What is a no boil kit??

[smurfe]

Yes, these kits make 6 gallons of beer. It does carbonate in the bottle if you do not keg. What you do is after the beer is done you rack it to your bottling bucket with the appropriate amount to priming (corn) sugar added. You bottle and cap and keep in a cool (not cold) place such as your basement. The sugar will restart the fermentation with the suspended yeasts and carbonate the beer. This can take a couple weeks or better. Sometimes a month or so.


When you cool the beer to drink it will cause the yeast to fall out and will leave a little layer of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Simply pour and leave about the last half inch of beer in the bottle or you can drink it as well.


I see there are a few Stout lovers here. I am one myself. I have to ask what type of Stout is it you like. I know many like the Guinness Draught Stout. These kits are not going to produce a beer like that. It will be closer to the Guinness Extra Stout. There is quite a bit difference in the two. The Draught has the nitrogen widget in it to reproduce the pour of draft Guinness.


Of my next three batches I am going to brew, two of them will be Stouts. Next batch will be an American IPA. I am doing this one next as I am going to pitch it on the yeast cake of thebatch of Cream Ale I have going now. After that I am brewing a Dry Stout and then a Sweet Stout. The Dry Stout will be kegged on a nitrogen tap. The Sweet Stout will be bottled. I am going to force carbonate in a keg though and use the Beer Gun I have ordered to fill the bottles of carbonated beer.

 

[smurfe]

I forgot to add, it takes about 2 weeks to ferment a batch. It really depends on the style, yeast, temps, etc. I have brewed a couple batches That were ready in less than a week.


Aging will help many beers just like wine. We are talking weeks though, not months or years. I notice vast improvement in my beers as I drink them from the keg. A couple weeks after kegging if it lasts that long the beer gets smoother and more flavor pronounced.

 

[Wade E]

They make 6 gallons. they take about 20 days to finish fermenting. Then you bottle and that is where the carbonation comes in, in the bottle. You will need a bottle capper which are very cheap. You will need to keep the bottles between 65-75* for 2 to 3 weeks and then you are good to drink. Givehem a another 2 weeks and they will be even better but unlike wine they dont need a year to come around.

 

[smurfe]

All this Stout talk made me thirsty.

Had to make a Black and Tan. I poured it poorly though.

Still tastes great though!

 

[moto-girl]

Thanks for all the quick answers. I am feeling confident that I too can do this. hubbys favorite is Guinness Draught. But any beer that is dark enough to not see through the glass is generally ranked high; porters, stouts and the like. he was given a beer making equipment kit 8 years ago. We never made the beer ( brewers best). I suppose we were intimidated. Even though we still have the ingredients around here somewhere ( must throw those out), we have much of the equipment, which has not gone bad. So at this moment I am soaking label off of beer bottles that I just rescued from our recycling bucket. I hauled the screw offs back to the garage. If this xperiment goes well we may have to enqire about kegging and kegerators and all that "man stuff".
Thanks guys for all your encouragement and knowledge and the sharing of it all.

 

[smurfe]

If you have the space and the cash, kegging is the way to go. It is faster, easier and I feel the beer tastes better force carbonated than bottle conditioned. You can make a beer fridge pretty cheap from an old fridge. If you do your research you can get into kegging fairly cheap. If and when the time comes, get ahold of me and I will be glad to help you out.

 

[moto-girl]

your fridge is a beautiful thing

 

[geocorn]

That is a very nice set up, indeed!

Makes me want a beer!

 

[Wade E]

Everytime you post your set up I want a beer. Im still waiting for my friend that said he was going to hook me up with some 5 g cornies and C02 tanks, If he gets me that then I will get a propane cooker setup, if not Ill have to spend my money on the corny set up which Ive seen around here for $150 for a 5 gal corny, dual, reg and a 5 lb tank. 10 lb tank upgrade is extra $10 which Ill probably go for unless you think its not needed or will be to big to fit in most fridges with the corny. I have a lot to learn about beer making and all its toys.

 

[smurfe]

Wade, start scouring Craigslist. You would be surprised at what you could find. It is popular with home brewers. My buddy i brew with got all of his brewing equipment including kegs and 20# tank and regulator, fermenter, carboys (including 6.5 for fermenter), immersion chiller (50 footer), capper,auto siphons, hoses, brushes, you name itfor $150 from an ad on Craigslist. I figure it would of cost him at least $750+ to go buy all the stuff new.


I found my beer fridge which is an actual commercial build with one tap, tank, and regulator that was 3 months old (sells new for $800+) on Craigslist for $300. I didn't buy it at first but the guy enticed me by throwing in that brew stand, pots, cooler, another CO2 tank and regulator, 5 kegs, and a box of hardware to get me into brewing and kegging. I then had basically everything I needed to all grain brew right out of the box.

 

[SmokinDawg]

thanks for the heads up about craigs list I am needing a second kegerator

 

[Waldo]

Can you bottle the no boil kit beer in wine bottles?

 

[Wade E]

I wouldnt recommend it as that is where you do the carbonating Waldo. I dont think it is as carbonated as Sparkling wine but not sure what wine bottles will hold in before breaking and if a cork would hold either.

 

[smurfe]

thanks for the heads up about craigs list I am needing a second kegerator

Heck, if you have the room, find a used fridge or freezer, put a temp controller on it, buy some shanks and faucets, tank and regulator and make your own.


My fridge is an actual beer fridge but I have added two faucets to it. It was pretty easy and I can fit 4 kegs inside mine. I took the drill to mine today and ran my gas line through the fridge so the tank will sit outside and I can fit an extra keg inside.


I added my multi-outlet manifold regulator that can run 3 kegs at the same psi and another at a different psi. Changed out the stout faucet to a regular faucet and made up a 5 gallon batch of root beer for the kids. I love my beer fridge.

 

[smurfe]

Can you bottle the no boil kit beer in wine bottles?

You could in champagne bottles with champagne corks and wires. Many Belgian beers are corked.

 

[Wade E]

Smurf, your making me thirsty again!

 

[Waldo]

Thanks !!! Do I really want to try this ? I don't even drink beer......Course I used to not ever drink wine either bwahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

[uavwmn]

smurfe, a co-worker gave me a couple dozen of flippy beer bottles he had in his attic when he made beer several years ago.


The rubber rings of course are dry rotted (AZ heat). Can I get the rubber pieces replaced and use these bottles for my beer? Or should I not chance it and get new bottles?

 

[masta]

No problem using these bottles since the stoppers are porcelain and you can buy new gaskets:


http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=5000

 

[uavwmn]

Masta, bottled my first batch of beer this weekend. The Irish Stout smells nutty and delicious!! The porcelin flippy bottles I inherited are so classy looking......more so with the beer in them.

They are in a dark warm place for a couple of weeks.