First Batch

[adbachtell]

On Saturday I brewed my first batch. Took the blow off hose yesterbay and put the fermentation lock on. As of this morning its bubbling about every 6 seconds. I am now waiting on the edge of my seat for bottling. One question to throw out. The recipe calls for corn sugar or dried malt extract. My friend and reason for the brewing suggested to use the sugar due to the ammount of malt used. I used 6 lbs. of extract and 3/4 lbs. of grain malt. I'm tempted to use the dried malt due to the NCJHB suggestion. Any thoughts?

[Beerconnoisseur]

... then you should boil a few cups of water beforehand, and mix in 1 cup of DME. Turn off the heat, cover this solution w/ Saran Wrap, and let cool. Mix into your bottling bucket at bottling time.

If you decide on sugar instead, you will need 3/4 cup (about 4 oz.)
IMHO, from what I have seen so far, the difference between the two is not enormous, but your experience may vary.

Cheers and welcome to the hobby! :)

[S.F.B.]

I used to use corn sugar to prime. Now, I use DME when I bottle. I like my results from the malt extract far better than with sugar. I use 1-1.25 cups of DME in 16oz. of water. Boil the water for 15 min. then add the extract. Dump this into your bottling bucket and syphon the beer on top.

Welcome to this hobby that will soon be an obsession.

[ray m]

S.F.B.....what do you like best about the effects that DME gives to your brews when you bottle? I used to use DME at bottling, but carbonation took so DAMN long...I went back to using corn sugar, but I still need at least 3 to 3-1/2 weeks for proper carbonation. Have your experiences been the same??

Ray

[Beerconnoisseur]

Originally posted by ray m
S.F.B.....what do you like best about the effects that DME gives to your brews when you bottle? I used to use DME at bottling, but carbonation took so DAMN long...I went back to using corn sugar, but I still need at least 3 to 3-1/2 weeks for proper carbonation. Have your experiences been the same??

Ray

That's really unusual, given my experience so far. Once you bottle, for corn sugar, you should leave the bottles at room temperature (~70 degrees Fahrenheit, for those who live on Hoth ;) ) for 1-2 days. For DME, you may need about 3 times that, so 3-6 days at room temperature should be about right. I've only bottled my barleywine with DME, so one batch may not be the final answer on this. But the sample bottles I've tried so far have been perfect!

As a further note, you can track the pressure in the bottles by feeling the tops; if they start to bulge up too much, (or if you notice the beer filling the headspace gap, so no air is visible under the cap) you have too much pressure. But once they reach pressure per the style guidelines, or according to what you like, you can move the bottles to cold storage.

[Tweek]

you are achieving carbonation in two to three days? How are you doing that? It always takes me at least two weeks.

[Beerconnoisseur]

It's not totally done carbonating in 1-2 days, but that's how long it stays at room temperature. It's ready to drink 10 days after bottling, with another week or so in the fridge to disperse the green beer flavors.

[ray m]

I'm keeping my bottles at room temp (at least in the upper 60's) as best I can. I used to think that maybe it had something to do with letting the beer sit in the 2ndary too long (too much yeast settling out of suspension), but I don't really think that's the reason for my lengthy carbonation times. I just sit back, relax & wait now---no big deal.

[paul84043]

The upper 60's is marginal and will take alot longer to carbonate.
I prefer to get them in the mid 70's for a week or two. I usually have a bit of fizz after 2 or 3 days. I have had a couple of batches carbonate in three days, but it doesn't exactly give you a warm fuzzy feeling. I'd rather they took a week or so.
I have an upstaris room that runs pretty warm because it's right above the furnace. A water heater closet would work if you have room to put a couple of cases in it.

[wortchillergoal]

I prime with DME but I do not use water. I draw off some beer from my bucket, heat it and add the DME. I think the DME gives just a touch more mouth feel to the beer and maybe the bubbles are just a bit smaller.

[adbachtell]

Update....
Checked the gravity on friday. Still had a good covering of bubbles. Tasted it and was drinkable (Very happy about that). Went to take another gavity on Saturday (also to let the wife/bank) taste. no bubbles and gravity was the same. I started to bottle. 3 1/2 hours later I was finished. One question Is this average or long time for bottling? Cant wait for the results. Go Green Bay.

[DarCoop]

Originally posted by adbachtell
Update....
One question Is this average or long time for bottling? Cant wait for the results. Go Green Bay.

