That Homemade Taste

[Major_Incident]

First lockdown batch of Coopers Blonde has been bottled and its now been bottled 2 weeks. All the bottles are clear and I did taste test a bottle 2 days ago. One thing I know I have done wrong and that's the amount of sugar I added for secondary carbonation, I only added half a teaspoon so the head is a bit non-existent I've a couple of questions.
1. I can't help but taste that kind of home brewed taste. It isn't bad, but I seem to get it in most beers I've done in the past, do people have any thoughts on that?
2. Will the flavour of the bottled beer be affected by the sediment?

 

[Hew's Brews]

1. Check out this post and this one.
2. Because the sediment consists largely of yeast it will continue to condition and mature your beer and make it taste nicer over time. When you pour the beer, pour it slow and steady (no glugging) and leave about 1cm behind in the bottle for the sediment or it may make your beer cloudy.

 

[Major_Incident]

1. Check out this post and this one.

Those articles were very enlightening and I think has answered a few questions. Bottom line, stop looking for faults, make the beer and if you like it drink it.

I think, however, I need to pay closer attention to a couple of things.
Maybe the temperature. I used an immersion heater, it was set at 24C which, so I'm told, is quite warm for a lager.
My next thought is should I use normal cane sugar that I put on my Weetybangs, (I used a kilo of fairtrade cane sugar from Tesco) or should I use dextrose or brewers sugar?
Lastly, should I use a teaspoon of said sugar in my 500ml PET bottles to prime or carbonation drops?

In some ways, I'm not a great fan in adapting recipes, so if I have bought a kit beer I'd like to be able to follow the recipe to get the right result. However, substituting ingredients I'd be happy to do.

 

[Gerryjo]

Your temp is far too high and besides if that is a kit it will be brewing with ale yeast possibly. 18 - 20° is good.
Good old fashioned table sugar is fine and with 1/2 tsp it will carb up but as your using pet bottles keep touching them every now and then and that will tell you. No more than a level tsp max or you will have bottle bombs but would certainly keep it less if possible.

 

[Major_Incident]

Right, ok, the kitchen is usually a good place for me to ferment and I've got a digital thermometer so no problem with keeping the temp.

The PET bottles have carbed up but they aren't like really tight, there is a small amount of give. I did sample a bit the other day and although there is a bit of fizz there wasn't much head. I've got a bottle in the fridge for tonight, a trial for taste and carbonation....usual excuses, and the other bottles have been stored away in a cupboard for another 2 weeks.

 

[Gerryjo]

Right, ok, the kitchen is usually a good place for me to ferment and I've got a digital thermometer so no problem with keeping the temp.

The PET bottles have carbed up but they aren't like really tight, there is a small amount of give. I did sample a bit the other day and although there is a bit of fizz there wasn't much head. I've got a bottle in the fridge for tonight, a trial for taste and carbonation....usual excuses, and the other bottles have been stored away in a cupboard for another 2 weeks.

Make sure you put them somewhere around 20° to allow them to carb up as it's a secondary fermenting producing Co2 to put fizz in your beer. Once carbed up move to somewhere cooler.

 

[terrym]

@Major_Incident
At two weeks in from bottling it should be carbed up or thereabouts depending on carbing temperature.
Now you have got to leave it at least two weeks maybe longer to condition or mature during which time it should improve.
And although the head on your pint might improve after conditioning this is a light lagery type beer so don't expect too much.

 

[Major_Incident]

This is the last taste test for me now and the bottles are being left in the cupboard.
So, the colour is a light caramel colour, dark amber maybe?
The fizz is minimal but it is there.
The taste is kind of yeasty, not much, just a little, but it is definitely better than a week ago.

Your comment terrym about it being a light beer and therefore dont expect too much head is good to know.

Summing up, at this early stage I think it's on target for being a decent brew
Thanks all for the stuff so far.

 

[nixhaz]

Just going to throw this out there, but the only time I've had homebrew that didn't taste like homebrew, was when it was all grain rather than kit. I might be really unpopular with this comment though!

 

[Gerryjo]

Just going to throw this out there, but the only time I've had homebrew that didn't taste like homebrew, was when it was all grain rather than kit. I might be really unpopular with this comment though!

We're all entitled to our own opinion though may depend on the quality of the kit..

