Home of the BrewNosers

Hey everyone,

I did some Festa Brew kits in the past (about 7 or 8), but just started back up again after a 2yr hiatus. This time, going with the Best Case brew kit. Anyone have any advice out there regarding these kits / equipment? One question I did have was regarding bottling. I will be using Grolsch bottles and was trying to figure out how many I would need for a single kit.

Thanks! Looking forward to reading tons of great information and sharing ideas!

Welcome aboard!

My main advice regarding these kits is to take their fermentation instructions with a grain of salt. They suggest racking from your bucket (primary fermentation) to a carboy (for secondary fermentation) after a very short time, and put in unnecessarily fatalistic warnings about missing this deadline. Many of us do only a primary fermentation that lasts 10+ days, and then will transfer directly to our bottles or kegs. You can do the primary in either a bucket or carboy of sufficient size. If in a bucket, an airlock is not absolutely necessary: seal lid on tight, and crack open a portion to allow the CO2 to escape. Once the vigorous fermentation is complete, you can seal it, "burping" the lid if necessary (if it bulges up).

If you have done Festa Brews in the past, you should have most of the other things necessary for the fermentation, and will just need a pot. A chiller makes life easier on brew day, but is not strictly necessary if you can fit your pot in your sink full of ice water (or a bucket).

Welcome!

I believe grolsch bottles are 500ml and the best case kits make 23l of beer so you would need about 46 bottles to cover it.

Hello and Welcome.

There are actually different sizes of Grolsch, I found that last night as I was organizing my empties: some are 500, while others are 450. The smaller bottles are noticeably skinnier. If you aim for 50 empty bottles, you should be fine no matter which you have/get. You will not be bottling every last drop of the wort/beer in your primary fermenter, as there will be some loss to trub. But you will be adding back some with the bottling sugar (unless you use the carb tabs), so it's usually within a couple of litres.

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I've already been back to Noble Grape and picked up a second kit (Red Bitter), which I will start this upcoming weekend. Anyone know of options to buy a chiller that may be cheaper than Noble Grape's $90? (Not saying that is a bad price, just hoping there might be cheaper options out there).

Also, is there anywhere on Brewnoser's site that you can find second hand equipment? For instance, if someone gets out of bottling and into kegging, and looking to sell bottles, then they could post on here? I'm thinking down the road if I get into kegging.

Thanks again!

Have a look at the classifieds section for used gear/Kijiji listings: http://www.brewnosers.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Welcome!

chalmers wrote:Welcome aboard!

My main advice regarding these kits is to take their fermentation instructions with a grain of salt. They suggest racking from your bucket (primary fermentation) to a carboy (for secondary fermentation) after a very short time, and put in unnecessarily fatalistic warnings about missing this deadline. Many of us do only a primary fermentation that lasts 10+ days, and then will transfer directly to our bottles or kegs. You can do the primary in either a bucket or carboy of sufficient size. If in a bucket, an airlock is not absolutely necessary: seal lid on tight, and crack open a portion to allow the CO2 to escape. Once the vigorous fermentation is complete, you can seal it, "burping" the lid if necessary (if it bulges up).

If you have done Festa Brews in the past, you should have most of the other things necessary for the fermentation, and will just need a pot. A chiller makes life easier on brew day, but is not strictly necessary if you can fit your pot in your sink full of ice water (or a bucket).

I heard the guy who manages that brand "Best Case" is a bit of a moron!

Thanks for the vote of confidence Chris

Haha all jokes aside, what Chalmers says is correct. because we try to catch the largest market possible, we are forced to over simplify (which to experienced Brewers makes it feel over complicated) instructions and almost 'scare' people into following. Why you ask? Because believe me it is extraordinarily difficult to explain to a customer that spoiled beer is their own fault and not a product defect - without pissing them off. Most of our customers don't take part in the "craft," so to speak, and simply follow the instructions word for word without ever really learning what's happening.
also as Chalmers said double stage fermentation is beginning to take a back seat to single stage (which I do myself) so go with what feels best.

