stewart194
Well-Known Member
A friend of mine got me into brewing about 3 months ago, and I can already tell that I will be doing this for a very long time. I really enjoy it and am having a lot of fun. I had no idea there was so much to learn. I've only done 3 NB extract kits so far. All of them turned out pretty well and are all definitely drinkable to say the least. But they all have similar off flavors, almost like a faint soapy kind of taste that I'm hoping to eliminate. Recently, thanks to this website and the people at NB, I've learned about several tips to try and I plan on doing them with my next kit which is the Dead Ringer IPA kit.
First of all, I brewed all 3 batches with Reverse Osmosis water before finding out that I shouldn't do this. Our water here is treated with Chlorine and who knows what else, so I'm going to start with tap water and a 1/4 of a Campden tablet this time. I'm also going to do a yeast starter...so far I've just bought the cheapest dry yeast option they had. I'm also doing a full boil, adding 3/4 of the LME towards the end, chilling the wort more quickly, and I will aerate better than I have been before pitching the yeast. Sanitation is not an issue and I'm really thorough with that. The only other thing I've read about is buying a temperature controlled fermentor, but I've already spent quite a bit of money on this new hobby and I'd like to try these things first.
Questions....
1. Is doing a 1500 ml starter enough or should I do a larger one?
2. "Building up the yeast" just means adding more cooled wort to your flask after a day or so correct? I don't need to add another yeast packet also do I?
3. When adding the first 1/4 jug of LME I plan on killing the heat before adding it like I've been doing. Doing a partial boil with my first 3 batches I always added the entire thing and then brought it back to a boil. Doing a full boil outside with a propane burner and adding 3/4 of the LME with 15 minutes to go, should I kill the heat or just add it slowly stirring constantly? I definitely don't want to scorch it and ruin the whole batch. And I've never brewed beer with a propane burner before, but I would think killing the heat would mess up the timing of the hop additions. What are your thoughts on this?
4. Is there anything else I should know right now?
Clearly experience is a huge part of this and there is no replacement for that. But I still want to start producing killer beer as soon as possible!
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me! I will definitely return the favor in the future if anyone ever reaches out to me for advice!'
THANK YOU!!
First of all, I brewed all 3 batches with Reverse Osmosis water before finding out that I shouldn't do this. Our water here is treated with Chlorine and who knows what else, so I'm going to start with tap water and a 1/4 of a Campden tablet this time. I'm also going to do a yeast starter...so far I've just bought the cheapest dry yeast option they had. I'm also doing a full boil, adding 3/4 of the LME towards the end, chilling the wort more quickly, and I will aerate better than I have been before pitching the yeast. Sanitation is not an issue and I'm really thorough with that. The only other thing I've read about is buying a temperature controlled fermentor, but I've already spent quite a bit of money on this new hobby and I'd like to try these things first.
Questions....
1. Is doing a 1500 ml starter enough or should I do a larger one?
2. "Building up the yeast" just means adding more cooled wort to your flask after a day or so correct? I don't need to add another yeast packet also do I?
3. When adding the first 1/4 jug of LME I plan on killing the heat before adding it like I've been doing. Doing a partial boil with my first 3 batches I always added the entire thing and then brought it back to a boil. Doing a full boil outside with a propane burner and adding 3/4 of the LME with 15 minutes to go, should I kill the heat or just add it slowly stirring constantly? I definitely don't want to scorch it and ruin the whole batch. And I've never brewed beer with a propane burner before, but I would think killing the heat would mess up the timing of the hop additions. What are your thoughts on this?
4. Is there anything else I should know right now?
Clearly experience is a huge part of this and there is no replacement for that. But I still want to start producing killer beer as soon as possible!
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me! I will definitely return the favor in the future if anyone ever reaches out to me for advice!'
THANK YOU!!