So I bottled today

Ale's What Cures Ya · Post by **Ale's What Cures Ya** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 5:36 pm

It was a pain in the ass getting the siphon started, but the brew is now in bottles. I decided to also pour myself a glass just to see how it tasted at this point. "Interesting" is the best descriptor I can come up with. It's certainly not good, and the colour is just nasty. Let's see what a couple in weeks bottle conditioning will do.

Hamilton Brian · Post by **Hamilton Brian** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 5:45 pm

Don't worry, have a homebrew. Or, drink what's on hand.

Ale's What Cures Ya · Post by **Ale's What Cures Ya** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:04 pm

Hamilton Brian wrote:Don't worry, have a homebrew. Or, drink what's on hand.

Haha, no home brew to drink yet, so I opened a Tree Hophead. I suppose the best part is I couldn't detect any sour flavours, so I think I was successful ( at least thus far) in fending off infection.

grub · Post by **grub** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:46 pm

it's good that you're tasting it along the way, but important to remember that it's not "finished" yet. you'd be amazed what temperature and carbonation can do to bring a beer to life - not to mention an extra few weeks of conditioning time and the beer having time to drop (more) clear. so take the data points and remember what stays with it and what changes. and even if you think it's awful, don't give up. you learn something at every step, and each time it gets easier. plus, you'd be amazed what a mediocre-to-poor brew now can turn into with some time in the cellar. i've heard so many stories about potential drain-pours turning into gold with time.

as much as it can seem repetitive and unhelpful, "relax, don't worry, have a (home)brew" often is the best course of action. and by all means, keep firing away with the question.

Ale's What Cures Ya · Post by **Ale's What Cures Ya** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:52 pm

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I am going to give it two weeks before I let anyone else try it.

Here's a question though, what's the best way to get a siphon and racking cane started? I have one of those J-shaped canes, or would an auto-siphon be worth investing in?

grub · Post by **grub** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:37 pm

i have mixed feelings about autosiphons. they work great when new, but every one i've ever used slowly stops working - losing its seal, cracking, etc. more hassle than its worth.

starting a regular siphon is easy. fill with water/sanitizer from the end of the hose to just before the top of the "J" (ie: up to but not over the hump). clamp it off. the pull as this runs out (into a separate growler/bucket) should be enough to pull the beer along. clamp it when it's running beer and you're ready to go. might want to practice a couple of times with a bucket and some water, but it's easy enough.

Cale · Post by **Cale** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 9:00 pm

grub wrote:i have mixed feelings about autosiphons. they work great when new, but every one i've ever used slowly stops working - losing its seal, cracking, etc. more hassle than its worth.

While I've heard about these issues, I don't believe they're that common. I use them to rack 60-120 times a week and the only time they fail on me is when I get careless with working fast and snap the top when I push down with too much force.

One thing to be cautious about is getting a clog around the sediment cap. If that gets too clogged the siphon with struggle and start pulling in air. Fruit skins are awful for this.

However I wouldn't bother switching to one if you already have a racking cane, unless you really hate doing it that way. It's a small convenience - but for me, anything I can do to quicken the brew day is great.

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 9:16 pm

After bottling my first, I'd give a +1 for the autosiphon...

Ale's - it'll be better after a couple of a weeks, and even better after that. I was so worried about my first batch a few weeks ago... they've been in the bottle for 3 weeks, and it's very drinkable now...not perfect, but I'm at the point now, where I'd let someone else drink it...and also...it's just a plain brown ale...some wise people told me to keep it simple for the first batch.
And then keep it simple for the second and third, even as well.

Also - I gotta say, I kinda like the colour.

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:32 pm

I don't like autosiphons.

And there is nothing "plain" about brown ale. Every homebrewer starts out wanting to create new styles of beer, but frankly, most of them are terrible. I have been brewing for 6 years, the beers I brew these days are all pretty simple, yet taste far better than any of my early experiments.

I recently made a batch of Irish Red Ale, a style I have never made before because I think they are boring for the most part, but it is amazing how good a fresh, well made example can taste. It is delicious.

RayOhm · Post by **RayOhm** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:44 am

I always bottle at least one clear bottle to monitor the appearance of the beer. My first one looked absolutely disgusting the day of bottling, almost like a milky carrot juice. Wait a few days for every thing to settle, then take a look.

As for the auto siphon, I used one for the first time last week. I didn't really like it. It was faster and easier to prime but it seemed too 'violent', I got way too many bubbles in the tubing.

This video really helped me to learn how to prime a siphon.

JerCraigs · Post by **JerCraigs** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 11:00 am

RayOhm wrote:I always bottle at least one clear bottle to monitor the appearance of the beer.

Huh, that is a surprisingly simple yet effective technique!

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 3:02 pm

RayOhm wrote:I always bottle at least one clear bottle to monitor the appearance of the beer. My first one looked absolutely disgusting the day of bottling, almost like a milky carrot juice. Wait a few days for every thing to settle, then take a look.

I prefer not bottling/kegging until it drops clear. It is a good indication that the beer is actually done, plus you end up with far less sediment in the bottles.

Hopaholic · Post by **Hopaholic** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:50 pm

I have always had problems with loosing suction and airbubles when racking with a regular racking cane so i got an autosyphon i tried it yesterday and i love it. I would think that overtime you would just need to replace the o ring.

ctalbot · Post by **ctalbot** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:41 am

I've bottled beers that looked fairly murky on bottling day, but after two or three weeks of conditioning, they typically improved a lot in appearance.

As for auto-siphons, I'm a fan. I apparently can't make simple physics work, so I struggle with racking canes. I only brew a handful of times a year, but I've been using the same auto-siphon for four years now. The only time I haven't problems is when something clogs up the end of the contraption (fruit can be bad for that).

Chris

Ale's What Cures Ya · Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:12 pm

Seems to be split opinions on autosiphon vs old school. I'll stick with what I have for now and invest in other more pressing equipment needs first, like a thermometer and a glass carboy.