7 days (per instructions) or 3 weeks?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

zippyslug31

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
104
Reaction score
0
Location
PDX
Hi everybody, brand new here and really eager to solve my massive frustration.

A helpful quick background: I've made 10 or so beers in as many years and never really "gotten it" as my beers have been semi-drinkable at best, but most are fairly odd with lots of off tastes. Lots of people assure me homebrewing is easy, they taste AT LEAST AS GOOD as over-the-counter beers, etc. I have NOT had this experience but rather just a lot of frustration.
So.... a couple of weeks ago I got my "annual itch" so I whipped up a batch of IPA a couple weeks ago. I just tapped the corny keg and.... once again.... it's pretty gross.

Now the question: very simply, am I just not waiting long enough? According to all the instructions I've ever seen on the extract cans they say anywhere from 4 to 10 days to ferment, then bottle/keg, then a week or so later VOILA!
From all the good info I've read here others are saying at least 2-3 weeks in the fermentor and then age it for a month or so (or longer). This may be the one silly thing that has escaped me all these years.

Side question: my recent batch fermented about 1 week, then sat kegged for a week at around 40-50 degrees, then I moved it into the fridge for a couple days. Is my only option at this point just removed it from the fridge and leave it for a "month or so" in the keg to see if it will somehow magically turn into a drinkable brew?

Don't ask me why I've stuck with it so long even with pretty terrible results. :eek:
 
Being patient can definitely help your beer. Maybe give a synopsis of your brewing method and a recipe you use. That would help us help you. How diligent are you about sanitation?
 
I think you have been drinking very green beer all this time without letting the yeast finish it's job in the primary. I go overboard with my aging but somewhere between what you do and what I do should make you much happier.

Leave it in the primary for 3 weeks and you'll be amazed how much better it is. Leave it a few weeks after kegging and you'll be doing back flips of joy.

Welcome to HBT!
 
You answered your own question....you said you've been reading on here about how we recommend leaving our beers in the fermenter for weeks...then another 3 weeks in the bottle minimum.

There wouldn't be so many discussions on here, and so many people recommending it so much if we didn't think it was true.

It works whether you are brewing a cheap kit and kilo recipe, or an all grain....

You've probably even seen us quote John Palmer saying the same thing.

I don't know if you are asking a specific question, or looking for more confirmation...but it's spread throughout here. There's at least 2 threads a day asking about it, and 100's of posts a day where someone (other than me) recommends it....So I really don't know what more we can suggest.

Heck you don't even need to read anybody's further opinion on it, like Nurmey said, just try it for yourself and see....

You won't be disappointed.

:mug:


There's some pretty dramatic tales in this thread....https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/
 
(wow, quick response!)

Well, I'm definitely a noob still. Have always done extracts; don't feel like I know what the heck I'm doing well enough to advance to real ingredients yet, though I'd love to some day.
In the past I've tried a variety of things like adding dry malt a few times, extra cans of extract, done the liquid yeast thing, made starters, etc etc etc. I'd say I've done many of the various "easy" things, mostly at the prodding of the place I get my extract from.
My cook pot is a stainless and have tried both my glass carb and plastic bucket (all single fermentation).

I'm pretty darn careful to make sure things are clean. In the past I've used Star Sanitizer and other times bleach, neither seemed to make a difference. Honestly can't imagine that I'm not being clean enough as the next level of cleanliness would involve damn near a clean room and I'm sure others aren't going to that extent. Pretty sure the odds are slim that all of my beers have failed due to sanitation.

This last batch was a can of IPA extract, 6.5 cups of sugar (too little or too much???), and the yeast the can came with. I had a lot of fermentation activity and waited until my air lock stopped burping. I did not bother with taking a reading since the hydrometer seems vague at best and I can't say I've seen very "clear" readings.
I believe after 8 days I siphoned it into my corny key which I filled a little with CO2 to prevent oxidization.
This then sat for a week and I then got into it and its, frankly, pretty bad. Not like any IPA I've ever had before!
Maybe it's just "green"?

