Liquid flavor

[ncbrewer]

Did you rack it to the bottling bucket with the siphon tube laying on the bottom, making a gentle swirl around the bottom - with priming sugar already in the bucket - and GENTLY stirring after (if at all)? And fed into the bottom of the bottles?

 

[Neil humphreys]

No. That was how the post started. I don’t have a bottling bucket. I bottled straight from the tap on the front of the fermenter.

 

[ncbrewer]

Sorry - I forgot.
Did you fill the bottles with a wand or other means to fill from the bottom without splashing?

 

[Neil humphreys]

No. I added the sugar and then filled with the tap. The beer flowed down the sides of the bottle so there was no splashing and I held the funnel at an angle so it didn’t swirl around and splash when it hit the edge of the funnel or just spray straight down to the bottom of the bottle.

 

[ncbrewer]

That might have given you some oxidation. I've read that the beer running down the side of a bottling bucket tends to pick up air - should do the same thing with a bottle. I've never experimented, so can't say for sure. The yeast will strip out some oxygen while fermenting the priming sugar, but there could be more introduced than it could handle. I suggest getting some tubing to fit over the tap so it can fill from the bottom.

 

[ncbrewer]

I suggest getting some tubing to fit over the tap so it can fill from the bottom.

You would also need a bottling wand (with a push valve on the end) so it stays full of beer between bottles.

 

[kh54s10]

When were the pictures of the beer keg taken? Was it right after the yeast was pitched? If it was days later, I see no signs that it fermented.

Look into controlling the temperature that the beer ferments. That is the temperature of the wort itself, not the room that the fermenter is in. Too warm a temperature will give you off flavors. Try to keep the fermentation temperature in the mid sixties.

Get a bottling bucket. Look at this sticky: ttps://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/bottling-tips-for-the-homebrewer.94812/

Get a quality kit from Northern Brewer, Morebeer, Midwest or other.

I suspect a combination of many small problems, the bottling being the worst, added up.

 

[ncbrewer]

When were the pictures of the beer keg taken? Was it right after the yeast was pitched? If it was days later, I see no signs that it fermented.

It's been several days since this post, but I keep thinking about this. Didn't notice when first reading the thread, but the photos really look like it didn't ferment. OP: is it possible it didn't ferment? Could the taste be just wort?

 

[Neil humphreys]

Hmmmm could be. Without a gravity reading I don’t know. I was away in the field for most of the fermentation period but I did get bubbles the morning after initially putting it in the fermenter. Would that mean it started or that it didn’t do anything.

 

[BrewInspector]

Hang on to those bottles for a while. It really is still early to make a final determination that it will remain ass. in a week or two it might move up to taint and weeks later you might actually like it.

Leave them in a warmish place to get them carbed then store them in the fridge and try to forget about them for a while.

The photo of the bottle neck does have something there. Looks like a little bubble foam from when it was carbing or as bubbles were released after opening. Doesn't look like the film from an infection.

As for if there was fermentation a lot of what was said here was about those photos of the Mr beer keg. When was the photo taken? Shortly after mixing and adding to the keg or when you were about to bottle?

 

[Neil humphreys]

Which picture were you talking about? I’ve added a lot of pics to this post over a long period of time?

 

[TwistedGray]

in a week or two it might move up to taint and weeks later you might actually like it.

Love it...

 

[TwistedGray]

Which picture were you talking about? I’ve added a lot of pics to this post over a long period of time?

They one of the bottle neck you took showing the funny stuff in there bottle.

 

[BrewInspector]

And the one of the mrbeee keg with a bottle in front

 

[Neil humphreys]

The one of the foam in the bottle neck was the second bottle I opened and had some friends try to tell me what the flavor was so I could look up the issue with it on that link back there in this post. The one of the bottle in front of the MR Beer keg was taken one bottling day. That was the first bottle to be capped.

 

[kh54s10]

I was asking about the pictures of the MrBeer kegs in post #45. There should be a ring of crud stuck to the sides above the liquid. That would be dried up foam from the krausen.

It looks from that picture, the fact that there isn't any evidence of krausen, that no fermentation happened.

So what you have now may just be bottled wort.

 

[Neil humphreys]

Yeah there was no foam or froth on the surface when I came to bottling it. But I checked the day after I put it all in the fermenter and I had bubbles in the air lock which means it’s doing something right? Very confusing to me as a beginner.

 

[kh54s10]

Bubbles in the airlock initially might just have been from the temperature changing.

Time to get a quality ingredient kit and get another batch going.

 

[Neil humphreys]

Yeah I think that is my next step. I’m going to leave the bottled “stuff” as I can’t tell what it is yet. The guys that tried it said it tasted exactly like wine. I had tried it a week before and could not even swallow it. I thought it tasted terrible. I’ll see what the bottled do. I have another batch of bottled I can use in the mean time but probably steering clear of dark ales for now. Have to see what the local store has. In a 50 mile radius of this post there is only 1 Home brew store and their selection is about as limited as it could be. They do have a selection of hops though.

So talking of hops. I’m worried about trying to add hops instead of just making beer. How easy or hard is it and how does one go about adding hops to a beer etc.

