YABT: Home Brewers! Question please...

[djheater]

Originally posted by: BatmanNate
Chances are that you have a local homebrew shop that will supply you with a similar kit for the same price or less, and they are an enormous resource for advice as well as ingredients, so support them if you can!

I try not to talk to other people in real life, it's uncomfortable for both of us.
I somehow managed to get married and reproduce, that's as social as I get.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: UTmtnbiker
I've found that bleach, if not rinsed thorougly, will leave a very unpleasant aftertaste. IMHO, why risk it, especially if you're in a hurry to sanitize (which I usually am). I usually buy a 5oz bottle of idophor when I place an order for $2 or $3. That should last easily 4 to 5 brews. Others may have had good luck with bleach, but every time I use it my batch always tastes a little funky.

Originally posted by: BatmanNate

- 200ppm (1tbsp/gal) bleach solution works perfectly as a sanitizer so don't worry about over sanitizing anything as bleach is cheap and the equipment can't be clean enough.

there are lots of sanitizers out there. which ever you use, make sure you follow best practice. People do rag on bleach because it needs to be rinsed and can be detected in the flavor profile if you dont. Idophor can also impact flavor, if used at incorrect concentrations. Starsan and the like are good, but more expensive. You'll find something you like, and you'll stick with it. Like so many other aspects to brewing, there is no single right way of doing things.

Personally, I still use bleach. I have a nice basement sink that makes this a good option for me.

Cheers and beers,
Jeff

 

[MrBond]

Originally posted by: djheater
I try not to talk to other people in real life, it's uncomfortable for both of us.
I somehow managed to get married and reproduce, that's as social as I get.

It's really worth checking out a local homebrew shop - a lot of times they're cheaper than ordering online and some things like carboys or bottles are kind of expensive to ship. At the very least, if you want a carboy, try and get it locally because they're risky to ship due to breakage. One of my homebrew shops won't ship them anymore.

I think I'm going to brew some pale ale this spring when the weather gets a little warmer. I haven't put much of a dent in my last batch of pumpkin ale, but I'm almost out of my German Wheat batch (it was sketchy quality anyway due to sloppy bottle sanitizing on my part). All my carboys are 5 gallons, I'm probably going to pick up a 6.5 gallon one so I can do primary in a glass carboy as well.

 

[HombrePequeno]

Also, if you're going to be bottling (which I'm sure you will starting off), go with 22 oz bottles instead of 12 oz. You're going to be bottling around 5 gallons of beer which would be a lot of 12 oz. bottles. Twenty-twos will cut down on time. If someone can help you with bottling that will also cut down on time (one person pour into bottle and the other cap the bottle).

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDude

Originally posted by: UTmtnbiker
I've found that bleach, if not rinsed thorougly, will leave a very unpleasant aftertaste. IMHO, why risk it, especially if you're in a hurry to sanitize (which I usually am). I usually buy a 5oz bottle of idophor when I place an order for $2 or $3. That should last easily 4 to 5 brews. Others may have had good luck with bleach, but every time I use it my batch always tastes a little funky.

Originally posted by: BatmanNate

- 200ppm (1tbsp/gal) bleach solution works perfectly as a sanitizer so don't worry about over sanitizing anything as bleach is cheap and the equipment can't be clean enough.

there are lots of sanitizers out there. which ever you use, make sure you follow best practice. People do rag on bleach because it needs to be rinsed and can be detected in the flavor profile if you dont. Idophor can also impact flavor, if used at incorrect concentrations. Starsan and the like are good, but more expensive. You'll find something you like, and you'll stick with it. Like so many other aspects to brewing, there is no single right way of doing things.

Personally, I still use bleach. I have a nice basement sink that makes this a good option for me.

Cheers and beers,
Jeff

I use idophor instead of bleach. I'd imagine you would have to dump in a lot to change the flavor, eh? I use between 12.5PPM and 25PPM. I think I paid $15 for a 32oz container of it.

 

[djheater]

Reccomend a couple of ingredient kits from Midwest?

This one sounds fantastic. I'm a big fan of higher alcohol content dark beers. I REALLY enjoyed the Trader Joe's Vintage Ale this year which was a Unibroue Belgian Dark, from what I read.

link

 

[djheater]

::update::
Bottled last night. I ended up purchasing the following
This kit with the 5 gal glass carboy
This porter with a tube of liquid yeast
I also picked up a 32oz flip top bottle and 24 22oz bottles.
I did NOT rack to secondary, because I was lazy....
I left it for three weeks in the primary and then came back to bottle
I'm a little scared, because I used just the diswasher to sanitize the bottles. I have a very nice dishwasher with a sanitize option, but I did not initially dip them in sanitizer, I ran it as a full load with about 1/2 sanitizer 1/2 soap... I may have borked my head... /cries

The beer looks pretty good, but I think I'll rack to secondary next time, I'm certain this batch will be pretty thick.. I'm sure I'll drink it, nonetheless.