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First brew: Brewing a severely "expired" kit

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  • #46
    Originally posted by that guy al View Post
    what priming method did you use?
    Carbonation drops, one per 440ml bottle. Like I said - the bottles I opened at 1 week after bottling were nicely carbonated. The ones I have now, not so much. It fizzes, but the head seems light and "flat", very similar to that of a soft drink. It disappears in a matter of seconds, at 30 seconds all that's left is that little white ring as above. Bubbles are now also bigger.

    Taste is the same as before, but with the lack of CO2 it seems...bland?

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    • #47
      while i guess its technically possible that crowns could get old, they'd have to really really old to not be usable. i think you just need to be more patient with the process and wait it out. i dont think it's ready yet. give it some time and re evaluate. my five cents.

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      • #48
        Didn't you say you had a couple of swing-top bottles as well? ... how are they after this 2 weeks ?
        The Problem With The World Is That Everyone Is A Few Drinks Behind.!

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        • #49
          Originally posted by that guy al View Post
          while i guess its technically possible that crowns could get old, they'd have to really really old to not be usable. i think you just need to be more patient with the process and wait it out. i dont think it's ready yet. give it some time and re evaluate. my five cents.
          Yeah these caps I used are about...4 or 5 years old from manufacture? They were still sealed in a bag, so I dunno. They bottles have been sitting for 2 weeks, so it's not really that long, but it fascinates me that the carbonation seems to be going down in the sealed bottles. Fun times.

          Originally posted by JIGSAW View Post
          Didn't you say you had a couple of swing-top bottles as well? ... how are they after this 2 weeks ?
          I actually didn't think about checking those until just now. Will give one a pop over the weekend and see how it is, and then compare it side-by-side with a crown cap. Might be an eye opener!

          As a PS: Who knew that beer goes this quickly? Holy crap I'm tearing through these bottles like it going out of style... I guess the price at which it's made helps as well.

          Oh, and finally, I'm loving this hobby. It's fun, slow and relaxing. I'm also seriously impressed with how easy it is to make beer at home. Even if mine isn't the best (well, I know for a fact it's not the best), it's still a far cry from "terrible", and it's good enough that I'll keep drinking it. Won't make a wheat beer again in a hurry, I've found it's not my favourite style, and everyone I share with agrees. Maybe again later. For now, I'll stick to basics - and next up (after the Raspberry and Mango cider that's waiting in the cupboard), I'll probably try my hand at a chocolate stout, since winter is coming up and all that.

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          • #50
            i find that bottle priming produces fairly inconsistent results. try batch priming next time.

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            • #51
              Originally posted by that guy al View Post
              i find that bottle priming produces fairly inconsistent results. try batch priming next time.
              I have a crapload of carbonation drops though (got them for a good price)... Will have to deal with that before I batch prime. Will also need a bottling bucket if I'm to batch prime - but it's something I'll look at in the future. Perhaps it's just these few that are low in carbonation?

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              • #52
                Originally posted by Toxxyc View Post
                I have a crapload of carbonation drops though (got them for a good price)... Will have to deal with that before I batch prime. Will also need a bottling bucket if I'm to batch prime - but it's something I'll look at in the future. Perhaps it's just these few that are low in carbonation?
                You can still batch prime with them ....

                How many carbonation drops do I need?

                A problem regularly encountered by brewers who use carbonation drops is that they are made for specific bottle sizes (375 ml and 750 ml). The 375 ml variety is uncommon in South Africa so most brewers with 330 ml, 440 ml and 500 ml bottles have a dilemma. Instead of trying to crush the drops you can work out how many drops you need for your entire batch of beer and dissolve them in 500 ml of boiling water. The solution should then be boiled for 10 minutes (to sanitze it) and cooled to room temperature (keep the lid on your boiling pot while cooling). The syrup is then added to your fermenter and you are ready to bottle (you can give your fermenter a few nudges to incorporate the solution or use a sanitized spoon to mix in). Now all bottles will all be equally carbonated irrespective of the bottle size.
                ... a bottling bucket tho is a good idea

                LINK - Carbonating your beer
                The Problem With The World Is That Everyone Is A Few Drinks Behind.!

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                • #53
                  Hmm, think I'll invest in a bottling bucket then. Not like they're expensive (at all). When not in use it can also serve to ferment a quick second batch in parallel - like a cider kit for the wife. Got one in the cupboard, incidentally :P

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                  • #54
                    Opened a bunch more this weekend - including one from a Grolsch bottle. Except for two, all was perfectly carbonated. The two that wasn't showed the same symptoms - low fizz when opening, low head when pouring and low carbonation in the bottles. The rest though, good fizz (including that smokey hazy coming off the top when opening), good head and an array of fine bubbles. It's not as fizzy as store bought beer, but I prefer it like this. Doesn't blow me up at all, actually.

                    That being said, the few I took along to a family braai yesterday went really quick. Like, minutes, done. I've already been roped into brewing for this year's hunting season

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                    • #55
                      OK so after some more aging, it seems the extract twang in this brew is also starting to come forward. It's nowhere near as bad as the other brew, but it's also starting to build that "dry" finish on the tongue. Going to finish these ASAP.

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