beer tast like home brew

[bobby]

does any body no how to make home brew tast like beer

[earle]

Good sanitising and temperature control go a long way.

But the answer to your question also really depends on what you are aiming to brew. What are you used to drinking and are you trying to replicate that?

There are brewers here that are brewing very good beer in their home. Give us a run down of what your taste preferences are and the recipes/methods that you've used for your home brewing and we can most likely offer some suggestions.

And sorry I've got to ask - Is that you Speedie?

[bobby]

no not speedy. i like extra dry . but iam not trying to get that tast just yet. only done six batches three of canadion blond and coopers ale temps been good plenty of gas keeps good head with cold glass but still tast like HB especially second glass of a long neck

[earle]

When you say temps been good, what has the fermentation temperature been. The instructions with the coopers tins are shit in that they recommend up to 27C while you really should aim for about 18C for a better tasting beer.

Sounds like yeast is what you're tasting though. When you pour your first glass from a long neck then stand the bottle back up you're stirring through the yeast that has settled in the bottom of the bottle. When you pour the second glass you're stirring it through even more. You'll also get this affect if you drink striaght from the bottle, each swig stirs the yeast up more and more. The tip here is to empty the bottle in one smooth pour, perhaps into a jug, leaving the last bit in the bottle with all the yeast. I bottle in stubbies and pour into a glass in similar way

Also if you can keep your fermenter at a temp of about 18C, leave the beer in it for a week after fermentation has finished before bottling. This gives the yeast a chance to settle out to the bottom of the fermenter, when you bottle you'll get much less in each bottle (still enough for carbonation though). This extra week also gives the yeast a chance to clean up after itself resulting in a better tasting beer. All my ales are in the fermenter for 3 weeks, lagers for even longer.

[jello]

If you're going by the instructions on the Cooper's cans, you could be getting mislead. The temperature they recommend is high, even for the yeast they provide. I highly recommend buying a decent ale yeast (US-05) and keeping your brew at a constant 19C. A fluctuating temperature can pass on unwanted flavours to your final product.
Another thing I recommend is fermenting for a minimum of two weeks.

And...I agree with earle. Get OCD about your sanitation. That and good temperature control will go along way.

I've made some good beers with Cooper's kits.

[barrelboy]

Hi Bobby, Earle and Jello are spot on. Sanitation is paramount and remember to sanitise all equipment when brewing like the spoon, can opener, the scissors that open the yeast and ingredient packs etc. When bottling the pouring tube that goes into the bottle and the bottle caps. I too don't follow Coopers instructions, I pitch the yeast at 20 degrees and maintain 18 during fermentation. General beers like draught, Canadian Blonde etc I have in fermenter for 2 weeks, ales and stouts min. 3 Weeks depending upon brew formula.
Trust this helps and keep on brewing!
Cheers BB

[warra48]

The advice you have received so far is very good.

However, you are unlikely to achieve a close copy of Extra Dry until you start to do all grain brews, and you take control of the entire process, including mash profile and temperature, proper yeast choice, and temperature control.
Until then, you can probably make good beers, but they won't really be anything like TED. Still, you may well get to like your own brews better than the commercial examples.
Keep at it, and good luck.

[drsmurto]

Yeast for me is the key area as to why some of my first kit beers tasted like 'homebrew'.

US05 for a lot of hop driven ales.
SO4 for english ales, porters, stouts
A good lager yeast if brewing a lager.

But these yeasts will only improve your beer with adequate temperature control. The temp is important but the stability of the temperature is probably more important.

You can't be too anal about sanitation.

Steeping some fresh grain, boiling fresh hops (not the teabag variety) will go a long way to producing very good beer from a kit.

[bobby]

hi to all those you answerd my call on tast. and yes some of my temp where between 18 and 26 but it was over along period it sound like the yeast mite be the problem plus getting my temp down.About yeast where do get my good yeast from and do i use liquid or powder. thanks for all the great info.

[earle]

Not sure where you are Bobby but I get dry yeast from www.craftbrewer.com.au, haven't ventured into liquids yet.

[Oliver]

Hi Bobby,

+1 to everything that's been said. Also, aim for a constant as well as lower temperature during fermentation.

Have a read of the thread titled Simple things that make HB better, which contains plenty of tips on making good homebrew.

Cheers,

Oliver

[barrelboy]

haven't ventured into liquids yet.