If I really just didn't give it enough time, I wonder if I could get away with sticking it back into my fermentor, add some yeast, and leave it alone for a couple weeks? BTW, I did take a reading on it and I'm somewhere around 4.5% ABV so I know at least SOMETHING occurred during fermenation.

Thanks in advance!
 
I just spotted another issue. 6.5 cups of sugar is a lot of sugar to add to your beer. Try changing the sugar to malt extract and I think you will find an great improvement to the flavor.
 
Yikes 6 cups of sugar. Try going to the recipe section and finding a easy extract recipe that appeals to u and using that. It will be a bit more work but well worth it. They will probably involve steeping grains (easy... bring water to 150d, add crushed grain, hold for 30 minutes, remove grain) and hops (again easy.. add hops to the boil for specifide times). Ferment for 3 weeks, condition for 3 weeks. U'll love the results. Here is a easy fast maturing recipe out of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing:
Palace Bitter (5g)
5# Light Dme
12oz crystal (steep & remove)
Bring to boil & add roughly half the Dme
.5 oz fuggles hops, .75 oz kent Goldings hops (60 min boil)
.25 oz of both fuggles & golding (30 min)
.5oz goldings (15 min) & add rest of malt
.5 oz goldings (2 min)
 
Here are some things I suspect will improve your beer, in order of difficulty (easiest at the top):

- Wait longer, at least three weeks in the primary.

- Replace the sugar with dry malt extract.

- Instead of pre-hopped extract kits, get unhopped extract plus some fresh hops. This will make a HUGE difference, and it isn't really any harder. You still pretty much just dump everything in the pan and boil it, just now you have some hops to dump in as well, and you typically put some in at the start of the boil, then some more right at the end.

- Use some steeping grains as well as the extract. eg. many simple pale ale recipes will call for 1 lb of crushed crystal malt, which you steep in your boil water for half an hour somewhere around 150 degrees, after which you remove the grains, add the malt extract, and boil as normal. A little real grain in addition to the extract can give you much more complex and fresher malty flavors.
 
Ok guys, thanks for the encouraging input.
Given my very basic brew, instead of the excessive 6.5 cups of sugar what would you have hypothetically added?
Just keeping the answer very simple and I'm just trying to take baby steps, instead of 6.5 cups, what makes more sense.... 2, 4, or ???

Again, thanks for the help.

ps - Likely do some recipe research and will visit my supplier tomorrow. Have high hopes that I can put all these poor results far behind me by simply waiting longer. :)
 
Regarding 3 weeks on the primary, what about threads such as the Aging beer facts/myths which state that you can be ready in a few weeks. Is that only for all grain + keg or with the right procedures (yeast starter, etc) does that work with extract + keg?
 
According to all the instructions I've ever seen on the extract cans...

I think we need to start by getting you away from the instructions on the extract cans altogether. I have NEVER seen a set of instructions on an extract can that produced excellent beer. I think you might want to take a glance at some of the extract IPA recipes around this site and give it another try.

I'm actually surprised this tidbit hasn't been discussed in this thread already.. lol...
 
I'd nix the suger altogether. If it's table suger too much will give a cidery flavor but I'm not sure at what amount. If corn sugar it will dry the beer out and steal body. If thats the point of the sugar thats one thing but in most cases if u want a bigger beer, add more malt. 2 cans lme should yeild u a brew in the 4.x range. Honestly though I'd just get a recipe u like and go for it;) It's really not much harder and it sounds like U've been doing Water and hopped LME for awhile now. You may make some mistakes but chances are your beer will still be great:)
 
It was corn sugar.

Anybody feel I can just empty my keg back into a fermentor, add some more yeast, MAYBE some dry malt, and let it sit for a couple weeks?
Or am I just better off leaving it in the keg for several weeks and see what will happen?
 
It was corn sugar.

