bobbyshambo21
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- Joined
- Jan 16, 2013
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I'm at a loss. I've been brewing for about 6 months. In that time period I have brewed 7 beers and so far I'm not impressed. Most of my beers have been okay, but not "great" as some people have described their extract brews. The beer I have made all tastes like "extract beer" to me, not like a commercial craft brew, it lacks something, though I cannot articulate what it is. These beers all taste somewhat similar, or maybe it is that the have a similar mouthfeel or something. Either way, something has got to give. I'm thinking of doing full boils, if that doesn't help, maybe going all grain. Below are my batches and processes, if you have any tips that could improve my beer I would greatly appreciate it.
-Extract brewing
-Partial boils (3 gallons for a 5 gallon batch)
-Use tap water-from St. Paul, MN
-Standard 60 minute boil
-Add small amount of gypsum at beginning of boil (per recommendation of Northern brewer St. Paul for our local water)
-Add whirlflock last 15 min of boil
-Use immersion chiller to chill wort-boil in wort for last 10 minutes for sanitation
-Always pitch yeast starter-yeast count calculated from yeastcalc.com-use stir plate for yeast propagation usually 24-48 hrs.- usually chill for 24 hours and decant excess starter wort.
My batches have all been kits from NB with the exception of one clone I made using beersmith. The kits have been as such
Dead Ringer IPA
Brickwarmer Holiday Red
Tongue Splitter Pale Ale
Kiwi Express IPA
Cascade Imperial IPA
Boulevard 80 Acre Clone
Australian Sparkling Ale (Fermenting)
Pretty much all of the kits require steeping specialty grains. Only 2 of the IPA's shared the same yeast strain. Always use Wyeast.
My O.G's have a tendency to be lower than what the kit states. Sometimes as low as 5-7 points. I am super paranoid about sanitation and about aeration of wort prior to pitching. My fermentation always start quickly and almost always require a blow off tube (never tried Fermcap- not sure when to add it). I usually follow kit recommendations for fermentation times- usually allowing 2 full weeks for primary- checking gravity to make sure it's no longer dropping prior to racking. Add Biofine clear to secondary. Usually 2-4 weeks secondary (depending on recipe. At least 2 weeks in bottle prior to chilling, sometimes more if I think it needs it.
Most of my beers carb up fine, and since using biofine clear, the clarity is great, no chill haze, etc.
Sorry, I know this is a long post, but I've been scouring the forums here and nothing seems to fit. My ingredients are always quite fresh (I usually pick up a kit and brew it within 2 weeks- I believe NB gets quite a bit of turn over.) I've read Palmer's How to brew- I feel as though I'm doing everything right, though I still end up with sub-par beer. Maybe I'm too picky and other extract brewers just think their beer is better than it really is? The only areas I think I may be lacking is
1) Water quality?
2) Fermenation Temps. (I ferment ales in my basement- they stay right at the low end of the recommended temps.- Guys at NB say it should be fine, I don't have any issues with lag time, stuck fermentation, etc.?
Thoughts??? PLEASE HELP!!!!
-Extract brewing
-Partial boils (3 gallons for a 5 gallon batch)
-Use tap water-from St. Paul, MN
-Standard 60 minute boil
-Add small amount of gypsum at beginning of boil (per recommendation of Northern brewer St. Paul for our local water)
-Add whirlflock last 15 min of boil
-Use immersion chiller to chill wort-boil in wort for last 10 minutes for sanitation
-Always pitch yeast starter-yeast count calculated from yeastcalc.com-use stir plate for yeast propagation usually 24-48 hrs.- usually chill for 24 hours and decant excess starter wort.
My batches have all been kits from NB with the exception of one clone I made using beersmith. The kits have been as such
Dead Ringer IPA
Brickwarmer Holiday Red
Tongue Splitter Pale Ale
Kiwi Express IPA
Cascade Imperial IPA
Boulevard 80 Acre Clone
Australian Sparkling Ale (Fermenting)
Pretty much all of the kits require steeping specialty grains. Only 2 of the IPA's shared the same yeast strain. Always use Wyeast.
My O.G's have a tendency to be lower than what the kit states. Sometimes as low as 5-7 points. I am super paranoid about sanitation and about aeration of wort prior to pitching. My fermentation always start quickly and almost always require a blow off tube (never tried Fermcap- not sure when to add it). I usually follow kit recommendations for fermentation times- usually allowing 2 full weeks for primary- checking gravity to make sure it's no longer dropping prior to racking. Add Biofine clear to secondary. Usually 2-4 weeks secondary (depending on recipe. At least 2 weeks in bottle prior to chilling, sometimes more if I think it needs it.
Most of my beers carb up fine, and since using biofine clear, the clarity is great, no chill haze, etc.
Sorry, I know this is a long post, but I've been scouring the forums here and nothing seems to fit. My ingredients are always quite fresh (I usually pick up a kit and brew it within 2 weeks- I believe NB gets quite a bit of turn over.) I've read Palmer's How to brew- I feel as though I'm doing everything right, though I still end up with sub-par beer. Maybe I'm too picky and other extract brewers just think their beer is better than it really is? The only areas I think I may be lacking is
1) Water quality?
2) Fermenation Temps. (I ferment ales in my basement- they stay right at the low end of the recommended temps.- Guys at NB say it should be fine, I don't have any issues with lag time, stuck fermentation, etc.?
Thoughts??? PLEASE HELP!!!!