Hehe or a good link would be very much appreciated. Thanks SteveFirst timer
First timer
Hello all First off I am new to this forum and also new to beer making. Today I set out and brought a Morgan's beer kit and im ready to go... im just a little worried about my first Bach. alot of people I know are agents me buying a kit so I would like to prove them wrong. Are there any tips you should give a virgin. Hehe or a good link would be very much appreciated. Thanks Steve
Hehe or a good link would be very much appreciated. Thanks SteveDon't ever brew using dextrose or white sugar. Use 1 kg of malt instead.
Also, don't believe the instructions on cans. Brew at 20*C for all ales.
Aside from that, relax. The beer makes itself, and people worrying tends to be the main cause of beer problems.
Read the post at the top of the forum titled: simple things that make homebrew better.
Also, don't believe the instructions on cans. Brew at 20*C for all ales.
Aside from that, relax. The beer makes itself, and people worrying tends to be the main cause of beer problems.
Read the post at the top of the forum titled: simple things that make homebrew better.
Ok One4,
Use a premium kit. I recommend Morgans, Wals and Xtract. the latter two are available form The Country Brewers stores or web sites.
If you have to purchase from a supermarket or chain then only buy Coopers (1), Tooheys Dark Ale (2, only if you like dark ales like me) or Cascade (only Golden Harvest Lager or Mahogany Porter).
Secondly, use only 100% malt or at the minimum Ultra brew (which is 50% malt, 25% dextrose and 25% maltodextrin).
Use finishing hops (which are a teabag style of hops) or purchase hop pellets and dry hop using a minimun of 12gm or as I do a minimum of 20gm like i do of eithe willamette for dark ales, Cacscade for Pale Ales or Porters or Hallertau, Hersbrucker Tettnager, or Saaz ( the last 4 are the Noble Hops) for Lagers or Pilsners.
Lastly remember the 3 rules of German brewing..... Water, Malt, Hops and nothing else.
All the best in brewing,
Wassa
Use a premium kit. I recommend Morgans, Wals and Xtract. the latter two are available form The Country Brewers stores or web sites.
If you have to purchase from a supermarket or chain then only buy Coopers (1), Tooheys Dark Ale (2, only if you like dark ales like me) or Cascade (only Golden Harvest Lager or Mahogany Porter).
Secondly, use only 100% malt or at the minimum Ultra brew (which is 50% malt, 25% dextrose and 25% maltodextrin).
Use finishing hops (which are a teabag style of hops) or purchase hop pellets and dry hop using a minimun of 12gm or as I do a minimum of 20gm like i do of eithe willamette for dark ales, Cacscade for Pale Ales or Porters or Hallertau, Hersbrucker Tettnager, or Saaz ( the last 4 are the Noble Hops) for Lagers or Pilsners.
Lastly remember the 3 rules of German brewing..... Water, Malt, Hops and nothing else.
All the best in brewing,
Wassa
The liver is Evil and must be punished!!
Papazian's Golden rule of homebrewing: Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.
Alot of forum posts (both here and across the WWW) will make statements in absolute terms. I have found for every absolute rule there is an exception.
Also check the stickies at the top of this forum.
Cheers,
Greg
Alot of forum posts (both here and across the WWW) will make statements in absolute terms. I have found for every absolute rule there is an exception.
Also check the stickies at the top of this forum.
Cheers,
Greg
Last edited by gregb on Thursday Jul 20, 2006 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Charlie P knows what's best!
Last week I racked my (ok ok, it was Charlie's recipe) all-grain stout, and up until then I had spent the whole first week worrying that we'd killed the yeast or something becouse the airlock wasn't bubbling much. Once the beer was racked there was a healthy cake of yeast sludge firmly setlled onto the bottom and a SG reading confirmed that the yeast had done its job.
Didn't worry, relaxed, and drank homebrew for the rest of the afternoon.
Last week I racked my (ok ok, it was Charlie's recipe) all-grain stout, and up until then I had spent the whole first week worrying that we'd killed the yeast or something becouse the airlock wasn't bubbling much. Once the beer was racked there was a healthy cake of yeast sludge firmly setlled onto the bottom and a SG reading confirmed that the yeast had done its job.
Didn't worry, relaxed, and drank homebrew for the rest of the afternoon.
I left my fermenter in my other pants
Hi first up Thanks for the help guys 
I made it up last night and today I been getting air bubbles so im assuming that's a good thing. I used the dextrose that come in the kit and done everything that the instructions say, but for some reason it looks like the dextrose did not dissolve. Because there looks to be a big cake on the bottom of the fomenter. Also I been keeping a constant temp of 20c. Chris said that its fine but the instructions say to keep it up around 25c? when would I know when its finished fermentation? Thanks
I made it up last night and today I been getting air bubbles so im assuming that's a good thing. I used the dextrose that come in the kit and done everything that the instructions say, but for some reason it looks like the dextrose did not dissolve. Because there looks to be a big cake on the bottom of the fomenter. Also I been keeping a constant temp of 20c. Chris said that its fine but the instructions say to keep it up around 25c? when would I know when its finished fermentation? ThanksGreg, tasting is a mandatory part of racking where I come from! tasted like stout, and a really good one at that! A hint of coffee. very thick. Not an overly bitter stout, but should make wonderful drinking once it's ready. I'm bottling it on Sunday.gregb wrote:Blandy, I assume that you tasted it as part of the racking process? How did it taste?
