oljimmy
Well-Known Member
I made my first extract brew - Northern Brewer's British Bitter Kit - recently. It was in primary for three weeks and bottled+carbonated for two.
I went with something very close to a full-volume boil in a 7.5 gallon pot and added a small amount of top-up water. The recipe was very simple (Maris Otter LME and 2 oz Kent Goldings), and I followed it to the tee, using a 50 ft chiller a liquid yeast that had a very active starter.
But I have to say, the result right now is not encouraging. I've had three of them, and they have a very strong, lingering bitterness coupled with a kind of sour, acidic feel. I may have released some tannins during the grain steep, but I wasn't thinking that it would make things this bitter. Fermented at 70 F. Carbed to 2.3 vols.
One thing: it fermented down to 1.008, which seems very low for a British bitter. This might be contributing to the sharpness. But does anyone have any guess as to what went wrong? I'm thinking that it will improve over time and that it may retain some of this "extract twang", but given my setup and instruction-following I was expecting something better.
I went with something very close to a full-volume boil in a 7.5 gallon pot and added a small amount of top-up water. The recipe was very simple (Maris Otter LME and 2 oz Kent Goldings), and I followed it to the tee, using a 50 ft chiller a liquid yeast that had a very active starter.
But I have to say, the result right now is not encouraging. I've had three of them, and they have a very strong, lingering bitterness coupled with a kind of sour, acidic feel. I may have released some tannins during the grain steep, but I wasn't thinking that it would make things this bitter. Fermented at 70 F. Carbed to 2.3 vols.
One thing: it fermented down to 1.008, which seems very low for a British bitter. This might be contributing to the sharpness. But does anyone have any guess as to what went wrong? I'm thinking that it will improve over time and that it may retain some of this "extract twang", but given my setup and instruction-following I was expecting something better.