First Pour of My First Homebrew!

[Drebin138]

My first brew was the block party amber ale that came with my kit from Northern Brewer. It came out tasting pretty good but I do get a metallic after taste. I read that could be from using equipment that isn’t stainless steel but anything that was metal that came in contact with the beer was definitely stainless. Any ideas on where this may be coming from?

I also may have under carbed the beer. It’s not as “fizzy” as I’d prefer. My brew partner said he liked it like that though so maybe it’s just a matter of preference.

The last gripe I have with my beer is that the color is way off. It looks more like a brown ale than it does an amber ale. I know I steeped the grains for about twice as long as it said to. Could that be why it’s much darker than it should be?

 

[ChaddyWa]

I’m drinking the same one right now. Have the same metallic after-taste as well.

 

[Drebin138]

I’m drinking the same one right now. Have the same metallic after-taste as well.

That’s interesting I wonder what it could be from? Did the color of yours turn out better than mine?

 

[ChaddyWa]

Looks about the same. More like a brown ale...

 

[RM-MN]

Beers made from malt extracts are usually darker than expected because the process of concentrating the wort into malt extract darkens it some. Further darkening happens when you boil the wort, a process called the Maillard reaction. You need some extract at the start of the boil to help get the hop bittering but adding most of it when the boil is over will help keep the color lighter.

Fizzy beers come from 2 reasons, the level of carbonation and the time in the bottle. As the beer matures in the bottle to compounds that give you a good head on the beer are formed. That time also lets the yeast make the most carbonation. Patience will do a lot for your beer.

 

[Miraculix]

You do not need eny extract to get the hop bittering, in fact, any sugars in solution slow down the alpha isomerization process. Hops isomerize the best in pure, plain water. This means, using the whole bittering charge in plain water might result in a too bitter beer, you would need to account for that. Youc an calculate it here:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/ibu-calculator/

Type in target OG as 1.00, as there ist no sugar in the solution when boiling in water only and you will get good results.

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

Congrats. The first pour of your first home brew is a special moment. Hopefully you will not be discouraged and continue on.

As for your questions, the darker color, as was stated is from malliard reactions. When i was at the end of my extract phase, I was doing more of a mini mash, and steeping grains, and calculating IBUs desired. I would steep grains for about 30 minutes, the add the calculated amount of hops, boil for 15 minutes, turn of flame, add extract, stir it all together, bring back to a boil, add aroma hops and remove from heat. Then add to a fermenter that had cool water to make proper volume.

This usually resulted in color on par with style. As for the metallic taste, that can be attributed to “extract tang”. To me most extract kits all have that same flavor, gets worse the older the extract is.

The lack of carbonation is probably a combination of things. If you used the proper amount of sugar to reach the desired volume of co2, then either the bottles need to be stored in a warmer environment for a week or so, or they need more time to carbonate. . If you used the proper amount of sugar, and conditioned correctly, you probably did not let them sit in fridge long enough. You need about 2 days in fridge to let the co2 dissolve in to solution. My guess is with this being your first, you probably rushed it.

Just let them sit in fridge for a while if the other steps were followed correctly. Good luck on yourself continuing journey.

 

[Drebin138]

Congrats. The first pour of your first home brew is a special moment. Hopefully you will not be discouraged and continue on.

As for your questions, the darker color, as was stated is from malliard reactions. When i was at the end of my extract phase, I was doing more of a mini mash, and steeping grains, and calculating IBUs desired. I would steep grains for about 30 minutes, the add the calculated amount of hops, boil for 15 minutes, turn of flame, add extract, stir it all together, bring back to a boil, add aroma hops and remove from heat. Then add to a fermenter that had cool water to make proper volume.

This usually resulted in color on par with style. As for the metallic taste, that can be attributed to “extract tang”. To me most extract kits all have that same flavor, gets worse the older the extract is.

The lack of carbonation is probably a combination of things. If you used the proper amount of sugar to reach the desired volume of co2, then either the bottles need to be stored in a warmer environment for a week or so, or they need more time to carbonate. . If you used the proper amount of sugar, and conditioned correctly, you probably did not let them sit in fridge long enough. You need about 2 days in fridge to let the co2 dissolve in to solution. My guess is with this being your first, you probably rushed it.

Just let them sit in fridge for a while if the other steps were followed correctly. Good luck on yourself continuing journey.

I did do a late extract addition on my second batch so hopefully that will help with the color issues. I also used clarity ferm and will use gelatin to help clear the beer which I didn’t use for my first batch.

