Hi my name is Danny, and i am a green-beer-aholic

[DannyD]

It seem for some reason I just can’t leave the stuff alone, drinking gallons of the stuff 3-4 weeks in the process, and THEN, I love to b!tch and moun about all sorts of tastes and smells that should not be there. Sitting endless hour thinking of where it all went wrong and also each time trying to correct mistakes I have not identified yet!! When all I need to do is just leave it alone for at least 3 months after frem.

Also think the old adage of "if it’s good enough to drink you can brew with it (concerning water) is BS. If it’s at all suspect, just use bottle water

My 2c:cross:

 

[Brewnoob1]

That's why you need to work up a pipeline. So you can drink mature beer while others are in the ferm doing the same thing. Then, you'll never have to worry about drinking green beer.

I too have noticed that water makes a difference. I used tap water on all my batches until 3 batches ago when I went to full boil and bottled water. Made a WORLD of difference in taste and quality.

Keep at it, you'll get that pipeline built where you wont even think about the stuff in your fermentor for at least a month.

 

[venquessa]

I too am a green beer drinker. My pipeline is however getting going properly. I ordered a third set of 2 dozen 1 litre bottles, giving me a bottle capacity of 72 bottles (or 15 gallons).

However, one think I'd recommend, while you sort out a pipeline and waiting on it coming up to capacity... is create a "Vintage shelf." Take one or two bottles from each back, label they with they bottling date and put them away.

I'm figuring when I have maybe 6 bottles with the youngest being at least 6 weeks (the oldest probably 12-14 weeks), I'd take them round to a mates house and we'd get drunk on them. Then I'd be able to test, "What would my brews taste like if I left them for a few months"

As the pipeline starts to come up to speed I'll move maybe half of a batch to a vintage box for proper aging and drink the rest green. At least until I've got enough back log I don't need to do that anymore.

 

[Jayhem]

I've been brewing 5 gallons a week trying to get my pipeline established. I'd rather be looking for empty bottles then drinking green beer!

 

[wailingguitar]

Just remember that commercial breweries, both packaging and pubs, flip most ales in 2 weeks. These are the same beers that everyone clamors for clone recipes of... just saying.

 

[Brewnoob1]

If you pitched the right amount of yeast, had a perfect from start to finish process, you could easily flip ready and non green beers in 2 weeks. However, we're home brewers and not a commercial brewery. Though there are a ton of home brewers that are probably at the caliber of flipping their brew that quickly, for the majority of us, I'd think we need the extra time in the fermentor to clean up the small mistakes. Time will heal most things in this hobby. Just need to figure what works for you and work on nailing your process down.

 

[unionrdr]

Yup. At this point I have to say that brewing is almost a lazy man's hobby. So far as patience is concerned. I learned early on that I just plain have to wait for the beer to condition properly,not just carbonate.
Then up to 2 weeks in the fridge for good head & longer lasting carbonation. They're def more enjoyable if you wait till they're ready.

 

[spokaniac]

+1 on that. I've just brewed one batch so far. So I had to tasted it at every step. 1 week, 2 weeks and 3 weeks (yesterday) after bottling and it is amazing how the flavor improves over each week. Now to get that pipeline going and find a bigger area to store all the bottles to let them condition.

 

[Aunt_Ester]

Yup. At this point I have to say that brewing is almost a lazy man's hobby. So far as patience is concerned. I learned early on that I just plain have to wait for the beer to condition properly,not just carbonate.
Then up to 2 weeks in the fridge for good head & longer lasting carbonation. They're def more enjoyable if you wait till they're ready.

Lazy, huh? I spend 10+ hours a week researching and experimenting with yeast cultures.

If you're bored, get involved. Don't give us a bad name. :fro:

 

[unionrdr]

Lazy, huh? I spend 10+ hours a week researching and experimenting with yeast cultures.

If you're bored, get involved. Don't give us a bad name. :fro:

Sitting in front of a computer doing that isn't exactly active. I do the same thing,& help folks on here while I'm brewing up a beer. Or cleaning bottles,checking the fermenter & airlock,etc. So hush up with that bad name stuff. I'm involved with this stuff from 6 or 7AM till 11PM or so most days. What I meant was you can't be a spastic rooster on speeders & do well with this hobby. It's all about taking your time with the process...you know PATIENCE. Don't be so quick to snap at people.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

To the OP: darker beers in *general* benefit from extended conditioning time, while lighter brews in *general* are ready earlier. I alternate between Whits and porters/stouts, so I always have both on hand. If you run out of brew that's ready, go pick up a case of those empty bottles they accidentally ship to the liquor store with beer in them. You'll get something that's ready, and a case of bottles to fill later.

