1st tasting

Just popped the top on my first batch on Friday. All my 6 packs are spoken for and everyone enjoyed it. Most of my friends are very picky/unsophisticated drinkers and loved it. I noticed a bit of a sourness in the aftertaste. Is this just not giving it enough time in the bottle or is that what everyone calls the extract taste? I am seriously looking to upgrade my operation and maybe make it a profession as I am ready to graduate college and looking for career options. I have a major interest in opening my own business as I have opened up 2 others with friends in the past. I know what it takes to do it and how it can be a money drain for awhile.

I don't think it is an infection though. It is very faint and maybe not even really there, just in my head. Maybe I am just confusing it with another taste.

" I am seriously looking to upgrade my operation and maybe make it a profession as I am ready to graduate college and looking for career options."

To be honest, try brewing for awhile longer and get into AG before jumping too far ahead of yourself.

The sourness does sound like an infection but it's hard to say without more of a description.

doubletapbrewing said:

I don't think it is an infection though. It is very faint and maybe not even really there, just in my head. Maybe I am just confusing it with another taste.

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Probably more of an extract "twang". Fairly common, assuming it was an extract beer.

Ya I understand the wait longer deal, of course I do not plan on going right away, I am an entrepreneur at heart and am always looking for ideas like this. Without risk takers in this world, there would be very few businesses. I am leaning for towards it being an "extract twang" also. I wish I could explain it more for you guys but it is hard. It is not unpleasant or even very noticeable. Maybe I am just being to critical. It was a Brewer's best American Light extract kit that I got from Bell's. The instructions (which I did not follow to the T, I took all the info on here and used my best judgement) said that it should be a straw color and I would say it is a bit darker than straw but more of a light amber. I followed the instructions and put the LME in at the beginning of the boil and then and the DME like the last 20 minutes or so.

Very well could be the extract twang I suppose. I have never brewed extract so I can't really say. Also, I didn't mean to rain on your parade or anything with my post, I was just stating you should probably be brewing AG and making up your own recipes before even remotely thinking of this as a career.

Here is a picture. There was nothing during the process that suggests an infection. Maybe I oxidized it during bottling?

You should have done the reverse. DME in the boil & LME at flame out. I do that & get lighter colors & cleaner flavor.

Understand all your criticisms and enjoy hearing them actually. First thing to becoming a good leader and business person is understanding that you don't have all the answers not are your ideas always the best. I in no way plan to start this endeavor right away. I have a time frame and a plan for all of it written down. I plan to get about 10 extract brews under my belt upgrade to all grain, brew about 5 batches to get the process down and then start to formulate my own recipes. I am bout a year out from that.

unionrdr said:

You should have done the reverse. DME in the boil & LME at flame out. I do that & get lighter colors & cleaner flavor.

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See I had read that on here, but the instructions said the opposite, will note and try opposite next brew. I asked this a few days ago but didn't get much of answer, is there any benefit to using lme vs using dme?

doubletapbrewing said:

Understand all your criticisms and enjoy hearing them actually. First thing to becoming a good leader and business person is understanding that you don't have all the answers not are your ideas always the best. I in no way plan to start this endeavor right away. I have a time frame and a plan for all of it written down. I plan to get about 10 extract brews under my belt upgrade to all grain, brew about 5 batches to get the process down and then start to formulate my own recipes. I am bout a year out from that.

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Good luck in your endeavor sir. I've had people tell me I could easily find investors for some of the beer I put out, but that doesn't interest me at all. I like brewing and drinking but the whole idea of a business and paperwork isn't remotely desirable to me.

dpatrickv said:

Good luck in your endeavor sir. I've had people tell me I could easily find investors for some of the beer I put out, but that doesn't interest me at all. I like brewing and drinking but the whole idea of a business and paperwork isn't remotely desirable to me.

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Thank you sir, different strokes for different folks. I am an accountant so that paperwork business doesn't bother me haha

doubletapbrewing said:

See I had read that on here, but the instructions said the opposite, will note and try opposite next brew. I asked this a few days ago but didn't get much of answer, is there any benefit to using lme vs using dme?

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DME doesn't darken in the boil as readilly as LME does. So LME goes in at the end. And I like using both for the flavor complexities I can get. Especially since I've started getting partial mash figured out. Combining all thre is getting interesting. I'll know more at the end of next month or so when my 2 current batches are ready. Especially so since my b-day is the end of next month.

unionrdr said:

DME doesn't darken in the boil as readilly as LME does. So LME goes in at the end. And I like using both for the flavor complexities I can get. Especially since I've started getting partial mash figured out. Combining all thre is getting interesting. I'll know more at the end of next month or so when my 2 current batches are ready. Especially so since my b-day is the end of next month.

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Haha yes, you must immerse yourself in the study to become a master. I believe it is Clayton Christensen who says you must either complete 10,000 hours of study or 10 years of study before you can fully understand something....challenge accepted!