Basic Questions

[Chaucer258]

Hi all,

I've just finished my 3rd kit (all Coopers - Bitter, ale and IPA) and I have a couple of quick questions that will hopefully help my end product for the next one...

1) what is it that causes the very slight sulphur / 'home brew' taste to the end product? I've left the bottles for 3-4 months and there's a slight tang in the aftertaste
2) how can I improve head retention? I gets nice head upon pouring but is goes very quickly :hmm:
3) I have been keeping my beer indoors all the time (at around 18 degrees) as I'm seeing mixed ideas on whether I need to transfer my beer, once bottled, to the garage for a few weeks. Thoughts?
4) my beers are always cloudy. How come? Any advice?

Thank you all for your experience / knowledge.

Cheers! :drink:

 

[Slid]

Hi all,

I've just finished my 3rd kit (all Coopers - Bitter, ale and IPA) and I have a couple of quick questions that will hopefully help my end product for the next one...

1) what is it that causes the very slight sulphur / 'home brew' taste to the end product? I've left the bottles for 3-4 months and there's a slight tang in the aftertaste
2) how can I improve head retention? I gets nice head upon pouring but is goes very quickly :hmm:
3) I have been keeping my beer indoors all the time (at around 18 degrees) as I'm seeing mixed ideas on whether I need to transfer my beer, once bottled, to the garage for a few weeks. Thoughts?
4) my beers are always cloudy. How come? Any advice?

Thank you all for your experience / knowledge.

Cheers! :drink:

Here are my suggestions:

1. Leave the brew in the primary FV for nearer 2 weeks than the suggested 8 days.

2. For head retention, avoid guillotines on Bastille day. Seriously, head retention is a wierd sort of a fixation IMHO - The ******* son of head retention is "lacing" and that is even more wierd. Like beer bubbles stick to the glass :wha:. What do head retention and lacing taste like, exactly? Do they have mouthfeel, aroma or are they able to sing?

3. I would suggest that since all bio chemical reactions are speeded up at higher temps, 2 weeks in the warm will help the conditioning process and that thereafter, too much time in warm and the beer goes past its best quickly. There may be processes that proceed at different relative speeds on the thermometer scale. But empirical experience of homebrewers is that putting it in the coolest place becomes the best option 2 weeks or so after bottling.

4. See 1 above on leaving the beer in primary for 2 weeks. I have decided to rack to a secondary FV a few days befor bottling to reduce the sediment in the bottled beer and hence the degree of cloudiness.


So, basically - leave it 2 weeks in the PFV and much will be well.

 

[Taximania]

Good answers of Slid.
Always there to help the newbie so I tip my cap to thee kind sir :hat:

I too wondered about the mysteries of lacing and head retention.

I cant taste head retention and lacing does now't to my lager appeal.
I fail to see the reasoning behind spinning a glass from side to side and thrashing myself into near oblivion over where the froth doth stick !

If lacing is a sign of good ales then I do stand corrected.

After conditioning I have put all my bottles into the fridge for lagering at 2c even if they utilize the ale yeasts.

As said in a previous post my European currently goes way beyond a
smell-ometer but I have faith in the faithfull on here that this will all come good in the next 4 weeks or so.

Happy days ;

 

[mcc111]

A sulphur smell you get when fermenting is a natural product of a lot of yeasts - especially lager yeast. Homebrew twang is down to the production of the kit and being stuck with ingredients that aren't particularly fresh. The older the tin, the greater the twang. The twang is not to be confused with yeasty tastes or "green" beer. Until you go all grain, you'll always get some twang. Not too sure about head retention.

AG brewers often add some wheat to help this. Have you tried using what's known as a "pocket beer engine"? Suck some beer up in a calpol siringe and fire it back into the beer to create a head. How clean are your glasses :whistle:

The reason for putting beer in the cold after secondary fermentation is that gases disolve in liquids better at lower temperatures - the warm period creates the gas and the cold period helps it disolve in the beer (this might also help your head issues). As for the cloudiness - it could be a few reasons. You might be getting some yeast when you're pouring if you're not careful. It might also be chill haze, which is avoided - I believe - by lagering. Other than that, you might just need to leave your beer for longer before drinking it.

I'm not an expert, but I hope some of that info helps. Best of luck.

 

[Chris2304]

Thanks to everyone who takes time to help us newbies!

After years of making terrible, TERRIBLE homemade wine (but enjoying it nonetheless), i've just made my first beer (a Milestone Shine On) and was blown away with the result. It tastes much closer to the commercial product than the wines that i was making. I'm hooked, although after one of my pints turned into a 'bottle bomb' i may need to sweet-talk the wife a little before i start my next brew: a Wherry.

May i just check Slids's comment below about transferring to a second FV to help clear the beer. When you rack from the first FV into the second FV, surely you are exposing the beer to the air? does this not spoil the beer? or is there enough fermentation still going on for the beer to create a 'new' blanket of CO2? Also, presumably i could add some finings at this point, to help the beer to clear?

 

[mcc111]

You are exposing it to some air, yes - you just need to be careful (just the same as transferring to a barrel or bottles). Try not to splash, get bubbles in the tubing or holding the exit end of the tube above the beer you're pouring into. Transferring to a second FV is well worth it - especially when you start dry hopping.

 

[Chris2304]

Great - I'll give it a go! Appreciate the help - thanks.