All my brews taste the same.............naff!!!

[zeff]

hi all, can you point me in the right direction to get a drinkable brew..............sit down, get comfy, this is going to take a while!!!!!!

Im on my 6th barel of home brew, 5 have been bitters and one is larger.
ive bough from the top of the (price) range woodesfordes to john bull...........i have to say that the bull was the best!

This time i went for a 'new' product, a czech larger that boasts the best ingrediants and yeast for this larger.....but it taste the same as the bitters ive done in that there is a very strong taste of 'ingrediants' , i dont know enough to say what but its a malty or hoppy taste with no bite to it.

Now, it could well be me wanting to sup the stuff before its really ready, after transfuring it to the barel i leave it in in the house for a week and then put it in the shed for 2 to 6 weeks but the flavour is still not that great..............other issues that may have a bearing are......

The first 5 pints of bitter are always clear as a bell with a good thick head, after that they become increasingly cloudy with a weaker frothy head, by the time its half gone i have to add a gas shot to put pressure into the keg (i dont bottle) or it wont flow at all and just glugs, should i be adding the gas anyway or am i doing something wrong? should i add it as soon i start to drink it?
The larger has been in the shed for 2 weeks, and has the same taste but is quite cloudy from the first pint and seams quite flat, ive been told this is usual with larger, how do i get it to clear?
I would welcome any advice you can offer

 

[Dave1970]

A couple of pointers:
1. You're not going to get lager like levels of carbonation in a plastic keg...need bottles or a more expensive metal cornelius keg
2. You say you bring the barrels into the house for a week. 2 weeks would be better, then into the cooler shed to mature
3. Next brew try bottling just a couple of bottles, I found that the same beer tasted a lot better out of bottles than a plastic keg.
4. Don't let it glug...once it does you have air in the barrel and the beer isn't going to last long at all...once the flow slows down add some gas
5. Clearing is more down to time than anything else, although if your first few pints are clear the rest should be ok - are you using top tap kegs? This would explain why the beer would be clear for a few pints, if it's top taps it needs longer. If not I can't think why this'd happen
6. What temperature are you fermenting at? If it's too high this could explain a general poor taste across several different kits. You want about 18-20 C.

 

[loady]

Well, as the keg goes down you will lose carbonation in the airspace inside the keg, once you notice it is flowing slower thats when you should add the co2 bulb, when you say the keg starts glugging, that is not good as you are introducing oxygen to the beer which will spoil it and dramatically shorten its life..also tasting it early doesnt alway bode well i have discovered, it does get better with age...im only just a novice myself but those simple rules have held strong...an expert will pipe is shortly and give more detail

 

[zeff]

A couple of pointers:
1. You're not going to get lager like levels of carbonation in a plastic keg...need bottles or a more expensive metal cornelius keg
2. You say you bring the barrels into the house for a week. 2 weeks would be better, then into the cooler shed to mature
3. Next brew try bottling just a couple of bottles, I found that the same beer tasted a lot better out of bottles than a plastic keg.
4. Don't let it glug...once it does you have air in the barrel and the beer isn't going to last long at all...once the flow slows down add some gas
5. Clearing is more down to time than anything else, although if your first few pints are clear the rest should be ok - are you using top tap kegs? This would explain why the beer would be clear for a few pints, if it's top taps it needs longer. If not I can't think why this'd happen
6. What temperature are you fermenting at? If it's too high this could explain a general poor taste across several different kits. You want about 18-20 C.

Hi, thanks for your reply, im using a bottom tap keg, but each brew seams to have the same result including the odd flavour.......one thing that has just come to me is that on the kits it says to add sugar to the bottles but nothing about adding to the keg, should i add sugar to the keg and if so how much? (i added 20z to the larger keg to try and give it a kick but its not worked!)

 

[Darcey]

I think it also depends on what your used to drinking. If your a cask ale nut then kit beers can be pretty good but IMO nothing compared to a great pint in a pub... :?

