Ramblings of a Coopers Home Brew newbie

[Mark1969]

Hello,

Firstly, i have found these forums incredibly helpful, as are the various videos on youtube.

I first tried home brew 20 years ago and looking back, i can't believe all the mistakes i made then which made me give it away until recently. Temperature control, preparation, second fermentation process, PET and screw caps vs Bottles and capping, sterilisation, even the selection of glassware to drink from.

As someone who has only brewed only 4 batches this time, i have kept it simple, and the results have been unbelievable. I have only tried the included yeast, sugar, Ale, Draught. (I'm a simple man). But when i go to a pub, i only drink tap draught anyway.

If anyone is just about to start out, that is the only advice i can give - keep it simple. And sterilise.

I'm interested to know how many times people re-use the PET bottles. I'm experimenting with recent brews bottling with a mixture of new, second use and third use, but i can't taste any difference so far. And also, whether it is worth bottling the last 4 bottles of each brew, as i seem to get a couple of "dirty" bottles/dregs???

Thanks

Me.

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, Mark1969 said:

Hello,

Firstly, i have found these forums incredibly helpful, as are the various videos on youtube.

I first tried home brew 20 years ago and looking back, i can't believe all the mistakes i made then which made me give it away until recently. Temperature control, preparation, second fermentation process, PET and screw caps vs Bottles and capping, sterilisation, even the selection of glassware to drink from.

As someone who has only brewed only 4 batches this time, i have kept it simple, and the results have been unbelievable. I have only tried the included yeast, sugar, Ale, Draught. (I'm a simple man). But when i go to a pub, i only drink tap draught anyway.

If anyone is just about to start out, that is the only advice i can give - keep it simple. And sterilise.

I'm interested to know how many times people re-use the PET bottles. I'm experimenting with recent brews bottling with a mixture of new, second use and third use, but i can't taste any difference so far. And also, whether it is worth bottling the last 4 bottles of each brew, as i seem to get a couple of "dirty" bottles/dregs???

Thanks

Me.

 

Hi @Mark1969 Welcome to the forum, I used PET bottles for years when I was bottling, they will last for years if they are treated properly, you should never use hot/boiling water on them, rinse them immediately after emptying & store them out of the sun.

I keg these days but eventually I moved to glass bottles & then I just simply put got sick of bottling.

The only bottles I end up with is the 2-4 litres that won't fit in a 19l keg. These days I don't even have any of them, but they do serve their purpose.

[Oldbloke]

If you can source glass bottles and stubbies with the old style of cap. (Non twist top)

 

I use a combination of the older coopers long necks and Bundaberg ginger beer stubbies. They last forever.

[Shamus O'Sean]

3 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

Hello,

Firstly, i have found these forums incredibly helpful, as are the various videos on youtube.

I first tried home brew 20 years ago and looking back, i can't believe all the mistakes i made then which made me give it away until recently. Temperature control, preparation, second fermentation process, PET and screw caps vs Bottles and capping, sterilisation, even the selection of glassware to drink from.

As someone who has only brewed only 4 batches this time, i have kept it simple, and the results have been unbelievable. I have only tried the included yeast, sugar, Ale, Draught. (I'm a simple man). But when i go to a pub, i only drink tap draught anyway.

If anyone is just about to start out, that is the only advice i can give - keep it simple. And sterilise.

I'm interested to know how many times people re-use the PET bottles. I'm experimenting with recent brews bottling with a mixture of new, second use and third use, but i can't taste any difference so far. And also, whether it is worth bottling the last 4 bottles of each brew, as i seem to get a couple of "dirty" bottles/dregs???

Thanks

Me.

 

Hey Mark, Welcome to the Forum.  It sounds like you have been lurking for a bit though.  Which is fine, I certainly did.

I have reused PET bottles since 2017.  I have no idea of how many times they have been reused.  As noted above, if you keep them clean and sterilise before use, they should be fine.

I mostly keg these days, but sometimes fill a couple of bottles to give away or use as travellers.

Back when I was bottling a whole batch, I used the bottling wand to decant the last 3 litres into a jug.  Then I filled the last few bottles from the jug.  This method minimised how much trub was disturbed by tilting the fermenter to get the last drops out.  

[glivo]

My oldest (Cooper's) PETs are now 20 years old this year and still perfectly fine.  I have beer in some of them now.  Some of these old bottles will have been used and re-used anywhere up to 50 times, or maybe more.  They look like it, but they are still fine.  Other brand bottles are still going as well with an occasional failure.  They last for years and to be honest I haven't replaced many lids either. 

Rack your beer into a bulk primer and you can get every bottle.  I always get 30 or 31 out of 23 litres by leaving the sediment in the FV.

In saying this though, I'm about to retire my bottles since I've just started kegging.  No going back, but I will always have some beer in bottles.  I think I have about 300 or more PETs and nearly as many glass.  Not sure what I'll do with them.

[Classic Brewing Co]

11 hours ago, glivo said:

My oldest (Cooper's) PETs are now 20 years old this year and still perfectly fine.  I have beer in some of them now.  Some of these old bottles will have been used and re-used anywhere up to 50 times, or maybe more.  They look like it, but they are still fine.  Other brand bottles are still going as well with an occasional failure.  They last for years and to be honest I haven't replaced many lids either. 

Rack your beer into a bulk primer and you can get every bottle.  I always get 30 or 31 out of 23 litres by leaving the sediment in the FV.

In saying this though, I'm about to retire my bottles since I've just started kegging.  No going back, but I will always have some beer in bottles.  I think I have about 300 or more PETs and nearly as many glass.  Not sure what I'll do with them.

I remember when I had similar amounts of bottles ranging from Coopers original longnecks, even some old Pickaxe, I also had dozens of PET bottles still stored in their original boxes, about 200 Grolsch bottles, German Hefe' & Weihenstephaner which I have kept & many more.

The room they were taking up was getting to me especially with 2 house moves so bit by bit I sold heaps, gave away a lot, even to some members of this forum.

Now I am clutter free with probably about 50 of the German bottles left that I use to take up the reside from a brew day as I keg the rest.

 

[jennyss]

Hello @Mark1969 and others,

I have been home-brewing using Coopers extracts for over two years now. We're up to brew no 52 with goodness knows how many PET bottles in circulation. I have no idea which are the older ones. On the bottling front; my husband has a special job - 'the tipping of the fermenting vessel', so we usually get our 30 bottles from 23 litres.

[jennyss]

On 6/11/2024 at 9:46 AM, Classic Brewing Co said:

Now I am clutter free

Ahem, @Classic Brewing Co, I take it you are referring to the bottles only, not the other precious beer paraphernalia?

[Classic Brewing Co]

19 minutes ago, jennyss said:

Ahem, @Classic Brewing Co, I take it you are referring to the bottles only, not the other precious beer paraphernalia?

Absolutely Jenny, the other precious beer paraphernalia will go to my grave. 

It's going to be a big hole! 

[Mark1969]

Thanks all, much appreciated.