I store my booze in gallon containers but will bottle if giving out homebrew as gifts. As for the bottles, I have a neighbour who is a great source of real ale bottles but, if there’s a lot to be done I go to the bottle bank and make a withdrawal. Supermarket security tend to scratch their heads when I do this though.
Top man.
I've always done OK for bottles. My mate works for Guinness and if they have a line break involving a pallet of bottles the lot goes in the sin bin. It's a expensive part if homebrewing if you can't source freebs.
Starsan.My problem is keeping everything clean I'll swear I do it all properly but it comes out not right
Mainly from the US costs £20 plus £60 postageStarsan.
One place I can see it for £11 postage (plus possible duty, like the others). Otherwise Chemsan seems available over here it does say similar to Starsan. Any experience of that?
I've had a bottle of starsan now for nay on 15 years and it's still 2 thirds full. You only need a couple of drops in a spray bottle and it's no rins. I think it's less than 5ml in a whole fermentation bucked and once it was in the to clean the bucket I threw the bottles the hoses the lot in and then started at scratch.Mainly from the US costs £20 plus £60 postage
eta: is ok I found some from UK, ta
Yeah but your going to end up with residue of it in terms brew innit.
Ordered and arrived taI've had a bottle of starsan now for nay on 15 years and it's still 2 thirds full. You only need a couple of drops in a spray bottle and it's no rins. I think it's less than 5ml in a whole fermentation bucked and once it was in the to clean the bucket I threw the bottles the hoses the lot in and then started at scratch.
Brew co do it for 13 quid. It'll last you for years and it's food grade. I used to use thin bleach on a stubborn barrel but I wouldn't want that in my ale.
If anyone's desperate you can have half of mine.
glad you gave me instructions though I shall take note 
As we all do mate.Ordered and arrived ta
). The apple season is about to kick off so will have to box/bottle/drink what we can to make some room.
Top workWell this is a fine to-do! As the berry season starts to wane, it’s been a busy time so, by happy circumstance there’s no more room in the garage for any more wine and these fermenters have been forced to sit on the patio (all 24 gallons
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Our first brew of 2022 is drinking nicely at the moment - early summer mix of crab apples, blackberries and wild raspberries with the raspberry coming to the fore. At the moment the elderberries are in their prime so looking forward to sampling the resulting elder/blackberry combos
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Which ales are you making TC?
One is a posh two tin IPA. The other a one tin cheaper ale. I got a load of liquid malt and used that as well as a bit of dextrose. I hate having to heat the ale to ferment it so it's all go as the background temps are perfect. I have been using a bubbler in the water for 48 hours to get the chlorine out and also PH'd the water to 6.5.
Have you got a big press?First 5 gallons of scrumpy of 2022 squeezed this morning. Several calls with offers of apples as well so hopefully a good cider season to supplement the 60 gallon legacy that the berry season has left. I love this time of year
It’s a medium 2 gallon capacity press. Works fine for me. Will post a pic when daylight allows
I saw some east European ones, proper hydraulic, robust.It’s a medium 2 gallon capacity press. Works fine for me. Will post a pic when daylight allows
Nice. I got a bit homesick for making beer at the weekend when I discovered one of our hedges was full of hop plants. I'm going to dry them and keep them for next year.
Just a medium one - cost about £120 10 years ago. I find it more efficient than a larger press and, with a big barrel of apple pulp, I can squeeze about 5 gallons in half an hour. Forgive the mess…
I have the same press! It’s proving really useful.
There’s a lot of gadgets out there for scratting them. A lot of them involve a lot of physical effort for minimal results. When I’ve got a serious amount of apples (1/2 ton or more) I use the “fruit shark”. This miracle from the Czech Republic pulps whole apples effortlessly with much sound and fury but is a bit of a bugger to clean afterwards.
) into 6 gallon fermenters. Once squeezed, I add one Campden tablet per gallon (to kill all nasties and any wild yeasts) and leave overnight. Next day, I’ll add about 4kg of sugar to beef up the alcohol content, and a tsp each of champagne yeast and yeast nutrient. I’ll leave it to ferment slowly for about 3 months before racking it off and bottling. It produces a cider btw 7% and 10% abv so best drunk in halves to avoid social embarrassment and legal problems.
My king keg was used once and I couldn't get it to work due to leaks so sitting in a box. 2 litre fizzy drink PET bottles work well. Haven't brewed since I smashed my wrist back in August but am now getting the urge...
