Simple things that make HB better

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

BE2 which is a brew booster and a mix of LDME, Maltodextrine and dextrose.

Have you used this particular product AC?....and if so, what were the results opposed to using your own mix of malt etc?

[Aussie Claret]

Hi,
I often use BE2, depending on the style of beer I'm making. Although I usually add a little more LDME upto 500g and hops; in the last few lagers which came out well balanced. I have used BE2 on it's own and was pleased with the results (one in a coopers Canadian Blonde).

In my LCPA I added 1.5kgs Coopers LME + 500 dextrose and a lot of hops 36g. It took quite a while to balance and was initially sweet (from the malt) with an after bitterness from the hops.

Really it's all about personal taste, I wouldn't add more than 1.5Kgs of malt to any of my beers unless I was after a very rich Ale.

Hope this helps.
AC

[scblack]

If you are after a beer that's a bit drier then you could always add some honey. Ask DD
Cheers
AC

Or, he could try Dry Enzyme. I put a question up about this recently, and some HATE using it, some ambivalent. It apparently increases the beer's using up of fermentables, creating a drier flavour (slightly higher alcohol content too).

But I have not yet tried the one brew I have done with it yet. But if you like drier brews, Carbonator, it may be something to try.

and here's the link to that thread:
http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... php?t=1791

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

So using say 1kg of LDME & 500g of dextrose or maltodextrin would be a good starting point?

[Aussie Claret]

Most definetly, just a suggestion don't use more than 500g of maltodextrine (some times referred to as corn syrup) as it can give an unusual taste in large quantities.
ac

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Most definetly, just a suggestion don't use more than 500g of maltodextrine (some times referred to as corn syrup) as it can give an unusual taste in large quantities.
ac

Yet again, you came...you saw....you concurred!...cheers buddy!

[Chris]

There sure has been some activity since I left!

1kg of liquid malt would be ok with 500g of some other fermentable, but 1kg of LDM and 500g of something else will give a pretty high alco%. If this is what you are aiming for, go for it. I personally would leave out the other fermentable.

As a point of explanation, nothing that I have posted is a "rule." These are all just things that I wish someone had told me when I was very new to brewing. They are small things that I have picked up along the way, that have made huge improvements to the flavour and quality of my beer. The best idea is to use these as guidelines, and experiment to make you own "rules." Adapt these to your own tastes. I've hopefully just given you a starting point.

[yardglass]

As a point of explanation, nothing that I have posted is a "rule." These are all just things that I wish someone had told me when I was very new to brewing.

Yeah, same...
but it was fun learning the new stuff without the backup.

cheers
yard

[Oliver]

My golden rule is don't worry. As I've said over and over, I reckon that worry has killed more homebrews than anything else.

Wort too hot when you pitched the yeast? Don't worry.

Added too much or too little of some ingredient? Don't worry.

Beer not carbonated after a couple of weeks? Don't worry.

You can worry too much. Homebrewing is an inexact science, and stuffing it up is hard. Very rarely will a beer be undrinkable or have to be tipped down the sink.

Instead of worrying, sit back, have a beer and be fairly confident your brew will be all right

Cheers,

Oliver

[Chris]

That is so true Oliver.

I probably should add this as a "rule," Your beer is not infected unless it (a) makes you physically sick (b) makes even your drunk mates sick (c) has wierd purple things floating in it, and causes a and b to happen.

Do not turn beer into lawn food until it has spent at least 2-3 months in the bottle. It sometimes takes that long to develop the flavours properly.

[dags64]

My golden rule is don't worry. As I've said over and over, I reckon that worry has killed more homebrews than anything else.

Wort too hot when you pitched the yeast? Don't worry.

Added too much or too little of some ingredient? Don't worry.

Beer not carbonated after a couple of weeks? Don't worry.

You can worry too much. Homebrewing is an inexact science, and stuffing it up is hard. Very rarely will a beer be undrinkable or have to be tipped down the sink.

Instead of worrying, sit back, have a beer and be fairly confident your brew will be all right

Cheers,

Oliver

yeah, I like that "Dont worry, be happy, have a beer"

that is definitely advice that I will be taking on board, thanks

[da_damage_done]

I was wondering should this thread be made a sticky?

Or something along the same lines

It could be honed down to give newbies a really good starting point for improving brews

[The Carbonator]

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

Near Crestwood Shops. Rockley Ave.