 

[pittsy]

i would have a good read on the how to do extract guide this will improve your brew 10 fold , spray dried malt extract some hops and a good yeast plus bottle your beer , when priming add around 150g of sugar per 23l if bottles , less if keg (plastic max 85g , king keg 125g max)

 

[carl_saint]

Yes you should be adding sugar to your kegs. 85g max like Mark says and leave it to condition for 2 weeks at room temp then 4 weeks chilled. Plastic kegs are generally not that good for getting good carbonation on lagers and ciders. You really need to be using bottles. You can even use empty soda bottles(anything that has held fizz before).

 

[calumscott]

+1 for pretty much everything on here.

I'll just add into the mix...

- More patience is essential. That secondary fermentation to pressurise your barrel really needs the couple of weeks, then you want a couple of months to condition really.
- Better ingredients. Don't just stick to kit and sugar. Use spraymalts (dried malt extract or DME) or liquid malt extracts (LME) in place of the sugar.
- Better ingredients II. Two can kits and the new squidgy bag cold filled kits appear to produce consistently better beer than the one can 40 pint kits.
- Extra ingredients. Ales from kits are OK, some are really good, but they can all be made better by the inclusion of extra hops. Either as a dry hop or a hop tea - there is plenty on the forum to guide you here. Remember that kits have their wort hopped and boiled to whatever the manufacture spec is then they are condensed into a tin. Tweaking for personal preference is a must. Also try proper ale yeasts which can give different flavour profiles.
- Bottles. Bottled beer is ace. If you have one that doesn't taste "ready", you don't have the problem of having to free up the keg for something else. Stick 'em in a crate at the back of the shed and try another one in six months' time. Chances are you'll have a totally different beer. I don't own a keg...
- Attention to detail. I'm sure you are meticulous when you brew but always try to be more meticulous than last time. Make sure you get no splash when you rack, make sure your kit is properly rinsed of chemical sanitisers/sterilisers. Make sure your wort is well aerated before you pitch your yeast etc.

I'm on brew #15ish and I'm now producing, from kits, beer that is a good bit better than most pints I get in pubs.

 

[Mr BR]

+1 for all of this have a bit more patience good luck dont give up ,

A couple of pointers:
1. You're not going to get lager like levels of carbonation in a plastic keg...need bottles or a more expensive metal cornelius keg
2. You say you bring the barrels into the house for a week. 2 weeks would be better, then into the cooler shed to mature
3. Next brew try bottling just a couple of bottles, I found that the same beer tasted a lot better out of bottles than a plastic keg.
4. Don't let it glug...once it does you have air in the barrel and the beer isn't going to last long at all...once the flow slows down add some gas
5. Clearing is more down to time than anything else, although if your first few pints are clear the rest should be ok - are you using top tap kegs? This would explain why the beer would be clear for a few pints, if it's top taps it needs longer. If not I can't think why this'd happen
6. What temperature are you fermenting at? If it's too high this could explain a general poor taste across several different kits. You want about 18-20 C.

 

[Sean_Mc]

Agree that bottled beer is much better than plastic kegs and try to leave them for a good few weeks.
I found some edme stout in a two litre bottle that must of been 18months old and it was beautiful

 

[calumscott]

Agree that bottled beer is much better than plastic kegs and try to leave them for a good few weeks.
I found some edme stout in a two litre bottle that must of been 18months old and it was beautiful

I wish I could leave mine alone long enough...

 

[Sean_Mc]

Just make more

 

[calumscott]

I'm working on it but brewing ops have been temporarily suspended pending brewery move...

...which is very bad for stocks! Stress + packing = increased consumption; Packing = zero production; increased consumption + zero production = serious depletion!

Ho hum, if I get low then I'll just have to go buy some...

...in bottles - which will neatly increase my capacity for the future. Sweet!

 

[Sean_Mc]

Buying bottled beer is called research :rofl:

Wish those people at SNPA would start selling in 500ml bottles to aid my research