 

[flars]

This recipe may help with understanding hop additions to the boil kettle. A simple American Amber Ale from Northern Brewer. An IPA would include an addition of hops after the fermentation was finished for extra aroma coming out of the glass.
https://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/beerkits/AmericanAmber.pdf

 

[TwistedGray]

I'd recommend one of Northern Brewer or More Beer extract kits.

Once you have it, read through the directions provided, and all any questions before brewing. Best to be certain you understand each step than to make a mistake in the process.

Then you're good.

What styles of beer do you enjoy? Maybe we can offer suitable kits to match your style.

Also, general location where you're stationed? Maybe a HBT member is nearby?

 

[Neil humphreys]

Ok we’ll let’s start now. I’m in Fort Drum about 20 minutes from the Canadian border and about 2 hours from Syracuse. Type of beers I like..... good question. I tend to try new beers where ever I go (being in the army that means a move every three years lol). I remember trying the blonde beer from the Ram restaurant and micro brewery in WA if anyone can describe that. I’m also a fan of the original Shocktop. I don’t mind the new styles they have come out with but the original I find I can always go back to and enjoy. I’m originally from England and my tipple of choice there was nearly always Stella or Carlsberg export. I was born just south of Newcastle so Newcastle brown ale too but as we have discovered in this thread it doesn’t appear to be on the cards anytime soon lol. So sorry it’s kind of a large range. I’ve spent about 15 years over here so far so moved away from the lagers and more towards a craft style beer which I enjoy a lot more. I drank a lot of Bitters in England. Mainly from drinking with my dad etc so a Bass is something like that. I kind of like something with a unique flavor. The first beer I attempted to brew over here was a chocolate stout and wow that was good. Nice subtle Smokey chocolate after taste and an obviously high alcohol content because 2 bottles and I was hanging out my ass.

 

[kh54s10]

I would suggest a step up to a kit from Northern Brewer, Morebeer or other online retailer. I would also get a good 5 gallon equipment kit and save the MrBeer kegs for small experimental brews.

Read How to Brew by John Palmer - there is an online version and a hardcopy version that is updated.

Look at all the info here on HBT. Look at YouTube videos etc. Learn as much as you can and have fun brewing new and exciting beers.

 

[BrewInspector]

Looking at post 45 the top photo shows no signs that there was a fermentation. This is what some of them are talking about that you may have bottled unfermented wort.

Looking at the second photo with the bottle in front... about 1/2 inch above the surface there is a fine light colored line ringing the entire visible area. That would be the top of the krausen surface during fermentation that had since dropped. Not the ordinary amount of "krud" one might expect but not really all that rare. If that is the krausen ring then fermentation did occur.

Your water level in the airlock is too low. At that level the air could flow either way. Pressure from the CO2 will likely win but temp variation could cause a back flow. The slots in the inverted cup must be covered. Escaping gas pressure will then cause the bubble to escape. It may have been full when you started but it does not appear so at time of bottling.

 

[Neil humphreys]

I’ll have another look at the bottles in a few days time and see what the out come is for them. The next beer I will try to make from your suggestions above. I have about 3 months of training coming up so I won’t be able to start or do anything for a little while but once back I can get another brew going. Are there mail order companies that I can get the malt mix from and the hops and yeast etc? The HBS here has a poor selection and also couldn’t recommend the right yeast to use for the beer I was trying to make.

 

[TwistedGray]

I’ll have another look at the bottles in a few days time and see what the out come is for them. The next beer I will try to make from your suggestions above. I have about 3 months of training coming up so I won’t be able to start or do anything for a little while but once back I can get another brew going. Are there mail order companies that I can get the malt mix from and the hops and yeast etc? The HBS here has a poor selection and also couldn’t recommend the right yeast to use for the beer I was trying to make.

A few of us provided suggestions, use those.

 

[Neil humphreys]

Sorry. Been on 24 hour duty and head still isn’t straight. Just checked back and I’ll check them out. Thank you.

 

[TwistedGray]

Sorry. Been on 24 hour duty and head still isn’t straight. Just checked back and I’ll check them out. Thank you.

No worries, look into any of the ones we suggest. You couldn't go wrong with those

 

[bpgreen]

I started with Mr Beer many years ago (before they were bought by Coopers). You can make good beer with a Mr Beer setup. The biggest drawback is that you can't make as much at one time.

In the picture in post 45, it looks like there's a layer of trub on the bottom. If so, that means it fermented, even though there's no krausen ring. It's unusual not to have a krausen ring, but if it fermented really slowly, it's possible.

Did you take a taste before bottling? The instructions used to say to take a taste. If it's sweet, it's not done; it should taste like flat beer if it's done. A hydrometer is a better way to check, but I used the taste test for my first few batches.

I'm curious about the airlock. Mr Beer fermenters usually don't have airlocks. Instead, they have notches in the keg to allow air to escape during fermentation and rely on a layer of carbon dioxide on to of the beer to keep the air out. I think they call that a passive airlock.

 

[Neil humphreys]

Yeah I’d never seen an airlock like that before either but I can see the concept of it. The air builds up and pushes the cup up. The air then travels through the water under the cup and out into the container and out the top of the airlock. Simple but effective I guess lol. I did not taste the beer unfortunately but the guys who tasted it the other week said it tasted like wine to them.