature is typically about 21C but even if it is a couple of degrees less it just means it may take longer.
• Many advocate filling at least one plastic bottle with beer as this serves as a guide tow hether beer is carbing up (as bottle will become firm).
• Then out to shed for conditioning for 2 weeks minimum but typically much longer. As others are fond of reminding us time and gravity will clear most beers (but not it seems the Belgian one I referred to above which has now been conditioning for 7 months).

 

[monkeybutler]

Thanks for all the info. That's made me a bit clearer now. I've seen a lot of people mention gelatine for clearing beer. Is that worth looking into?

I'm just worried about the "suck back" if I cold crash and this being my first brew I want to limit what could go wrong. I might leave that out for now and see how it turns out but keep it in mind for next time.

 

[Madhouse]

Not used gelatin but from what I’ve heard it can also remove your yeast so you may need to add it back in to your priming solution.

You can also use Irish moss / protafloc in the boil.

 

[Horners]

Thanks for all the info. That's made me a bit clearer now. I've seen a lot of people mention gelatine for clearing beer. Is that worth looking into?

I'm just worried about the "suck back" if I cold crash and this being my first brew I want to limit what could go wrong. I might leave that out for now and see how it turns out but keep it in mind for next time.

Not sure about suck-back - is the risk that contents of airlock get sucked in. Certainly the lid often inverts but to manage the airlock scenario I am working through a bottle of berry flavoured gin for airlock liquid (which is not to my taste).

 

[Brew Dad]

Thanks for all the info. That's made me a bit clearer now. I've seen a lot of people mention gelatine for clearing beer. Is that worth looking into?

Not used gelatin but from what I’ve heard it can also remove your yeast so you may need to add it back in to your priming solution.

You can also use Irish moss / protafloc in the boil.

I have used gelatin a couple of times now, and it works very well for producing crystal clear beer. Simple to use, as well. I also bottle condition, and my most recent batches carbed in the same amount of time and to the same degree as when I didn't use gelatin. Also, FWIW, I also now bottle condition at the same temp as primary fermentation (whatever is appropriate for yeast type and beer type) - usually between 16-20 degrees C. Beers usually fully carbed in about two weeks. So I can be drinking crystal clear beer about 4 weeks after brew day, which is great for many hop forward styles like IPA and APA.

 

[fourbob]

I've never bothered with cold-crashing (or gelatine) - I started with kits but now do all grain - but I've never been too worried if my beer's a little cloudy. In my experience the type of yeast and how it packs down in the bottle, along with how long you can bear to leave the stuff alone before you find you've drunk it all will have a significant impact on how clear it is in the glass. If it's the Youngs American Pale Ale, I recall that as being a pretty good pint but can't remember what it's like in terms of clarity.
My method is to dissolve the bottling sugar in a little boiling water, tip it into a separate bucket, then syphon from the fermenter onto the sugar solution. A syphon with a sediment trap is useful here, as is something suitable to use as a filter - the Festival kits come with a little sock with a drawstring which is ideal, some people use a cut up pair of tights - to sterilise and tie over the end to prevent yeast and hop debris getting sucked up.
This ensures an even distribution of your bottling sugar, and leaves most of the crud in the fermenter so you don't have to worry about it getting into your bottles.
Then its a case of syphoning from the bottling bucket into your (sterilised) bottles, capping them and leaving them somewhere warm to carb up for a couple of weeks (although I have been known to cut this to a week without any ill effects) - the temps in your house sound fine - then somewhere cool to condition for a couple of weeks, or as long as you can leave it. A lot of good kits these days are very drinkable almost as soon as they are carbed, but they will get better over a few weeks.
Leave yourself more time than you think you'll need, especially for your first run-through, bottling is a time consuming process.
Good luck!

 

[monkeybutler]

the Festival kits come with a little sock with a drawstring which is ideal, some people use a cut up pair of tights - to sterilise and tie over the end to prevent yeast and hop debris getting sucked up.

As luck would have it my girlfriend has just bought a pair of tights that instantly laddered and was about to throw away. I suppose if I steralise them it could be worth a try. A syphon with a sediment trap is definitely on my to buy list for next time.

Thanks!