Long term storage

[Salmonella Steve]

Hi all 

I’m looking at some of the DIY recipes and they state: “use only one carbonation drop for bottles intended to be stored for a longer period”

my question is, what is considered a long period and short term for using the carbonation drops? 
 

thanks for the help. First time so sorry if this has been answered a million times. 

 

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 minute ago, Salmonella Steve said:

Hi all 

I’m looking at some of the DIY recipes and they state: “use only one carbonation drop for bottles intended to be stored for a longer period”

my question is, what is considered a long period and short term for using the carbonation drops? 
 

thanks for the help. First time so sorry if this has been answered a million times. 

 

 

If you place 2 x carb drops in a longneck - 750ml, it pretty much should be consumed in about 6 months, using just one would mean a longer storage period would be better as it would probably be a gusher, depending on the brew of course, In my bottling days I used to find brews that had been either forgotten or mis-placed & upon opening some were pretty much over carbonated.

I favoured plain white sugar & the same thing applied.

The average brew with the basic ingredients still should be OK, a lot depends on the type & size of the bottle.

I have had the Grolsch style swing-top bottles almost explode upon opening but if you are using the PET bottles it would be safer to a point, it is all dependant on the intended preferred drinking time as if you have hopped the beer generously, you would need to drink it earlier otherwise experience 'hop fade'

 

[Shamus O'Sean]

28 minutes ago, Salmonella Steve said:

Hi all 

I’m looking at some of the DIY recipes and they state: “use only one carbonation drop for bottles intended to be stored for a longer period”

my question is, what is considered a long period and short term for using the carbonation drops? 
 

thanks for the help. First time so sorry if this has been answered a million times. 

 

 

Hi Steve, and welcome to the Forum.

In my view, a long period is more than 6 months and can extend to a few years for high strength beers.  When I make the Coopers Vintage Ales, I usually prime half of the bottles with one carbonation drop or the equivalent in table sugar.  These are the ones I start drinking around the 6 month mark.  I usually have a few bottles left that are over a year old.  I did an all-grain Russian Imperial Stout three years ago and gave some bottles to my brother-in-law.  Just before Christmas, we opened one of the bottles and it was beautiful.  It was also half-primed.

A short term is anything less than 6 months.  Pretty much most brews you can start drinking after about 2 weeks, once they have carbonated. 

[Beerdo]

@Salmonella Steve Welcome aboard the brew bus.
If you're using glass bottles you need to be more cautious than using plastic bottles because glass can explode. Generally if you over-carbonate a plastic bottle the pressure will just exceed the cap's seal and you'll end up with a flat beer.
Personally, I keg most of my brews and bottle a small percentage in plastic bottles. My current oldest bottled brew is 9 months old and was carbonated with 2.5 carbonation drops per bottle. No, I didn't split carbonation drops. I used 1 CSR sugar cube + 1 carb drop. The sugar cube is about 1.5 carb drops.  All the remaining bottles are rock hard.
So if using glass, err on the side of caution but you can be more liberal if you're bottling in plastic.

[Salmonella Steve]

Thanks all for the comments. I’m using 750ml PET bottles.

I'm just starting with un complicated beers to start with like nut brown ale and a lager to understand the process for extract beers and if that goes ok, I’ll work my way up. The beer I want to brew and let sit for a while is the Julebryg ready for Xmas 2024

[Shamus O'Sean]

12 hours ago, Salmonella Steve said:

Thanks all for the comments. I’m using 750ml PET bottles.

I'm just starting with un complicated beers to start with like nut brown ale and a lager to understand the process for extract beers and if that goes ok, I’ll work my way up. The beer I want to brew and let sit for a while is the Julebryg ready for Xmas 2024

The Julebryg sounds like a good recipe to age, especially in the 6-12 month range.  I would carbonate enough bottles at the usual rate so I could try one each month.  The rest can be done at half the normal rate.  You can also try one of those each month to see how it compares.

[Triple B Brewing]

9 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

The Julebryg sounds like a good recipe to age, especially in the 6-12 month range.  I would carbonate enough bottles at the usual rate so I could try one each month.  The rest can be done at half the normal rate.  You can also try one of those each month to see how it compares.

I brewed the Julebryg (Danish for Christmas beer - pronounced "Yul e prorg"), in September of this year. It was well aged and ready for a Christmas hammering, but unfortunately it wasn't a crowd favourite  (I think we were all lookin' forward to smashin' a cold pale ale (or ten) in our face on a hot Christmas day to be honest).

I rated it 3.4 out of 5, but we're all different (thankfully ) @Salmonella Steve, so if you like the sound of it, I'd encourage you to go for it, it's not a hard brew to make and I'm just sharin' my experience for yours and others info. 

I deviated slightly from the Coopers recipe, I used;

• 1 x Star Anise
• 2 x Vanilla Bean Pod (1 extra than the recipe)
• 2 x Cinnamon Sticks (1 extra than the recipe)
• 1 tbsp Coriander Seed (half the recipe as I found these hard to buy as a seed)

To me, it tasted a bit like drinking a Christmas cake (which I guess was what I had in mind when I read the Coopers brew description, but it quickly becomes a bit over the top when drinking it). My tasting notes were:

• Had to make it, to try it !
• Outcome was not so bad, but not sure about the flavour profile
• Could taste the Vanilla Bean (I used two pods instead of one) and other spices
• The flavours good, deeper and taster with age
• Happy to drink it, so give it a 3.4 / 5, but I wouldn't make it again

As most on this forum would know, I package all my brews in kegs, so I think your suggestion @Shamus O'Sean to bottle this brew might be a good option, as it is probably better appreciated in small winter session quantities 

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, Triple B Brewing said:

I brewed the Julebryg (Danish for Christmas beer - pronounced "Yul e prorg"), in September of this year. It was well aged and ready for a Christmas hammering, but unfortunately it wasn't a crowd favourite  (I think we were all lookin' forward to smashin' a cold pale ale (or ten) in our face on a hot Christmas day to be honest).

