newbie - last 3 brews taste like liquorice?

[hb21l6]

Hello all, Im very new to brewing, but reading about everyone elses success just keeps bringing be back / trying it..
I have two fermenters, 1 heat belt, 1 keg ( with co2 caps ) and the usual hydrometer and stuff you get in a beginners kit.

I've done 3 brews so far and each one have tasted like liquorice.
I've tried 2 coopers bitter, and 1 coopers lager. so far, I've followed the distructions to the letter that comes with the beer.

1,Steralise everything,
2, add the can contents, 2l of boiling water and brewing sugar.
3, then make up to 23l with cold water making sure the temp stays between 21/27oc
4, add the packet of yeast.

after 7 days, check the hydrometer as per the guide then keg it ( with added sugar )


soo..
I've started batch no. 4 on wednesday nd I've read that the beer tastes better if you leave it fermenting for 14 days? so might give that a try
the lid keeps blowing off, so i'm just on my way out to buy a demijohn airlock to stick on top of my ferminting lid.

Anyone else suggest anything that might improve my experience, or taste of my beer?

Thanks in advance!

Dave
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[Stu]

I'll be honest - I'm fairly new here too. But I followed ScottM's instructions.

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=34254

They differ quite a lot from the kit instructions. I'm not saying they are perfect and others may well offer better advice, but they have worked well for me

One thing I have learnt is that the kit offers you drinkable beer in 14 days. Forget it. Plan for at least 2 months;

2 weeks in the FV then check the gravity, if it's steady for 2 or 3 days then put it into secondary. For a week at least.
Then bottle (or keg) it. Leave it for 2 more weeks in the warm (and make sure it is warm - I learnt this the hard way).
Then leave it in the cold for 2 more weeks.

Finally, it will taste rather young, but leaving it for a month or 2 more will bring dividends.

 

[Dave1970]

I've not heard of liqorice as an off flavour in beer before BUT, a quick google brings up quite a few US sites that describe it and they suggest that phenols could be the culprit.

These might more usually be described as a TCP like flavour or a clove like flavour. Does that sound like a possible description of your off flavour?

One likely source is chlorine in your water, this can be got rid of by treating your water with a crushed campden tablet.

Another could be that you're not rinsing all of a chlorine based steriliser like VWP away.

So try treating water with campden and more rinsing

My search came up with these BJCP Off Flavour Flash Cards that I thought were interesting.

 

[bobsbeer]

What temp do you ferment at? You want to keep it around 18-20C but def below 25c. Above that and you can get off flavours.

 

[hb21l6]

Many thanks for the replies. I'll give them suggestions a go, ( for my next brew )
that PDF file looks interesting.. will keep that safe :)

Regards
Dave

 

[hb21l6]

It says to keep the temp around 18 to 32 on the packet..
So far i've kept it at around 22-24.

 

[hb21l6]

(being a techy I'm keeping a close eye on it ) see link - www . home-drinkingbeer . com / beer . html ( sorry being a new user, I can't post URL's yet..

 

[RobWalker]

are you using VWP? if so, you gotta rinse it off 5 times...

 

[Dave1970]

It says to keep the temp around 18 to 32 on the packet..
So far i've kept it at around 22-24.

22-24 C is a bit high, given that the fermentation is exothermic so the temp in your beer will often be a touch higher than your thermometer shows. This means you could easily have skirted around 25C. At this temp the yeast can produce fusel alcohols. These will at least make your brew taste rubbish and may or may not give you a worse hangover (see 'discussion' here).

Aim for 18-20 C

 

[winelight]

And are you just adding sugar? Most folks hereabouts would use beer kit enhancer, or DME, or LME, or some combination. And many would add a bit more for luck. That wouldn't account for liquorice flavours, though.