JanH1 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Hi. My name is Jan and I'm from Norway. I'm new to brewing and this is my first post. I have read A LOT of posts on this and other forums but still have a few questions. I have started a Coopers Heritage Lager with a can of LME and 500g BE2. I have some Northern Brewer hop flowers in the freezer that I bought more or less by mistake when I startet, and I'm thinking of dry hopping. Would this hop do anything good to a Heritage Lager this way? I understand it's mostly used for bittering...? My second question is about bottle conditioning. Some say two days at room temp, then two weeks in the fridge. Some say two weeks at room temp before fridge. Some say 3-6 months at room temp, and up to several years for a stout etc. Can I store at room temp as long as I want? I have 4 brews going and plenty of room temp storing space, but only one fridge. Thanks for any help. And great forum! [happy] Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Welcome aboard Jan! I don't kknow much about Northern Brewer but it is supposed to be a dual purpose hop used for bittering and flavour/aroma. Someone else might be able to offer more. What temperature are you brewing the Heritage Lager? The kit yeast is a ale/lager blend. If it is at the ale temps then store the bottles at room temp until they are carbonated and add them to the fridge when you are ready to drink them. No need for cold lagering. If you have made a lager then I would leave the bottles at room temp for at least 2 weeks to carbonate and then add them to the fridge to lager for a while (ideally). If you don't have the space in the fridge then just leave them at room temp. The lager will take longer to condition compared to the ale. Ultimately you can only run with the equipment & space that you have and your beer will still turn out fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossm Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 G'day Jan, I am just a kit brewer and have been for over 15 years so I can't be much help with the hop additions etc. The tempratures and conditioning I can only give you my version but it works for me. Firstly, what is room temperature in Norway? Where I live room temperature could easily be 40 degrees in the summer, and more if you are in a shed or something! I believe the official conditioning temp is above 18 degrees, I have a custom made room for brewing made from fridge panels with a refigerated air conditioner to control the temp. I store and condition my beer in there for a minimum of two weeks at around 22 degrees and aim to condition for at least a month before drinking, but sometimes that can get out to quite a bit longer. After about a month I don't think the time makes as great a difference. I have some stout that is over 12 minths old and it is much better than it was earlier. I don't know what the extended time limit for bottle conditioning would be, but I believe it is good for a number of years in the right environment. I would say yes you can store as long as you want at room temperature.....depending on your room temperature..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 it's my understanding that after carbing, conditioning at a lower temp will aid in the long term storage of the beer, higher temps, I believe, can lead to autolisis and skunk the beers... lower temps will help slow this process... er.. happy to be proven wrong on this, but thats my understanding. Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I don't care who they are but those saying that bottles will carb in 2 days are full of it. The only way I can see this being so is if you force carb in a keg first then use a CPBF and fill your bottles from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanH1 Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 Thank you for the replies. I have my brewery/pub in the underground basement of my house, so the room temperature is a pretty steady 20 Celsius. Maybe up to 23-24 on hot summer days. I guess I can just fill the fridge by demand then. Good thing! [cool] BillK; The St Peters IPA kit actually says to store the bottles for 2 days at room temp and then put them in a cold place. I chose to ignore it. I understand 1-2g/liter is recommended for dry hopping so I think I'll try and add 25g of the hops. Should I just sprinkle them on top, or should I make a tea? (I just read about that somewhere.) Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewDK Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I don't care who they are but those saying that bottles will carb in 2 days are full of it. The only way I can see this being so is if you force carb in a keg first then use a CPBF and fill your bottles from there. While I'm still a know-nothing-newbie Bill is absolutely correct. If you use the plastic bottles you can feel the internal pressure building my gently squeezing the bottle. At two days you can only feel the slightest pressure. Completely different from two weeks when the bottle feels solid. This I have to say is something I quite like about the PET bottles, you can literally check that carbonation is happening without opening a bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewDK Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Thank you for the replies. I have my brewery/pub in the underground basement of my house, so the room temperature is a pretty steady 20 Celsius. Maybe up to 23-24 on hot summer days. I guess I can just fill the fridge by demand then. Good thing! [cool] BillK; The St Peters IPA kit actually says to store the bottles for 2 days at room temp and then put them in a cold place. I chose to ignore it. I understand 1-2g/liter is recommended for dry hopping so I think I'll try and add 25g of the hops. Should I just sprinkle them on top, or should I make a tea? (I just read about that somewhere.) Jan Mesh bag with a sanitised weight and drop 'em in. Making a tea would probably contradict the method and intent of dry hopping(I could be wrong). Sprinkling ontop will probably mean straining the whole FV before bottling (once again I could be wrong). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 BillK; The St Peters IPA kit actually says to store the bottles for 2 days at room temp and then put them in a cold place. I chose to ignore it. Jan lol I can't dispute that then I guess. You could always do one bottle as they suggest and see for yourself. 2 days in the bottle is definitely not long enough to carbonate then when you put the bottles in the fridge sends the yeast dormant. The yeast is required to feed from the sugar you place in the bottle to make the Co2. I wonder how St Peters think the bottles carb up with no yeast action due to the cold conditions. I suggest trying one bottle and you can then make your own mind up. BTW: welcome to the forum Jan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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