First batch......so so

I tasted my first batch today.....its been bottled since the second week of January. The recipe, and ingredients came from one of the 1/2 gallon kits.....something Valley Farms. I noticed the bottles were firmer than when I bottled them, so I figured it was carbonated.

Well the beer was flat.....there was a slight pressure relief when I opened the bottle, but that was is it.

After some reading, I've come to the determination the yeast was probably mostly dead. I let it ferment for a week, primed it again (secondary in the same container, like Mr. Beer), then bottled. The reciped only calls for 1/2 cup of DME in a 1/2 gallon.....pretty short of the 1lb per gallon suggestion. The beer is very hoppy, but the instructions said to use more than I did....but there weren't enough hops included in the kit to use what they instruct........who knows.

I put 1/4 of a teaspoon of dextrose in each bottle.

The beer wasn't horrible.....strong tasting (surprisingly)....


I've since left their recipe guide, and started using others, just scaling them down to 1 gallon.

Do the carbonation tabs work pretty well?

Robbie

If it's only been two weeks, wait awhile longer.* Also, what is the temperature where you are conditioning your bottles? My house is cool in the winter and carbonation takes longer than it does in the summer.

*Almost everything you read says wait two weeks after you bottle. I think that's just so potential new homebrewers don't get discouraged. Almost everyone here will tell you from experience that your beer will be nowhere near its peak after two weeks. That doesn't stop anyone from drinking it before then, though! There is nothing more frustrating to be halfway through a batch and realize as you start drinking the second case that the stuff is way, way better than when you first started working on it. Ah... the joys of homebrewing.

LOl I just wanted to see how it was going......I sure hope the hops calm down a lot....

Is it too late to throw in a carbonation tab? The house is usually around 70-72.

Robbie

I let it ferment for a week, primed it again (secondary in the same container, like Mr. Beer)

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Do you mean you primed it in the fermenter and left it to do a secondary. Then primed it in the bottles at bottling?

What temperature did you have the bottles stored while carbonating?

If I'm not mistaken Mr Beer kits are 2.25 gallon.

yeah the Mr. Beer kits are.....this is the other brand.....it only does a half gallon at a time.

Basic directions:

Kit is supposed to make four 1/2 gallon (six 12oz bottles each)
boil 1/2 cup of dme some amount of water (can't remember now)

add hops directly into water (they say to add 5 heaping 1/4 tsps, but there aren't that many hops included in the kit).

cool, add 1/2 of priming sugar,pitch yeast, put in cube-tainer, and install airlock.

wait one week, heat 1 cup of water, mix 1/2 cup of dextrose in, and add to cube-tainer.

wait another week.

sterilize bottles, put 1/4 tsp dextrose into bottles (each), and rack with tubing and racking tip included (not a real cane).


keep bottles at room temp for 15 days, then in a dark area for another 10....enjoy




thats the basic jist of the directions.............I've since abandoned them, and started using other recipes, doing gallon batches instead.

Robbie

Sounds lke a lot of messing to me doing one gallon at a time.

I'd take one can of 1.8kg (3lb) LME hopped or unhopped an add your own.
Add to a gallon of water boil. Top to 2.25 gallon and chuck it in the mr beer thingy or get a 2.5 gallon bucket with lid and a air lock.
1 week later siphon to another container (Possibly the Mr beer thingy) add the priming sugar, mix and then bottle.

You could even leave it in the second container and let it do a secondary.

mmditter said:

*Almost everything you read says wait two weeks after you bottle. I think that's just so potential new home brewers don't get discouraged. Almost everyone here will tell you from experience that your beer will be nowhere near its peak after two weeks. That doesn't stop anyone from drinking it before then, though! There is nothing more frustrating to be halfway through a batch and realize as you start drinking the second case that the stuff is way, way better than when you first started working on it. Ah... the joys of home brewing.

Click to expand...

That very thing happens to me almost every time. My solution.... Have enough home brew on hand so I don't have to break into the new stuff. As you can probably see that may take me awhile. I only have one beer in the secondary and none on tap. I will be drinking it before it's prime. Hee Hee