brew_maker
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This is my first time brewing, though it doesn't look that good. Can someone point out the mistakes so that I know better for next time thank!
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First Time Brewing Disaster
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Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
It's been a while since I've done an extract batch, but here's what I can tell you:
1. Your boiling kettle doesn't need to be sterilized. Yes, sanitation is very important in the overall process of making beer, but you're going to be using the kettle to boil for a long time. Wash it with something that won't leave a residue (for example, don't use dish soap) and that's it.
2. The grains don't go into boiling water. They should go into the water when it is between 146F and 156F (60-70C) and held at that temp for a while... perhaps 15 - 20 minutes. Heat at this level activates enzymes in the crushed / milled grain to convert the starches into sugar. That's the purpose of this step: getting sugars out of that grain. When the temp goes higher than that, the enzymes are destroyed (denatured) and no longer do anything. Also, with higher temperatures, you run the risk of extracting bitter-tasting tannin from the husks of the grain (though pH levels are a more important factor when it comes to tannin extraction... don't worry about that now.)
3. Use more water when you boil. It looks like there was barely enough in there to cover the grains in the muslin bag. Use as much as the pot will comfortably hold without danger of it overflowing (even exceeding your batch size when accounting for boil-off / evaporation).
4. Rinse (sparge) the grains after. All sorts of good sugars are still trapped in that grain ball. Put it in a colander and rinse it well with water that is around 168F (75C). Capture all the rinse water into the kettle so that you get all those sugars.
5. Now add the extract and start to raise the temp to a boil. But STIR when pouring in the extracts so it doesn't hit the bottom of the kettle and scorch. Burned extract doesn't taste very good.
6. You didn't show a cooling procedure. Did you just let it sit until the temperature came down to 70F (21c)? Try sitting the pot in a sink filled with ice water and stir for a while. The faster you bring the temperature down the better. But we'll get to that later.
7. You didn't mention or show yeast at all. Yeast is the most important part. Without yeast you have nothing but sugar water!
8. How long were you boiling the raspberries? Typically you don't boil them. You add them to the fermentation vessel after the majority of fermentation has taken place. You sanitize them first, of course.
9. Adding honey to the boil will cause you to lose any honey flavor. During fermentation, the honey flavor and aromas will blow off out of the airlock. You should add honey to the fermentation vessel sometime after the first 4 days (usually after the krausen drops.) Honey is naturally bacteria resistant so you can pour it right in without the need to boil it first.
My questions (among others):
1. What yeast did you use and when did you put it in?
2. Did you use a cooling method, or just let it sit in the bucket?
3. How many hops did you use (by weight) and when did you put them in?
1. Your boiling kettle doesn't need to be sterilized. Yes, sanitation is very important in the overall process of making beer, but you're going to be using the kettle to boil for a long time. Wash it with something that won't leave a residue (for example, don't use dish soap) and that's it.
2. The grains don't go into boiling water. They should go into the water when it is between 146F and 156F (60-70C) and held at that temp for a while... perhaps 15 - 20 minutes. Heat at this level activates enzymes in the crushed / milled grain to convert the starches into sugar. That's the purpose of this step: getting sugars out of that grain. When the temp goes higher than that, the enzymes are destroyed (denatured) and no longer do anything. Also, with higher temperatures, you run the risk of extracting bitter-tasting tannin from the husks of the grain (though pH levels are a more important factor when it comes to tannin extraction... don't worry about that now.)
3. Use more water when you boil. It looks like there was barely enough in there to cover the grains in the muslin bag. Use as much as the pot will comfortably hold without danger of it overflowing (even exceeding your batch size when accounting for boil-off / evaporation).
4. Rinse (sparge) the grains after. All sorts of good sugars are still trapped in that grain ball. Put it in a colander and rinse it well with water that is around 168F (75C). Capture all the rinse water into the kettle so that you get all those sugars.
5. Now add the extract and start to raise the temp to a boil. But STIR when pouring in the extracts so it doesn't hit the bottom of the kettle and scorch. Burned extract doesn't taste very good.
6. You didn't show a cooling procedure. Did you just let it sit until the temperature came down to 70F (21c)? Try sitting the pot in a sink filled with ice water and stir for a while. The faster you bring the temperature down the better. But we'll get to that later.
7. You didn't mention or show yeast at all. Yeast is the most important part. Without yeast you have nothing but sugar water!
8. How long were you boiling the raspberries? Typically you don't boil them. You add them to the fermentation vessel after the majority of fermentation has taken place. You sanitize them first, of course.
9. Adding honey to the boil will cause you to lose any honey flavor. During fermentation, the honey flavor and aromas will blow off out of the airlock. You should add honey to the fermentation vessel sometime after the first 4 days (usually after the krausen drops.) Honey is naturally bacteria resistant so you can pour it right in without the need to boil it first.
My questions (among others):
1. What yeast did you use and when did you put it in?
2. Did you use a cooling method, or just let it sit in the bucket?
3. How many hops did you use (by weight) and when did you put them in?
mgortel
Well-Known Member
Eben if its a joke.....MrHadack has given great advice! 
neverdie2142
Well-Known Member
Professional job.....not!........Didn't see anything correct in the whole video......
Yat Yas !
Yat Yas !
GotDrunkThenLost
Well-Known Member
As a noob, I feel better about what I've done so far. In the interests of this being a forum where we can all improve I've recommend taking MrHadack's advice. Other advice I've seen suggest you'll still get beer.
