Otto Von Blotto Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Yeah probably best to let the sample de-gas before taking a reading. I find the bubbles make it hard to read initially as well. You can do this by throwing it between two glasses, pumping the hydrometer up and down in it like a piston or simply leaving it sit there for half an hour. I use the leave it sit there method, but I also have a thermometer to measure the temperature of the sample in order to correct the reading as it's usually gone higher than 20C from sitting around. When you do put the hydrometer into the sample it's best to lower it slowly rather than literally dropping it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 Good old Scottish engineering there! Quick question about the bottle lids...I have the coopers pet bottles with screw on caps. I screwed them on by hand. As tight as I could. I was suddenly worries that this could somehow be wrong and the gas will escape making it non fizzy? Should you check the caps at a particular stage or is the initial tightening usually ok. I don't want my first brew to fail due to a simple Mistake like this. Ta Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 It was reading accurate when I first got it, so not sure what changed but anyway. At least it's consistently out by 2 points low, not bouncing around all over the place. I do check it every month or two though just to make sure. It should be enough to keep them sealed. You could always get one of those rubber jar opener thingys to grip them to get them that little bit tighter if you wanted. The bottles will go hard when the beer carbonates, like a soft drink bottle is before you open it, so that will give you an indication whether they're sealed or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petermur Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I agree with Mr Von Blotto regarding the rubber jar opening thingy - when bottling, I tighten the cap by hand, but after 30 bottles the webbing between thumb and forefinger can get a little sore, so I employ the thingy - mine was in the kitchen drawer and used occasionally by the missus to open a jar, but works a wonder on bottling day. It's an old Tupperware brand but I'm sure you can get one at the supermarket or kitchen store. Tighten by hand then give it a gentle extra fraction of a turn with the thingy to completely seal. Cheers, Petermur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 Yeah that's a shame! It's like the Scottish national team (football/soccer). Underperforming consistently! Cool, I just wondered if maybe there was a special Brewers trick to make sure it was sealed properly. But that'll do for me. I'll send he missus out to the thingy shop where she regularly comes back with thingys that I have no idea how to use and hopefully she'll pick me up a thingy to do the bottle caps! ???????? I've been collecting glass bottles (500ml Stella cidre) to use in the future and I have a bottle capper thingy that she bought me from one of those thingy shops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I wouldn't know about the football teams.. I don't follow soccer. I don't mind it being out as long as it's consistent. It's not that hard to simply add two points to every reading. I've never used the PET bottles, always been glass for me. The above was a suggestion sort of as a reverse idea from how I used to open home brewed twist tops when I had them. My capper is a small contraption that fits into the chuck on a drill press, and when I capped twist top bottles, they were that tight that I needed the opener thingy to turn them to get them open (either that or I used a bottle opener). But no reason why it can't be used to tighten screw on PET lids. I hope your bottle capper isn't one of those shitty hammer ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 I checked my bottle capper it didn't mention anything about a hammer so I'm hoping not aswell now. I'll test it out when I get my bottle caps through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 In that case it's either a bench capper or one of those two handled things that you squeeze together. The bench cappers are the best ones. The hammer ones are basically a capping bell on the end of a short length of timber 'handle', you just bash it over the crown seal on the bottle but I think they probably result in more broken bottles than capped ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Yeah it's one with the two handles. Not tested it yet but will do soon. As long as it does the job I'll be happy. Been checking the PET bottles daily. Been pretty easy to maintain them at about 18 degrees considering it's bloody freezing over hear. There a few wee bubbles starting to gather at the top of the bottles so hopefully they are carbonating as they should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Yeah not a huge fan of those either but they are definitely better than those hammer type ones. I use the drill press to cap my bottles with a small piece that goes into the chuck on it. Giant bench capper. Are the PET bottles hardening up a bit yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Yeah I will report back on how the capper I've got gets on. I've literally Just checked the bottles. Yeah they are hard with a wee bit of flex in them. I suppose the only way I'm going to be able to tell is when I open them. There is one bottle that is very hard, that was the last bottle I filled, it was cloudy (which has now cleared). I had to let some gas out as I thought it might pop! It was super filled. So hopefully still going as they should! A week on Tuesday will be the end of the two weeks in the bottle. Have you to put them in the fridge for a week before consumption? Any recommendations? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petermur Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 So hopefully still going as they should! A week on Tuesday will be the end of the two weeks in the bottle. Have you to put them in the fridge for a week before consumption? Any recommendations? Cheers No need for a full week in the fridge, though they settle and clear nicely if you do - I personally condition them for at LEAST a fortnight at room temperature (here in Queensland well over 20C), then refrigerate a couple of bottles overnight, but longer is better I have been following this thread and looking forward to hearing the result of your taste-test, so as keen as you are, try and resist the urge to open one early - they get better as the weeks go by. Also, if you start another batch soon, the new lot will be fermented and bottled before you drink all the first batch, giving you a continuous supply. