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It certainly didn't have that cheap vodka or whiskey "firewater" burn. I do know that flavor, so I'll take that as a good sign. The bitterness type was hard to perceive (other than a lot of it), but it was more earthy than herbal. When I opened the lid on the fermenter it had a hoppy pinesole...

I didn't notice any acetaldehyde taste. I'm sure it is there since it is still young, but it might be masked by the bitterness of the hops.

So I'm a novice (this is my first brew) and I wanted to ask a question or two about diagnosing off-flavors. I brewed an IPA and took a taste after measuring my FG (a bit lower than I expected but only by a little--expected 1.014-1015 ish and got 1.011 or 1.012 ish (used Safale US-05 and OG...

remember to have fun!

I'd rather have many, many breweries creating new and unique products, than one brewery creating the exact same product over and over at the cheapest price just to keep up with distribution and optimal profit margins. Hard to envision Goose Island maintaining their big beer product line from...

Ephemere by Unibroue is a wonderful apple beer.

You will want your fermentation temperatures to be 62-70 for best results (the hotter it is, the more off-flavors will result). Keep in mind fermentation can be about 5 degrees warmer than ambient temperature. Google "swamp cooler" for brewing--A simple way to keep your fermentation cool. Have...

While there are some items that inherently cost a lot of money (stainless steel kettles for instance), one item that that doesn't cost money is technique. When you can accomplish the same thing (pipetting out a sample to perform a hydrometer reading) using proper technique with a cheaper...

I doubt it is the glass if other beers are successfully retaining heads in the same pint glasses washed in similar conditions. In addition to the malt (extract or all grain) profile, the amount of hops will also play a role in head retention. More hops usually result in more head retention...

If you want to save a little money, you can just get a "beer only" turkey baster and sanitize in place of a wine thief. The auto-siphon will be a godsend, and the bottling bucket will be as well.

Buy some beer and save the bottles (don't save twist off bottles). You can slowly wean out the clear ones. I hope you know to not stick your trial jar/hydrometer into the brew now :) Also, your inconsistent hydrometer readings might be because of airbubbles or the hydrometer resting on...

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I guess there really is no wrong answer, but just go with what one likes.

oh, as a noob, this thread is going to be very useful. Thanks! I will have to post all the mistakes I made from my first batch after I know whether the beer turns out to be tasty or not. :tank:

You have to make sure the tube isn't so small that the hydrometer is leaning/touching the side of the sample tube. I'd imagine that would yield an inaccurate reading.

Let it stay in the bucket for at least the 10-14 days (perhaps even longer--like 21 days). At the absolute minimum, take SG readings and if they don't change over 2-3 days, then fermentation is complete.

Congratulations! Must be a great feeling. My first batch is in the primary right now. I hope I have similar luck!

I'm making an IPA (on the lighter side--1.059 OG, haven't measured FG yet, only been in the primary for a week, but it is estimated at 1.014), and I wanted to dry-hop it. My recipe included the following hops during boil: 1 oz Chinook (60 mins) 1 oz Amarillo (60 mins) 1 oz Centennial (20 mins)...

Wow that looks delicious! I am envious.

I am new to homebrewing and this forum(not so new to beer drinking though :mug:). I've read many of the books, etc, so I finally feel prepared to give it a shot. I wanted to make an IPA as my first batch, but I also wanted to try and be creative and make an IPA with a subtle hint of raspberry (I...