Hello from Long Beach CA

[mashani]

I don't know of an exact science to tell you how many times to vent, but another time for sure. Then I would taste one. If you like how it tastes, throw them all in the fridge and drink them. Or at least keep your eye on them and see if the bottles. If it tastes sweet like there is sugar in it or it tastes like green apples, you will likely need to wait and vent some more.

Welcome to the borg!

[John Sand]

Welcome Red!
Most of us started with a can of HME (Hopped Malt Extract) like BrewDemon or MrBeer. It's a great way to start. After you are comfortable with your process, you can use the same fermenter to brew extract, extract + grains, or all grain batches. There are many different systems, I use a modified BIAB (Brew In A Bag) which is really mashing in a bag to strain the grains. It's a pretty simple sytem. But I still make extract batches when I need to save time. Keep us up on your progress, and enjoy your beer.

Thanks John. Where is the best place to read up on making the move from BrewDemon to more professional systems and how to do it etc?

I found John Palmer's Book "How to Brew" a very helpful primer. I initially read the first edition free online, then bought a used copy of the second edition. I believe there is a third edition now. Even that may be a little out of date. You might start a thread asking for book recommendations.

[mashani]

Thanks John. Where is the best place to read up on making the move from BrewDemon to more professional systems and how to do it etc?

I found John Palmer's Book "How to Brew" a very helpful primer. I initially read the first edition free online, then bought a used copy of the second edition. I believe there is a third edition now. Even that may be a little out of date. You might start a thread asking for book recommendations.

I just want to throw out that your BrewDemon fermenter is perfectly good for anything as long as it fits the volume you are brewing with whatever method you end up using to make your wort. You don't need to "professionalize it" unless you want to.

[Red Beerd]

I guess I'll crack the tops every 24 hours or so at first and then see if I can space it out longer by testing the firmness of the bottles. Don't worry I'll be drinking them no matter what

[Red Beerd]

I just want to throw out that your BrewDemon fermenter is perfectly good for anything as long as it fits the volume you are brewing with whatever method you end up using to make your wort. You don't need to "professionalize it" unless you want to.[/quote]

Good to know. Yeah, I guess I mean I want to learn more about making the wort without using the canned stuff.....

[Whamolagan]

Welcome to the club. I would definitely pick up john palmers how to brew book. Start saving money, you are going to need it. Glad to see another so cal member here.

[berryman]

Welcome to The Borg and a fun hobby, sounds like you have some good enthusiasm on this and that is a good start. If you have a few disappointments along the way (like over carb'n) don't let that stop you, it only gets better with time and you will be happy and I bet you will never make that mistake again. Vent and Fridge, and you will have beer. Ask all the questions as needed and keep us informed on the progress.
Good Luck and Happy Brewing

[berryman]

Well like a total moron I put 2 and 1/2 table spoons of sugar per 1 liter plastic bottle instead of 2 and 1/2 tea spoons in the Black Rock Export Pilsener. Is there anything I can do or is this batch throw away now?

Mr. Beer has a nice measuring tool and is cheap and works good for bottle priming, not sure if BD has them too, but I bet they do. Bottle priming works, but do some research on batch priming and once you do it you will see its the way to go. I still bottle prime once and a while on small test batches...........

[Red Beerd]

It was an honest mistake, My wife was helping and she read tea spoon as table spoon but I'm placing no blame as I should have checked. I just ordered that spoon lol! Yeah Brewdemon had one cheers!

Update as follows....

Bottled Monday around noon pac time.
Vented Tuesday night 10pm (Bottles rock hard).
Going to vent again Wednesday night at 10pm. (Bottles rock hard again).
I guess this way people can at least follow this if they make the same mistake I did.

Thanks again for all the welcomes!!!

[mashani]

Hey, just so you know, if you can get your hands on Dominos Dots sugar cubes - the kind that are 2.5 grams each / 198 in a box, then 1 of those per 12oz = perfect for most things. And it makes bottle priming super easy, just chuck them in, no mess, no fuss.

[Red Beerd]

Hey, just so you know, if you can get your hands on Dominos Dots sugar cubes - the kind that are 2.5 grams each / 198 in a box, then 1 of those per 12oz = perfect for most things. And it makes bottle priming super easy, just chuck them in, no mess, no fuss.

Thanks! Good to know. Right now I'm using the 1 liter plastic bottles that come with the Brewdemon kit, although I bought 48 of them so I can get some good rotation going (I have the 6 gal fermentor). Easy to figure out how many cubes I would need though.

[Red Beerd]

Just did the 2nd venting. The gas escaping smells very, very sweet. My guess is I may need to do this for a few more days yet...?

[mashani]

With the 1L bottles you have a lot of versatility. You can use 2 of the cubes for lighter carbonation, or 3 for higher levels of carbonation that many Americans seem to prefer. You can use just 1 if you want a beer that is more like an authentic British cask beer (mild/bitter). You can even use 4 if you are going for crazy Belgian or wheat beer carb levels (just be damn sure your beer really is done fermenting if you do this). Experiment and you will find what you like. Or base it off of style guidelines.

[Red Beerd]

With the 1L bottles you have a lot of versatility. You can use 2 of the cubes for lighter carbonation, or 3 for higher levels of carbonation that many Americans seem to prefer. You can use just 1 if you want a beer that is more like an authentic British cask beer (mild/bitter). You can even use 4 if you are going for crazy Belgian or wheat beer carb levels (just be damn sure your beer really is done fermenting if you do this). Experiment and you will find what you like. Or base it off of style guidelines.

Awesome thank you! It seems I've used more than a handfull on this first batch so I'll keep you updated

[mashani]

With the 1L bottles you have a lot of versatility. You can use 2 of the cubes for lighter carbonation, or 3 for higher levels of carbonation that many Americans seem to prefer. You can use just 1 if you want a beer that is more like an authentic British cask beer (mild/bitter). You can even use 4 if you are going for crazy Belgian or wheat beer carb levels (just be damn sure your beer really is done fermenting if you do this). Experiment and you will find what you like. Or base it off of style guidelines.

Awesome thank you! It seems I've used more than a handfull on this first batch so I'll keep you updated

If you put 2.5 TBSP in, then you used the equivalent of around a dozen dominos dots per bottle...