I rated it 3.4 out of 5, but we're all different (thankfully ) @Salmonella Steve, so if you like the sound of it, I'd encourage you to go for it, it's not a hard brew to make and I'm just sharin' my experience for yours and others info. 

I deviated slightly from the Coopers recipe, I used;

• 1 x Star Anise
• 2 x Vanilla Bean Pod (1 extra than the recipe)
• 2 x Cinnamon Sticks (1 extra than the recipe)
• 1 tbsp Coriander Seed (half the recipe as I found these hard to buy as a seed)

To me, it tasted a bit like drinking a Christmas cake (which I guess was what I had in mind when I read the Coopers brew description, but it quickly becomes a bit over the top when drinking it). My tasting notes were:

• Had to make it, to try it !
• Outcome was not so bad, but not sure about the flavour profile
• Could taste the Vanilla Bean (I used two pods instead of one) and other spices
• The flavours good, deeper and taster with age
• Happy to drink it, so give it a 3.4 / 5, but I wouldn't make it again

As most on this forum would know, I package all my brews in kegs, so I think your suggestion @Shamus O'Sean to bottle this brew might be a good option, as it is probably better appreciated in small winter session quantities 

It doesn't sound like something I would like to drink, I would have preferred the Pale Ale. 

[Triple B Brewing]

2 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

It doesn't sound like something I would like to drink, I would have preferred the Pale Ale. 

Yep, once we rinsed glasses and turned to another tap, people were happy Phil  @Classic Brewing Co

Havin' said that, it wasn't a bad brew realy, I could see myself usin' it as a Xmas in July type of drink 

[iBooz2]

On 1/21/2024 at 6:23 PM, Beerdo said:

Generally if you over-carbonate a plastic bottle the pressure will just exceed the cap's seal and you'll end up with a flat beer.

Not on your Nellie @Beerdo , the caps will not fail first.  PET bottles are like balloons and will expand and expand until the base or sides of the bottle gives out, not the cap. 

@Salmonella Steve when you use PET's you don't have to worry about bottle bombs, experiment away to your hearts content.  See attached pic with one of my PETS which has almost doubled in girth - lid did not leak and it did not explode.  Was damn fizzy though. 

BTW @Beerdo are you quoting the "ol' Muzzy Method" of adding sugars?  You just might have infringed his copyright there.....

[Salmonella Steve]

Thanks for the feedback @Triple B Brewing you raise a very valid point. The last thing I really want to be reaching for over and over again on a hot summers day is a spice flavoured beer. 
I think I’ll still brew it (and your recipe edits were pretty much what I was thinking also), bottle it and give away as Christmas presents to mates. That way, someone gets a dedicated bottle of Christmas beer as a present which I agree makes more sense than sitting down to 5 pints of it on Christmas Day.
 

@iBooz2 thanks for the info, it’s good to know. a bit more swelling and I’ll be able to claim you have a 1.25L PET bottle 

after spending some time reading lots of posts on here, my recipe list and when I’ll brew is changing daily haha. 

[Classic Brewing Co]

12 hours ago, Triple B Brewing said:

Yep, once we rinsed glasses and turned to another tap, people were happy Phil  @Classic Brewing Co

Havin' said that, it wasn't a bad brew realy, I could see myself usin' it as a Xmas in July type of drink 

I like many different beers from all over the world, but I don't go for anything with fruit & all sorts of other weird additions as I feel there are so many wonderful types of hops offering all sorts of aromas & flavours.

But that's only my opinion, for those that like it, go for it.

I do however like a Stout with Coffee/Chocolate flavours.

[Triple B Brewing]

3 hours ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

a Stout with Coffee/Chocolate flavours

Now I reckon I could lay my ears back on a couple of cold pints of either or both of those Phil. - Not so much maybe as an after dinner cleansing ale, but more like a pint of evening supper - NUMM NUMM NUMM

[Beerdo]

21 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

Not on your Nellie @Beerdo , the caps will not fail first.  PET bottles are like balloons and will expand and expand until the base or sides of the bottle gives out, not the cap. 

@Salmonella Steve when you use PET's you don't have to worry about bottle bombs, experiment away to your hearts content.  See attached pic with one of my PETS which has almost doubled in girth - lid did not leak and it did not explode.  Was damn fizzy though. 

BTW @Beerdo are you quoting the "ol' Muzzy Method" of adding sugars?  You just might have infringed his copyright there.....

Hi Al.
I'll stand corrected on the cap failures but I've had the odd soft bottle over the years. I figured it was caused by the pressure of too much carbonation.
As for copyright infringement, @Malter White and I are like that . He even offered me his wife. I doubt he'll have a problem with my carbonating processes.  

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, Beerdo said:

Hi Al.
I'll stand corrected on the cap failures but I've had the odd soft bottle over the years. I figured it was caused by the pressure of too much carbonation.
As for copyright infringement, @Malter White and I are like that . He even offered me his wife. I doubt he'll have a problem with my carbonating processes.  

Sounds good @Beerdo I think