My first time to bottle took about that long. With practice, you will get faster. Helps to have a buddy or wife or someone to help. I have started putting botttling bucket on top of a milk crate on counter-top. Then I bottle in sink. Gets me off the floor and saves my old worn out knees. Also, any mess is in sink, not on floor.

[fretlessman71]

Hmm... I've been storing my homebrew at room temperature because there's not enough room in the fridge for all of it. Should I try anyway?

Is there a set "rule" for how long after bottling you're supposed to keep it at room temp, and then how long you're supposed to keep it wherever....? Now I'm really confused... I'm starting to fret again.... ;)

[wortchillergoal]

Well one way to avoid having to fret would be to drink it all as soon as it is carbonated. On the more practical side, after it is done carbonating at room temp, I move mine to the cellar as it is a bit cooler. I have some batches that have been fine after a year and others that did not make it that far. Relax, put a couple in the fridge and drink a couple.

BEER CAN BE FOOD,BUT FOOD CAN NEVER BE BEER.

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by ray m
S.F.B.....what do you like best about the effects that DME gives to your brews when you bottle? I used to use DME at bottling, but carbonation took so DAMN long...I went back to using corn sugar, but I still need at least 3 to 3-1/2 weeks for proper carbonation. Have your experiences been the same??

Ray

This may sound a bit crazy but I have noticed better head retention and a better quality of that head. It seems that I get a more dense layer of foam when the beer pours.

The other thing that I am noticing mouthfeel is more, "dense", for lack of a better word at this early hour.

[adbachtell]

Update part2....

Could not wait. Tried a bottle on Wednesday. It poped the seal on opening and had a nice head. Best of all it was drinkable. Going over my notes (mental and written) There are a few things I'll do different on the next batch. I didn't use Irich moss and did not use a secondary. But life is good and will be having over a few friends in another week for a tasting. Everyone here has been great and helpful. I only hope I can help others along the way....(sorry got teary there :D).

[paul84043]

I actually think it's important to keep tasting your beer at all stages, I think it teaches you alot about the process and how the flavor changes over time.

3.5 hours for bottling is a bit long, but it really depends on your bottle cleaning technique... That seems to take the longest for me.
I average about 2 hours to bottle a single batch. I do it up on the counter with the bottling bucket on a milk crate just like DarCoop does, but I don't bother to bottle in the sink.

It really helps if you can get your process down and stay in an area that you can still interact with the wife, kids, whatever. It seems to make things go by faster and the wife really likes it better if you don't vanish into the basement for 3 hours.

[kgaugler]

Really Paul?? My wife loves it when I dissappear for awhile into the basement.;) No, really, that is why I decided to keg my beer. I barely seem to every have an extra 2-3 hours to bottle.

[mmmBeer...]

Kegging rules! 30 min max...usually closer to 20 min. The longest part is waiting for the beer to syphon into the keg :)

[fretlessman71]

I think my wife is going to try to get me a few kegs for my birthday in March... she is SO TIRED of seeing all of these bottles all over the place! (sorry, honey....)

[mmmBeer...]

Yeah, it has made my wife pretty happy in that department too.

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
I think my wife is going to try to get me a few kegs for my birthday in March... she is SO TIRED of seeing all of these bottles all over the place! (sorry, honey....)

My wife let me get a keg set up 2 years ago. I still bottle some. She isn't tired of all the bottles being around. She is tired of all the empty bottles. She is pushing me to get them filled.

To Paul's point, it is a good thing, and fun also, to taste the beer at the different stages.

[axis714]

Just wanted to chime in with my .02
to decrease bottling time I use about 12 or so pint cage bottles
and then cap the rest also i fill 1 t-a-d bottle per batch so in essence i only cap about 1 case bottling time decreased to 30 mins. w/o kegging. Just buy a bag of replacement gromets and collect a few fischer/grolsch {yuck} bottles , i can bottle a whole batch of cage bottles in about 1 hr.

[paul84043]

I have been toying with the idea of priming certain types with DME, I don't know that that small amount of malt could profoundly chnage your beer, it's probably more the grains that give the head retention and the mouthfeel.

I also think that storing beer at "room temp" is probably okay, depending on your definition of room temp.....I would avoid storing them in the warmest room in the house other than for carbonation.
I have a basement that runs around 62 in the winter and 70 in the summer that I feel perfectly comfortable keeping my beer in.

[adbachtell]

Last update. This past Thursday I had a small gathering of friends and cracked the first brew. It was delightfull. Everyone enjoyed it. Most important my wife/banker said it was good enough to continue. I know a few things I omitted/forgot to do for my next brew. Thanks again to everyone for the advise.