Chinese

Recipes 

I've only brewed 4-5 batches, but I have been passionate about each of them. BUT . . . I am sick and tired of all of them being "almost" good. I follow the recipes to the letter(they all seem a little "general"), and I always have cloudy beer with carbonation issues. I opened my first bottle of my latest yesterday, Houblemonstre from NB(w extra hops), and it smells and tastes awesome . . . For a flat, cloudy beer. There is ALWAYS an issue! I need to brew a great, shareable beer soon or i might pack it in. Someone give me a good halftime speech so I will come back out for the second half!

need to brew a good, shareable beer or I am packing it in.

day_trippr

Recipes 

Could you give us a little more to go on?

Like:

All-grain or extract or ?
Do you use a hydrometer or ?
Bottle conditioned or ?
Temperature control during primary fermentation or ?
How long do you allow for primary fermentation, conditioning, and chilling?
What kinds of yeasts have you been using?
What do you know about your brewing water?

Cheers!

JLem

Recipes 

Chill haze is likely to always be an issue unless you cold crash and filter. Barring that, time spent in the fridge will help - like 3 weeks or more. Most of my beers are hazy young. But the longer I let them sit at cold temps, the less hazy they become.

Carbonation issues should be easy to fix - use one of the online bottle priming calculators to determine the appropriate *weight* of priming sugar to use and let them condition at room temp for 3 weeks.

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Brewing blog at Brew by Brew

Pappers_

Recipes 

As suggested in the two posts above, time is likely your friend. Tell us about the timing of your process and how you are carbonating.

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http://www.singingboysbrewing.com

Billy-Klubb

Recipes 

I can't speak for anyone else, but what helped me along in the beginning was brewing dark beers (stouts & porters mostly). they hide any cloudiness & flavor flaws, which helps boost your brewing confidence. listen to the old hands on specific issues & apply to your process when possible. sometimes it's the little things that can make a huge difference. be patient with your beer. it will improve to your tastes & applying different techniques will take it even further.

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There is a difference between pride and arrogance. Which do you hold in your heart?

LAbrewer

Recipes 

Bottled beer usually clears with time. Let the cloudy beer sit for a couple months in a closet and then put it in the fridge for a few weeks.

Flat beer may be a result of impatience assuming you added the priming sugar at the time when you bottled. Also, I hope you stored those bottles at room temp and not in the fridge.

Braufessor

Recipes 

yep - more info.

What temp. are you cooling to?
What yeast?
Ferm temps?
How long in fermenter?
Transferring?
How are you going about priming and bottling?
Temperature you are storing at after bottling?
Time frame from day of brew, to bottling, to testing/tasting first bottles?

BobbiLynn

Recipes 

It's a good idea to follow the instructions to a tee, but never listen to the amount of time it says it takes, double it at least. Just a guess, but maybe you are not being patient enough with your batches.

Chinese

Recipes 

I am brewing mostly partial(grain/extract) kits. I am following the directions to the letter(except for one tragic mis-step on one batch that resulted in a horrendous explosion). Best thing I've done is a milk-house stout - my first batch. I know nothing about my water . . . I do not use a hydrometer . . . I do use a wort chiller as it was taking forever before i could pitch the yeast. as for times and temps . . . i simply follow directions. I currently have a sweet potato ale in the fermenter . . . I am about to do an American IPA kit(any recommendations?). I am a newbie . . . Keep it as simple as this incredibly complex hobby will allow.

pellis007

Recipes 

Your best brewing friend will be a hydrometer. That and controlling your fermentation temps. Aside from that, have you tried Irish Moss or something like it at the end of your boil? That will sometimes help with clarity.

__________________
Primary#1: Chocolate Milk Stout
Primary#2: Pete's Tasty APA
Primary #3: Currently Empty
Bottle Conditioning: Steroid #8 APA, Janet's Brown Ale
Kegged: Honey Cream Ale
Drinking: Spotted Dog Brown Ale, I'm a Hoppy IPA, BierMunchers Cream of 3 Crops, Amarillo APA, Belgian Saison, Honey Cream Ale, Caribou Slobber,Red Hook ESB Clone, Oatmeal Vanilla Stout
On Deck: Pete's Tasty APA