My first case...vanished!!

[Psychlopath]

I spent my time and money at Austin Homebrew and wound up with a nice "Texas," red ale several weeks later.

I've dubbed it "Scheißebrau."

Everything went without incident thanks, in no small part, to lurking on this board.

Well, after consuming 1 of 2 cases, I can say that I'm really in love. The only issue I'm having is that when I open a bottle, it'll foam up pretty good and make a mess.

A search reveals that this is caused by too much sugar during bottling.

Either way, it's less bitter than I expected, more flavorful than I expected and just an amazing thing to be able to tell your friends when they ask "Where'd you buy this??"

If I had a critic's tongue, I'd be happy to review. Being proletariat, all I can say is that it's damn good.

Man, life is good.

Next up: I'm doing a Hefe! I cant WAIT for this one.

 

[DustinHickey]

I spent my time and money at Austin Homebrew and wound up with a nice "Texas," red ale several weeks later.

I've dubbed it "Scheißebrau."

Everything went without incident thanks, in no small part, to lurking on this board.

Well, after consuming 1 of 2 cases, I can say that I'm really in love. The only issue I'm having is that when I open a bottle, it'll foam up pretty good and make a mess.

A search reveals that this is caused by too much sugar during bottling.

This could be caused by a few different things.

1) too much priming sugar when bottling
2) gusher infection (check to see if a ring is left at the beer line in the bottle after pouring)
3) Not waiting long enough before opening your beer. ( wait at least 2 weeks after bottling to sample and even longer if you can be patient ) sometimes the co2 won't have enough time to be produced and absorb into the beer completely so when you open it you get mainly foam and flat beer.
4) not chilling your beer for 2 days or so before drinking. This will also help with co2 absorbtioin.

-Dustin

 

[PintOfBitter]

so nice cracking open that first brew. soon you'll be scheming up recipes at work and forgetting to submit your TPS reports.

Keep the temperature as controlled as you can for your hefe and you'll be well rewarded. My first one was a serious clove bomb.

 

[SoonerDoc]

Next up: I'm doing a Hefe! I cant WAIT for this one.

A good fast turn-around beer, especially in the heat of the summer. I wasn't a great fan of hefe's previously, but after brewing one, I'm really starting to like them more.
(BTW, I brewed Midwest's Hank's Hefeweizen. It is very good and very easy.)

 

[Psychlopath]

This could be caused by a few different things.

1) too much priming sugar when bottling
2) gusher infection (check to see if a ring is left at the beer line in the bottle after pouring)
3) Not waiting long enough before opening your beer. ( wait at least 2 weeks after bottling to sample and even longer if you can be patient ) sometimes the co2 won't have enough time to be produced and absorb into the beer completely so when you open it you get mainly foam and flat beer.
4) not chilling your beer for 2 days or so before drinking. This will also help with co2 absorbtioin.

-Dustin

I'm sure it's too much sugar. I waited 3 weeks after bottling to crack one. It was about 2 weeks after that when they started to gush. No biggies. I still drink 'em. I havent noticed a a ring from the beer, but I wasnt looking....nope, there's none.

I always chill them. Some times fewer than 2 days, some times more.

I'm not worried about it. Since I used a kit, I just used the pre-measured packet of sugar. next time, I'll double check it.

It's 1130 on my day off. I'm going to go investigate some additional bottles...

 

[DustinHickey]

I'm sure it's too much sugar. I waited 3 weeks after bottling to crack one. It was about 2 weeks after that when they started to gush. No biggies. I still drink 'em. I havent noticed a a ring from the beer, but I wasnt looking....nope, there's none.

I always chill them. Some times fewer than 2 days, some times more.

I'm not worried about it. Since I used a kit, I just used the pre-measured packet of sugar. next time, I'll double check it.

It's 1130 on my day off. I'm going to go investigate some additional bottles...

Cheers then and congrats on your first batch. Your probilbly right about the sugar.

 

[Symbiote]

Would it hurt to short the priming sugar a bit?

I have a 5 oz bag for 5 gallon, what if only 4 oz got added before bottling?

 

[JuanMoore]

5 oz will slightly overcarbonate most beers IMO, especially if they were fermented on the cool side. Here's a handy priming calculator to determine how much sugar you need to reach a specific carbonation level.

 

[Symbiote]

The priming calculator says that 5 gal English pale ale wants only 1.79 oz dextrose to get the low end of the CO2 spectrum (1.5 volumes).

 

[MetallHed]

that calculator says i need 8 oz. for 5 gallons of weiss..