Ale is cloudy and really fizzy
I tried my very first home brew kit recently. I don't recall the specific brand, but it was a 'Newkie Brown' kit that came in a tin and was like black treacle to start with (e.g. a syrup not a powder or something, not sure what other types are to start with...)
I followed the instructions pretty accurately. I made up 23 litres of the liquid and left it for 6 days in the bucket (as per the instructions). The instructions said it should be kept at between 18 and 20 degrees (centigrade) - the only space I had big enough was the boiler cupboard and the temp unfortunately hovered around 22 degrees. I used brewers sugar in the first stage.
The next stage was to bottle the beer and leave at room temp for 2 weeks. I bottled up 48 bottles and have them in a kitchen cupboard - should be pretty room temp-ish. I used regular granulated sugar in this stage.
As I say, I followed the instructions to what I consider pretty well (other than the temp, which was only a few degrees out), but today, after leaving them for two weeks in the bottle as described, the beer is extremely fizzy, i.e. when I open a bottle a great big jet of it sprays out (like opening Champagne). It's not super fizzy when drinking it, although I can see a small stream of bubbles rising from one spot at the bottom.
Secondly, the beer is not clear and the instructions said it was ready when it was clear. Also, it's not just a bit cloudy, it's entirely opaque.
It tastes OK - no weird twangs or bad aftertaste or anything. All of the equipment - bucket, siphoning kit, bottles, stirrer, etc, were all thoroughly sterilized.
Does it need more time and then it will clear? Did I do something badly wrong and it will never clear? Could the increased first stage temp be the cause? Are the kits a waste of time?