Dennis1979
Well-Known Member
I'm hoping some of you guys that have been home brewing a while can help me get on the right track. Here's the deal: I'm on my first batch right now. To get started I went to the HBS and got my equipment. I told the guy there I wasn't sure what recipe and was worried about brewing 5 gallons of beer I don't like. He asked what beer do I like so I told him Svytury's Ekstra. This is a beer brewed in Lithuania. It gets average reviews but I really like it. He said this was a style of Dortmunder and he said he thought he could duplicate it. He put together the ingredients. The grain was either Belgium Pilsner or German Pilsner. The extract he called Dutch Light Lager. The hops used were Hallertau Tradition hops ( bittering), Czech Saazhops (flavoring) and Czech Saazhops (finishing). The yeast was Safale 5 with something called BruVigor added on top of the yeast.
Now, I made the wort and left it in the primary for a week then siphoned it into the secondary. I left it there for 2 weeks and then bottled it. Its been in bottles for 2 weeks. Yesterday I cooled a couple of bottles down for several hours and then poured me a glass. It's beer alright but I am not impressed with the flavor. I know it probably needs more time in the bottle but what I'm talking about is the basic flavor. This isn't an issue of anything going wrong with the batch, it is simply the recipe. Don't get me wrong, the beer is drinkable and I will drink it, but its not what I was shooting for at all. It has a kind of bitter and overly sweet flavor at the same time that hits you right away. There is a slight metallic flavor after you swallow which I am attributing to the fact that it needs to condition more.
So my question is. How can I get the beer I want without having to make 5 gallons and waiting 2 months to find out I don't like it? The beer I want doesn't have to be exactly like the Svytury's, that is just the store bought beer I like and I would like to make my own brew that comes close to that flavor. Is anyone familiar with the Svytury's beer? I'm sure that an expert can taste a beer and know what ingredients are needed to make it, however I am far, far from an expert.
Any thoughts and advice is appreciated.
Dennis
Now, I made the wort and left it in the primary for a week then siphoned it into the secondary. I left it there for 2 weeks and then bottled it. Its been in bottles for 2 weeks. Yesterday I cooled a couple of bottles down for several hours and then poured me a glass. It's beer alright but I am not impressed with the flavor. I know it probably needs more time in the bottle but what I'm talking about is the basic flavor. This isn't an issue of anything going wrong with the batch, it is simply the recipe. Don't get me wrong, the beer is drinkable and I will drink it, but its not what I was shooting for at all. It has a kind of bitter and overly sweet flavor at the same time that hits you right away. There is a slight metallic flavor after you swallow which I am attributing to the fact that it needs to condition more.
So my question is. How can I get the beer I want without having to make 5 gallons and waiting 2 months to find out I don't like it? The beer I want doesn't have to be exactly like the Svytury's, that is just the store bought beer I like and I would like to make my own brew that comes close to that flavor. Is anyone familiar with the Svytury's beer? I'm sure that an expert can taste a beer and know what ingredients are needed to make it, however I am far, far from an expert.
Any thoughts and advice is appreciated.
Dennis