Newb first brew

[colliefish]

Hi guys

Here is the first of what will no doubt be many questions :-)

I've finished fermentation of my first brew (coopers canadian blonde). After taking steady fg readings over 4 days I syphoned straight to bottle using coopers carbonation drops. The bottles are now sat under the stairs (day 8) conditioning.
I've since read that most people seem to syphon to another bin and batch prime with their choice of sugar and then bottle.
Have I done it wrong? My beer is very clear as I used beer brite finings the day before I syphoned and I stayed away from the bottom.
Any suggestions for my next batch (bulldog mixed berry cider. Which is fermenting as we speak) would be really appreciated.

Many thanks
Mark.

 

[Slid]

Hi guys

Here is the first of what will no doubt be many questions :-)

I've finished fermentation of my first brew (coopers canadian blonde). After taking steady fg readings over 4 days I syphoned straight to bottle using coopers carbonation drops. The bottles are now sat under the stairs (day 8) conditioning.
I've since read that most people seem to syphon to another bin and batch prime with their choice of sugar and then bottle.
Have I done it wrong? My beer is very clear as I used beer brite finings the day before I syphoned and I stayed away from the bottom.
Any suggestions for my next batch (bulldog mixed berry cider. Which is fermenting as we speak) would be really appreciated.

Many thanks
Mark.

No, that sounds fine to me. My first (return) brew was a Coopers Australian lager and you have improved on my approach by taking FG readings.

This yeast seems to clear quickly and the finings were possibly OTT, but unlikely to any harm whatsoever.

I would be inclined to leave the bottles in relative warm for 2 weeks, unless they are in PET bottles, which will let you know when they have carbonated up properly.

Another 2-3 weeks will see it in good shape for drinkability, but no doubt you will try it a bit earlier than this. Just don't judge it too harshly early on, as it will improve with time.

Once you get into home brewing, you might do as most of us do and leave the beer for 2 weeks in the primary FV. This actually makes it a good drink faster, rather than waste a week of time.

 

[Slid]

Only suggestion of the bulldog mixed berry cider is to leave it a good deal longer than the beer kit in primary FV and not even think about bottling before 1.000 on the hydrometer.

 

[Fil]

Batch priming when done correctly will ensure every bottle is conditioned, when weighing and funneling sugar into bottles en mas its easy to miss one or 2, the easy conditioning drops dont need any weighing focus so make it easier to hit em all you will find out if u missed a bottle or two come cracking em,, any flat bottles will either have a dodgy cap fitted or were missed out
after years of bottling i will still miss one ot 2 in a batch :sick: i cant blame dodgy caps as i use flip tops bottles mainly

 

[colliefish]

Wow. What a response.
Thanks guys.
My beers was in FB for 14 days at a temperature of 22 deg. Rising to 23.5 on the last 2 days due to some really hot weather down in Devon.

Would you all recommend syphoning to a second container to bottle from it or is it fine to bottle straight from FB.

As for waiting for beer to condition. I'm a patient bloke and don't want to risk disappointment by cracking a bottle too early so was going to leave for a month. The beer is already really clear and there are very small bubbles rising from the bottom. Though it's day 8 in the bottle and feels like a year

For the cider. I was going to take a first fg reading on day 7 or 8. Looking at the top it seems the fermentation has slowed right down as the foam is beginning to clear off.

 

[welshboy]

A tip if your starting off, I have kept a note book for my brews and temperatures, hydrometer readings, anything added, how long it took etc. I also try a few early bottles and make tasting notes give it a drinkability rating (would you swap it for your normal pub pint) and description, nothing fancy just hoppy, clean taste, then try again and in a month or so and compare, you will soon find out when it's at it's best or if it's just as goo from first taste through to finish. :drink:

 

[Chris2304]

Personally, by the time you have sterilised the second FV, dissolved the sugar, etc I'm not convinced that siphoning into a second FV and batch priming is any quicker (or the beer any clearer) than bottling straight from the first FV.

 

[colliefish]

Cheers Chris. I'll carry on with the coopers carbonation drops for now.
I keep a diary so that if it turns out really good I can duplicate it.
Cheers guys.

 

[colliefish]

Update on the Bulldog mixed berry cider.

OG 1038 29/7/14
FG 998 5/8/14
FG 996 7/8/14
FG 996 9/8/14

Still quite cloudy and a bit vinergery tasting.
I short brewed this at 18 Litres.

should I bottle as FG seems stable or leave the 3 weeks that people recommend.
Many thanks