A bazillion questions

[Archer]

Hey all,

Ive just blundered my way through my second bottling and have some questions. Hopefully you guys won't mind throwing your 2 cents in.

 

1. Once the brew hits the same FG for 2 days running, how long can it stay in the FV without experiencing any negative effects?

 

2. what does extra hops do to a brew in layman's terms? for example, does it increase bitterness, give the beer a bigger beeryness?

 

3. when i taste test a brew in the vat, i rather like what i taste, then i bottle it and it gets ugly for a few weeks. is this because I've started the yeast cycle fresh and its going through all of the stages it went through in the vat - in the bottle and i'm tasting unfinished beer all over again? i know it needs to age, but i'm trying to understand the process is all.

 

4. does Coopers sanitizer actually kill unfriendlies or just make it easier to clean?

 

5. How to I stop people asking for free beer now that they know i can make non-toxic homebrew? This reminds me of when i owned a ute and was asked by almost strangers to help them move house... go to the tip ...

 

6. racking to a secondary - what for? does it really make a difference in, i assume, a lack of sediment in the bottles?

 

7.Why is my Coopers micro kit lid the only one that does seal properly? o.O

 

8. When using the yeast from a bottle/s of Coopers for a brew, how many bottles per 23l should be used? does yeast multiply the longer you culture it? So if i put in an under-supply of yeast into a batch(as an example), would it multiply to do the job at hand (presumably taking longer to get to FG)? does that even make sense?

 

9. Why do ppl Toucan? as far as i can tell, the second can replaces the dex / sugar you would normally add. Does using two cans make spectacular beer?

 

Thanks and sry for the wall of text. i figured better to save em all up and ask together rather than 9 posts

 

later days

[The Brew Master]

..... Muddy,........Where are you???????????

 

 

[Muddy Waters]

I'm here [biggrin]

 

Sorry Archer - No time at the moment but I'll come back and have a look at your questions later. Hopefully by that time someone who knows what they are talking about will have popped their head in [lol]

[Archer]

..... Muddy,........Where are you???????????

 

 

hahaha. didn't mean to scare you mate. :P

 

No worries Muddy. I'm just trying to understand why i'm doin what i'm doin rather than just following others advice.

 

on a note to other forum members, i'll be disappointed if the comment "DON'T THROW IT OUT!!!!!!" isn't in this thread somewhere too.[biggrin]

[Muddy Waters]

1. Once the brew hits the same FG for 2 days running, how long can it stay in the FV without experiencing any negative effects?

 

There are too many variables to give an exact amount of time.It depends on temp, cleanliness etc. 2-3 weeks should be ok. I like to keep my ales in te fermentor for 2 weeks. 1 week for fermentation and then one week to settle (and for dry hopping).

 

2. what does extra hops do to a brew in layman's terms? for example, does it increase bitterness, give the beer a bigger beeryness?

 

Yes and yes. Hops can make an average beer superb (and vice versa). A simple hops addition can really add a new dimension to your beer. Bitterness is achieved with longer boils and flavour and aroma with short boils, steeps and dry hopping.

 

3. when i taste test a brew in the vat, i rather like what i taste, then i bottle it and it gets ugly for a few weeks. is this because I've started the yeast cycle fresh and its going through all of the stages it went through in the vat - in the bottle and i'm tasting unfinished beer all over again? i know it needs to age, but i'm trying to understand the process is all.

 

I\u2019m not really sure about this. Can I call a friend?

 

4. does Coopers sanitizer actually kill unfriendlies or just make it easier to clean?

 

Never used it myself but the name suggests it would kill (or \u201csanitise\u201d)

unfriendlies . It cleans also. I\u2019m a \u201cColes sensitive nappy wash\u201d and Iodophor man myself \u2013 I soak the fermentor in nappy cleaner and sanitise with Iodophor. I currently have a boycott imposed on Coles so I might have to rethink my brands [bandit]

 

5. How to I stop people asking for free beer now that they know i can make non-toxic homebrew? This reminds me of when i owned a ute and was asked by almost strangers to help them move house... go to the tip ...

 

Deliberately make a crappy batch and offer this to freeloaders. They\u2019ll soon stop asking.

 

6. racking to a secondary - what for? does it really make a difference in, i assume, a lack of sediment in the bottles?

 

I don\u2019t bother unless I am bulk priming. Some people will swear by it.

 

7.Why is my Coopers micro kit lid the only one that does seal properly? o.O

 

No comment [biggrin]

 

8. When using the yeast from a bottle/s of Coopers for a brew, how many bottles per 23l should be used? does yeast multiply the longer you culture it? So if i put in an under-supply of yeast into a batch(as an example), would it multiply to do the job at hand (presumably taking longer to get to FG)? does that even make sense?

 

I like to use a 6 packs worth of yeast for a re-culture. The yeast will keep multiplying if you keep feeding it but if it runs out of food it will go to sleep. You are best not to under pitch yeast. However fermentations are often started at a higher temp and then brought down to temp over a couple of days to give the yeast a chance to multiply.

 

9. Why do ppl Toucan? as far as i can tell, the second can replaces the dex / sugar you would normally add. Does using two cans make spectacular beer?

 

The beer can be twice as good or twice as bad with a toucan. The second can often replaces all or some of the fermentables. There needs to be method to the madness with toucans \u2013 You need to take into account things like the bitterness each can will bring to the party etc.

 

[rightful] These are just some of my opinions but once I click \u201cpost\u201d they shall be fact [ninja]

 

[Bear1525228171]

5. How to I stop people asking for free beer now that they know i can make non-toxic homebrew? This reminds me of when i owned a ute and was asked by almost strangers to help them move house... go to the tip ...

Option a)You could pass on the advice that for the price of 2 cartons of commercial beer they can make their own, 60 bottle batch & from then on, make beer equivalent to $10 carton.

 

Option b)$ell it to them

6. racking to a secondary - what for? does it really make a difference in' date=' i assume, a lack of sediment in the bottles?[/quote']I can't speak for others, but I do it for sediment reduction and bulk priming.

 

7.Why is my Coopers micro kit lid the only one that does seal properly? o.O

I agree Archer. I don't see what the fuss is about, my lid fits & works perfectly.

 

Regards, Bear

 

[Bear1525228171]

Deliberately make a crappy batch and offer this to freeloaders. They\u2019ll soon stop asking.

Good suggestion Muddy but I couldn't bear the thought of deliberately wasting the time, effort or expense, however if you were to accidentally screw up a batch...

 

Archer maybe you could offer the freeloader a lager that has been in the bottle for a few days, blugh!

Regards, Bear

[Archer]

Thanks for the answers guys. You have cleared up a lot for me. I want to start experimenting with various things sometime in the next few batches with hops tea bags after i've got a baseline. i'm keeping 4 bottles from each batch i make to do a side by side when i've got 5 or 6 batches done. I'm thinkin that's going to be a lot of beer tasting[lol] ~does some quick maths...~ I am going to be so sick - 30 bottles...

 

I guess one of each 'as per instruct' and one with hops additions will show me what i like and don't like eh?

 

oh one other thing. what does Malt do to a beer? so maybe reducing dex for an increase in light dry malt. I'mguessing not bitterness or beeryness cos thats covered by the hops eh. maybe a more solid flavour as opposed to a watery beer? can you tell i'm guessing?[wink]

 

 

 

 

[Trusty1]

A brazilian is when a girl goes to the beauty store and asks for...oohh, sorry, just re-read the name of your post again, BAZILLION! [innocent] My bad[rightful] .