time to bite the bullet!

[kay-jay]

hi all,

todays update, hydrometer reading has dropped again ever so slightly so will try again tomorrow. hopefully it will be ready to bottle then.
when i bottle and add my priming sugar how long do i need to keep the bottles at 20c before i can move them somewhere cooler?? also how cool should this final storage be??

thanks for all the good advice guys

cheers

KJ

[stitch]

Normally I leave mine about a week in a warmish place. Then in the outhouse for the rest, which at the moment is probably about 5-10C, maybe less at times...

[kay-jay]

hi stitch

cheers for that mate, sorry for all the simple questions, but there is a steep learning curve and a lot of info to take in.

thanks mate

KJ

[stitch]

No worries!

[pas8280]

Are you bottling today Kay-jay ? Once you bottle you will get an unresistable itch that wont go away until you try it I struggle to make it to 3 weeks before i crack one open
Little tip if you can keep your bottles in the dark use a clear bottle (just one) then you can have a look every day to see how they are clearing don't keep this one in the light it may get light strike and give off flavours. But it will help the time go

[kay-jay]

hi all,

will do pas! all my bottles are clear all 35 1 litre bottles that grandad used to brew with, the bottles are older than me and i'm 35 in 4 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!


KJ

[kay-jay]

hi all,

i bottled my ale yesterday, it soon became apparent that my 1 litre bottles were in fact 750ml bottles and i had a mad panic after bottling 9 and realising i needed another 4 which needed cleaning and sterilising.
other than that all went ok.
all my bottles are clear (think i got about 80, i found another cupboard full yesterday) so to avoid light strike ive covered them with a dark towel...hope thats ok?

i'll post pics of the bottles of ale soon...one advantage of clear bottles is taking pics for here as the brew clears!!

cheers

KJ

[minimilo]

I always use one clear bottle just to see how the beer is clearing.

I also think that light ales and lagers should be in a clear bottle.

[stitch]

Now it's just a matter of resisting the temptation to drink them too early!

At least with clear bottles you will be able to see them clear down.

[kay-jay]

hi all,

At least with clear bottles you will be able to see them clear down.

yeah but with dark bottles you can't tell if they clear....an excuse to open one and find out! god the wait is killing me and i only bottled 24 hrs ago.
hope to crack them open mid march for my birthday.....

cheers
KJ

[kay-jay]

hi all,

my first brew has nearly had a week conditioning in bottles at 20degrees.
i checked on them today and they are starting to clear already
http://picasaweb.google.com/kayjaybrewp ... 0769804626

the next pic was taken with the phone right up against the glass of the bottle. although still a little cloudy you can see the house opposite and a car outside, through the bay window!
http://picasaweb.google.com/kayjaybrewp ... 2139475826

gonna stick em under the stairs tomorrow where its coldish and try and forget about em til mid march ....some chance!

KJ

[OldSpeckledBadger]

The best way of forgetting about them is to get another brew on.

[kay-jay]

hi,

on thursday, 1 week after bottle conditioning i crumbled and opened a bottle! not quite as carbonated as i would like but not totally lifeless either.
no head to speak of tho i'm sure a different pouring technique would produce a bit more than i got on thursday.
it actually tastes pretty good, not perfect by any means but very drinkable and certainly better than the ales in some pubs i could mention. i was pleased with the bitterness levels and the body of the drink. all in all a pretty fine result for a very first brew.
there was a slight aftertaste that was a little bit floraly...anyone know what i mean? hard to explain but a little like talcum powder, is this a characteristic of the hops i used or is it one of these 'off' flavours that i read so much about?? either way the beer is defo drinkable!

cheers

KJ

[kay-jay]

hi,

my extract brew which was very nice when only 1 week conditioned is now strangely losing its nice flavour leaving a very strong twang and nowt else. don't think i'll do any more extract brews. going ag very soon anyway.

KJ

[badgerdan]

Hehe, yup same as mine My first pale ale had a great fresh hop taste after 4 weeks but then that went and just has that twang. My Hobgoblin brew tastes much better after 4 months but I'm guessing that's because it had a lot more hops in it so has retained some of the taste, still has that twang though.
I'm too thinking the same as you Kay-jay and going to all grain now; just building my boiler and mash-tun then I'll use up the extract I've got and I'll then be on the AG line