A few quick questions.

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Rudeboy

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I'm up in Northern Alberta (Canada for the geograpically impaired) I started Home brewing a couple of months ago and have done 4 batchs :mug: but still have a lot of questions. So thanks in advance and here goes.

1) I've used Brew House kits from RJ Spagnols for three batchs with good results but I want to get into Extract/Grain brewing so I tried the bog standard Morgan's Lager Extract Kit just to get started on Extract brewing. I used a kilo of Dextrose as instructed and did not boil. It is Undrinkable. (And I dodn't use that term lightly for Beer) Tasted like rancid apple juice and cat urine.

I took a bottle in to my Homebrew store and the (usually) helpful guy said "Oh that's normal." That's the Dextrose and suggested I use DME instead. I have a second batch in the primary with DME. But I'm sure I did something wrong with the first batch. I've read enough to see that Dextrose does give a cidery aftertaste but this is off the charts. Ice cold, into an iced glass after mowing the lawn, I couldn't choke down a mouth full. Any ideas? Should I have boiled it? There was a fairly active kraesen, although not as musch as the Brew House. Did I not get enough fermentation?

2) The local Homebrew store is good but I'm trolling around looking at a lot of interesting reciepes for Extract/Grain and the local just don't have the selection of ingrediants I need. Any good on line sites for Canada? I've found a few but they're about as limited as my local? If not, do US sites ship to Canada?

3) I'm about to try my first Extract/Grain with a Brew House kit and got a $10.00 Smack Pack of Wyeast (London Ale). How do I harvest the yeast? How long can I keep the harvested yeast?

4) The Kits come with dry yeast that all say sprinkle on top, but is it all ways better to reactivate the yeast first?


Thanks I'm sure I'll have more questions later.

Rudeboy
 
1) It may have something to do with the fact you didn't boil the dextrose, and may not have fermented. Any fermentables really should be boiled to get them into solution. Some people use dextrose to bump up their ABV, but personally I'd use some real light DME or another adjunct before dextrose.

2) I don't know of any homebrew stores in Canada, but there are definitely some that deliver up north, if any of my cannuck friends want to weigh in.

3) Is it an activator or propogator pack? Technically, you can just smack the nutrient pack in the activator, and when it swells it's ready to pitch. The propogator needs a starter. Personally, I make a starter for all my liquid yeasts. If you do a search on making a starter, you'll find plenty of results. I'm drinking my ESB that I made with the Wyeast London Ale (with a starter) and it's quite tasty.

4) I've done both rehydrating the yeast in cooled, sterile water, and sprinkling on top of the wort. Personally, I've never noticed a difference.

Cheers
 
Rudeboy said:
I'm up in Northern Alberta (Canada for the geograpically impaired).
Click to expand...
Welcome neighbour! (Well, sort of, I guess.) Good to see another Canuck aboard, with typical Canuck problems homebrewing. Where in Alberta are you?

1) I've used Brew House kits from RJ Spagnols for three batchs with good results but I want to get into Extract/Grain brewing so I tried the bog standard Morgan's Lager Extract Kit just to get started on Extract brewing. I used a kilo of Dextrose as instructed and did not boil. It is Undrinkable. (And I dodn't use that term lightly for Beer) Tasted like rancid apple juice and cat urine.
Click to expand...
My advice -- stay away from those pre-hopped, beer-in-a-can extract kits. They are horrible compared to those Brew House kits. If you want to play around with some variations of those Brew House kits, then look up 'steeping grains' and 'partial mashing' in the HBT Wiki (link at top of page). I have made some really great beers with those kits in the past. In fact, my BIL still uses them -- he even beat out a couple dozen AG brewers in a regional beer competition where he took gold for his brown ale (a hack of the Dark Munich Lager kit). He also placed in the second round NHC this year with that same beer, and won bronze for Best of Show for an MCAB qualifying competition. Drives his AG buddies (myself included) nuts.

2) The local Homebrew store is good but I'm trolling around looking at a lot of interesting reciepes for Extract/Grain and the local just don't have the selection of ingrediants I need. Any good on line sites for Canada? I've found a few but they're about as limited as my local? If not, do US sites ship to Canada?
Click to expand...
There is really only one half-decent online homebrew shop in Canada (yes, sad I know). Go to PaddockWood.com. Their stock and customer services varies widely throughout the year -- I have been bitching about them for a couple months now, but they were actually really good on my last order. Luck of the draw, I guess. Otherwise, my American favourite is Homebrew.com -- they have pretty cheap shipping rates to Canada, and their customer service is excellent.

