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The Best Simple Advice I've Seen Here


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Awhile back, when I had just joined the group, I read a bunch of the archived topics, pretty much to get a sense of the community climate here, and to answer some basic questions I had about the project I had just embarked on. I read a bunch of good, sound wisdom regarding the use of the droid, as well as homebrewing in general, and have incorporated a lot of it in my brewing routines. Among the very best of the most useful, but probably least appreciated tidbits is this, regarding bottle maintenance.

When opening and pouring a bottle of homebrew, immediately rinse it  by filling 1/3 bottle, shake it up good and dump it. Repeat 3 times. It just takes a few seconds, and the bottle invariably ends up perfectly cleaned. Give it a quick eyeball check and it's ready to be drained and stored. I wish I could recall who originally posted this simple bit of wisdom, but I swear by it. 

I'm sure we can all think of a few gems like this. Maybe we can kind of archive them in this topic thread.

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Immediately after draining, rinse each bottle thoroughly by the three-times-flushing method.  Inspect the bottle by looking through the mouth of the bottle held up to a light source.  If it passes inspection*, drain the bottle on a bottle tree.  When enough bottles have been accumulated, sterilize them by your favorite method such as Starsan and seal them (plastic baggies secured by rubber bands) until bottling time.  This has worked for me.

* Otherwise, go for the bottle brush and cleaner.

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Another simple one. Brewprints are convenient, but you can save some money by ordering the individual ingredients separately. This is especially helpful for those of us who bottle rather than keg, because the brewprint automatically comes with the keg primers. Also, ordering ingredients allows you to fu--, um, mess around with the recipe, substituting dry hops for liquid, for instance. 

I know most of us already do this, but it doesn't hurt to add it to the list.

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One issue that gives us finer control of our brews is dry hopping.  The hop packets (wet or dry) are like discrete quanta.  You could use a partial amount of a packet, but it would be awkward and slightly inconvenient.  So, we usually use integer numbers of hop applications - the quanta being whole sachets or packets.

My approach to dry hopping is to purchase dry hop pellets in small bulk - 8 oz. (240g) packages.  Then with a set of kitchen scales*, accurate to within a gram, I can mete out precise dosages of dry hops.  Store the bags in a refrigerator and keep an inventory of the various hops you prefer to use.  I now stock 17 varieties if pellet hops.

This gives me more creative freedom in brewing.

* Inexpensive, electronic and easy to use.

 😀 Happy brewing.

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On 20/5/2023 at 3:34 PM, Rob Courtney said:

I clean glasses and bottles with boiling water, quick sanitise spray and then cover the bottle with a bit of Gladwrap.

I just rinse my used bottles 3 times with hot water from the tap and emptying with vigorous shaking. That’s it. Simple but never  had one issue.

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