St Peters Ruby Red Ale review

[GhostShip]

Well, that was an absolute nightmare. If you want a chuckle on your Saturday afternoon, then read on.

The auto siphon wouldn't work with the Little Bottler because of the vacuum created at both ends. So, I detached the LB and decided to try and fill the bottles from an open-ended tube coming from the auto siphon. Big mistake. Squeeze as hard as I could, I couldn't stop the flow and it was a while before I managed to get hold of the empty FV to use as a bucket. Beer all over the floor, all over my jeans and part of the rug in the back room soaked. The whole room now smells like a brewery.

I've had to wash the floors (luckily, they're wooden), and lift the rug to try and get some air underneath it otherwise it will never dry.

Thank God the wife is in London until late tonight.

I need a beer!

 

[GhostShip]

Following on from my post above, tonight I gave the barrel a really good clean and thought I'd change the tap at the same time so that next time I brew, the Little Bottler will fit to the barrel tap without a problem.

So, the neck of the barrel is far too narrow to get my hand in and so is the hole for the tap. How the hell do you change the tap on a barrel?

EDIT: Unless the tap screws into a thread on the barrel as opposed to a back nut (which the new tap has)? I don't want to unscrew it in case I'm doing irreversible damage? It's a Young's barrel.

 

[GhostShip]

After 3 weeks in the FV, 2 weeks secondary fermentation, 2 weeks in the cold and then another 4 weeks back at room temperature, I've cracked open the first bottle of my St Peter's Ruby Red.

Nice carbonation, good head and a nice colour, but not very clear. The huge disappointment is that just like my first brew (Woodforde's Wherry), it has the dreaded 'home brew twang'. There is definitely the makings of a good beer in there - nice caramel taste and a bitter finish but I can't get past the twang.

Used bottled spring water for this one in case my tap water was the problem first time around and underbrewed to 21 litres.

Am I just drinking it too young? Feeling pretty deflated right now.

 

[Monkey]

From my experience, the twang is there if being consumed before it's ready. Hop bombs disguise this so you can drink very early, but a standard ale or bitter needs a good 2, 3 or even 4 months to reach its best.

Saying that, I haven't done this kit, but I have 1 mini keg of festival golden stag left on the shelf out of 4 that I legged. The first 2 were drunk after 1 month cold conditioning, both had a slight twang. The 3rd was nailed last week which is 2 months on the shelf. This one tasted great, but was pretty sure it could get better, so am leaving the last leg for another month

 

[GhostShip]

From my experience, the twang is there if being consumed before it's ready. Hop bombs disguise this so you can drink very early, but a standard ale or bitter needs a good 2, 3 or even 4 months to reach its best.

Saying that, I haven't done this kit, but I have 1 mini keg of festival golden stag left on the shelf out of 4 that I legged. The first 2 were drunk after 1 month cold conditioning, both had a slight twang. The 3rd was nailed last week which is 2 months on the shelf. This one tasted great, but was pretty sure it could get better, so am leaving the last leg for another month

Thank you! You've just filled me with hope!

 

[BeerisGOD]

That's a lot of effort for a kit beer.
I find a few little syringe shots in and out of the beer can clear the twang. It will also create a nice froth and lead to better head retention.
But monkey is right this one matures a bit longer than most.

 

[Mungri]

That's a lot of effort for a kit beer.
I find a few little syringe shots in and out of the beer can clear the twang. It will also create a nice froth and lead to better head retention.
But monkey is right this one matures a bit longer than most.

That's interesting. How do the syringe shots work?
I have a Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge with a slight twang. It's not bad at all and does taste nice but you can tell it's homebrew. I'll give that a try next time I crack a bottle open.

 

[GhostShip]

I'd really like a bit more info on the syringe shots too. I'm not sure what you mean.

 

[BeerisGOD]

My phone is a bit gay it doesn't copy and paste whilst using apps.
Basically Amazon sell plastic 3 to 10 ml syringes. I use the 3 ml ones. They were mainly for getting the correct dosage of starsan out the bottle.
Shooting them in and out under ur beer I guess pushing air out and makes the beer less gassy and in doing so the disruption causes a froth making a softer mouth feel, which I find minimised twang.
Give them a go

 

[coupe3234]

Second time brewing this kit. In the vat for a full three weeks as I found last time 2 weeks is not long enough for this kit. So 3 weeks sitting at around 22 degrees and then into 500ml bottles with half a teaspoon of white cane sugar in each one. Left at 22 degrees for 2 weeks and then under the stairs to sit at around 18 degrees for the duration.
Tried one tonight and it is pretty perfect. Crystal clear, nice thick head that lasts right to the bottom of the pint and tastes brilliant, still young though, in another month it will be at it's best.:thumb:

 

[GhostShip]

Another month on and my Ruby Red has not improved a bit. I can smell the twang before I even taste it. It's such a shame because the beer is perfectly clear, carbonation is just right and there's a nice bitterness to it. I just can't get past the HBT.

I'll try again in another month but I feel like I'm flogging a dead horse.

