this has been asked i am sure a 100 times

doing the premier mal extra light beer...backed off the sugar and used corn syrup...backed down the water to 4gallons. stuff went in on the 17th it stopped bubbling today the whole process was to take 6 to 10 days i am barely at 3 any suggestions if anything is wrong or what?

Nothing wrong. Don't worry about it bubbling or not. Just leave it there for another 2 weeks before touching it, if you can wait that long.

I'm not sure if it will make to two weeks but might...just first time jitters. THe Premier malt extract was interesting though didn't want it light but that is all the grocer carries..Love dark beer guess next time add molassis.. Thanks for the imput ....learning as we go...at least it is quicker than the blackberry wine...

Another question is I have this in a 5 gallon carboy but backed off to 4 gallons of liquid now around the wall of the carboy there is a foam line...like a water mark that is grey is this a point of concern?

Nope, thats just krausen - your beer is fine.

That grey stuff is just krausen stuck to the walls of the carboy, it's normal.

I have a silly question- if you like dark beers, why don't you make a dark beer instead of buying a kit and adding molasses? Maybe it's because I don't like molasses, especially fermented molasess, but if you like stouts, why not just make a stout? If you get a stout, built to be a stout, without corn syrup or sugar, I think you'd get a better beer.

If you like brown ales, then there are lots of nice recipes for brown ales. I'm not a fan of buying a kit and adding sugar to get it to be closer to what you might want. You can buy all the ingredients you need for a GREAT beer, in the style you want, and have better results.

Your beer will taste better if you give it time. Don't bottle it until at least 2 weeks in the carboy, preferably 3 weeks to allow it to clear a little better. Don't be worried by the krausen line up top or any trub/yeast on the bottom. Then let the beer condition in the bottle for 2-3 weeks before drinking. It will taste a lot better that way.

where I live I was shocked to find what malt extract could do. The grocer only has premeir malt extract light and it is hopped. In this part of alabama I was glad just to find that. the nearest homebrew place in alabama is birmingham many miles away and in a back room or a shop since we seem to be the state to regulation and no fun.

oltradplanter said:

where I live I was shocked to find what malt extract could do. The grocer only has premeir malt extract light and it is hopped. In this part of alabama I was glad just to find that. the nearest homebrew place in alabama is birmingham many miles away and in a back room or a shop since we seem to be the state to regulation and no fun.

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For your regular supplies: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/
Also for regular supplies: http://www.northernbrewer.com/
For all your grains / recipes: http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/

You can thank me later.

Thanks guys...I hope to start looking into doing the darker beers but this is the first one ever for me. I love stouts and would love to find a still cider recipe. Dark rich beers I like so that being said...if you have done this recipe what will it turn out like? If I was to expect a taste of it is it better than a steel reserve, pbr, naty light, or is it close to a Bass or what? I just would like to sorta know a general profile of the flavor it will give.

oltradplanter said:

where I live I was shocked to find what malt extract could do. The grocer only has premeir malt extract light and it is hopped. In this part of alabama I was glad just to find that. the nearest homebrew place in alabama is birmingham many miles away and in a back room or a shop since we seem to be the state to regulation and no fun.

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I understand! I live 150 miles away from a homebrew store. But I can order online ($6.99 shipping) and get everything I could ever want to make beer.

If you're happy with the premier hopped extract, that's great. I'm not knocking it. But you sounded like you might be looking for more. If you are, we have some great recipes, and we can help you formulate something that might be more to your liking.

cider is easy. I mean EASY. Buy some cider. If it's pasteurized, add some ale yeast. Put an airlock on it. Wait a few weeks. Bottle if it's clear and finished. Drink.

Now, cider can also be challenging! You may not like it dry, or you may want more fermentables, or you want to try something different. Check out our cider forum and see what some of us are doing with cider.

Thanks Justin...I was just looking on the website...been looking for a beer that was like the old millers reserve a 100% barley beer it was might good but not of commerical sucess so i will look thru the catalog and see if there is something there that is close...thanks again on the post replys...we will all get that perfect pint soon.

yooperbrew....this is my first attempt at any of it. You are right i like a darker brew. I just don't know what to expect. I will gladly entertain other recipes..just curious on what this stuff is going to be like that is in the carboy...I am far from an expert on beer...Rum is a different story.

oltradplanter said:

yooperbrew....this is my first attempt at any of it. You are right i like a darker brew. I just don't know what to expect. I will gladly entertain other recipes..just curious on what this stuff is going to be like that is in the carboy...I am far from an expert on beer...Rum is a different story.

