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bottleing


Broadfoot

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I have just bottled my first brew. There is 40 to 50 mm of brew remaining in the tub that appears to have some post ferment material on the surface. I hate to waste the last couple of litres . Is it OK to bottle "the dregs" or should I pour them down the drain - shudder.

 

Bigfoot

 

 

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I bottle all the way down and put the bottle separate and always in PET's. Then over the next few days I check them - within maybe 2 days the bottles are TIGHT so I release pressure. After about 5 - 7 days I find the brew is a good indicator of where my beer is at. So far it's always been quite drinkable and the real bottles (without the huge yeast content) come out better than the early tastings.

Not sure I would leave than to explode though. 😄 Release the beat!. (crack the cap CAREFULLY!) 😄 

 

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@Journeyman I think you may have a concept bit mixed up there. Secondary fermentation/carbonation is not yeast dependant it is sugar dependant. You will not have bombs due to too much yeast it is too much sugar.  So if FG has been reached during fermntation no need to crack them if they have the correct amount of priming sugar regardless of the amount of yeast. It just gets fermented quicker the more yeast that is there.  They may be hard after two days and no harder. 

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11 hours ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

@Journeyman I think you may have a concept bit mixed up there. Secondary fermentation/carbonation is not yeast dependant it is sugar dependant. You will not have bombs due to too much yeast it is too much sugar.  So if FG has been reached during fermntation no need to crack them if they have the correct amount of priming sugar regardless of the amount of yeast. It just gets fermented quicker the more yeast that is there.  They may be hard after two days and no harder. 

I'm just going by the fact the last bottles (which are far more cloudy) go rock solid within HOURS while all the rest of the batch takes a few days. Crack the top and release some CO2 and they are tight again within a few hours. 

I know it's the amount of sugar that matters but that process happens over the course of maybe 4 days (the longest I have left one before trying it) and doesn't appear to slow down much. And those bottles have be cracked maybe 3 times in that period and still deliver good carbonation.

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5 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

I know it's the amount of sugar that matters but that process happens over the course of maybe 4 days (the longest I have left one before trying it) and doesn't appear to slow down much. And those bottles have be cracked maybe 3 times in that period and still deliver good carbonation

I find it unusual that you regularly crack the bottles. In all of my brewing which would be 1000's of bottles over the years, I have never seen the need to crack a bottle.  I also have only had a few bombs and that was more associated with isolated sanitasion issues or a bottle failure.  I would see it as something that it is nessessary if you have over primed. If you have primed with the correct amount there is seriously no need for it.  Also if you are using PET bottles they are porous, hense why they dont age well, and the pressure will be relieved.  Those PET bottles really don't have the bomb issues that crown seal bottles do.     

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So I would have been safe to leave them?

I am positive they were not over-primed; my process involves physically moving them to one side, prime and move again. I now use sugar so I can reduce slightly the priming for PET's compared to what I use in the slightly larger Coopers longnecks, but the ones I'm talking about got 2 x drops.

Even at 4 days, when I took them to try, they were back to being solid again after 3 pressure reliefs. And by solid I mean as hard as a glass bottle - I might have been able to push the plastic in but probably not with bruising my thumb trying. 😄

I am planning for the coming brew to bulk prime - gentle stirring method rather than secondary FV. I figure I can use my finings jar with the holes in the lid to sprinkle the sugar liquid then just do a very gentle stir to move it around.

On that, I have a missus that hates beer but she likes my 'Strong Dark' brew, Coopers Dark Ale base - if I prime that with raw sugar instead of table sugar, would it impart any flavour to the brew at that late stage?

Edited by Journeyman
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3 minutes ago, Smashed Crabs said:

Some of mine prime super quick like yours solid after a day but iv always just left them and some have sat for 6 months + like that without a problem. Do any of yours ever turn into gushers ?

Not so far... *touches wood* 😄 They do seem to need a bit extra cooling or I get large head and that's after they've been cracked open. Next batch I will leave it sitting in an ice cream tub and see how it goes. 

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30 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

They do seem to need a bit extra cooling

When ever i have brewed I have always had a beer fridge full of beers but if you dont the beer aficionados recommend that home brew is chilled for a minimum of 24 hours before drinking actually it may be 48 hours.  I hate to think of how many times I have just thrown a couple beers in the freezer to cool for an hour before drinking.  

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6 minutes ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

When ever i have brewed I have always had a beer fridge full of beers but if you dont the beer aficionados recommend that home brew is chilled for a minimum of 24 hours before drinking actually it may be 48 hours.  I hate to think of how many times I have just thrown a couple beers in the freezer to cool for an hour before drinking.  

3 hours in the fridge or 1+ in the freezer is common for me. Might have to think a bit further ahead and put the NEXT day's drinking in the fridge.

Then there's the danger of course, of being Winpy and "gladly drinking tomorrows' beers today" 😄 

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1 minute ago, Journeyman said:

Then there's the danger of course, of being Winpy and "gladly drinking tomorrows' beers today" 😄 

Well put more in, pu 2 days or even 3 days worth in.  Run an experiment which is best 3 hours, 24 hours or 48 hours. All in the name of science of course. 

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4 minutes ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

Well put more in, pu 2 days or even 3 days worth in.  Run an experiment which is best 3 hours, 24 hours or 48 hours. All in the name of science of course. 

I actually read this in one of the threads here and did this experiment. Obviously it's about as scientific as when we used to freeze peaches with dry ice and shatter them against the school wall, but there wasn't a noticeable difference between 12, 24 and 48 hours for me.

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42 minutes ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

Well put more in, pu 2 days or even 3 days worth in.  Run an experiment which is best 3 hours, 24 hours or 48 hours. All in the name of science of course. 

LMAO - OK. And I will sell it to the missus as Science. She has stated she knew I'd love HB because it's all sciencey stuff. 😄

24 hours in a day? 24 bottles in the fridge? I can do this... Or give it a good try. Hour by hour ratings. 😄

 

Edited by Journeyman
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