lost latest ag brew

[adirob]

cant for the lifew of me work out where im going wrong here. I have lost 2 brews to the same 'mistake' now and im getting upset about loosing all this beer.

im getting the strength, and the bitterness (perhaps too much). not got any of the hop aroma coming through. its replaced by something between chemicals and woodyness. when i tasted it (i regret this now), it felt thick, with a burnt woodyness to it.

anyone had anything like this before. I have no immersion chiller on the go so there was an 8hr wait before i could pitch the muntons gold i used so i suppose it could be that but its never been a problem til lately

 

[RobWalker]

Recipe? :-)

And what sanitizer do you use?

 

[adirob]

I have made them like this before without issue

4 kg MO
.5 kg amber

30g progress first wort
40 g magnum ( I like it bitter) 60 min boil
120g target as the boiler went off ( I was hoping for a really hoppy aroma)- all hops taken out 20 min later

brewed with muntons gold yeast after waiting for it to cool in the boiler- I didn't want to move it hot because I hear that instead of adding oxygen to the Wort for the yeast to use in its initial growth phase, it chemically bonds instead and ruins the brew!

I used vwp to sanitize a youngs FV but im thinking of binning it because, my other with the screw lid and seal hasnt let me down yet, whereras this has twice.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Do you treat your water with CRS?

BB

 

[Mark1964]

and do you use a campden tablet

 

[adirob]

Whats crs?

and no I didn't add a tablet- I do have some though. should I be using them at some point

 

[RobWalker]

VWP worries me as two of my brews suffered the same fate from it. are you rinsing with hot water? I'd definitely get a better sanitizer. If I do have to use it to clean, I rinse with hot water 4-5 times these days. awful stuff.

I also wouldn't cool in the boiler. just leaves it open to bacterial infection - would sooner see it in the FV and cooling in there.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

I'd say going by the water type at Sheffield unless you've altered it with CRS and added minerals you should try a brew using 4kg of pale malt and 500g of crystal, the crystal will help with the conversion of sugars in the mash tun..
Pale beers can be awkward unless you get the water correct for the mash.. :thumb:

BB

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Whats crs?

and no I didn't add a tablet- I do have some though. should I be using them at some point

CRS will reduce the alkalinity in your water, believe me...the water where we live is high in bicarbonates which isn't ideal in most brew styles.
1/2 a campden in 5 gallon of water will remove chlorine, if it's not removed you may end up with a TCP medicinal smell/taste in the brew.

<<CLICKY>>

 

[adirob]

cheers BB that seems like sound advice. I knew the water was a bit crappy but hadnt thought much of it. Now you mention it, it has been two paler ales that have one wrong, my xmas porter was a beast.

back to good old metabisulphate instead for the sanitize then I think in the future. its good to know someone else whos struggled with the VWP rob.

I hope moving it hot wont cause any issue- I need to invest in a chiller me thinks

ade

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

cheers BB that seems like sound advice. I knew the water was a bit crappy but hadnt thought much of it. Now you mention it, it has been two paler ales that have one wrong, my xmas porter was a beast.

back to good old metabisulphate instead for the sanitize then I think in the future. its good to know someone else whos struggled with the VWP rob.

I hope moving it hot wont cause any issue- I need to invest in a chiller me thinks

ade

You'll find that dark beers will be great around our area, especially porters and stouts, blonde ale's you'll need around 1.2ml of CRS per litre of brewing water and 0.8ml in a pale ale.

Don't forget the campden to remove the chlorine!!
And I'd definitely make a wort cooler, BigYin has done a good how to....
<<CLICKY>>

Hope that helps. :thumb:

BB

 

[Mark1964]

your better off obtaining a water report from your local water company then put all the results into the forums water treatment calculator. CRS is calcium reducing solution malt miller sells it.

 

[adirob]

cheers for your advice boys- a few suggested explanations always help when I mourn the loss of 23litres.

 

[lovelldr]

VWP worries me as two of my brews suffered the same fate from it. are you rinsing with hot water? I'd definitely get a better sanitizer. If I do have to use it to clean, I rinse with hot water 4-5 times these days. awful stuff.

Hmmmm, just wondering why you say to rinse with hot water? Instructions, and everything else I seen says to rinse with cold :wha:

So far, haven't gotten to taste any of my finished brews (on the third one at the mo), as they're all conditioning or still fermenting... But, from what I tasted of them, they seemed ok :pray:

First I used the young's sanitizer that came with it, and the other 2 I used vwp... I rinsed with cold water, and couldn't smell any vwp when I took out to use... So, any other input would put my mind at ease/worry me more :p

 

[Springer]

cheers for your advice boys- a few suggested explanations always help when I mourn the loss of 23litres.

I still remember 15 gallons going down the drain. :x
Don't know about water your way, but a cooler of some type is a must.
Good Luck
S