Simple things that make HB better

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

I just put a cranberry brew down that is Cats but thats for another day

Water, It is by far the most volume that you put into your brew, thus the biggest contributer both to yeast, flavour and hop utilisation. Bad water will make your brew bad. It can harbour bacteria, spoil and add bad tastes. Insufficiant neutrients will lead to stuck fermentations, incorrect pH's will lead to poor hop utilization.

Classic beers are based on the water quality, Burton on Trent, Pilsner Urquel, Guiness to name a few.

Chlorine, chlorine the worst thing you have ever seen

An inline tap Brita is 32 bucks. Best money ever spent. If you are hard on cake, the Bakshi filter will do to.

On the whole, the biggest bang for your buck is the water filter, it leads to good brew.

Dogger

Excellent tip Snoops, thanks mate!

[Chris]

I've been meaning to get a filter. I'm going to look into it. Maybe ebay...

Do you need to add anything to the water after filtration?

[gregb]

Do you need to add anything to the water after filtration?

Hops, Malt, yeast...

Cheers,
Greg

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Do you need to add anything to the water after filtration?

Hops, Malt, yeast...

Cheers,
Greg

[Chris]

Very funny

I meant does it need softening agent added?

[gregb]

I know, I couldn't resist...

You'd need to know what chemicals were present and in what quantities etc, then adjust accordingly to harden or soften as required. Personally, I try it as is out of the filter, and if odd things happen then start to adjust. Most homebrewing books that I have read have whole chapters on water and water adjustment and it gets quite involved.

Cheers,
Greg

[Dogger Dan]

Nah, shouldn't

I hate softening water anyway, it just leads to bad things, high Na for starters

Dogger

[Chris]

So it's back to the old research books again...

[Chris]

Dogger, what about a teaspoon of gypsum?

[gregb]

No Post, hit the wrong button

[Dogger Dan]

Yeh,

Depends what you start with.

Really, If you are using distilled then you have to start playing with ions.

If it is local and you are brewing good beer, leave it alone.

Dogger

[thisispants]

So just bringing it back to one of the points. For my next brew, i'll add 1kg of dextrose, and 500g of light dry malt.... and that will result in a better brew?

Are there any advantages of using say coopers brew enhancer 1, as opposed to just dextrose?

what does light dry malt do.... is it mainly just head retention? Head retention is slightly overrated in my opinon.

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

So just bringing it back to one of the points. For my next brew, i'll add 1kg of dextrose, and 500g of light dry malt.... and that will result in a better brew?

Are there any advantages of using say coopers brew enhancer 1, as opposed to just dextrose?

what does light dry malt do.... is it mainly just head retention? Head retention is slightly overrated in my opinon.

Go back to the top of the first page on this thread thisispants & read Chris's entry!...very helpful info!

[Stangas]

one pointer that i have learned..

after boiling your wort... i chill the hot wort as quickly as possible.

to do this i fill the laundry sink with ice and water to get a slurry going.. then i put the pot with wort in it into the slurry. I then monitor until the wort is well below 20deg.

This has the effect of eliminating the cloudyness of the beer.

[The Carbonator]

On the whole, the biggest bang for your buck is the water filter, it leads to good brew.

Dogger

SOLD!!!
Im going to buy one straight after work.

Chris, excellent tips mate.

On yeast, I got some WLP550 Belgian Abbey Yeast. The difference it made to my brew was un-freakin-believable.

About the use of dextrose - One thing that has become a major factor when deciding ingredients, for me, is the mouthfeel or body.
I have become a bit sick of really full bodied beers. So i am starting to substitute more dex in place of LME.
Eg instead of 1.5kg LME and 500g Dex, im starting to use 1.5kg Dex, 500g LME.
Does that sound right? I like em strong (and fizzy), but a bit dry......