.
Well that really surprises me Earle. Do you just mean just purchased ones?
Cheers BB

[jello]

i haven't ventured into liquid yeasts yet either. Mainly due to trying to keep costs down.

Just how much better is it compared to dry?

[rotten]

I have 3 wyeast liquid yeasts in the fridge, one fermenting, and one vial from Whitelabs. I also have some good old US-05 dried yeast in the fridge. Wyeast cost $9.90 I think, while Whitelabs was $13, and I will use them again and again by re-using yeastcake or top cropping. Dried can cost anywhere from $4 to $8 depending on your supplier. I have decided to use liquid from now on as I can really tell the difference in the finished product, I'm learning more and more all the time about just how much yeast plays a role in the flavours etc, along with temp control.
I think liquid yeast are worth it, especially if you re-use yeastcake etc. The cost is insignificant really. Dried has it's place though as well. It's all up to you really.
Cheers

[warra48]

Liquid yeast can be really economical.

I brewed a couple of batches from one pack of WY1968 in December last year. I saved a number of test tubes of the yeast after I built it up to a 4 litre starter, which have been stored in the fridge since then.
One tube was donated to a fellow brewer. I pulled one test tube from the fridge a couple of weeks ago, put it into a ½ litre starter, then bumped it up to 3 litres a day later. I pitched only the slurry into a Mild, and it fired within hours the same day I pitched it. I will harvest a cup of the yeast cake, and pitch it into my next batch, also a Mild.
Last year I made 5 batches in succession from one yeast by harvesting and repitching from the yeastcake, before I finally discarded it.

Choice of yeast, and temperature control are two of the best things you can do on your journey towards making good beer.

[barrelboy]

Hi all, I also harvest yeast cake and pitch into other brews however I'm not up on this "test tube" process. Warra could you please explain or if too complex refer us to an appropriate site,thread. Would be appreciated.
Cheers BB

[earle]

haven't ventured into liquids yet.

.
Well that really surprises me Earle. Do you just mean just purchased ones?
Cheers BB

I know I should try liquid yeasts and I know if you harvest or reuse the trub they can be economical compared to dry. Just seomthing I haven't got around to yet. I think also the fact that I don't get next day express post delivery is holding me back from doing it. I know you can get them shipped with ice packs but I'm not sure how long they will last and it seems that dry yeast just travels a bit better. Please don't judge me too harshly.

[barrelboy]

You will not be severely beaten this time and nothing to do with a Belgian beer when I win the lotto!!
Cheers

[warra48]

Hi all, I also harvest yeast cake and pitch into other brews however I'm not up on this "test tube" process. Warra could you please explain or if too complex refer us to an appropriate site,thread. Would be appreciated.
Cheers BB

It's quite a simple process.
I start with a new Wyeast smakpak, or a White Labs tube.
As they are new, I pitch them straight into a 4 litre starter. (2/3rds LDME, 1/3 Dextrose, to a SG of about 1.040)
I make sure I aerate the starter with an airstone and an aquarium pump on a regular basis for the first 8 or so hours (I don't have a stirplate as yet). That gives the yeast sufficient oxygen to grow.
Once it's fermented out, I chill the starter, which will drop most of the yeast out of suspension.
I pour off the starter beer, and add a little boiled and cooled water, just enough to get all the yeast into suspension.
I fill 3 or 4 test tubes with the suspended yeast, seal them and keep them in the fridge.
The balance of the yeast gets pitched into my beer.

Then, I plan successive brews so I can use a cup or so of the yeast cake to pitch into the next batch. The yeast is harvested at bottling time. I brew again within 1 or 2 days, and pitch the harvested yeast.

So, the ecominics work out quite well.
The initial cost of a new liquid yeast, say $10, although I have had them for $5 from my usual supplier when they are a few months post production date.
Initial starter ingredients, about $4.
Total for the initial build up about $14, but this gives me about 4 brews if I repitch the slurry, say $3.50 per batch.

Subsequent starter build up from test tube, about $3 each. If I use the slurry, it's even cheaper.
The process is much the same building up a test tube, but I start with a ½ litre, then bump it up with another 2½ or 3 litre the next day to give me a total of 3 to 3½ litres.

Now, that's for ale style yeasts.
For lager yeasts you need to build up a larger starter, about 5 to 6 litres, and I tend to not use them more than once or twice. However, as you really need to use 2 packs of dry yeast to properly cold pitch a lager, it still works out well in comparison.

[barrelboy]

Thanks Warra, excellent explanation and easy enough. Appreciated.
BB