Homebrew during lockdown
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Where I live, the bars are closed and I am avoiding supermarkets, so I started home brewing. My first batch, 23 litres of Bavarian Wheat Beer, is ready for bottling. Does anyone know if empty sparkling water bottles (properly sanitised) will do? I have them in 500ml, 1 litre and 2 litre sizes. I assumed they'd be fine. Now, I'm not so sure.
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A quick update. I think first timer nerves got the better of me. The reused plastic bottles are all fiiled and in a cupboard undergoing conditioning. I keep having a peek, expecting explosions, but they all seem to be fine. ;D
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Highly advise against plastic for any post fermentation actively producing CO2. But you know, here is where you really want to go and ask:
www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/
and subscribe to their mag (Zymurgy) while you are at it.
-donny
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Highly advise against plastic for any post fermentation actively producing CO2. But you know, here is where you really want to go and ask:
www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/
and subscribe to their mag (Zymurgy) while you are at it.
-donny
Thanks, but I avoid forums. They are too often full of people who've just started out yet happily dole out advice or pose as experts. I'd much rather google for answers to any problems I encounter in home brews.
From what I have read subsequently, CO2 is simply not an issue unless the caps don't fit properly or are not properly sealed. Plastic sparkling water or soda bottles are designed to cope with pressures far higher than carbonated beer in glass.
To avoid 'off' flavours caused by UV light you should not put your beer in clear bottles. Unfortunately clear was all I had. Though they all went in a dark cupboard where no light shines. I tested a 500ml bottle of my first brew. The flavour's still not there yet but the carbonation is fine.
If you've made a special beer that you want to age for a few years, plastic is no good. It offers a typical shelf-life of 6-9 months. Not a problem with any of my brews. They won't last that long before being consumed.
I'm now about to bottle my fourth ferment, a Turbo Cider based on 20 litres of apple juice, sugar amd yeast. I still bottle in plastic. Unless I wish to pay COVID-19 profiteers' prices for cap or flip-top glass bottles, I'll wait until they are in stock again and at a reasonable price.