Mozavitch Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Warren\u2019s "My Brewery" thread has re-raised the perpetual question that I ask myself How many bottles (750ml) should I aim to have in circulation? More the merrier I hear you all say. I know this depends on multiple variables such as how many brews you put down per year, how much you drink, how much your friends drink, how often SWMBO lets you brew\u2026..\u2026. The list could go on\u2026 I reckon the sweet spot for me would be to complete 10-15+ batches a year with a rotation of up to 400 bottles (750ml) bottles allowing for the continued emptying and aging of bottled brews etc. One of my mates reckons that the sweet spot for him would be in the order of 800 bottles in circulation... I reckon if I got up to that many I seriously would be thinking of kegs which I\u2019m sure will happen one day. Anyway I\u2019d like to hear others opinion on this topic\u2026 Cheers Moz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I really don't know how many I have (500ish I guess?). I don't know many people apart from my wife (doesn't drink) and family (Don't really put a huge dent in my stock. Recently I've moved back to using more PET bottles for my regular beers and saving my coopers glass longnecks for batches that I age for a few years (Stouts and the like) - I've gone off my grolsch bottles for the moment, not really sure why. Maybe I should sell some - I have about 260. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Im up there at about 400 also... about 200 CPA bottles and about 200 assorted twist tops. Some of them still need to be cleaned etc but I find that Im recycling about 1 crate and using 1 crate of freshly washed bottles. It will be some time till I need more. I run 2 fridges with alternating weeks, Friday Night - Bottle - Sat prepare - Sunday Brew, second batch gets bottled the following week (if ready) Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozavitch Posted August 18, 2011 Author Share Posted August 18, 2011 Well I should clarify I'm in the 200ish club and reckon the 400 club may be ideal volume. As I start to get into the brews that get better with age I am making sure I get them into crown seal bottles. Maybe my mate, who inherited a fair whack of his large bottle collection (800ish) is trying to subliminally convince me to take some off his hands. PS I use a combo of squires 345ml stubbies and the 750ml longies. I used the 750ml amount in original post to gauge actual volume required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I think you should sell me said Grolsch bottles for a reasonable price and offer bargain basement postage and handling, Muddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Ive had problems with my sqingtop bottles (they are not from grolsch but same priciple). I find that all of them don't seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 the seals on swing top bottles need replacing every 10 brews or so and can be picked up quite cheaply. (most LHBS should stock em) You can gererally see when they are getting a little tired when you see the 'dent' in the seal. If I could lay my hands on 100 of those litre ones I would be a happy little vegemite inideed..[ninja] I only have a smallish ammount of these and generally use 2 per batch as early tasters (moved inside to keep warm) where the rest of the batch goes into the underhouse garage for long term storage and slow carbing. (stays about 12'c in there) Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I've heaps of spare seals on my grolsch bottles but have never had to change them. I've used some at least 20 times without a problem but others that have perfect looking seals don't always seal but then will seal perfectly next time (I've tested them a few times after they failed but generally when they fail I rip off the seal straight away and toss it out). It is important to store them with the lids unlocked to give the rubber a chance to bounce back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I only have 105 PET bottles but I have the following kegs: 1 x 23L 4 x 9L 7 x 19L I am slowly building up my collection of kegs and only use the bottles for any left overs from the FV after kegging. I will be happy with another 5-6 kegs and have no intention of any more bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weggl Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Well with over 50 brews under my belt I have now narrowed the pick to make again to around 9. These are the ones I will be making in the future. The trouble is, the others, though drinkable will have to be consumed to make room for the best. I had to make this large amount first up to learn about brewing and secondly to find the best. The other problem is that you blokes keep coming up with new brews that I am tempted to make. Such is life. About this kegging caper, if say you have 10 favourites and you want to keg them plus back ups and you have to leave each keg for say 2 or 3 months before you drink them: just how many kegs do you need? Also if you leave them for such a long time and then you taste them and one is off, you have tied up a keg for that period.[pinched] Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Well with over 50 brews under my belt I have now narrowed the pick to make again to around 9. These are the ones I will be making in the future. The trouble is, the others, though drinkable will have to be consumed to make room for the best. I had to make this large amount first up to learn about brewing and secondly to find the best. The other problem is that you blokes keep coming up with new brews that I am tempted to make. Such is life. About this kegging caper, if say you have 10 favourites and you want to keg them plus back ups and you have to leave each keg for say 2 or 3 months before you drink them: just how many kegs do you need? Also if you leave them for such a long time and then you taste them and one is off, you have tied up a keg for that period.[pinched] Warren A keg doesn't last me long at all. I don't think I have ever had any kegs that lasted more than 1 month at best. Having said that, the freezer I am converting will likely have 4 or 5 taps and will have room for 8 kegs so plenty of room for CC etc. plus I'll still have the 2 taps I have now which will be room for another 3 kegs so in all I can store 11 kegs in a fridge. If I have a keg that is off then I am able to have plenty as back up when needed. Just got to stock up [cool] When you think of it then if you have an infected brew then you have around 30 bottles tied up... it is no different that an infected brew having 1 keg tied up [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasond4 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Infected brews.....come on after all that amount of brewing you are still worrying about that.....golly[roll] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weggl Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Yea Jason, but accidents do happen. Not as much as when I first started. My ones happend from beer getting inbetween the spigot and the barrel of the tap. But now I pull them apart after every use, cured the problem.[cool] Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Infected brews.....come on after all that amount of brewing you are still worrying about that.....golly[roll] I think everyone should be aware of infected brews no matter how long they have been brewing. Just because you have been brewing for a long time does not warrant lapse in hygiene. Not only this but you can still get an infection by the simplest of ways that maybe uncontrolled by the brewer.... eg. while adding to the fermenter an air born bacteria may have got in. Sometimes an infection is beyond our control. However, we do try everything within our means to prevent this. [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Sage words, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasond4 Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 I agree with you Bill but what I was trying to say is that after that amount of time brewing it should be second nature to brew in a sanitary way so as you don't have any infected brews. Yes there are things that are out of our control but only if we let them ie; airborne yeasts. To see what happens to your brew after it is left open to the elements overnight without pitching your yeast check out the latest episode of BREWING TV It will amaze you or your brew.:http://www.brewingtv.com/episodes/2011/8/10/brewing-tv-episode-42-kings-coolship.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Yes there are things that are out of our control but only if we let them I guess I just have to agree to disagree. Not "only if we let them".... What I am trying to say is no matter how good your practice is, there is nothing you can do to prevent the inevitable infection. You can only minimze this chance as much as possible but you will never get it down 100% safe from infection no matter how hard you try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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