3) I'm about to try my first Extract/Grain with a Brew House kit and got a $10.00 Smack Pack of Wyeast (London Ale). How do I harvest the yeast? How long can I keep the harvested yeast?
Click to expand...
Do you mean harvest it after you have fermented, or do you mean how do you use it? Either way, the wiki has lots of useful info. BTW, that's a great yeast and the one that my BIL used to win all those awards I mentioned with the Brewhouse kits. Just make sure you are REALLY careful that it ferments in the appropriate temperature range (from your post, it sounds like you might have temperature problems with your ferementation).

4) The Kits come with dry yeast that all say sprinkle on top, but is it all ways better to reactivate the yeast first?
Click to expand...
It depends on the yeast. Always just follow the manufacturers directions.

Hope that helps. Let us know how you make out! :mug:
 
FlyGuy said:
<<Welcome neighbour! (Well, sort of, I guess.) Good to see another Canuck aboard, with typical Canuck problems homebrewing. Where in Alberta are you?>>

Edmonton. I'm going to the Brew Crew. Like I said decent guys just short on selection.


<<My advice -- stay away from those pre-hopped, beer-in-a-can extract kits. They are horrible compared to those Brew House kits. If you want to play around with some variations of those Brew House kits, then look up 'steeping grains' and 'partial mashing' in the HBT Wiki (link at top of page). I have made some really great beers with those kits in the past. In fact, my BIL still uses them -- he even beat out a couple dozen AG brewers in a regional beer competition where he took gold for his brown ale (a hack of the Dark Munich Lager kit). He also placed in the second round NHC this year with that same beer, and won bronze for Best of Show for an MCAB qualifying competition. Drives his AG buddies (myself included) nuts.>>


Ya the Brew House kits have been excellent. Didn't want to go on about it in case I sounded like a fanboy but I highly recomend them. Interesting recipes on RJ Spagnol's site. I'm sure with all their kits and hacks I could be busy for years brewing and drinking different beers but I just wanted to try something different and more challenging.


<<There is really only one half-decent online homebrew shop in Canada (yes, sad I know). Go to PaddockWood.com. Their stock and customer services varies widely throughout the year -- I have been bitching about them for a couple months now, but they were actually really good on my last order. Luck of the draw, I guess. Otherwise, my American favourite is Homebrew.com -- they have pretty cheap shipping rates to Canada, and their customer service is excellent.>>

I saw PaddockWood and they seem to be good for Grains, etc but don't have many Extracts. Good to hear about the US sites (especially with a 96 cent dollar :ban: ) I was wondering because the boarder has always been funny about foodstuffs. It seemed you could bring in a thermonuclear device easier than a sausage from Britain.


<<Do you mean harvest it after you have fermented, or do you mean how do you use it? Either way, the wiki has lots of useful info. BTW, that's a great yeast and the one that my BIL used to win all those awards I mentioned with the Brewhouse kits. Just make sure you are REALLY careful that it ferments in the appropriate temperature range (from your post, it sounds like you might have temperature problems with your ferementation).>>



It depends on the yeast. Always just follow the manufacturers directions.

Hope that helps. Let us know how you make out! :mug:
Click to expand...


Harvest after fermentation. I've read where people seem to recycle their yeast from one patch to the rest indefinately.


Thanks
 
Edmonton, eh? Well we are practically neighbours then! Do you go to Brew Crew Southside? They have a decent selection, and can bring in anything you need if you give them enough time. A bit on the pricey side, though. Still, whenever we go up to Edmonton to visit my SWMBOs family, I make a stop there because it is probably the best homebrew shop in Alberta (sadly).

And yes, for a kit, those Brew House kits are really good. Another one that is pretty good is the FestaBrew brand kits from Magnotta.

Are you a member of the Edmonton Homebrewer's Guild? If not, you should consider joining -- they are probably the biggest and best homebrew club in Canada. My BIL is a member (although not that active anymore) and I sure am envious. I have attended a meeting or two with him, and they seem like a really good bunch.
 
Welcome aboard! I'm your neighbor to the west, and I really like Paddockwood's too. If I can find a US distributor with cheap shipping rates for the heavier stuff (grains, DME and LME), I'll let you know.
 

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