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Thread ID: 85331	2007-12-06 23:53:00	Beer brewing -- questions	Morgenmuffel (187)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
618565	2007-12-07 09:56:00	. Sterilising wasn't any flasher than hot water, Sunlight Liquid & a large bottlebrush. Actually the residue left from dishwashing liquid kills the head of the beer. You should use sodium metabisulpite mixed in water for sterilising your beer making gear. Another thing you can experiment with is to put a couple of tea bags into your mix. Yes I too use to make my own beer about 20 odd years ago. :)	Trev (427)
618566	2007-12-07 19:17:00	Recently I successfully brewed a very old tin of Coopers Dark Ale (2001!!) by using a new sachet of yeast. Your local homebrew shop or Bin Inn carry them, cost about $2 each. However not every old tin will work. Whilst the 2001 Old Dark is superb, a 2004 Brewtec Lager was undrinkable even though it brewed out okay. 750ml brown glass bottles are best and you can use smaller bottles. Dont use twist-tops as they could explode. For more bottles visit your local bottle store that carry crates. Ask nicely and they may sell you some at about $5 each. Clean thoroughly before bottling. Never use detergent with your brew gear as Trev points out, Sodium Metabisulpate is the only way to go. Finings are not necessary to settle sediment. If using a heat pad, turn off once brewing has finished. Wait 24 hours before bottling and much of the sediment will settle out. Happy brewing.	Brian B (6530)
618567	2007-12-07 19:22:00	For really efficient sterilisation, arange with a friend who uses the "Swap-a-crate" scheme to exchange your used bottles for his. As long as he has rinsed his bottles promptly, you will be pretty safe, a quick wash just before use will be enough. Better still is to use the swap-a-crate scheme yourself. It enables you to do a quality control comparison of the brews. (Who knows, if you can alert the brewery quickly enough to any problems with their beer, they may give you free stuff to test.) Or at least feature you in their ads. Happy testing.	R2x1 (4628)
618568	2007-12-07 19:47:00	If you are good at DIY you can make a little cabinet to keep your beer warm for 5 days. :) Husband has made beer for years. You'll find every house already has one of those cabinets. Mine used to be called a hot water cupboard.	pctek (84)
618569	2007-12-07 20:14:00	Recently I successfully brewed a very old tin of Coopers Dark Ale (2001!!) by using a new sachet of yeast. Your local homebrew shop or Bin Inn carry them, cost about $2 each. I think thats the exact one I have 2004 though i think, I'll try it with a new yeast sachet Finings are not necessary to settle sediment. If using a heat pad, turn off once brewing has finished. Wait 24 hours before bottling and much of the sediment will settle out. Cool thats exactly what i did Actually the residue left from dishwashing liquid kills the head of the beer. You should use sodium metabisulpite mixed in water for sterilising your beer making gear. I use a mild bleach (made up from powder), and sun light to sterilise my gear, not really had any problems with it yet, Another thing you can experiment with is to put a couple of tea bags into your mix. Dare i ask why, i am assuming i don't add cream and sugar as well ;) well actually there will be sugar in it won't there. I recall I purchased a warming strap/heater from the Home Brew shop - wrapped around the keg and plugged in - you could move it up or down the keg to maintain temperature. I found I only really needed it in the winter (being located in Auckland) but found some success in using an old down ski jacket which fitted over the keg perfectly when the weather was marginal (with or without the heater, depending on conditions). I have a heat pad under the brewing keg, i also wrap an old padded jacket round it, which keeps it nicely at the top end of the desired heat range I generally used the brown 750ml bottles, with a few of the flip-top Grolsch bottles and a good number of the small green Steinie bottles. I worked for a pub back then, so the standard glass bottles were pretty easy to come by - the Grolsch bottles, I had to "invest" in - a worthy cause!!! :D After I left the pub and had given away many of the glass bottles, I experimented with brown plastic 750ml screw-tops, purchased from the Home Brew shop. They were OK, but didn't stay cold long enough!! Had to give up brewing when I noticed my weight had increased by 10kg over 18 months!! Ahh, but those were the days! :D If you get a chance, try a ginger beer, but make it an alcoholic one - chilled well, it's great in the summer! Yeah i'm using the plastic at the moment and find the same problem, the glass are quite hard to find, although i may have to look at the swappa crate, And as for Ginger beer i love the stuff but i have never ever managed to make a drinkable brew, just a sip of the ones i make is enough to give you a hangover, and ironically i have not been trying to make the alcoholic Ginger beers, I think I poured my last patch over weeds, i think it took a year before anything grew there again so something was wrong with it Mark 2 was a lucky find at a 2nd hand auction - also a heating pad, but taken out of a weird tartan bag supposed to be a footwarmer (No, I've never seen another one) As for bottles, what kind are you using? We started saving the old glass half-Gs (a peter in the south) once plastic started replacing them. Later, you could still get 2 litre glass bottles from sherry-drinking friends - though I think those may have shrunk to 1.5 litres by now..? Actually i know what those tartan bags look like, i think an elderly relative had one (years and years ago), can you use sherry bottles as I thought they were twist tops, i think i saw a big box of them at the op shop a few months ago, mind you i only tend to have 1 or 2 beers in a sitting so a 2 litre might level me	Morgenmuffel (187)
618570	2007-12-07 21:10:00	Actually the residue left from dishwashing liquid kills the head of the beer. You should use sodium metabisulpite mixed in water for sterilising your beer making gear. Another thing you can experiment with is to put a couple of tea bags into your mix. Yes I too use to make my own beer about 20 odd years ago. :) Ooops. Thanks for pointing that out, Trev - & Brian B. (Yes, I said the brew memory was fading) I recall now there was another container of powder stuff for sterilising... And yes, he did use screw tops with the large bottles. Never any problem with explosions, but maybe the beer never sat around long enough to worry about that?	Laura (43)
618571	2007-12-08 00:18:00	My Son-in-law gave me a Mac’s brewing kit for Xmas three years ago. I didn’t know whether to thank him or not as my experience with home brewing years ago were memorable for all the wrong reasons. Anyway, it would have been rude to dump it with the Xmas wrappings so I decided as all I had to do was read the instructions, I would make the one brew just to convince myself that nothing had changed. Well, three weeks later after it had been brewed, bottled and bottle conditioned I got to try it and believe it or not, it was sensational. Since then there has been a new batch every ten days and I’ve never had a failure. The system is very basic. 1: Cleanliness is paramount! I sterilise everything with Milton, the stuff they use for sterilising baby’s bottles. 2: The yeast is important in that it must be “alive”. Leaving the yeast in the sun can kill it although it keeps good in the fridge. Once the brew is underway it must be kept between 18 degrees and 28 degrees. 3: Once bottled, it should be left in a cool dark place for about 10 days to condition and then placed in the fridge for a week before consumption. 4: A good airlock on the fermenter is also important but that comes with the kit. Anyway, I can recommend the Mac’s brewing kit (it comes with everything including bottles) and the Mac’s SAAZ Pale Ale. I’m also available to do any quality control. :D	B.M. (505)
618572	2007-12-08 02:31:00	I'm happy to volunteer for sampling as well - since you're at the bottom of the South Island and I'm at the other end of the North Island (is there anything north of Waiwera??? :) ), I can be the test for how well your product travels - very important for serious beer manufacturers!!... :D	johcar (6283)
618573	2008-03-22 08:00:00	Just to dredge up my old post Trev what were the teabags for? and what difference does using liquid brewing sugar do, I read somewhere that it effects the gravity of the beer, but to what extent?	Morgenmuffel (187)
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