 

[wailingguitar]

If you pitched the right amount of yeast, had a perfect from start to finish process, you could easily flip ready and non green beers in 2 weeks. However, we're home brewers and not a commercial brewery. Though there are a ton of home brewers that are probably at the caliber of flipping their brew that quickly, for the majority of us, I'd think we need the extra time in the fermentor to clean up the small mistakes. Time will heal most things in this hobby. Just need to figure what works for you and work on nailing your process down.

I worked in and around the industry since '89 (packaging, brewing, consulting)... it's not about perfection! Not by a long shot! I have seen and heard of some really crazy stuff in commercial breweries... some of which is totally against "accepted knowledge"... I would go so far as to say that the average home brewer agonizes over the details more. RDWHAHB, all that matters is what hits the glass!

 

[unionrdr]

Sounds like you've got some off the hook brewin stories to tell there wailin. Kinda makes me wonder who is really obssesive,& who just wings it. But wingin it with a 35bbl system isn't exactly cheap. Idk if wingin it is the right word here,but it sounds like they talk about it briefly then do it?...

 

[wailingguitar]

Sounds like you've got some off the hook brewin stories to tell there wailin. Kinda makes me wonder who is really obssesive,& who just wings it. But wingin it with a 35bbl system isn't exactly cheap. Idk if wingin it is the right word here,but it sounds like they talk about it briefly then do it?...

I wouldn't say exactly "winging it", not from a recipe formulation stand point. Sometimes a recipe gets nailed the first time ... generally you know what to expect from your system/ingredients and go for it... sometimes it's a process of test brews. There's more than one way to skin a cat...

Instead of winging it, I prefer the term "seat of the pants" brewing

Off the hook stories? LOL A few!

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,I guess seat of the pants brewing is closer. Also being an aging tuner guy myself,I know all about seat of the pants feel! Those have got to be some good over a coupla brews stories...

 

[TomSD]

I know it isn't ready but I frequently hit a keg while it is still carbing just for a taste, lol. Not pouring a pint or anything but I can't help taking a taste.

 

[cricky101]

....

I too have noticed that water makes a difference. I used tap water on all my batches until 3 batches ago when I went to full boil and bottled water. Made a WORLD of difference in taste and quality.

Keep at it, you'll get that pipeline built where you wont even think about the stuff in your fermentor for at least a month.

I've been brewing with tap water since I started and recently I've noticed a strange, similar aftertaste since going to all-grain (BIAB) in all of the batches I've done - both light and dark styles. I've been brewing established recipes from HB members, so I know they're solid. The off flavor is not enough where I want to dump the batches, but it's something I pick up in every pint.

It wasn't present when doing full-boil extract batches, so I think it's happening during my mash. I'm going to try purchasing some water to see if it helps on my next brew.

 

[RM-MN]

Just remember that commercial breweries, both packaging and pubs, flip most ales in 2 weeks. These are the same beers that everyone clamors for clone recipes of... just saying.

I like to tour breweries to see how they do theirs and pick up a few tips but now that I brew my own it's even more fun to go sample and say to myself (or my wife, a non drinker) boy would that have been good if they had let it ferment a few days longer. Yes they have the equipment and technique but they still put out some green beer.

 

[labcor]

Hi Danny !

 

[Paradingbull]

Seeing some posts about water, I was able to cure some taste problems I was having by using the campden tablets. For me these allowed me to go back to using plain tap water which is easier (and cheaper) than bottled stuff.

 

[unionrdr]

Wow. Looking at my posts on page 1, I think I must've been having a bad day or something? And here I thought I'd learned to be a lil more even-tempered? Oh well, try, try again...
Our tap water being from Lake Erie, it's soft & good for most ales. But the local spring water is a tad better. The Giant Eagle OH spring water is better for hoppy beers from my experiences. The OH spring water from White House Artisian Springs seems to be better for malty beers...