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I honestly don't know. I don't know premier malt extract, the hops in it, or the corn syrup. so, I have no idea what you'll get. It'll be beer- that's for sure. But I have no idea what flavor or style it would be.

For a darker beer next time, check out some of our recipes. You can click on "recipes" on the bar up above. Or some of us have recipes posted under our avatar. I don't have any extract dark beers posted, except for an English brown. Which is very good, and very easy, but might not be what you want.

Just remember, there isn't any beer you buy in the stores that you can't brew yourself. It's amazing what you can do...and quite addicting. Don't expect to be saving money on brewing beer in the near future by becoming a homebrewer. Once the equipment etc is bought though, it does pay for itself, as the ingredients themselves will yield you about 52 12oz bottles for roughly $25 (for your common beers and some specialty ones).

Its all like a candy store right now...if the process and sanitary issues are done correctly there wont be a bad batch of beer. i have every intention of looking at the recipes up ont eh bar as well as with Justin's suggestions. The issue right now for me is where to get hops...if I had the rizomes I would plant them since i have the room.

the only thing I don't have right now is a hygrometer? I thnk that is what its called...but for this stage of learning to do this...I am fine...being able to brew a beer that I eventually will find to be a great beer at a low cost is fine...just like knowing you can and not have to do much to entertain yourself and guests with. I am looking into growing a vineyard of muscadines so understand the cost factors this will be great just to flat out enjoy eventually using my own filtered well water to make the beer.

oltradplanter said:

the only thing I don't have right now is a hygrometer? I thnk that is what its called...but for this stage of learning to do this...I am fine...being able to brew a beer that I eventually will find to be a great beer at a low cost is fine...just like knowing you can and not have to do much to entertain yourself and guests with. I am looking into growing a vineyard of muscadines so understand the cost factors this will be great just to flat out enjoy eventually using my own filtered well water to make the beer.

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A hydrometer really is a necessity. It actually tells you when your beer is done, and is safe to bottle (so you can avoid bottle bombs). In my mind, unless you've been brewing for years, you can't get by without it. Some things you can skip. But not proper sanitization, nor a hydrometer.

For starters, I would recommend getting either a recipe kit (includes all hops, malts, specialty grains, priming sugars, bottle caps, etc) or plan out your brew and get individual ingredients at once from one of the online sources I mentioned. Once you get into it more (assuming you haven't already, that is...) you can buy hops in bulk at an incredible discount (like 1/2 off) from hopsdirect.com. You can get a full pound of Cascade for $8.75.

YooperBrew said:

A hydrometer really is a necessity. It actually tells you when your beer is done, and is safe to bottle (so you can avoid bottle bombs). In my mind, unless you've been brewing for years, you can't get by without it. Some things you can skip. But not proper sanitization, nor a hydrometer.

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+900000.

You might want to look into a beginners brewing kit from northernbrewer.com, like this one:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/starter-kits/better-basic-starter-kit.html

That one is great because it is priced nicely, and includes an autosiphon (HUGE convenience) as well as anything else you'll need like hydrometer, tubes, bottle capper, etc etc. All you'll need that's not included is a brew pot, the recipe and bottles (which you can also buy on the site, or just salvage bottles from friends or beer that you drink). With a $7.99 shipping for everything, you can't beat that.

Its a matter of finding a place that sells them in central alabama

this is what actually occured....went to store saw cans of malt extract said you can make beer from it...got can and looked at instructions on what other grocery items i needed for it got them and came home had carboy mixed per instructions poured liquid in carboy added yeast applied airlock and there we are i have no clue as to where to find a hygrometer...however I will get one when its located...

since this is in the carboy now I will have to see if one can be located nearby... before I

have to order on line...

this was an experiment to see if it does work. In time I will step up to some of the other items I am one for a stour, red, amber anything better than a bud from the store. I have been looking into gruits as well and they are promising due to the fact hops may have an issue in the deep south...