Beer is bottled
- Thread starter Punchy
- Start date
bsman
b00b
Punchy
Slacker Supreme
I could. Honestly it's just kinda low on my list right now and I'm way more likely to post than practice. Was just saying that the waiting for results is worse than my previously-longest-waiting-for-results period.
And then what if it's not good beer? I mean, I'll still drink it, but I won't be happy about it. Well, I won't be unhappy, because it's beer, but I won't be as happy as if it turns out to be good beer.
And then what if it's not good beer? I mean, I'll still drink it, but I won't be happy about it. Well, I won't be unhappy, because it's beer, but I won't be as happy as if it turns out to be good beer.
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
Don't worry. Fermenting beer is pretty forgiving. If you took your time and kept things cool, chances are you made a fairly decent beer.
CBHScott
How did I get here?
I still have two Mr. Beer kits I bought on clearance for stoopid cheap at Sears a couple years back. I am sure the ingredients are deader than Dean Martin, but I got them mainly to use for fermentation purposes with fresh ingredients. Still haven't gotten around to it :(.
Punchy
Slacker Supreme
Aztec Mexican Cerveza. Next up will be their Grand Bohemian Czech Pilsner. After that was thinking I'd hit the Canadian Blond, or amber ale, or brown ale, or. . .
I was just worried I kept it too cool. The only place mostly undisturbed in the house has been hanging right around 60° lately, instruction book says best temps are 68-72. It tasted mostly right when I bottled, but with a bit of green apple.
Punchy
Slacker Supreme
Doesn't really take that long to do, but I'm looking forward to getting the process down with the kit and then moving on up to something a little bigger.
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
Aztec Mexican Cerveza. Next up will be their Grand Bohemian Czech Pilsner. After that was thinking I'd hit the Canadian Blond, or amber ale, or brown ale, or. . .
Mexican & Czech lagers are pretty tough styles to pull off in general. I'd imagine they are supplying an ale yest or something similar that can tolerate higher than 50 degrees for those since you'd need some dedicated fermentation temp control to properly ferment a lager yeast trad used in those styles. I wouldn't judge the results too harshly, all things considered.
Green apple flavors are usually acetaldehyde, which in excess can come from a number of yeast stresses or fermenting conditions. Usually if you've pitched enough healthy yeast & fermented at the right temp for the yeast, it'll clean up by keeping the beer on the yeast a little longer. Sometimes it'll reduce a little during your bottle conditioning/aging.
edit: I don't know about the current mr beer kits but they generally did not have a good reputation for stellar results. You might want to see if your local homebrew shop has ingredient kits for mr. beer or look online for alternatives to their kits.
Aztec Mexican Cerveza. Next up will be their Grand Bohemian Czech Pilsner. After that was thinking I'd hit the Canadian Blond, or amber ale, or brown ale, or. . .
I was just worried I kept it too cool. The only place mostly undisturbed in the house has been hanging right around 60° lately, instruction book says best temps are 68-72. It tasted mostly right when I bottled, but with a bit of green apple.
Colder is actually better for most ferments as the yeast produce less side products, of course, you have to keep it in a temp where the yeast are happy. I run a lot of ferments at 62F, so I think you are probably OK at 60. The green apple taste is acetaldehyde, and it is an indication that the beer is still a bit young for bottling. You can age it away reasonably well in bottle carbonation/aging.
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
Yes and no...it really depends on the yeast & typically the yeast provider recommended temp range will yield the best results. You can also usually find some good feedback from other brewers about the yeasts performance at various temps.
Having done a bunch of temp controlled fermentations with a number of different yeasts (including side-by-side spit batches w/ the same yeast & recipe at different temps) I find the best compromise, to me, to be toward mid -> lower end of the spec'd temp range but not below. If you want to encourage ester & phenol production, ferment towards the middle-higher range of the yeast's spec (but the trade off is often higher production of fusels and other undesirable by-products that need more time to clean up). One thing the split batches proved to everyone who tasted them is that too clean, in may styles, eliminates many of the desirable esters & phenols that help define that beer.
Punchy
Slacker Supreme
So what you guys are saying is I need to idle a computer in the spare room to bring the temp up a few degrees
The cerveza and pils are what came with the kit, so that's why I'm going with them first. The reviews ive seen lately have been mostly favorable, but maybe I'll move onto components sooner rather than later.
The cerveza and pils are what came with the kit, so that's why I'm going with them first. The reviews ive seen lately have been mostly favorable, but maybe I'll move onto components sooner rather than later.
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
So what you guys are saying is I need to idle a computer in the spare room to bring the temp up a few degrees
The cerveza and pils are what came with the kit, so that's why I'm going with them first. The reviews ive seen lately have been mostly favorable, but maybe I'll move onto components sooner rather than later.
Don't sweat it. the first couple batches you brew are really more valuable for getting the process & sanitization down and hopefully sparking an interest in the hobby.
most folks who stick with it go mr. beer -> extract kits then maybe -> partial mash or eventually all grain brewing.