Introduction and first question

[damo]

Hi,

Firstly, thanks for a great forum - I've been lurking for a few weeks now and, having only got into home brew recently, I've learnt loads!

I started with a kit of Milestone's Lions Pride, which turned out really well for a first attempt so I thought I'd try a lager next. I'm mostly a lager drinker so my aim was to find a good consistent lager kit that I can keep on the go while I dabble with different ales.

I opted for Coopers Australian and I barrelled some and bottled the rest (calculating the priming sugar accordingly). It's been conditioning for about 4 weeks now and the lager from the barrel, although crystal clear, has a very bitter aftertaste... not really drinkable. Out of interest I cracked a bottle tonight and it was completely different - really smooth and no bitterness whatsoever. From what I've read it's still early days but is that difference between bottle and barrel to be expected?

Really, I liked the idea of having a barrel of lager chilled in the garden over the winter months but should I be looking to bottle it instead?

Thanks for any help/advice!


:
Damo

 

[Wez]

Welcome to the forum Damo :thumb:

The beer in the keg might take longer to come into drinkable condition, give it time.

If you do like Lager I would say that you are better off bottling, unless you are using a cornelius (corny) keg you wont be able to get the PSI up enough in the keg to give you the Lager sparkle, you can do this tho in good strong bottles.

1/2 tsp sugar per bottle for ale
1/2 to 1 tsp sugar per bottle for lager

as a general rule.

Have a good search of the forum, and feel free to post some questions, we're a friendly bunch.

Oh and we have a chat room which is open from 7pm Fri to midnight Sunday's - watch out for the link at the top of the forum which appears during opening hours. :thumb:

 

[damo]

Thanks for the response.

I don't really mind the keg lager being less gassy than it's bottled equivalent as long as the taste is good. So as long as there is no real reason for that to be affected by barreling lager I'll persevere and try to be patient!

 

[Dunfie]

I opted for Coopers Australian and I barrelled some and bottled the rest (calculating the priming sugar accordingly). It's been conditioning for about 4 weeks now and the lager from the barrel, although crystal clear, has a very bitter aftertaste... not really drinkable.

Hi Damo

Wez has some good points here - patience is the brewers best friend (well along with cleanliness). However I would be a little concerned with the "not really drinkable" part. Can you give a little more detail on the taste, smell and to what extent it is not drinkable? It might well be that it needs more time but I would hope that after 4 weeks it was at least in a pallatable state.

 

[damo]

I've tried it again tonight in the hope of describing it a little better and I think I may have been a bit harsh saying it was undrinkable. It is crystal clear and has a pleasant lagery smell. On the palate it is pretty smooth initially, especially when really chilled (like it was tonight), but it leaves a lingering bitter aftertaste that isn't too pleasant and doesn't encourage a second glass :-(

It didn't taste so bad that I thought there was anything really wrong with it, its just not like the bottles, which I would happily drink all night!

I'm sure it will improve with time but I'll post back if it doesn't seem to.

I've got a Youngs Definitive Lager on the go now too so I'll have something else to compare it too soon :-)

Cheers

 

[unclepumble]

I have had a break from home brewing for about 10 years, and decided recently that If I was going to brew again it would be the whole hog (all grain) or nothing, & as a benchmark I decided to do a tinned brew v's AG brew.

After much deliberation I chose a brupaks IPA kit for the comparison brew, it worked out considerably more expensive than the ag ingredients so assumed it must be quality 7 the guy in the shop said it was the best of the bunch/

I sampled it after 4 weeks in the keg once brewed, & thought it was utter ****, it had a horrible after taste, the AG kit in comparison I brewed at the same time lasted about a week as the keg was drunk dry it was lovely.

Now being tight & knowing I had no time to brew something to fill the IPA keg should I give my local slugs a treat, I decided to leave it well alone, I am drinking it now & it is a different drink, not as good as the ag stuff I have but as better than most tins in the supermarket.

Therefore leave yours for a bit in a cold place & it should knock out the aftertaste.

However In my honest opinion (simon cowell eat your heart out) most tinned malt extract lager kits are gash! I have made a few and most were used for watering the cabbage's.

I made an AG lager about 8 weeks ago and once conditioned it was the best lager I have ever drunk bar none



AG is a bit more effort but worth it.

shane

 

[damo]

Thanks for the advice, Shane.

I may well try an AG brew at some stage but wanted to "practice" with some kits first to get some confidence that I'm doing everything correctly!