Homebrewing

[bubba]

Kick the Can Ale... I like that. I was trying to decide what flavor to buy for this 2nd try... I think I'll buy the same one and make some labels...

I thought about straining it all kinds of ways, but I just couldn't be comfortable enough to serve it to someone knowing that there may be a sliver of glass in it. The tube is a very thin glass and broke into even smaller pieces. I saw a few of the slivers in my hand..


I'm going to look into the beer thief. I think its one of the better tools to have. I did notice a few things I should get to make the next batch easier.

[collecture]

Glass is just sand!
I used to know a guy in college that would take bites out of glasses and chew it up and swallow it.
I never tried, but I saw him successfully do it many times.
Kitchen equipment, like the strainers used to remove even the smallest of impurities (bones) from stocks, should be sufficient.
But I can understand your concern!

[bubba]

Well, round 2 was a success (so far). Mixed up another batch today (**cough cough**- I took a sick day today). The next challenging thing for me was to find a spot to let if ferment in that remained a good 68-72 degrees. I ended up putting it in the tub in one bathroom and putting a small electric heater in with it. My house is usually 68 max.

Can the sanitizer be saved for a week or so if I cap it off?

[mznb1u]

Ken,

Good to hear that your first minor mishap did not deter you from becoming a brewmaster!  Not sure what you mean by "Can the sanitizer be saved"?

On the temp, it should be alright as long as it stays above 60.  If it goes below that and it stops bubbling, just move it to a warmer area and the fermentation will start right back up.

  Tim

[Creighton]

Glad it is going well!! Need to try that one of these days. When SMC Stout and Kick the Can Ale are released I'm up for a couple of bottles each :-)
Creighton

 

[bubba]

I'll take a picture of my  bathtub... its kinda funny looking. My son also stayed home from school sick, so we made root beer also.. Thats fermenting in the tub as well. .       

I mixed up a few gallons of the no rinse sanitizer. Can I just seal the bucket and use it again when I get ready to go into stage 2 or just dump it and start over.

The yeast said to maintain 68-72 degrees... It would probably get down about 66-67.. I decided to brew in the pail for stage 1 then go into the carboy for the rest. The bucket has much more bubbling room. I used an airlock instead of a tube into a bucket. No problem with foaming?


LOL at Creighton.. we'll see how this batch turns out..

[mznb1u]

Ken,

Not familiar with that product as I usually use bleach water as my sanitizer and then rinse with hot water.  I would suspect that if there is sanitizer in there it should still be good.  If the stuff is not too expensive, I'm not sure I would take the risk!

Bacteria + Fermenting Beer = 

  Tim

[bubba]

Its more for the convenience than the money. I need to check the hydro in a week and didn't want to mix up a batch for that. I guess I could just mix some bleach to to that. I'd hate to screw it up now.. after all, I've got bubbles! 

[bubba]

well, stage one is complete I think. Bubbles have all but stopped. I thought it was supposed to be 8-10 days, but re-reading the paperwork that came with the kit says 3-7 days. I'll take a hydrometer reading tonight and see where we are at. It says to go right into the bottles using a fermenting sugar, but it also mentions other options and to talk to my local brew supplier for info. Should I go to bottles now, or a 2nd stage fermenting? Will it hurt anything if I leave it in the stage 1 fermenter for a few more days? I don't have a few hours at night to spend on bottling until the weekend, but I could spend an hour or 2 transferring to another container. Going into stage 2, do I need to add anything?

[mznb1u]

Ken,

If it is not too late, I would suggest going to a secondary fermentation.  I would be very surprised if the fermentation is complete.  It may have slowed way down, but I can't believe it is done.  What was the initial specific gravity reading?  And where are you today?

If you have not already bottled, transfer to the carboy, place the stopper in it, cover the hole with your thumb and give the carboy a couple of vigorous shakes.  Allow, CO2 to escape from the carboy and then place the airlock and let it set for another week or two.  I don't usually bottle until the bubbles are coming through the air lock at a rate of less than 1 per five minutes.  Don't forget the paper bag trick and do not let the carboy get too cool.

Let me know when you are ready to botltle and I can give you a few short cuts.

Tim