Hello all,
first post so be gentle!
Had a beginners brewing kit for Christmas courtsey of the Wife (bless her!). It included a Young's Bitter kit which has been fermenting nicely for the last 5 days. When I siphon it into the pressure barrel, which lid do I use as I have been supplied with two screw tops, one which I think allows me to inject Co2.
From what i've read, i'll need to inject Co2 once the barrel is half empty and the pressure drops. My question is really, why do they supply the two different lids, surely i'll need to only ever use the one that allows me to inject the Co2!
Hope it's not a stupid question?
cheers
New Brew!
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Orfy
No not stupid at all.
A little background first.
You can make beer in 5 days then put straight to bottle or keg for carbonation which should be done in 10 to 14 days. You then have beer.
BUT
There are things you can do to make GOOD beer.
A general rule of thumb is the 1-2-3 rule.
1 week in Primary
2 weeks in secondary
3 week Carbonation.
Then drink or let it mature and get better. 1 to 12+ weeks depending on style of beer.
It sounds like you are going from primary straight to carbonation. Nothing wrong with that if you want to taste your first batch soon as possible. (But don't consider the taste of it to be the best beer you can make)
If so you want to use the lid that you can add CO2 with. (Don't forget to prime)
Alternative method is to rack (Syphon) it to the barrel and use the lid with an airlock and leave it to weeks. Then syphon back to the bucket. Clean the keg then add back to the keg with priming sugar and use the CO2 lid.
A little background first.
You can make beer in 5 days then put straight to bottle or keg for carbonation which should be done in 10 to 14 days. You then have beer.
BUT
There are things you can do to make GOOD beer.
A general rule of thumb is the 1-2-3 rule.
1 week in Primary
2 weeks in secondary
3 week Carbonation.
Then drink or let it mature and get better. 1 to 12+ weeks depending on style of beer.
It sounds like you are going from primary straight to carbonation. Nothing wrong with that if you want to taste your first batch soon as possible. (But don't consider the taste of it to be the best beer you can make)
If so you want to use the lid that you can add CO2 with. (Don't forget to prime)
Alternative method is to rack (Syphon) it to the barrel and use the lid with an airlock and leave it to weeks. Then syphon back to the bucket. Clean the keg then add back to the keg with priming sugar and use the CO2 lid.
I'm not sure why they've supplied 2 lids, OJ. From what you say, one of the lids has a CO2 valve fitted? If so, what type is it (photos might help identification! 
).
The second lid may be supplied so that you can fit a different type of injector if you want (since the other lid will already be drilled with inappropriate holes).
Anyway, good luck with your brew, and as Orfy says, it'll get better the longer you leave it (easy to say, eh?
).
).The second lid may be supplied so that you can fit a different type of injector if you want (since the other lid will already be drilled with inappropriate holes).
Anyway, good luck with your brew, and as Orfy says, it'll get better the longer you leave it (easy to say, eh?
).-
Orfy
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Bowser
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prolix
maybe I'll leave one longer to find out how nice they can get.-
Old Jake
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Hoppkins
My kit was a youngs kit, i suspect one of the lids is the standard lid that comes with youngs pressure barrells (assuming it IS a youngs barrell) and the other is the Co2 injector as pictured below
Thats my guess anyway.
I drank my first beer after the minimum time and it was ok. Drank it after another week when there was only 1/3 left and it was WAY better. Regret it now
Leaving my 2nd beer for at least 3 weeks after primary this time
Thats my guess anyway.
I drank my first beer after the minimum time and it was ok. Drank it after another week when there was only 1/3 left and it was WAY better. Regret it now
Leaving my 2nd beer for at least 3 weeks after primary this time
-
Bowser
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Old Jake
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Old Jake
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Old Jake
okay,
so the SG on my Young's Bitter ended up at 1.006 as per instructions having had a steady reading over 24 hrs (after 11 days which seems quite a long time although it took 48 hours to start fermenting)!).
Racked it to my pressure barrel, primed it with 3oz of sugar and used the lid with the Co2 valve (must invest in a co2 injector though!)
It's at about 20 degrees and from what I gather should be left at this temp for 2 weeks secondary and then a further 3 weeks somewhere cooler for carbonation.
Does all that sound about right!
Finally what I really want to know is do I really have to leave it that long as it's my first?!!!!!!!!!!!
so the SG on my Young's Bitter ended up at 1.006 as per instructions having had a steady reading over 24 hrs (after 11 days which seems quite a long time although it took 48 hours to start fermenting)!).
Racked it to my pressure barrel, primed it with 3oz of sugar and used the lid with the Co2 valve (must invest in a co2 injector though!)
It's at about 20 degrees and from what I gather should be left at this temp for 2 weeks secondary and then a further 3 weeks somewhere cooler for carbonation.
Does all that sound about right!
Finally what I really want to know is do I really have to leave it that long as it's my first?!!!!!!!!!!!
-
Old Jake
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oxford brewer
- Under the Table
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- Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:00 pm
- Location: oxford
The cap shouldnt leak(has the tap been stripped down for cleaning?)...any chance of a picture of the type of tap and cap it is.Old Jake wrote:Now that it's in secondary fermentation, is it normal for the cap that covers the tap to pop off every now and again and for a few drops of beer to come out?
The barrel lid has a pressure release valve so should this still happen?
cheers