My latest batch of IPA has come out really unpleasantly bitter, it was only supposed to be about 45 IBUs, using a combination of Northdown, Target and Bobek for bittering (60 minutes) and some more Bobek at flame out and for dry hopping. But I think I may have messup up somewhere as it tastes like it's much much higher than that... I've not bottled it yet (it's still in the secondary - been there for a couple of weeks), …

To me, there's a really distinctive flavor in Warsteiner Premium Verum. I get a ton of it in Warsteiner, a fair bit in Beck's, and a bit in Pilsner Urquell. I'm quite sure the thing I'm tasting is malt-related, not hop-related. The BJCP description of 2A German Pilsner makes me think that "graham cracker" is perhaps the thing I'm smelling/tasting, but I'm really not sure. Perhaps it's just a malty sweetness. I've hoped for the same flavor to show up …

I've just tried the first bottle from a batch of APA I brewed and it has a very distinct (and unpleasant) earthy / peaty flavour. Reminiscent of healthy soil. The beer also finishes with a very sharp acidic bitterness (also unpleasant). What could have caused this? Is it a process error somewhere? Infection / mishandling? Just a poor recipe? Is it likely to disappear with age or should I flush the lot? Fermentables: 3kg Light malt extract (syrup) 0.5kg Dextrose …

I made a DIY CO2 system for my fish tank. I use fermentation for the CO2. 2 and a half weeks ago I filled a 2ltr soda bottle with water, 2 cups of demerara sugar and a tsp of bakers yeast. This wasnt intended for drinking (no sanitisation first etc) just for producing co2 as cheaply as possible. I came to change my mixture today and rather than just throw away whatever it is i'd fermented I thought i'd try …

My impression is that ales are typically best drunk within a couple weeks of brew day. It's my experience that letting them age in the bottles for 2-3 months yields the best beer, both improving body, head, and desirable flavours, and reducing estery flavours. Could there be something I'm doing wrong to make the beer mature too slowly?

When I planned my last batch (my 4th, so I'm pretty inexperienced) using Beersmith for a single hop IPA, I realised that the IBU I got from the recipe was way to low. So I adjusted the recipe and aimed for about 40IBUs. I ended up with the following numbers: 7g Simcoe (12.9%) 60min 30g Simcoe (12.9%) 30min 38g Simcoe (12.9%) 5min Quite some hops, but I didn't realize this at that moment. After the boil I saw that I …

I've asked this question before and tried the only suggestion I received. My last batch of strawberry/peach was only marginally better by freezing the fruit prior to brewing. I do better using concentrate, but I don't know how to improve the body when brewing with concentrates. Grrrr, what am I missing

I have some expreience in home brewing but I want to try something different this time. I want to make hard seltzer by fermantation. There are some recipes over the internet but I could not find any answer to my questions. Can I use PG based e-liquid flavous (TFA/TPA) after the fermantation but before the bottling? In the bottling process, the fermantation will continiue, so the PG in the flavor cause some unwanted effects like methanol fermantation? What kind of …

How do you use it? What does it do? Do you pass finished wort through it hot or cold?

I recently did my first batch of beer: Oktoberfest (True Brew kit). Brewed up the wort, fermented and bottled to a T. When it came time to open I was immediately encouraged by great aroma, great color, carbonation and head retention. I was certain I had done everything right according to the recipe and had achieved a great beer. Upon tasting I was slightly disappointed by a less characteristic light flavor. I'm wondering what I did in the process to …

I'm brewing a extract Pumpkin Porter kit and just transferred from primary to secondary. I tasted it and I could taste the spices but was wondering if it was too late to pumpkin it up a little. Could i add something now, If so what exactly would I add, Caned pumpkin? Or is it already too late?

I made a cider with the below recipie and I have noticed that as it ages it is starting to get a watery taste. What would cause this? The bottles are stored out of sunlight and are never moved till I take them to the fridge. Recipe here: Date made 19/09/2013 OG 1.092 FG 0.995 21L Juice (7bottles) Yeast Nutrient (Boil up raisins (that don’t have sulphite on them) and small amount of water, mash up the raisins and simmer) …

I am looking for a good, in-depth source on biotransformations (think food science). For example, fermenting black tea and sugar with wild yeast and bacteria (kombucha): Wild yeast ferment sucrose into ethanol Bacteria (in the presence of oxygen) convert that ethanol to acetic acid (sours the solution and lowers pH) This is a transformation of sucrose into acetic acid through the use of yeast and bacteria (but which ones?). Or: Malting grain causes production of enzymes that later break down …

I'm an obsessive home brewer. So I'm always trying to critically evaluate the flavour of beers I make with a view to constantly improving their quality. In particular I am searching for off-flavours, like by-products of fermentation, or is some-ingredient too prominent in the flavour profile. However I find that if I eat certain foods (like flavoured chips/crisps), before drinking beer, some parts of the malt taste profile (or the yeast?) flavours go weird, the sweetness becoming kind of saccharine …

I recently brewed a second batch of Christmas ale, which was spiced with cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg. I put a bottle in the fridge last night and tried it, but only a small amount of spice came through in smell/taste. Then I decided to open a bottle that hadn't been chilled, and the spice character was much more present, especially the cinnamon and clove. Why does chilling reduce the perceptibility of the spice? It is something chemically related to …

Just brewed a sour with Basil thrown in at flameout. Now 6 weeks into the fermenter with WLP648 there's not much sourness and a bit (overwhelming) flavour of Basil. I was wondering what my options were to fix this. The Basil flavour should be less intense, so my options are: Mixing it with another (probably pure) sour lambic without any herbs Wait for a few months to get it more sour and hope the herb taste fizzles out I don't …

My primary fermentation and bottle conditioning temperatures are well controlled in a brewing fridge. Once bottles are conditioned / carbonation cycle complete I move them to crates which I store in my garage. The temperature here can vary from 15C / 58F to 30C / 86F in one day. The beer at least has some buffer and does in itself not reach these temperatures, but it will fluctuate. Will these ‘storage’ temperatures adversely affect my beer?

I've recently been attempting to use fresh fruit to flavor my wines and have had disastrous results. The recipes I've found and copied all say to remove the fruit from the must after around 7 days and then let the must finish fermenting. By doing this, the wine finishes with little to no fruit flavor. The recipes all call for around 12lbs/5gal batch. My SG and FG numbers fall well within the intended target, but there's little flavor and my …

What is the best method for preparing different fruits for fruit additions into secondary fermentors? There are issues of sanitation and good fruit to wort contact, via chopping, slicing, mincing or puree.

Has anybody experimented with blending different varieties of apple for "hard cider"? Locally I have an apple variety called "Blenheim Orange" and also an unidentified cider apple. Using just the cider apple produces a very vigorous fermentation even at 20°C but the result is pretty bland. The B.O. apple ferments much slower and unpredictably but produces a more interesting flavour. I'm trying a blend of the two this year and just wondering what success others may have had in blending …