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Originally Posted by davidank Hello, I am not sure if i am using this forum correctly, but I have some questions if someone can give some advice. I haven't made my first batch of beer yet, and I am on a tight budget, so your help is appreciated!
1-All that I have been reading mentions making batches of beer in 5 gallon amounts, I have asked somebody about making half that amount and they said to cut the recipe's in half. Is that true, can I make 2 1/2 gallon batches, so I can make a lot more variety/different beers and not have a house full of SO MUCH beer and not drinking it quick enough?
~~>If I can make 2 1/2 gallon batches, what about pitching the yeast,,,does the amount of yeast I add have to be half of that normally needed to a 5 gallon batch or is simply the more yeast I add better because the more yeast the more that can ferment the beer?
2-Does beer get better with age? Can I leave the bottled beer out of the fridge and in a cool dark place and put it into the fridge when I am ready to drink it?
3-What about bottling in plastic jugs versus glass bottles? I seen/read some info about people bottling in 2 liter soda bottles and gallon water jugs, is that ok?
4-Could I go to a home depot/hardware store, buy a 6 gallon plastic bucket and use it as my primary fermentor? What about buying plastic hose from a hardware store and using it to syphon? Essential what I am asking can I go to my hardware store and buy things to make beer, bucket, lid, hose, etc?
(I have the complete joy of home brewing book by charlie papazian and he lists the things I need, maybe i can go buy them at a harware store - it would be cheaper for me than buying a kit with shipping costs too.
Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
-David
email: david_ank@suscom.net |
1. You can make 2,5 gallon batches if you want, but I'd say that the amount
of work is about the same as with a 5 gallon batch.
Generally speaking the more yeast you use the better it will ferment your
beer. So there's no need to halve the amount of yeast in the recipe.
Actually with many beer kits the amount of yeast supplied is so small, that
doubling it when making the normal 5 gal batch isn't a bad idea.
2. Beer that is naturally conditioned in bottle does improve with age to a
certain point, since the fermentation goes on in the bottle.
How long your beer stays good in the bottles depends a lot on how good your
sanitation was during brewing and bottling. If there is a lot of impurities or
bacteria in your beer they will eventually spoil the beer.
Actually you shouldn't store your beer in the fridge since the low temperature
will prevent the yeast from working. So a cool dark place is the best possible
place for you beer (I'm talking about ale yeast now. Lager yeasts are a
different matter and since I don't have experience of them I won't say
anything about them).
I store my beers in normal room temperature (about 22-25 degrees celcius)
since I don't have any other place for them. None have gone bad and I've
made about a dozen batches so far.
3. Plastic bottles do breathe a little, so they are not as good as glass bottles.
But I have used plastic bottles as well, and there was nothing wrong with the
beer. I wouldn't store beer in plastic bottles for very long though, a couple of
months at the most.
Also I don't have any idea what kind of plastic bottles you have available. I
used 0,5 liter bottles that were of quite thick plastic. All the 2 liter soda
bottles that I've seen are so thin that I'd never ever use them.
4. I use a normal plastic garden hose for siphoning my beer from fermenter to
another, but that's all I can say about this. All my brewing equipment came
from my uncle, so I don't know how well he had to clean it before it could
be used.
Anyways good luck with your brewing. If you want you can have a look at
www.howtobrew.com to get another perspective at home brewing.
First Time Homebrewer advice please... 
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