Good to see another homebrewer in the Hills.

[flosso]

Just in reference to the title of this post, there are two simple things I've changed to the brewing process that have improved my homebrew no end - I think they were both mentioned in the original post but I've had success with them so thought I'd repeat them:

1) Culture a yeast from a commercial beer
2) Use malt instead of other 'sugars' as much as possble.

The first time I did this I cultured a yeast from a Coopers pale and added an extra 500g Light Malt to a Brew Enhancer 2 (which isn't 100% malt I realise).

This by far was easily my best beer to date - propbably the first one that didn't have the homebrew taste - and when I unleashed it on my mates they couldn't get enough - it disappeared pretty quickly.

I'd heartily suggest anyone that hasn't tried either of these yet to give them a go.

[Bruiser]

Hey Carbonator and scblack, I'm from Baulkham Hills as well. 3 min walk from the Tafe. There's a new brew club starting up in the Hills area. PM me if you're interested. It's a group of blokes of all different levels sharing beers and ideas.

edit: just realised no PMing on this board. Send me an email instead.

[scblack]

Hey Carbonator and scblack, I'm from Baulkham Hills as well. 3 min walk from the Tafe. There's a new brew club starting up in the Hills area. PM me if you're interested. It's a group of blokes of all different levels sharing beers and ideas.

edit: just realised no PMing on this board. Send me an email instead.

E-mailed you - sounds good.

[ex0ja]

I've only just seen this thread because Chris linked it in another thread. I found it very useful, perhaps it should be stickied? (Just noticed someone else said that too).

1) Rack your beer!

Whatever it takes, go to your local HB shop and buy a second fermenter and some food-grade hose. It is a simple step, that will SIGNIFICANTLY improve your beers flavour and clarity

Will it really improve flavour? Or just clarity?

Experiment.
try a bit of orange peel, coriander, ginger, honey, chilli, whatever....

I'd like to try some of these things, but how do you add them to the wort? Say I wanted to add chilli for example, would I just chop up some chillis and chuck them straight into the boil?

[Chris]

Racking will improve flavour, as it ensures that the remaining fermentables actually have time to ferment.

If you don't rack, the beer sits on the yeast cake, and develops weird flavours from the yeast autolysis.

As for adding stuff to your beer...

If you add to the stovetop boil, it will have less effect on the overall beer. If you add to 2ndary, it will impart more flavour. If you add when priming, it will have the most effect.

[NickMoore]

Racking will improve flavour, as it ensures that the remaining fermentables actually have time to ferment.

bottle-conditioning serves the same purpose? more important for keggers?

If you don't rack, the beer sits on the yeast cake, and develops weird flavours from the yeast autolysis.

are we too worried about this? the howtobrew.com bloke (john palmer is it?) says this has happened only once to him and that was with some boiled rice that had been left on the stovetop for weeks. and he advises leaving the beer in the fermenter for two weeks.

I can understand if you are conditioning a lager for a long time you should get it off the cake, but otherwise is it that vital?

plus the fact that racking exposes the beer to oxygen and possibly infections.

[Shaun]

Racking will improve flavour, as it ensures that the remaining fermentables actually have time to ferment.

bottle-conditioning serves the same purpose? more important for keggers?

Nick if this was the case we would not have to wait for the brew to finish before bottling. If there is unfermented fermtables left in the brew when it is bottled it will contiune to ferment as well as the priming sugar fermenting giving you an over carbinated beer as the best result and beer bombs as the worst case.

Racking to allow the brew to ferment completely is important for bottle conditioned beer and keggers.

If you don't rack, the beer sits on the yeast cake, and develops weird flavours from the yeast autolysis.

are we too worried about this? the howtobrew.com bloke (john palmer is it?) says this has happened only once to him and that was with some boiled rice that had been left on the stovetop for weeks. and he advises leaving the beer in the fermenter for two weeks.

I can understand if you are conditioning a lager for a long time you should get it off the cake, but otherwise is it that vital?

plus the fact that racking exposes the beer to oxygen and possibly infections.

We probable are overly concerned about autolysis and you can leave a brew for longer periods sitting on the yeast cake. With kit and kg brews the trub is basically yeast, however if hops or grain has been used there are other things in the trub that can give the beer weird flavours. I guess it comes down to being aware of what you have used in the brew and what effects it can have.