 

[nixhaz]

Yeah for sure, I'm pretty convinced all the kits I have tried were cheap as chips.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I've had it when I used kits and extract but not always. I thought maybe the water but for me now I believe it's LME

 

[dad_of_jon]

Those articles were very enlightening and I think has answered a few questions. Bottom line, stop looking for faults, make the beer and if you like it drink it.

I think, however, I need to pay closer attention to a couple of things.
Maybe the temperature. I used an immersion heater, it was set at 24C which, so I'm told, is quite warm for a lager.
My next thought is should I use normal cane sugar that I put on my Weetybangs, (I used a kilo of fairtrade cane sugar from Tesco) or should I use dextrose or brewers sugar?
Lastly, should I use a teaspoon of said sugar in my 500ml PET bottles to prime or carbonation drops?

In some ways, I'm not a great fan in adapting recipes, so if I have bought a kit beer I'd like to be able to follow the recipe to get the right result. However, substituting ingredients I'd be happy to do.

Dextrose & brewers sugar are the same. Dextrose is a mono-saccharide which is easier for the yeast to chew on. Sugar (sucrose) is a di-saccharide which is made up of glucose & fructose so the yeast has more work to do to break it down. Hence the difference with brewers sugar and sugar.

 

[nixhaz]

I've had it when I used kits and extract but not always. I thought maybe the water but for me now I believe it's LME

Yeah I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Something about the syrupy-ness of LME (if that is a word) imparts that flavour.

 

[smithsj1]

Yeah I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Something about the syrupy-ness of LME (if that is a word) imparts that flavour.

I think it still depends on the kit though. I did a Simply Stout a few months ago and honestly, it was a great little kit and I am currently drinking Bulldogs Easter Brew Chocolate Stout which was 6 months past its best before the date and that is really good now it has been in the keg a couple of weeks. Can't say the same for it after the first few days after kegging mind.

When I first did kits 20 years ago they all had that twang but I don't really get it with modern-day kits. I don't necessarily make the kits via the instructions though as I generally will dissolve the LME or DME into some hot water on the stove before adding to my fermenter. And on my last few batches, I have used a wine degasser on a drill to aerate the wort before pitching. As I am lazy I will probably leave the beer in the fermenter for a week or two after it has "finished" before it hits the keg and I don't know maybe that cleans up some of that twang if its there.

 

[obscure]

Stouts always seem to be the most forgiving when it comes to home brewing both kits and all grain. Unfortunately pale ales are the exact opposite and zI find the hardest to get right.

Also as has being said many times it is amazing how often time resolves so many issues with home brew. I remember the first time I tried a bottle of where that had being left for 3 months seemed like a completely different err from the first bottle I opened after three weeks.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Completely agree with your views on Stout. I made 3 10 litres mini mash brews using MJ 1.2 litres LME. The California Common and Cwtch were undrinkable but the Stout was fine. Also I brewed a Stout kit from Range and that was ok.

 

[nixhaz]

I guess with stout the syrupy/toffeeish flavour of LME is desirable, whereas with light coloured beers it is the exact opposite of what you want.

 

[Major_Incident]

It's been a while since I've checked in to this forum and my original post about that "home made beer twang".
The Coopers Canadian Blonde has been sat in the cupboard, in 500ml bottles and I'm slowly working my way through it. I have to say, that after a good month after bottling it is tasting better. I know I made a few mistakes with this batch, the temp. was too high (24c using a heater) and I don't think I used enough sugar to prime, so I have no head, there's a bit of gas, but not a lot.
About to another batch, this time with care!
Thanks to everyone for the advice and thoughts.

 

[Drunkula]

Stouts always seem to be the most forgiving when it comes to home brewing both kits

Adding another voice to the choir on that. It's part of the reason I screw up my face and make an ihhhhhhhh sound when a new person turns up going "I JUST BOAT MY FIRST LAGER KIT WANNA HOMBREW GUUD!!! GOT IN IN THE BOILAH ROOM NEXT TO WER THE DOG HAVING PUPS! I HYDRATE THE YEAST WITH BOILING WATER LIKE DRANKUNA SAYS!!"

You sort of hope they'd move the other way or start on a middle ground. There's sort of the impression that lager my be simple because it seems so simple.

Right, need a sit down now. I've worked myself up with the newbie lager anxiety.