Hi,
I started brewing last year, did 4 brews so far:
- 1 canned extract kit (Muntons Bitter IPA), came out pretty bad
- 2x DME based recipe, 15 Minute Cascade Pale Ale, came out quite well, especially 2nd time
- 1x DME based 60 minute dog fish head IPA clone. Very drinkable, however taste doesn't even come close to the original
I use a starter kit from the local home brewing store. I use a plate cooler, I use a 5 gallon kettle on a electric stove for the boiling. Fermentation I do in the livingroom (approx 20 degree celcius, 68 fahrenheit, but flucuating).
I am thinking what to improve for my next brew:
- Boiling the 5 gallons water on my stove takes a looong time. Does it make sense to shorten the time until boiling? would it improve the beer in some way?
- Fermentation temperature is ok, but not 100% stable. Would a temperature controlled fermentation fridge improve the quality of the beer big time?
- Or, should I switch to all grain? I read a lot about it, opinions are different. From what a read, my conclusion is that other parameters should be optimal first, in order to make the switch to all grain meaningful to further improve the beer.
- .... anything else?
Looking forward to your recommendations. If you need more background on my way of working, let me know. My main goal is to brew nice APA/IPA beers.
Thanks in advance,
Lord McAle
I started brewing last year, did 4 brews so far:
- 1 canned extract kit (Muntons Bitter IPA), came out pretty bad
- 2x DME based recipe, 15 Minute Cascade Pale Ale, came out quite well, especially 2nd time
- 1x DME based 60 minute dog fish head IPA clone. Very drinkable, however taste doesn't even come close to the original
I use a starter kit from the local home brewing store. I use a plate cooler, I use a 5 gallon kettle on a electric stove for the boiling. Fermentation I do in the livingroom (approx 20 degree celcius, 68 fahrenheit, but flucuating).
I am thinking what to improve for my next brew:
- Boiling the 5 gallons water on my stove takes a looong time. Does it make sense to shorten the time until boiling? would it improve the beer in some way?
- Fermentation temperature is ok, but not 100% stable. Would a temperature controlled fermentation fridge improve the quality of the beer big time?
- Or, should I switch to all grain? I read a lot about it, opinions are different. From what a read, my conclusion is that other parameters should be optimal first, in order to make the switch to all grain meaningful to further improve the beer.
- .... anything else?
Looking forward to your recommendations. If you need more background on my way of working, let me know. My main goal is to brew nice APA/IPA beers.
Thanks in advance,
Lord McAle