I definitely didn’t wait long enough to let it fully carb. Friday was the two week mark of the beer being in the bottles. Friday afternoon while I was making my second batch I put a few in the fridge and opened one as soon as I felt it was cold enough. So I for sure have not been patient enough. I don’t have room in the fridge for all the beer but my basement is refrigerator temperature right now so I’m going to put everything in there and the move bottles to the fridge as space becomes available. Thanks a lot for all your help!

 

[vgmohag]

Brewing another beer is always a great distraction from the one you just finished brewing.

 

[mongoose33]

My first brew was the block party amber ale that came with my kit from Northern Brewer. It came out tasting pretty good but I do get a metallic after taste. I read that could be from using equipment that isn’t stainless steel but anything that was metal that came in contact with the beer was definitely stainless. Any ideas on where this may be coming from?

I also may have under carbed the beer. It’s not as “fizzy” as I’d prefer. My brew partner said he liked it like that though so maybe it’s just a matter of preference.

The last gripe I have with my beer is that the color is way off. It looks more like a brown ale than it does an amber ale. I know I steeped the grains for about twice as long as it said to. Could that be why it’s much darker than it should be?

You're on the way! If you follow a process of continuous quality improvement, your beers will get better and better. Try to do something better each time you brew; the cumulative effect over time will be amazing.

That electric aftertaste might be extract twang, or it might be the water. Did you use tap water? Did you do anything to offset chlorine or chloramines if your tap water has that in it? That might also account for an off flavor.

Extract does not always have a twang; I know a local guy who only brews extract, and his beers are good. Little or no twang. So it's not inevitable, but the age of the extract can have something to do with it.

 

[jalc6927]

One way to minimize the “extract” issues is to to a late boil addition. Use 50% of the extract pre boil, then the rest at flameout or just before. This can eliminate the extract twang and lighten the color

If you do this make sure you stir the crap out of the late boil addition

 

[Miraculix]

How about 0% extract first and add everything late?

 

[deadwolfbones]

I made this same beer for my first attempt about a year ago! Went well, but I subbed in Wyeast 3711 for the included ale yeast and added coriander and tangerine peel to make an amber saison. Mine came out more amber than yours did, not sure why.

Anyway, congrats on a successful first brew!

 

[Drebin138]

You're on the way! If you follow a process of continuous quality improvement, your beers will get better and better. Try to do something better each time you brew; the cumulative effect over time will be amazing.

That electric aftertaste might be extract twang, or it might be the water. Did you use tap water? Did you do anything to offset chlorine or chloramines if your tap water has that in it? That might also account for an off flavor.

Extract does not always have a twang; I know a local guy who only brews extract, and his beers are good. Little or no twang. So it's not inevitable, but the age of the extract can have something to do with it.

I did use tap water and didn’t treat it in anyway. Unfortunately for my second batch I forgot to get the campden tabs in the 100 trips to the store I made. The third batch will definitely have some sort of treatment done though! Definitely could have been an age thing too. The extract sat in my house for about a month and half but who knows how long it was sitting in the Northern Brewer warehouse.

 

[Drebin138]

How about 0% extract first and add everything late?

I might employ this method on my next batch. For the second batch I added about 25% at the beginning and then added the rest with about 10 minutes left of the boil. Hopefully that will make a difference.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

How about 0% extract first and add everything late?

There is a claim that this approach will produce grassy flavors in the hops (since one is effectively doing a hop tea). As best I can tell, some people will taste this and some people wont (I did it once and didn't get the grassy flavors, but as always YMMV).

I found this tip (July 2017, https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=29885.msg392903#msg392903) to be helpful in accurately estimating SRM. Looking at the Briess light DME and pilsen DME spec sheets, it's 'easy' to see why why some people use a plisen DME (rather than a light DME) go get lighter color. IIRC, the spec sheets for LME are similar (when I brew with extract malt, it's DME).

There's also an article from way back in 2007 (http://menuinprogress.com/2007/08/on-importance-of-late-extract-addition.html) which matches https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...c-dme-darkening-test-w-pic-comparison.236005/.

 

[Miraculix]

I know about this claim regarding grassy flavour. I did boil quite a few hop teas for my raw ales and not a single one ever had the grassy flavour. I put it into the myth drawer and kindly ignore it.

It looks like the grassy flavour can be found sometimes when a lot of hop matter is used due to low alpha% for bittering. But this has nothing to do with wort vs water imo. As this also can happen when boiled in wort.

 

[Drebin138]

There is a claim that this approach will produce grassy flavors in the hops (since one is effectively doing a hop tea). As best I can tell, some people will taste this and some people wont (I did it once and didn't get the grassy flavors, but as always YMMV).

