First beer advice - True Brew Belgian Ale

[Hastein]

Alright guys... The week 3 mark for being in the fermenter is tomorrow night. I took my first hydro. sample and it read 1.01, so I think it is probably done. I am going to check it again tomorrow and maybe Sunday to be certain.

Here is what I found:

Its still not clear. Very hazy, which doesn't bother me too much...but I prefer it to be at least a little clearer.

It smelled like La Fin du Monde right away...and I got excited. The taste was actually pretty good for a beer with 0 carbonation. My only concern is at the end, there was a slight bitter after taste.

So... First, what causes that bitterness? Is it something I did and, if so, what can I do to prevent it next time? Is it something that will mellow out in the bottle over time?

edit: Is it maybe the hops I added at the end? It doesn't taste too "hoppy"...but maybe I did the hops wrong? Or perhaps a flavor that came out because it was so warm when I drank it?

Secondly, what can I do to clear it up? Assuming I get the same readings I may bottle this weekend or early next week. Can I "cold crash" it the day before I bottle?

Here is a pic of my very first beer.

 

[Soviet]

I could be a recipe issue, or it might be because the beer is young (alcohol can impart a bitter taste in my experience) Post your recipe here and I'll help you trouble shoot the problem.

As for clarity, that sample looks like I might expect a 3 week old belgian beer to look. If it were me, I might have left it an extra week to see if it cleared up any more. Since you bottle your beer (as opposed to kegging) your options with clarifying agents are limited. Pretty much the best you can do is wait till the beer is full carbonated, then crash the beer to an extremely cold temperatures (remember the freezing point of beer is lower than water) and store them at that temperature to 2-4 weeks. That should give you a much greater clarity. Have you started your second batch yet?

 

[Hastein]

I honestly don't remember what all was in there, but I found this description on Amazon for the same kit:

From the True Brew Whiteley collection. This kit produces a strong and spicy golden ale. Made with authentic Belgian Candy Sugar, balanced with Czech and Slovenian hops and fermented with a Belgian Yeast. At 6+% ABV It's like a perfect evening in Brussels. This Ingredient Kit Includes: Unhopped Light Malt Extract (1 can), Extra Light Dried Malt Extract (1 lb), Light Dried Malt Extract (1 lb), Wheat Dried Malt Extract (1 lb), Belgian Candy Sugar (1 lb), Pale Grain Malt (.375 lb), Grain Steeping Bag, Northern Brewer Hop Pellets (1 oz), Styrian Goldings Hop Pellets (1 oz), Czech Saaz Hop Pellets (1 oz), Fermentis T-58 Ale Yeast (1 pack), Priming Sugar (5 oz), Bottle Caps, Easy to Read Instructions.

I thought about trying the gelatin to clear it up before bottling, but I decided not to over complicate things for my first beer. I put my 2nd hydrometer sample in the fridge for a while to chill it and a lot of the bitterness faded away. Not sure what is up with that. My first hydro. sample was luke warm by the time I got around to drinking it.

If I ever do this kit again, I think I will use a secondary carboy for a week or 2 longer (kinda what you were just saying) even though you don't really need one for these kits. Just to let things settle out a bit more.

Tonight is exactly one week after bottling, so I will put one bottle in the fridge and try it tomorrow evening. I expect it to be relatively flat, but we'll see where it is exactly.

No, I have not started my second batch, yet. My fermentation chamber is full of bottles. lol When it empties out a bit, I will start another. I'm thinking about the Brewers Best Oktoberfest kit and timing it so its ready in September.

The flat hydrometer sample has me hopeful that this will eventually turn out pretty good. Despite the slight bitter aftertaste, I found myself thinking "Wow, I actually made this from a store bought kit". I smells amazing (it actually smells better than it tastes lol). Once its carbonated I think it will smell even better.

 

[Hastein]

Just sampled my first bottle (bottled one week ago last night)... Still a little cloudy, has slight carbonation, smells great! Taste has improved a lot. Not sure if its because of the bit of carb it has or the additional week it aged in the bottle...maybe both? Still has a slight bitterness, which tastes more like its from the hops now than it did in the hydro. samples. So, it is somewhat enjoyable rather than an "off flavor".

I have to say this is turning out pretty good. I could easily drink a 6 pack of these as they are. It's a little hoppy in the end for what I look for in this style, but there is no mistaking that its a Belgian. I'll follow up again after its fully carbed.

Thanks again guys for helping me with my first brew. After this one, it is safe to say that I will keep brewing.

Here is a pic, although not that great. The glass had condensation and its a little blurry on top of that. Thanks!!!

 

[Soviet]

Well done, sir. It'll continue to clear over time, but some of those belgian strains stay pretty cloudy. A year or two from now you'll be using fining agents and filtering (when you switch to kegging) and we can talk about those techniques then . Glad it turned out well.

 

[Hastein]

I have already begun my plans for kegging. Hopefully, I will have all the equipment in another 6-8 months. I'm sure I'll have plenty new questions for that experience.

For anyone new to homebrewing or wanting to try this kit; I highly recommend it. Everything has smoothed out and it tastes like a good Belgian ale. A little simple tweaking to the instructions like I did in this thread will have it coming out great.

My only real complaint is that the bottles do not seem to be evenly carbonated. Perhaps the priming sugar didn't mix thoroughly? Maybe some of the bottles need to age longer or stay in the fridge longer after I cool them down to drinking temps? I don't know, but its pretty good either way. Soon enough I'll just keg it.

One thing I will probably do differently when I brew this kit again is rack it into a secondary and let it sit there for an additional week or 2.