How long?

FXRS

As mentioned in my sterilisation question, how long should my lager be left in the bottle to get a better product?

40 pints is a lot of beer so it will take some time to get through it. However it would be nice to begin drinking the produce at the right time, that is when its good. Dont want to start too early and be disappointed.

With this in mind, what is the best time to have a taste?

HBO_Staff

Hi, the minimum is two weeks, but we recommend you leave for at least four weeks. It might be interesting to have a cheeky sample after two weeks as long as it's nice and clear, and then give it another couple of weeks and see what difference there is. Sometimes they can lack depth of flavour in the early stages, but many people are keen to drink the results of their hard work and can't wait! You may find it to your liking after two weeks, so it would probably be a good experiment to try at different stages

FXRS

Its bottling day! Everything is about ready and I need to prime the bottles with sugar. The question is, should I use ordinary sugar or brewing sugar? No point in coming this far and making a blunder, so grateful for any guidance.

FXRS

Job done. Seemed to take for ever. I think I may be investing in a keg.

The filled bottles are now in my spare room where it is, in my view, cool. Given that "cool" means different things to different people, what temp range is considered to be cool?

Sorry if that is a daft question.

HBO_Staff

You can use brewing sugar or ordinary sugar, so don't worry which you used, the brew can also be primed with spraymalt or enhancer. It's personal preference or often whatever you have to hand! For bottling a 'little bottler' is a great piece of kit which we highly recommend; http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/little-bottler-complete
By cool they just mean at a temperature lower than it was brewed at, some of the kits recommend only 16 degrees, but you can go lower, brews are often then stored in a garage - but they must not freeze. Being cooler helps the brew to clear faster, but too cold and a 'chill haze' will develop - this haze will not affect the taste or flavour, but the cloudy appearance is not ideal.

lofty256

I used Caster sugar for my Woodfreds Admirals reserve and it came out fantastic!!!
I'm onto my 1st batch using brewing sugar and in my oppinion i dont think it's as good as caster! and it's twice the price :0(
I ferment @ 26 degrees and keg and store @ 14 degrees but woodforeds kits always need more time than they state to clear! they say 2 weeks but it really takes a month lol..