I found this tip (July 2017, https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=29885.msg392903#msg392903) to be helpful in accurately estimating SRM. Looking at the Briess light DME and pilsen DME spec sheets, it's 'easy' to see why why some people use a plisen DME (rather than a light DME) go get lighter color. IIRC, the spec sheets for LME are similar (when I brew with extract malt, it's DME).

There's also an article from way back in 2007 (http://menuinprogress.com/2007/08/on-importance-of-late-extract-addition.html) which matches https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...c-dme-darkening-test-w-pic-comparison.236005/.

The threads you linked to and the article were great reads thank you very much. They all gave me a wealth of new info. My first batch definitely has the over caramelized taste and now I’m afraid my second batch might as well since I added part of the extract at the beginning of the boil. I also read a great article on partial mash that was linked to in article you posted. I think from now on I’ll be using dry extract and will do a partial mash until I get the necessary equipment for all grain brewing.

 

[r4dyce]

For what it's worth, I don't often do extract but I did an extract batch from NB for a pumpkin ale this past fall. It also has a very off putting metal flavor too it. I've never encountered that in my all grain brews so I'm blaming it on the extract. To be more specific I'm blaming it on NB's extract. The only other extract kits I've done were from a local shop and they were great.

 

[Renegade Brewer]

Congrats on your first batch being drinkable!

As for the metallic taste, what did you use for sanitizer? If it’s iodine based, that could definitely lead to a metallic taste in your finished product. Others above stated water, and that could play a part too, though usually we will see a medical polyphenol flavor occur due to chlorine or chloramines. I recommend folks start with RO water, especially when doing extract batches. Your malt extract will have plenty of nutrients and minerals to provide good yeast growth and health.

As for the dark color, I’d defiantly recommend sticking to the steeping directions which accompany your kit. You can draw unwanted tannins and color from steeping darker grains too hot and too long.

Excess carbonation in a beer is something I ususually attribute to a wild yeast getting into solution and consuming the more complex sugars sacramyces aren’t able to metabolize, creating a dry overly carbonated, often times gushing beer.

It sounds like you’re on the right track. Keep up the good work and keep improving with each batch.

As always, I suggest supporting your local homebrew shop whenever possible. You will also find a wealth of knowledge in the other patrons and in the staff. I encourage my customers to bring samples in so we can sit down with them with a score sheet and see where they went wrong in the world and what they did well.

Welcome to the hobby

 

[GnenieGone]

View attachment 556455
My first brew was the block party amber ale that came with my kit from Northern Brewer. It came out tasting pretty good but I do get a metallic after taste. I read that could be from using equipment that isn’t stainless steel but anything that was metal that came in contact with the beer was definitely stainless. Any ideas on where this may be coming from?

I also may have under carbed the beer. It’s not as “fizzy” as I’d prefer. My brew partner said he liked it like that though so maybe it’s just a matter of preference.

The last gripe I have with my beer is that the color is way off. It looks more like a brown ale than it does an amber ale. I know I steeped the grains for about twice as long as it said to. Could that be why it’s much darker than it should be?

I haven't read through all the post but metallic taste from aluminum is false. I get it with darker beers sometimes but goes away with time. I hate brewing with stainless. It takes about 30% longer to heat and cool.

Multiple reasons for under-carbing. Which has probably been addressed.

I don't suggest mashing darks very long. They will leach tannins. I've learned to add about 1/3 darks into the mash at first then rest after 20min. 95% of conversion is done after 30min or so. Longer is just wasting time.

 

[stefyBrew]

I also did a block party amber ale from Northern Brewer as my first batch. Also followed all instructions carefully and got the same metallic after taste you describe. At first I thought it was a rainbow like discoloration I found at the bottom of the stainless steel kettle after brewing. After reading through this thread and other posts I am going to relax and believe the LME is the culprit.

For my second batch, I have another extract kit fermenting now. For this one I picked up ingredients from the local homebrew supply store, and also did a through cleaning and sanitizing of the brew kettle before using

 

[millatime]

I did a few extracts years ago and was never pleased with the taste.

I have my first all grain about 3 weeks in my fermenter now and it tastes really good from the samples I take.

If you're interested and have equipment, try going to all grain. To me it was a lot more fulfilling, and I think I will get better results. Good luck and congrats!

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

I am doing my first beer this weekend. I have been doing Mead for about 6 months right now. with my mead I boil my tap water first then let it cool overnight, it takes out any of the chlorine type chemicals that can cause an off taste. I will being doing this with my beer as well. Glad you made a solid beer on the first try wish me luck on mine this weekend.

Ron