first beer blues

[SkillShaw]

So I just got done with the bottle carbonation of my first batch of brew and could not wait to get home to try it after stuffing it in the fridge this morning. I fired up my camcorder for the momentous moment of opening my first beer that I ever made myself and it made a great chssssss when I opened it. My mouth was watering and I took a drink and......eh. What happened here? I was so stoked to try my English bitter from extract, it looks great smells great and taste like, well a watered down version of an English bitter. I am pretty disappointed in the taste but hope that maybe it will strengthen in the bottle if I leave it for a while. I would like your opinions on what I could do different next time or maybe if I even need to do something different, this was a Coopers English Bitter with one can of Coopers malt extract and the yeast that was provided. I made this in a 5 gallon batch and had some overflow problems when I started the brew in the primary, probably because I am fermenting at around 78 degrees (I know way to high) but I have no other choice its friggin hot around here and I cant keep the house much cooler. Any ideas how I could keep this from happening again?

 

[stratslinger]

Need more details to say for sure - how long did you let the bottles condition/carbonate? Did you let them sit for the full 3 weeks that most HBT'ers recommend? Also, sounds like you only had it in the fridge for like half a day - typically you'll get better results after 2 or 3 days, since the CO2 needs time to dissolve into solution.

Only other point I'd make is your fermentation temperatures - specifically your statement that you "have no other choice." Do yourself a favor and do some searches for swamp coolers - one cheap way to maintain decent ferment temps. Another one besides that (sorry, don't remember the right terminology for it) is to get a large cooler or small garbage, stick your fermenter inside it, then fill the cooler/can up with water to the level of your wort - then simply float soda bottles full of ice (rotate them in and out to maintain temp) in there to keep the water, and thus your fermenter, at a reasonably cool temperature.

 

[WhineinAlbany]

I have the opposite problem in the winter. It gets too cold in the house, so I place my primary in a bucket of water with a fish tank heater. I think those in warmer climates do similar but instead stick in frozen soda bottles filled with water into the bucket.

 

[gcdowd]

What was your OG and FG?

 

[copyright1997]

What was your OG and FG?

Bingo. It would also be good for the op to give us the details on the grains (extract amount) and we can calculate the expected ABV.

 

[HH60gunner]

If you don't have a way of temperature control the swamp cooling method has worked for many of us on here. Here's what I did to control temps in Tucson, AZ. I bought one of the big plastic tubs from target (the kind for like putting ice and drinks in for BBQ's). Place your fermenter inside the big tub, with enough water to go about 1/4 to 1/2 way up your fermenter. Then stick a black t-shirt over you fermenter so that it touches the water and will start obsorbing the water up the t-shirt. Place box fan next to the big tub blowing on the wet t-shirt. Also depending on what temps I'm shooting for I'll usually take a few 12oz pepsi bottles fill them water and freeze them. During the first few days of fermenting I'll drop in 2 or 3 frozen bottles to keep temps down swapping them once or twice a day until primary fermentation has finished.

 

[chumpsteak]

Buy a 50 dollar mini fridge off of craigslist and build yourself a fermentation chamber. Best investment you can make in my opinion if you want good clean consistent beers. 300 bucks and a little sweat and ingenuity can get you controlling temps year 'round.

 

[SkillShaw]

Sounds like it may be a temperature thing once again but one that my next batch will not have to deal with since I will definitely try the swamp cooler. I know it is blasphemy but the kit did not come with a hydrometer so as far as OG,FG goes I honestly have no idea. The more I read on this site the more it is clear to me how crucial being able to measure the gravity is, next purchase, hydrometer. I may try to convince my wife to let me buy a mini fridge as a fermentation chamber but that may take some time so I may wait till next summer.

 

[starrfish]

recipe? english bitters shouldn't need a ferm chamber. should do well at ambient summer house temps I brew in SC only "problem" there is they get a bit fruity, from yeast being too warm, but I usually like that.

I do sometimes swamp cool and put a towel over and around bucket and put on or near a AC vent. seems to work well in controlling over heating.

 

[cincydave]

If this was a Coopers Can kit, and all you used was the can of extract, it would explain the weakness of the taste. I haven't brewed a canned kit, but form what I understand you have to add more fermentables like sugar or more malt. Wasn't sure from OP if it was just the can that came from the kit.

 

[starrfish]

coopers liquid malt can be light bodied. more dry malt extract or adding some maltodextrine should fix the problem on the rebrew. muntons dry malt extract will add more body than coopers.

4 pounds of Dry Malt Extract (DME) is roughly equal to 5 pounds of Liquid Malt Extract (LME) but Muntons will give a thicker mouth feel.

Also a lower attenuating yeast will help too will leave some residual sugar. what yeast did you use?
I would have used s-04 (a whitbread strain) coopers yeast ferments pretty dry close to us-05.

 

[sidboswell]

The dreaded 5 week delay to taste the kit beer with a single can of malt extract and yeast taped to the top....

If you are in the states, try one of the excellent Northern Brewer kits. If you are new and like bitters The Innkeeper is top notch.

If you aren't, find a good homebrew store or online retailer that can ship to you. If you buy a kit that says 1 can + table sugar just substitute dried malt extract for the table sugar pound for pound and you will have a better result ... Maybe a bit malty, bit better than a watered down brew.

Also ditch the yeast taped to the lid. S-04 for English styles and US-05 for American ales...avoid lagers until you are more familiar with the hobby.

Also google How To Brew John Palmer and read the online chapter ... If you like what you read, purchase the book.....

 

[starrfish]

The dreaded 5 week delay to taste the kit beer with a single can of malt extract and yeast taped to the top....

If you are in the states, try one of the excellent Northern Brewer kits. If you are new and like bitters The Innkeeper is top notch.

If you aren't, find a good homebrew store or online retailer that can ship to you. If you buy a kit that says 1 can + table sugar just substitute dried malt extract for the table sugar pound for pound and you will have a better result ... Maybe a bit malty, bit better than a watered down brew.

Also ditch the yeast taped to the lid. S-04 for English styles and US-05 for American ales...avoid lagers until you are more familiar with the hobby.

Also google How To Brew John Palmer and read the online chapter ... If you like what you read, purchase the book.....

+1 excellent advice~ also try the papazian books, joy of homebrewing, and brewers companion. both great. Joy is best for a beginner starting point, although some info is a bit dated, but still makes solid beer!

 

[SkillShaw]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I looked into the northern brewer kits and they look like they are right down my ally so I will give some of them a try. I will definitly try some different strains of yeast probably whatever is recommended with it from Northern. This is only my second brew and I think, well hope that I am starting to get the learning curve down. With the first brew I just wanted it to be drinkable and succeeded at that albeit lacking a bit on flavor. I bought the Joy of Homebrewing and have started reading it and did get my wife to agree to a fridge in the garage so now I am gonna get a temp control and do my fermenting in it.