Ok drinking an early test bottle here. Probably about 2 weeks from full maturity.
Testing it to see if it had carbonated in the bottle and so whether I should continue to bother looking after it. As can be seen it has and very nicely at that.
I had a number of issues with the production process. First the sudden drop in temperatures at the end of September meant that my usual fermentation location (the garden shed) got too cold and I had to bring the wort inside not knowing whether the cold had terminated the fermentation process early. Second the dry hopping process left an almighty sediment in the mix. I was very worried that this would seriously impede the flavour but thankfully other than requiring careful pouring off we seem to be ok. However next time I will dry hop in a muslin bag.
You can restart the fermentation process easily enough…it might restart on it’s own if it gets to room temperature,otherwise just sprinkle a packet of yeast over the top…or get the yeast going first in a little lukewarm water with a teaspoon of sugar.
(A heatbelt is a useful article this time of year.)
Would a shed do if a fella wanted to brew or would he want a warmer space?.. It’s something I want to try at some stage but don’t have the space for it indoors presently.
I’ve used San Pellegrino bottles for elderflower champagne which is virtually explosive and they withstood the pressure. I’d tried other plastic bottles that didn’t work. I’d expect a coke bottle to be able to withstand the pressure too.
