So I got a Chinook IPA kit last Xmas from Northern Brewer and made my first ever home brew. I followed instructions except I think I made the mistake of steeping grains in boiling water. Everything about the beer ended up perfect except this nasty dry/bitter overtone that ruined what other wise seemed like a good beer. Color was amazing including a nice light brown head. I bottled some and kegged some and they were identical. 10 months later I …
I have been brewing for 6 years and have developed some great recipes that have been well received at competitions. My equipment used to be an all-grain setup using a standard 10 gal kettle and 10 gal cooler mash tun. Fermentation has always been in buckets in a temp controlled chamber. However I recently "upgraded" to a 3-keggle setup using all stainless fittings and connections so as to brew larger volumes. Ever since that time, my beer has been lifeless. …
I know a few local beers, like Ayinger Kellerbier, that are not filtered and are turbid when looking through. Those are quite taste, but go the head quickly (meaning light headache, not basic drunkenness). Now, my first batch of cider has fermented. I fermented from mashed fruits, not juice, after filtering through a cloth I arrived at a very turbid fluid. It does not taste like much, the yeast is still settling but it does have this heady qualtity that …
So here's my predicament: I've realized that my city water has low Chloride levels compared to the sulfates (i.e. the sulfate/chloride ratio is higher than ideal). Reading that this might be the case, I measured out the approx. amount of CaCl2 to be added to one of my already bottled beers. I poured the beer into a glass and added the salt. Waited for the salt to dissolve, and tasted the beer. This resulted in a much smoother, fuller body …
Is CO2 the only type of gas you could use to carbonate the beer in your keg. (Okay know carbonate means to use CO2). Something like say Nitrogen or Helium or whatever. If so what would that taste like and or change the flavor of the beer.
My first batch, I followed a recipe using malt extract to create a West Cost IPA. The wording of the recipe made me invert the Hop additions... [Edit] Instead of: 2oz of Centinennial at 0mins left in boil 1oz of chinook at 10mins left in boil 1oz of columbus at 60mins left in boil I did : 2oz of Centinennial at 60mins left in boil 1oz of chinook at 50mins left in boil 1oz of columbus at 0mins left in …
I’ve been making regular batches of pomegranate wine. The latest batch fermented faster than usual due to ambient heat increase. However the result has a salty taste. What would be the cause of that and how could I relive or mask that taste?
I tried to create a sour beer from a sour mash from the second runnings of a Double IPA. I kept the mash tun in the garage, but unfortunately it rained and got colder than I thought it would. (I live in Los Angeles, so I wasn't too concerned about the season at the time.) The net morning it smelled horrible -- like butyric acid, so I know it got colder than the recommended temperature. But nonetheless I carried on! …
My brother and my father both brewed the same beer at the same time in the same general area. General area being each at their own home, but separated by about 20 miles and they are in different counties. They used the same bag of yeast, the same bag of grains and everything, just to try to make it consistent. The equipment was essentially the same, my brother being newer at homebrewing than my father. They both used the same …
I currently have 4, 5 gallon batches going. After a bad episode of brewing at a high temperature (72-75°F) for 2 batches, I have gone in the opposite direction and aim for 60*F, and frequently dip below that (57-59°F). I get very irritated when my wort gets to even 63°F. After some Internet reading, I am starting to worry that 60°F is too low for most ales, and that it will cause a lower attenuation. I am willing to sacrifice …
Why does everyone insist on smelling a beer before tasting it? To me, I don't want any preconceived notions about what it may or may not taste. You ever see a trailer for a movie and you think it's going to be awesome. Then you go see it and realize it's only so-so? The aroma is a big factor, don't get me wrong, and adds to the total experience of a new beer. But I don't drink beer for the …
Before when I have used White Labs WLP-001 I have gotten too much alcohol taste on my beer. One on my theories is that I have been fermenting it on to high temperature (living room - around 22C). My basement is around 13C, would it OK to ferment the beer in this temp (guess it would take longer to complete fermenting)? I’m going to brew an imperial stout with WLP-001, so it would be an high alcoholic beer (around 10% …
I have recently brewed a nice rye ale. It turned out very nicely, however, compared to all the other beers I've brewed, it has a really syrupy texture and thickness to it. It quite dry but it isn't strong, ABV is 5.5%. The main malts were pale, rye and some wheat. So I was wondering - what are general influences on the thickness of a beer? Is it just the malts (I'd guess the wheat malt is at least somehow …
I made hard cider this way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G25FFvCpNoQ except I also added cranberries, a couple tablespoons of sugar, and cinnamon. And yes, I used Fleischmann's rapid rise yeast. Today, after 2 weeks my airlock balloon deflated and I decided to bottle the hard cider. So, I combined everything that fermented with a little bit of water that I boiled and added a good amount of sugar to (so that the yeast hopefully feeds on it). I tasted it and it was …
I'm brewing a Wilko Pear cider kit. The method was to empty the can of juice into the FV and add 1.5kg of brewing sugar and enough water to bring it up to 23L. I started it off just under 3 weeks ago and it has just finished fermenting (I had some temperature issues that were solved with a brew belt). My cider has just about finished primary fermentation (I'm waiting to make sure the gravity remains constant). I gave …
I remember when I was younger and "forties" (40 oz malt beer) were a big thing to drink when you're cool in the hood chilling. I've since for a good few years or so have been drinking Bud Light and Platinum since it's been available too. I tried a 40 oz of some (Old E.) Old English and boy that was not good tasting to me any more. So I guess my question(s): Why mainly does (malt beer) Old English …
This may be too specific but I will ask anyway. I love Fat Tire but would like to modify a little. The holy grail of beer would be a Fat Tire but more biscuit, more toasty caramel taste and fuller mouth feel. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Even if it isn't a recipe, perhaps grains that present these specific tastes would help.
I've been working on a pomagranate mead that has been fermenting for 3 weeks. I just racked it for the first time today and I tried a some, it was super sour... anyone know if this is normal and if it will go away and have the original pomagranate taste back. Also what might of caused this, did my pomagranate mead go bad or something
There are some very helpful descriptions I've found of people describing the taste of various hops, but I've found that my personal taste can be quite different. I'd like to be able to isolate the aroma and flavor of a particular hop, without brewing a separate or even half batch for each one. Has anyone tried something like this?