Anybody feel I can just empty my keg back into a fermentor, add some more yeast, MAYBE some dry malt, and let it sit for a couple weeks?
Or am I just better off leaving it in the keg for several weeks and see what will happen?

pretty sure this is not going to help you, and you may lose the beer to infection or oxidize it (more off-flavors)...IMHO you should just chalk it up to a learning experience...and then go back and re-read and follow the advice everyone is giving you here, which is essentially to get away from the canned pre-hopped extract kits, and their instructions, and to stop using straight up sugar as a fermentable in your beer....Oh, and to WAIT MORE THAN 7 DAYS TO BOTTLE/KEG YOUR BEER.

If you are uncomfortable going by a recipe just yet, there are plenty of kits out there that actually have quality ingredients in them...Northern Brewer sells kits with all the malt for the given recipe, plus the hops (separate) and steeping grains. they even throw in the steeping bag for you....easy! Brewers Best kits, which are everywhere, are also similar (and decent quality). So try a kit like that, if you need the support of a kit to get you going....no more cans with insructions taped to the lid! they are crap!
 
I'll definitely second buying a kit. It allows to to concentrate on your process rather than mixing your attention between that and toying with a recipe. Just remember, when it comes to fermentation and bottling times, pay attention to the gals and guys here rather then the recipe in the kit, and you should be golden :)
 
Hi everybody, brand new here and really eager to solve my massive frustration.

A helpful quick background: I've made 10 or so beers in as many years and never really "gotten it" as my beers have been semi-drinkable at best, but most are fairly odd with lots of off tastes. Lots of people assure me homebrewing is easy, they taste AT LEAST AS GOOD as over-the-counter beers, etc. I have NOT had this experience but rather just a lot of frustration.
So.... a couple of weeks ago I got my "annual itch" so I whipped up a batch of IPA a couple weeks ago. I just tapped the corny keg and.... once again.... it's pretty gross.

Now the question: very simply, am I just not waiting long enough? According to all the instructions I've ever seen on the extract cans they say anywhere from 4 to 10 days to ferment, then bottle/keg, then a week or so later VOILA!
From all the good info I've read here others are saying at least 2-3 weeks in the fermentor and then age it for a month or so (or longer). This may be the one silly thing that has escaped me all these years.

Side question: my recent batch fermented about 1 week, then sat kegged for a week at around 40-50 degrees, then I moved it into the fridge for a couple days. Is my only option at this point just removed it from the fridge and leave it for a "month or so" in the keg to see if it will somehow magically turn into a drinkable brew?

Don't ask me why I've stuck with it so long even with pretty terrible results. :eek:

People talk about their beer like they talk about their kids which, in most cases, means more positively than is probably warranted. Most commercial beer, if fresh, is near flawless. Most homebrewers do not make flawless beer batch to batch. You may like your recipe better than a particular commercial one but you would be doing extraordinarily well if your execution was as good, let alone better than theirs. Not trying to be a downer, that is the truth.

That being said, it should not be hard to make very good beer at home. While I would agree with others that you really ought to get some kits that don't use sugar, I also think fermentation and sanitation are 99% of making good beer. If you want to minimize off flavors, figure out a way to control your fermentation temperature and the amount of yeast you are using. There are lots of threads here on those subjects. I completely disagree that you should have to wait months to drink your beer. For most beer, if it tastes off at 4 or 6 weeks, that is the brewer's fault. Most brewpubs serve beer 3 or 4 weeks old and most successful competition home brewers in the hoppy styles (American Ale, IPA) enter young beer as well. Anyone who can tell you how many cells of yeast they pitched and what temperature their fermentation was conducted at has beer with no off flavors the day fermentation has ended in all but the biggest beers.
 
I'm still a noob but I have learned enough to be able to agree with pretty much all that has been said above. Taking advice from this site, I began leaving my beer in the primary for 3 weeks, then secondary for 2 more. This is probably overkill I know but since I started doing that my beer has improved tremendously. After I bottle I box it and let it sit in the closet for 6 more weeks. Someone can argue that this is all too long but I have really been able to taste the improvment. Besides, I have a pipeline going now anyway and I can't possibly drink all my finished homebrew before the next batch is done, can I?:drunk:

For the most part, your only other possibilities for yucky beer are going to be bad ingredients/recipe, fermentation temp, water or sanitation issues. I'm not sure if anyone asked but what kind of water are you using? If you are getting your ingredients from the same place each time then perhaps you should consider trying another supplier.