Cheers,
Greg
In case you were wondering, the recipe was Charlie's "dusty mud Irish stout" from "the complete joy of home brewing"
-------------------------
ok, now for stevo's question:
Yep, bubbles are good.
As for dissolving the dextrose, That's pretty hard to stuff up, and if you did I'd like to know how you did it. More likely it's yeast sediment building up on the bottom of the fermenter: yet another good sign that your beer is fermenting well.
As for temperature, it's always a good idea to keep it around the lower limit of the reccommended range. You haven't said much about what kit you're using, but I'm guessing it's an ale. 25C is probably in the middle of the reccomended temp range. It will take a little bit longer at 20C, but it's worth it.
remember Charlie Parpazian's mantra:
"don't worry, relax, and have a homebrew".
Although I guess since this is your first batch you don't have any yet, so just have a regular beer, think about your homebrew, and let the yeast do the work for you.
I left my fermenter in my other pants
one4stevo, the CO2 bubbles are definitely a good thing :)
The dex most likely did dissolve if you gave it a decent stir just after you put in the boiling water. The cake on the bottom is probably yeast slurry, which should be a light yellow/brown colour. Dex is white.
A temp of 18°C is what people on this forum favour for an ale yeast, but 20°C should be fine too. As a rule of thumb, the higher the temperature (up to about 25°C) the faster the ferment, but the more strange fruity tastes the yeast will produce (these fruity flavours are the cause of the much maligned "homebrew taste"). You get a much cleaner tasting beer toward that bottom end of the yeast's temperature range. Note that a lager yeast is completely different to an ale yeast, and has a recommended range of 10°C-16°C although it will ferment higher than this.
The best way to tell if your brew is finished fermenting is with a hydrometer, which is a device for measuring the density of water. As the yeast convert sugar (heavier than water) into alcohol (lighter than water) the density will go down. Once the density is constant two days in a row, the fermentation is complete and it's time to bottle. If you don't have a hydrometer, then your best bet is to wait for 7-10 days while keeping an eye on your airlock. Keep in mind that an airlock that isn't bubbling isn't a sure sign that a ferment is over (because the gas can be escaping from leaks elsewhere in your fermenter setup) and err on the side of a longer ferment. If you bottle before fermentation is complete you risk creating exploding bottle bombs.
The dex most likely did dissolve if you gave it a decent stir just after you put in the boiling water. The cake on the bottom is probably yeast slurry, which should be a light yellow/brown colour. Dex is white.
A temp of 18°C is what people on this forum favour for an ale yeast, but 20°C should be fine too. As a rule of thumb, the higher the temperature (up to about 25°C) the faster the ferment, but the more strange fruity tastes the yeast will produce (these fruity flavours are the cause of the much maligned "homebrew taste"). You get a much cleaner tasting beer toward that bottom end of the yeast's temperature range. Note that a lager yeast is completely different to an ale yeast, and has a recommended range of 10°C-16°C although it will ferment higher than this.
The best way to tell if your brew is finished fermenting is with a hydrometer, which is a device for measuring the density of water. As the yeast convert sugar (heavier than water) into alcohol (lighter than water) the density will go down. Once the density is constant two days in a row, the fermentation is complete and it's time to bottle. If you don't have a hydrometer, then your best bet is to wait for 7-10 days while keeping an eye on your airlock. Keep in mind that an airlock that isn't bubbling isn't a sure sign that a ferment is over (because the gas can be escaping from leaks elsewhere in your fermenter setup) and err on the side of a longer ferment. If you bottle before fermentation is complete you risk creating exploding bottle bombs.
w00t!
Hello once again everyone... Well it's been 8 days today and my beer is still fermenting well if you call a bubble every 10 mins still fermenting that's what's its doing its been at a constant temp between 18 - 20 c. is it ok to leave it there another couple of days after fermentation has finished.. Also im a little worried about the quality of the beer I pored some in a glass and it was very cloudy and it tasted a little bitter is this normal or did I do something wrong?
That's all normal mate. The first bit you pour out of the tap's always cloudy cos it sweeps out a bit of the trub with it. It's probably finished fermenting, a bit of the CO2 bubbles out of solution over time after fermentation is complete (the best way to tell if fermentation is complete is with a hydrometer).
Um, and yeah you have to remember that the beer is young, warm and flat. Try that with any other beer and I reckon it might taste "a little bitter" too
Um, and yeah you have to remember that the beer is young, warm and flat. Try that with any other beer and I reckon it might taste "a little bitter" too
w00t!