Brewing tips?

[Wingnutt73]

So I have a set up and have brewed 2 batches of beer from a kit. I was wondering on how/where you guys get your ingredients from? Can I grow my own hops? I love English ales what's the best thing for this? I hope to get some good info back on this.

 

[Atonk]

Well, I usually get my ingredients from my local homebrew stores, but ordering online is easy, too. There are a lot of stores that let you order online (many mentioned in this forum).

Most likely you can grow your own hops - I have five varieties in my backyard, but I use way more than they can produce.

What's the best thing for English ales? I guess it depends on what you mean by "thing."

 

[Wingnutt73]

Idk I guess hops would be the main thing since that's where a lot of the flavor comes from. I do love the new castle brand though. Do you know of any clone brews for that type?

 

[Atonk]

You get some flavor from hops, but this type of beer focuses a lot on the malt profile. There's a great clone for Newcastle in the recipe section of this forum (link below). There's also a section devoted to English Brown ales; I don't think you can go wrong with any of the recipes.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f67/aberdeen-brown-ale-newcastle-clone-ag-36912/

 

[techbrewie]

a LHBS would be ideal. I get all my ingredients from midwestsupplies.com or northernbrewer.com and theyre always fresh and quickly shipped. If you can find a local place support them though, as long as they have what you need.

Unless you really want to grow, just buy hops. for most people it isnt worth the time or effort. Some people love doing it though and wouldnt go any other route.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f67/aberdeen-brown-ale-newcastle-clone-ag-36912/

Have brewed this for gifts and it was awesome. Otherwise try and find some english ale kits to order. kit brewing is a great way to get experience with the process. Once you have that down, try making up your own recipe. It feels good to tell people a beer is 100% your own when theyre tasting it

Oh and buy a couple good books. "the complete joy of homebrewing" and "the brewmasters bible" are a couple of my favorites.

 

[Wingnutt73]

Wow thanks guys this is great info. I'm glad I found this place. Heres to beer!!!

 

[Wingnutt73]

So I have tried 2 brew kits and both seemed to turn out pretty good. A lot of what I’m seeing on here is that the fermentation process seems to be a lot quicker then what I have been doing. Not sure if this is because of the type of beer I have been brewing or if I’m doing something wrong. Also that New Castle clone looks really good but as far as the recipe it sounds like there are 2 brews you have to make and then combine them. I don’t really have the set up for this and it also states to Keg and refrigerate it for 5 days which would be another problem for me any ideas?

 

[Wingnutt73]

So I just started my third batch. "Cross my fingers". This time I am using another kit but am gonna add a little vanilla during the secondary fermentation. Hope it turns out great. Any suggestions on how to get more carbonation in the beer? The last 2 times there was hardly any at all.

 

[Wingnutt73]

Another question I have about the brew process. From what I have been reading on other threads is that basically the longer you ferment the brew the better it gets. From the kits I have they state that from start to finish the batch will be ready to enjoy in about a months time. Should I keep it in the primary a week longer to let the yeast create more yeast?
one other thing that I have noticed in my past batches is that there is not much carbonation in the brew. Is this because I dont let it ferment long enough?

 

[ByramMike]

Another question I have about the brew process. From what I have been reading on other threads is that basically the longer you ferment the brew the better it gets. From the kits I have they state that from start to finish the batch will be ready to enjoy in about a months time. Should I keep it in the primary a week longer to let the yeast create more yeast?
one other thing that I have noticed in my past batches is that there is not much carbonation in the brew. Is this because I dont let it ferment long enough?

Stick to what the recipe states... most ales are ok on the yeast cake for a longer time, but you have to watch for off flavors from the yeast as they die off. If you want to ferment longer, try racking to a secondary fermentation. This will clear your beer a bit more and the beer gets off the cake. I don't think you'll taste much difference, though... but, it's a technique to explore.

I've done 4 weeks in primary (I was in Alaska working... or drinking the great beer there, depended on the day) , and the beer was no better (or worse) than if I racked or bottled according to the recipe.

Great question... keep them coming... oh, and keep a copy of Papazian's and Palmer's books with you for casual reading... good references for most of your questions.

 

[reverendj1]

The general rule of thumb here is 3 weeks primary, 3 weeks (@~70 degrees) bottle for standard beers. Your kits probably say something like 1 week primary and 2 weeks bottle. You will have much better beer if you wait it out. If you don't let the yeast eat up all the sugar, then you will be undercarbed. Other things that can contribute to it are not priming with enough sugar. Since you are using kits, I am guessing they came with priming sugar in the appropriate amount. If you don't want to carb to style, a general rule of thumb is 4.5-5 oz of priming sugar to 5 gals of beer. If you are bottle conditioning too cold, it can take longer to fully carb.