Cheerx

mackay85 wrote:Thanks everyone for the great advice! I've already been back to Noble Grape and picked up a second kit (Red Bitter), which I will start this upcoming weekend. Anyone know of options to buy a chiller that may be cheaper than Noble Grape's $90? (Not saying that is a bad price, just hoping there might be cheaper options out there).

Also, is there anywhere on Brewnoser's site that you can find second hand equipment? For instance, if someone gets out of bottling and into kegging, and looking to sell bottles, then they could post on here? I'm thinking down the road if I get into kegging.

Thanks again!

Immersion chillers are fairly inexpensive to build yourself. I think you can get a 20-25' coil of 3/8" tubing for in around $20-30 depending on the hardware store, then just take a round item and build your coil, after that you just need some fittings. I built my 50' 1/2" chiller for in around $80 all said and one.

As for 2nd hand equipment, check the classifieds and kijiji frequently, and if you are looking to sell your bottles, these forums or kijiji as well.

HappyHopper wrote:

chalmers wrote:Welcome aboard!

My main advice regarding these kits is to take their fermentation instructions with a grain of salt. They suggest racking from your bucket (primary fermentation) to a carboy (for secondary fermentation) after a very short time, and put in unnecessarily fatalistic warnings about missing this deadline. Many of us do only a primary fermentation that lasts 10+ days, and then will transfer directly to our bottles or kegs. You can do the primary in either a bucket or carboy of sufficient size. If in a bucket, an airlock is not absolutely necessary: seal lid on tight, and crack open a portion to allow the CO2 to escape. Once the vigorous fermentation is complete, you can seal it, "burping" the lid if necessary (if it bulges up).

If you have done Festa Brews in the past, you should have most of the other things necessary for the fermentation, and will just need a pot. A chiller makes life easier on brew day, but is not strictly necessary if you can fit your pot in your sink full of ice water (or a bucket).

I heard the guy who manages that brand "Best Case" is a bit of a moron!

Thanks for the vote of confidence Chris

Haha all jokes aside, what Chalmers says is correct. because we try to catch the largest market possible, we are forced to over simplify (which to experienced Brewers makes it feel over complicated) instructions and almost 'scare' people into following. Why you ask? Because believe me it is extraordinarily difficult to explain to a customer that spoiled beer is their own fault and not a product defect - without pissing them off. Most of our customers don't take part in the "craft," so to speak, and simply follow the instructions word for word without ever really learning what's happening.
also as Chalmers said double stage fermentation is beginning to take a back seat to single stage (which I do myself) so go with what feels best.

Cheerx

Hey now, no hard feelings toward the Best Case guy (I heard he's pretty handsome), just that we really need to sit down and do a re-write of the instructions. Or maybe have an "advanced" option for those who want to simplify their brewing.

chris, isn't becoming a brewnosers the advanced option?

Keith wrote:chris, isn't becoming a brewnosers the advanced option?

You might be on to something there.

chalmers wrote:

Keith wrote:chris, isn't becoming a brewnosers the advanced option?

You might be on to something there.

Sounds like the best case scenario.

Thanks everyone for the welcoming words...its been a few weeks since I posted, so I thought I'd add an update.

I've since made my own wort chiller with 3/8" copper tubing...tough to find. Was originally trying to get 1/2" but that was near impossible. Here's the end result: Also just picked up a bar fridge for my upcoming kegerator.

Wondering if anyone can provide info on the monthly meeting. Would love to get out for one and meet some folks.

Yea 1/2" copper is a bastard to find. Payzants in Sackville gets it in 1 coil at a time. I seen a coil and grabbed it for Mike.

As for the meeting, next one will be Jan 13th. No one has stepped up to host, but will be that date for the Halifax group.

You can get 1/2 inch copper tubing here https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/AGIPor ... per+tubing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or other like places.