[scblack]

About the use of dextrose - One thing that has become a major factor when deciding ingredients, for me, is the mouthfeel or body.
I have become a bit sick of really full bodied beers. So i am starting to substitute more dex in place of LME.
Eg instead of 1.5kg LME and 500g Dex, im starting to use 1.5kg Dex, 500g LME.
Does that sound right? I like em strong (and fizzy), but a bit dry......

Hey, if you like it, that's all that matters - there is NO hard and fast rule for beer brewing.

Hey, Carbonator, where are you in Baulko - I'm near the tafe?

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

there is NO hard and fast rule for beer brewing.

So really Chris's entry

2) Use either light dry malt (LDM/LME) or liquid malt extract.

The days of 1kg of white sugar are over. The days of Coopers brewing sugar (with sucrose) are over. Depending on your style of beer, I believe 500g LDM is a minimum. 1kg of LDM alone in my beers are almost standard. You are not doing your beer a favour by using dextrose and maltodextrin alone. (will this point be controversial?)

isnt a rule to go by then?....sorry for my ignorance but I've never used any of these ingredients so I dont know what the standard methods would be!

[scblack]

there is NO hard and fast rule for beer brewing.

So really Chris's entry

2) Use either light dry malt (LDM/LME) or liquid malt extract.

The days of 1kg of white sugar are over. The days of Coopers brewing sugar (with sucrose) are over. Depending on your style of beer, I believe 500g LDM is a minimum. 1kg of LDM alone in my beers are almost standard. You are not doing your beer a favour by using dextrose and maltodextrin alone. (will this point be controversial?)

isnt a rule to go by then?....sorry for my ignorance but I've never used any of these ingredients so I dont know what the standard methods would be!

OK, my take on Chris's rule, is right, in the sense of not using sucrose, which adds less than desirable flavours.

My understanding is that if you used dextrose alone, it would be a thin, somewhat watery beer, due to the dextrose being fully fermented by the yeast. "Body" is added by using LDM. Body is a fuller flavour/feel due to the ingredients of LDM not fully fermenting, and being left floating through your beer. I'm no expert here.

I don't disagree with Chris at all, I don't brew with just dextrose myself, what I'm saying is, if you like that type of beer - go for it. If you're a newer brewer, experiment until you find what you like. I've done a grand total of 16 brews, and still experimenting (and will probably never stop experimenting). But of all that 16, they were all drinkable, even with so-called "errors".

I learn a huge amount from this site, and read it each day pretty much, and take in ideas - some I do, some I don't. But everyone likes different beer - and if carbonator likes dry beer with less body, good for him.

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Ok, thanks SC...something to think about anyway!
Im the same as you...Im here every day, reading & responding to get as much info as I can so I have all the fire power at my disposal when I get into it seriously!
Just waiting for my bday to come around so I can get a few things I need to kick it of in a big way!

[Aussie Claret]

Hi,
Carbonator - adding 2kgs of malt whether liquid or dry wil not produce a dry beer, but rather a sweeter beer, which will mellow on conditioning. It will give the beer a heap of body and good head, but will never be dry.
If you were making beer with 1.5kgs of LME and adding 500g of Dextrose (probably for that extra little kick) and now making with 1.5 LME and 500g LDME you will be adding more body due to less fully fermentable sugar; but you are likely to only notice a negligable improvement. IMHO.
Sry- editing if you want less body, you should cut back on the amount of malt you are adding. If you are after a beer that's a bit drier then you could always add some honey. Ask DD

Now pants - If you were making beer with 1kg dextrose previously and have decided to add 500g of malt then you are adding some sugars that are not fully fermentable so you should notice more body in your beer. I would cut back on the dextose and add more malt though.

You asked about Coopers beer enhancer 1 this is a body booster, a mix of Maltodextine and dextrose, maltodextine is used to improve head retention and mouth feel (some body) but you may wish to use BE2 which is a brew booster and a mix of LDME, Maltodextrine and dextrose.

Adding malt to your beer definetley improves beer finding the right balance is a question of taste.

Cheers
AC