The extent you can go to is endless. I was a little reluctant to use plastic, but within a bottle or two the change was excepted. It's a bit like when wine producers went to screw top lids rather than cork, took about one bottle of wine and the rest is history.
Brewing tips, well I'm just a beginner, but we may just get others, with more experience to post some tips.
Essentially I made the beer that came with the kit,It tastes alright, but what I have noticed is my first brew is improving at warp speed.
The first tasting after two weeks in the bottle, good taste, didn't have any laboratory types of smells or aftertaste, but was a little flat. But is now 4 weeks and looks and tastes like beer, plenty of fizz and holds a head.
Next I brewed and bottled a batch of Bock, dark German beer. Had some issues, but bottled it anyway. Only 17 bottles because of my fears. (now unfounded, I think) Hopefully the Bock will continue to improve also. Trying some tonight Happy daze! Hope for the Bock yet! Now here's my first discussion point.
Priming sugar, How much or two much. Most of the info I've read say's for priming is "1 level teaspoon" or 2 Carbonation drops, now the brew shop's will try to push you into using "C D's cause it's repeat revenue for them. Aprox 3.50 for a bag of one hundred, too easy, along as you can count to two your OK. Hence the push to plastic bottles, they rupture rather than spray glass in all directions.
Back to sugar, with much discussion over a beer or two I find that the brewers I've come in contact with are divided on almost all points.
I thought I would use the packets of sugar supplied by the enormus amount of cafe's where I work, because on the packet it states "equal to 1 level teaspoon" My Eureka moment, exact dose, handy packet that fits down the neck of a bottle, little or no mess.
Bewdy, that's what I'll do, and on Monday last bottled 26, 740ml bottles of Creamy Irish Ale with exactly 1 packet of cafe size serve in each.
Wrong. A day later whilst talking to my wife about it, she mentioned 6grams, in cooking, was equal to one teaspoon, so lets measure them, out with the scales and, oop's it would appear that they are somewhere less than 5g per sachet. Learn, learn, experiment and learn.
Two weeks will give me a answer to the questions, and hopefully give me knowledge for later when brewing different types of beers.
My mate up the road thinks it should be fine because of the beer it is, time will tell.
Why not open the bottles and add a bit more you say, tried that with two bottles, but the results were similar to putting Mentos in a bottle of Pepsi.