 

[Covrich]

Another month on and my Ruby Red has not improved a bit. I can smell the twang before I even taste it. It's such a shame because the beer is perfectly clear, carbonation is just right and there's a nice bitterness to it. I just can't get past the HBT.

I'll try again in another month but I feel like I'm flogging a dead horse.

Haven't read back through but what temp did you brew at??

Did this kit well about 3 years ago but I thought it was a decent kit, didn;t have any noticitable twang I have had when I tried other kits made with a single can by others.

Where did you get the kit from?

what does the "twang" taste of?

 

[GhostShip]

Haven't read back through but what temp did you brew at??

Did this kit well about 3 years ago but I thought it was a decent kit, didn;t have any noticitable twang I have had when I tried other kits made with a single can by others.

Where did you get the kit from?

what does the "twang" taste of?

It was around 20C. I don't have any temperature control so though I don't put the FV near a radiator, the temperature will fluctuate between day and night. I'm wondering if this could be the problem? It's not the water as I used bottled spring water. I got the kit from the HB shop in Cambridge.

Tastes are a difficult thing to describe, but the smell is slightly stale or drain-like. Then the first taste is OK, but the stale/drain taste is what you're left with.

I had the exact same thing with my first brew (Wherry) so either it's just what you get with kits ( and I've seen plenty of positive reviews so I can't believe it is), or I'm doing something wrong.

 

[Covrich]

What sanitiser do you use?, not saying there is a problem just trying to spot any possible flaw

You say Stale? that could be oxidation..

Although would you describe it as musty?

 

[GhostShip]

What sanitiser do you use?, not saying there is a problem just trying to spot any possible flaw

You say Stale? that could be oxidation..

Although would you describe it as musty?

I used sanitiser from Wilkos and rinsed really well (I've since moved to Starsan but don't have that brew ready yet).

It does smell/taste a bit musty. The exact same twang was present in the Wherry.

What would/could cause oxidation?

Thanks for all of your replies, by the way.

 

[Covrich]

I used sanitiser from Wilkos and rinsed really well (I've since moved to Starsan but don't have that brew ready yet).

It does smell/taste a bit musty. The exact same twang was present in the Wherry.

What would/could cause oxidation?

Thanks for all of your replies, by the way.

http://beersmith.com/blog/2016/11/10/moldy-and-musty-off-flavors-in-beer/

Does this sound like a possible cause / result.

 

[marlon]

I used sanitiser from Wilkos and rinsed really well (I've since moved to Starsan but don't have that brew ready yet).

It does smell/taste a bit musty. The exact same twang was present in the Wherry.

What would/could cause oxidation?

Thanks for all of your replies, by the way.

Hi Ghostship, just been skimming through this thread. For what it's worth, I think it could be temperature control. I've made both St. Peters and Wherry and used the same sanitiser as you. The difference being, I used a brew fridge that controlled temperature.
Both of mine turned out really nice. They both took 3 months to get to their best, but my St. Peters Ruby, like yours, was clear, with good body and head retention to the end of the glass.
But with no homebrew twang and it was better than most pub ruby's.
I feel for your loss G. But don't give up. If you can - invest in an old fridge and an inkbird.

 

[GhostShip]

http://beersmith.com/blog/2016/11/10/moldy-and-musty-off-flavors-in-beer/

Does this sound like a possible cause / result.

I don't think so, but it's difficult to tell. I was very careful with sanitation (just as I was with the Wherry) and everything was thoroughly cleaned before being sanitised.

Everything was brand new when I did the Wherry, so it seems unlikely that there could have been anything lurking within the FV. Again, it was all cleaned throughly and then sanitised.

 

[GhostShip]

Hi Ghostship, just been skimming through this thread. For what it's worth, I think it could be temperature control. I've made both St. Peters and Wherry and used the same sanitiser as you. The difference being, I used a brew fridge that controlled temperature.
Both of mine turned out really nice. They both took 3 months to get to their best, but my St. Peters Ruby, like yours, was clear, with good body and head retention to the end of the glass.
But with no homebrew twang and it was better than most pub ruby's.
I feel for your loss G. But don't give up. If you can - invest in an old fridge and an inkbird.

I'm coming round to temperature control, and the fact that you've made the same two beers I have and they've turned out fine suggests that this could be the issue.

I'm no electrician, but I'll look into the fridge and Inkbird combination. I don't mind spending a bit of money if it enables me to brew beer I can be proud of - at the moment, I won't even give it to anyone to try!

Thank you for your help and suggestions.

 

[marlon]

I'm coming round to temperature control, and the fact that you've made the same two beers I have and they've turned out fine suggests that this could be the issue.

I'm no electrician, but I'll look into the fridge and Inkbird combination. I don't mind spending a bit of money if it enables me to brew beer I can be proud of - at the moment, I won't even give it to anyone to try!

Thank you for your help and suggestions.

My fridge was kindly donated by SWMBO when she decided to upgrade the kitchen and I went for the stc 1000 inkbird. It cost, from memory, £11.00 ish. You have to wire up yourself, but it's easy enough. Not much harder than wiring a 3-pin plug. Failing that, 30 odd quid gets a ready to go one.