If after three weeks you still have poor carbonation, I have heard that you can flip all your bottles upside down for three days, put them back rightside up for three days (causing the yeast to be in suspension), and it will help them eat up the rest of the sugar (assuming you primed with enough).

 

[Wingnutt73]

I do use a secondary and keep it in there for about 2 weeks give or take. I then bottle them for about a week before I start in on them. Should I keep them in a bottle longer to get more carbonation?

 

[SledgeH]

They need time in the bottle to carb, 2 - 3 weeks minimum. As for the secondary, you can skip it. Your beer will be just fine if you keep it in primary for a few weeks. Plus it then gives you another fermentation vessel to brew something else with. By all means it isn't hurting anything, but it isn't needed for such a small time frame either.

But your carb problem is time. Keep them at room temp for 2 - 3 weeks and throw one bottle in the fridge for a few hours.

 

[reverendj1]

The minimum fridge time after carbing should actually be two days. CO2 dissolves in liquid better at lower temperatures. If you don't have them in the fridge long enough, then the CO2 will stay in the neck. This may be another problem.

 

[Wingnutt73]

Awesome guys great info. I think I am going to Stick with using a Secondary though. I also have enough buckets to make a second batch which I hope to start this weekend. I think I may try some dry hopping in this next batch. Any pointers on the timeline for this? I was thinking one day after the fermentation process starts to add them in for a week.
Cheers

 

[reverendj1]

People typically dry hop for 3-7 days, AFTER fermentation is complete. So, 3-7 days before bottling.

 

[Wingnutt73]

Thats What I needed to know thanks!

 

[Wingnutt73]

Started an Irish Ale today. Am planning on Dry hopping it in the secondary with Fruggle hops.
Cheers

 

[Wingnutt73]

Originally Posted by EvilTOJ
Here's my take on a 5 gallon batch extract recipe.

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.12 lb Pale Liquid Extract
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine
0.41 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L
0.41 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
0.41 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM)


0.50 oz Target [11.00%] (60 min) Hops 21.4 IBU
0.25 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (15 min) Hops 2.4 IBU

1 Pkgs Whitbread Ale (Wyeast Labs #1099) Yeast-Ale


So has Anyone tried this recipe? I dont have the Set up for a BIAB and I have been wanting to make this for awhile. I'm headed to the LHBS this weekend and was going to pick this stuff up. I love Newcastle and just want to know how this turned out if anyone did use it.

Had some more questions on this. Are there any actual grain in this recipe Looks like it is all DME or LME. And if what can I sub out and use for real grain? I like the stepping process of the brewing, don't really want to just stir in the DME/LME. Of cousre I may be reading it wrong as well so any help would be great. But hey if thats what I need to do to get this brew made then alright.
Thanks guys.

 

[reverendj1]

I'm a little confused. You say you don't have the BIAB setup, but want to do an all-grain version? All of your fermentables from that recipe, except the Pale Liquid Extract are grains. This looks like an extract recipe with steeping grains.

If you wanted to do an all-grain version of this, Pale Liquid Malt is basically just 2-row. So to go all-grain, just replace it with an adequate amount of two-row. Here is a conversion chart, http://www.jaysbrewing.com/2011/11/17/lazy-chart-for-converting-dme-lme-grain/. When I'm converting though, I just put in the recipe as is into Brewtarget (or Beersmith, Berrcalculus, or whatever software you use) note the OG, remove the extract, then bump the 2-row until it is at the original OG. This takes into account your efficiency, although you may not know what that is.

 

[Wingnutt73]

I guess that was the question more so where I see it says Crystal Malt I would assume that refers to DME. So It is not clear to me wether or not this is all DME/LME. So in a Nut shell does Crystal Malt = Grain or is it DME?

 

[reverendj1]

All grains are "malts", so don't let that confuse you. The only extract in that recipe is the Pale Liquid Extract. Extracts will always say extract, DME or LME. Or at least, I have never seen any in a recipe that weren't explicitly labeled as such. If it doesn't say extract, LME or DME, it is a grain. That recipe is extract with steeping grains. You have to steep the grains in the recipe (again, all the fermentables that aren't Pale Liquid Extract).

 

[Wingnutt73]

That makes more sence thanks a bunch I was worried I was getting into an AE brew and just adding hops. I knew that malt comes from grain I guess It was the "Crystal" part that was throwing me off. Either way thanks for clearing that up for me and I'm headed to the LHBS to pick this stuff up and some hop Rhizomes. Can't Wait!!

 

[winterc]

Originally Posted by EvilTOJ
Ingredients
GRAIN:
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine
0.41 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L
0.41 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
0.41 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM)

The quoted ingredients are grain, about 2 lbs total steeping grains.