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 So hopefully still going as they should! A week on Tuesday will be the end of the two weeks in the bottle. Have you to put them in the fridge for a week before consumption? Any recommendations? Cheers No need for a full week in the fridge' date=' though they settle and clear nicely if you do - I personally condition them for at LEAST a fortnight at room temperature (here in Queensland well over 20C), then refrigerate a couple of bottles overnight, but longer is better I have been following this thread and looking forward to hearing the result of your taste-test, so as keen as you are, try and resist the urge to open one early - they get better as the weeks go by. Also, if you start another batch soon, the new lot will be fermented and bottled before you drink all the first batch, giving you a continuous supply. Cheers. [/quote'] Hi Peter, Thanks for the help! I have read before that it's a good idea to keep one or two bottles aside (I plan on keeping minimum of four) and see how long you can leave them as the taste gets better with age. With regards to the others I take it you would recommend putting them in the fridge as I plan to drink them. Ie on a Thursday night put however many I plan on drinking in the fridge so they're nice n cool for Friday nights consumption?? I have already started a Muntons berry fruit cider (the good lady fancied it). Which will be 7 days in the fermenter tomorrow. So yeah, will hopefully have a constant supply. I've been pretty happy with the patience so far. I just hope it pays off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Well the day has come.... The ale has been in the bottles for two weeks! They have appeared to pressure up nicely, have slight condensation just below the bottle cap and have been lovingly kept at about 18 degrees for two weeks. Tonight, after my work I be putting a good few bottle on the fridge and hopefully by the time evening comes they will be ready to satisfy my taste buds! Thanks to all who have helped! I will no doubt be looking for assistance in the future! Hopefully the taste is what I am hoping for. I will report back! Happy days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 So.... I poured my first bottles...The first was flat as a pancake! The second was only slightly fizzy with a very small head! Have I been to anxious to open? Should I leave them longer? The bottles are firming up nicely! Slight disappointment here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petermur Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Hi Talltwits, Did you add a teaspoon of sugar or a carbonation drop to your bottles on bottling day - also, glasses that are washed with detergent sometimes make the beer go flat - I wash them with hot running water only. Whatever the result of all of this don't give up - you will soon produce a great sparkling ale. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Hi Peter, I used carbonation drops. I believe my pet bottles are 750ml, so I used two carbonation drops. That's been two weeks since I bottled the brew. The taste is very much good, but they were just flat. I had a little leftover in the bottom of each bottle and that seemed to have a much better "fizz". But again not what I would say is normal. It most certainly hasn't or me off. If anything I'm More determined to get it right. I will leave the other bottles for another week and maybe try a bottle per week to see if they improve. It's a good learning curve I suppose. I have a cider brewing the now. So hopefully a constant stream of brew to make sure I get it right in the end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petermur Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Also, did you use the thingy that was previously suggested to make sure the caps were on good and tight - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 I didn't use the thingy that was suggested to tighten the caps. I never got a chance to go pick one up. However I do believe I tightened them as far as they would go. Also to answer an earlier question, this was the first time using the bottles so I never used detergent or sanitiser on them. Just got water at this point. A friend has advised me to leave them a bit longer in the hope that they carbonate a little more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anzacpaul Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Definitely leave them a bit longer. You could also feel the individual bottles and you might find that some are much harder than the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I'd say leave them longer, 2 weeks is probably a bare minimum. You should find they are more carbonated after 3 or 4 weeks. Also, put them in the fridge a day or two before you plan to drink them. Gas is more soluble in liquid when it's colder, but it does take time to equalise again after being chilled. I'm not sure a few hours is really long enough for it to do that. I'd give them at least 24 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Brilliant advice cheers. I can Defo feel that some bottles are indeed harder than others. I have put the rest of the bottles in the garage which will be about under 10 degrees I would have thought. Should I still be keeping them between 18-25 degrees? I have two other bottles in the fridge that I put in last night so I'll try them Tonight to see if there is any difference. A good learning curve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I'd be keeping them warmer for another week or two. You want them all the same level of hardness, not some more than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petermur Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Most recipies say to condition the bottles for at least two weeks at "room temperature" - I know you're in Scotland, but 10 degrees in the garage may not cut it as room temperature, ha ha - can you move them to somewhere warmer but out of direct sunlight. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anzacpaul Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Yep, remember that carbonation is due to to the yeast eating the sugar, like the original ferment. Too cold and the yeasties don't like it :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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