Dennis
 
Regarding 3 weeks on the primary, what about threads such as the Aging beer facts/myths which state that you can be ready in a few weeks. Is that only for all grain + keg or with the right procedures (yeast starter, etc) does that work with extract + keg?

It is possible to make good beer quickly. It's just very hard. A big starter, healthy yeast, good aeration, etc, will definitely help.

But for every brewer on this site who claims good results after just a few weeks, there are dozens who claim major benefits from waiting longer. So I think especially for beginners, waiting is good advice.

I guess I just don't understand what the big hurry is? Why even bother trying to hurry the process along, when it is so easy to get great results from doing nothing at all?
 
I guess I just don't understand what the big hurry is? Why even bother trying to hurry the process along, when it is so easy to get great results from doing nothing at all?

From some of the reading I've done around here it seems to me, as a beginner, that if things are "done right" there is no point to wait. Of course the big question is "did I do it right?"

For my next batch I am going to go with the 3 week primary to bottle method and let them sit for 2-3 weeks in the bottle. It is tempting to go with a two week primary but it is only a week and I can just pick up a 12 pack of a local microbrew if the fridge is empty.
 
I guess I just don't understand what the big hurry is?

REALLY?!?!?! :mug:

And here I'm wondering how you experts have the patience to sit there all the while not knowing how your brew is going to turn out and/or what it will taste like.

I now know why you guys "pipeline". Just put yourselves in my shoes with NO pipeline. :(
My only alternative is to go buy the stuff. Double :(
 
Tap is probably ok, just make sure you are boiling all of it at some point. If you are doing a partial boil (e.g. only boiling a couple gallons of wort) and you are adding water to top it off at the end, remember that top off water has to be sanitized by boiling beforehand.

I usually boil about 4 gallons beforehand (or while steeping/mashing), cool it, then dump it into a sanitized bucket and put the lid on.

A lot of beginners seem to skip this step, so I thought I'd mention it.
 
REALLY?!?!?! :mug:

And here I'm wondering how you experts have the patience to sit there all the while not knowing how your brew is going to turn out and/or what it will taste like.

I now know why you guys "pipeline". Just put yourselves in my shoes with NO pipeline. :(
My only alternative is to go buy the stuff. Double :(

Because we know how hard it is to ruin our beer....AND we know from experience how much better our beers taste by waiting...

Read these to get some ideas...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/preventing-diacetyl-hold-butter-please-70438/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

And if we do have a rare problem....so what...time often heals those as well.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/has-anyone-ever-messed-up-batch-96644/?highlight=infection
 
remember that top off water has to be sanitized by boiling beforehand.

Oh? Well thanks for mentioning as I've never done this!
Perhaps yet another reason why I've failed so much before? Hmmmm.....
 
Oh? Well thanks for mentioning as I've never done this!
Perhaps yet another reason why I've failed so much before? Hmmmm.....

I beg to differ, I have never boiled my top off water...a large percent of us don't....I have never had problems from that...If you don't have a boil advisory on your water at the time of brewing...there is no need to go the extra step to boil it....
 
Here's a quick update: yesterday I brewed up a new batch of IPA (still with training wheels ala a kit) but will allow it to sit for much longer. Truth be told I did add a little extra hop/malt just for kicks, but it's basically just an extract kit. Today it's bubbling away.

Also, completely on a lark and since it cost me only the yeast, I did unkeg my previous IPA, stuck it back into the carboy, brought it up to about 75F and stuck the yeast in. So far this morning: no activity.
Figured it was worth the experiment instead of simplying dumping it. Will allow it to sit for a couple of weeks before I see what I have. I'm taking wagers on what it will turn out to be: beer, lighter fluid, or wood stain. :D
 
Agreed, which is y I agree, the chance of contaminating w/ tap is tiny. There are however reasons to boil it.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top