Am I on the right track to good beer

[richardg40]

I have been brewing beer for years on and off but always with just can malt and corn sugar. Since i am tired of the same old taste ( and its not that good anyways ) i decided to try to experiment a little bit. My last 2 batches were done like this

Coopers Can blonde + 1/2 can of unhopped light malt + 1 cup corn sugar + 1/2 bag of munton brew enhancer.

The first batch like this i boiled all ingredients for half an hour but i see the beer is getting a redish tint. This one had a mild but steady fermentation.

The second batch i boiled my water then turned down the stove to low then put all my ingredients then i stired it up good then into fermentation. This one has crazy fermentation , very foamy and almost blowing my air lock.

I didn't try my first batch its only been in bottles for 4 days but i can't wait to taste and see if any difference .

 

[SumnerH]

You're on the right track, but get rid of all the corn sugar and replace it with DME.

The next easiest experiments would be
1. Use a different yeast (other than Cooper's), depending on the style--US-05 is cheap and easy.
2. Try dry-hopping--after primary slows down or stops, toss an ounce of hops into the primary and leave it for a week or so before you bottle. Pick a hop variety depending on your style of beer.

If you really want control, though, you'll have to move to regular extract brewing with an hour long boil.

It's not hard: Basically you just have some amount of unhopped extract and some amount of hops, you boil 3 gallons of water, turn off the heat, add the extract and stir it in, turn on the heat again, add hops and boil for 45 minutes, add a few more hops and boil for 15 more minutes, cool it down, pour into the fermentor, top it up to 5 gallons with more water, and add yeast.

By varying which kinds of hops you add at what times, you get a lot of control--and there are a ton of other things you can do once you've switched over to that kind of brewing framework.

 

[headfullahops]

Try steeping a bag of crushed specialty grains in a gallon and a half of hot water (150-170˚f) for about 20 minutes before you do any boiling. It's a great way to effect the color, flavor, and mouthfeel of your brew in an infinite number of ways! Just be sure not to let the temp of the water go over 170˚f or you will extract unpleasant flavors from the husk of the grains. Enjoy!

 

[SumnerH]

Try steeping a bag of crushed specialty grains in a gallon and a half of hot water (150-170˚f) for about 20 minutes before you do any boiling.

Right now it sounds like he's doing a no-boil kit. If that's so, dry-hopping, replacing the sugar with DME, and switching out the yeast seem like the only significant tweaks he can do. Hence the suggestion that he move to a regular boiled extract brew, then things like specialty grains become possibilities.

 

[Kickass]

You are just scratching the surface of even extract brewing. Go with a kit, one you have to boil. I like Midwest but there is lots of other out there that have a ton to choose from, they’re cheap, easy to follow, and make good beer. And do the yeast upgrade.

 

[Dave__C]

You're on the right track, but get rid of all the corn sugar and replace it with DME.

The next easiest experiments would be
1. Use a different yeast (other than Cooper's), depending on the style--US-05 is cheap and easy.
2. Try dry-hopping--after primary slows down or stops, toss an ounce of hops into the primary and leave it for a week or so before you bottle. Pick a hop variety depending on your style of beer.

If you really want control, though, you'll have to move to regular extract brewing with an hour long boil.

It's not hard: Basically you just have some amount of unhopped extract and some amount of hops, you boil 3 gallons of water, turn off the heat, add the extract and stir it in, turn on the heat again, add hops and boil for 45 minutes, add a few more hops and boil for 15 more minutes, cool it down, pour into the fermentor, top it up to 5 gallons with more water, and add yeast.

By varying which kinds of hops you add at what times, you get a lot of control--and there are a ton of other things you can do once you've switched over to that kind of brewing framework.

If you are using an electric stove, try moving the kettle off the hot burner when you add the extract. Don't just turn off the heat. It's still so hot it will scorch the extract.

Gas burners cool off pretty darn fast when you shut them off so it's not such a big deal. But you should stir WHILE you pour it in.

 

[HOOTER]

Drop those kits and brew some extract w/specialty grain recipes. Their easy, fun, and if you do it right, can produce beer as good or better than the stuff at the store (and way better than the stuff your brewing now).

 

[richardg40]

Thanks guys for all the great replys. I tried my first bottle last night and found it good taste but too sweet. Maybe since i am adding unhopped malt i need adding hops when i mix my ingredients. Its worth a try.