Youngs Harvest Bitter vs Coopers Larger

[Schnell88]

Hey everyone,

I brewed a Youngs Harvest Bitter about a month ago, bottled after a week fermenting leaving the 3 weeks while I was back home for Easter for settle in the bottles. That tasted really good for my first brew.

I have now done a Coopers Larger, and It fermented a lot quicker, about 4 days compared to the 9 that the Youngs Took.

I have left it in the bottles for 5 days, and tried some just now. Apart from being very alcoholic, (im tipsy on one bottle) it didnt taste nearly as good as the youngs.

It was clear, thats why I tried it after 5 days. But it tasted pretty bad for what I expected. Will it get better, and why does it seem so clear after 5 days. Is it because it is a larger. I would like some expertise on the question.

Thank you... :) x

 

[spin]

Hi there, Fistly, I haven't tried the youngs kit but I've made 6 Coopers kits so far. I'm fairly new to all this but have done a few batches now and learnt from trial and error, and also from advice on this forum.

Try leaving your beer for 2 weeks in the fermentation bucket. Then at least 2 weeks in the bottles before drinking.
But this is the absolute minimum and the beer will still taste pretty rank.

I usually leave my beers for at least a month in the bottle before drinking and it makes a big difference to the taste.
Five days isn't long enough.

Use 1kg of Light Dry Malt Extract instead of the 1kg of sugar suggested by the kit, this makes a huge difference to the flavour, you won't get the harsh twang that you get with sugar, and also the head you'll get on your beers will be much better.

I normally leave my brews for one week in the primary fermention bucket.
Then I syphon it into a secondary fermentor (glass carboy) and leave it for 2 weeks in there to clear.
I also dry hop in here with some pellet hops which gives a lovely aroma to the beer.

If using a secondary fermentor you will notice alot of the yeast etc has settled to the bottom, which would othewise have been in your bottles.
(If you don't have a second fermentor just leave it in the bucket for 2 weeks instead of one week).
It takes up to a week for the initial fermentation to take place. Then it will take another week for the yeast to clear up some nasty tasting byproducts that they produced when fermenting.

Then I syphon from here into a bottling bucket, with priming sugar mixed in boiling water and cooled.
Then bottle from here (you can just bottle from your bucket and add sugar directly to the bottles if you wish).
Then I leave the bottles in a location that is the same temperature that I fermented at for at least 2 to 3 weeks. Then chill them down at least one day before drinking in the fridge. But it's best to leave them in the bottle for longer to condition and the flavours mellow out and are less harsh.

I hope this helps. I have also tried drinking my beers too early before and it just isn't worth it. Just wait a while.

Hope this helps and I haven't babbled on too much.
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