Might give up on homebrew :(

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I'm going to have to test this myself at some point; I'd rather do a side-by-side comparison with the same wort, but I'm unsure if I can pull that off given my equipment. I have two fermentors, thought about doing two batches, splitting each into the fermentors so the wort would be the same in each and then sprinkle dry or rehydrated yeast into each. I wish I had a boil kettle and mash tun big enough for a 10-gallon batch.

If rehydrated yeast gives me a better shot at better-tasting beer, it's worth a trial.

I think you're over thinking this. If you just did one batch and split it truly in 2 and then split a package of yeast in 2 and went from there you wouldn't need to have 10 gallons.

 

[Poopsmitherson]

My first few batches had a distinctive "funny Homebrew" flavor as well. It got better as I refined the process. Cooler fermenting temps made a big difference for me.

For reference, pick an off flavor, any off flavor: https://www.cicerone.org/sites/default/files/resources/off_flavor.pdf

 

[Peruvian802]

I think if you want your beer to taste as good as commercial versions, you are going to have to consider changing your process to be a little more like an actual brewery. Your extract beers are nothing more than adding water to a pre-hopped can of wort goo. I can guarantee that there are little to no commercial brewers who are doing this.

 

[GrogNerd]

au contraire mon frere brasseur,

more than a few members of my brew club, including BJCP judges, preferred my extract + specialty grain Deschutes' Fresh Squeezed clone over the real thing and not one had any idea it was an extract version

I attributed it to the freshness of mine vs an Oregon beer shipped to the east coast, but still... to say you have to brew like the big boys to make beer taste as good as theirs is profoundly ignorant. also: a good many commercial beers are complete crap.


little to no commercial brewers use converted cooler mashtuns, either. yet you can make outstanding beer in one.

your argument is invalid

 

[woo_pig]

I think this thread has gone off course .

 

[GrogNerd]

I think this thread has gone off course .

General Chit Chat (SALUTE!)

it's allowed

 

[Citizen86]

au contraire mon frere brasseur,

more than a few members of my brew club, including BJCP judges, preferred my extract + specialty grain Deschutes' Fresh Squeezed clone over the real thing and not one had any idea it was an extract version

I attributed it to the freshness of mine vs an Oregon beer shipped to the east coast, but still... to say you have to brew like the big boys to make beer taste as good as theirs is profoundly ignorant. also: a good many commercial beers are complete crap.


little to no commercial brewers use converted cooler mashtuns, either. yet you can make outstanding beer in one.

your argument is invalid

I don't think he was saying extract itself is the issue.... he was saying DreBourbon's method here was not producing optimal results:

So for extract kits my process is fairly easy, clean then sanitize a carboy while my extract can is in hot water, dump the extract can into the carboy, add my fermentable (usually lme or sometimes dextrose ) then my water top up, rehidrate yeast and make sure pitching temp is correct as per yeast package and done.

As in, he was suggesting not doing a no-boil method using only pre-hopped extract. I would have to agree, if you want quality beer you should at least be boiling and using some fresh hops/pellets and some specialty grain if the beer type calls for it. Not to mention the freshest extract you can find.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Ihonestly didn't know pre-hopped malt extract was a thing until I read How to Brew. My old LHBS didn't sell them so it never was a consideration for me. I also rarely use LME and almost exclusively used DME. Had better results with DME than the few times I used LME though I was a much better brewer when I was using DME.

 

[Peruvian802]

au contraire mon frere brasseur,

more than a few members of my brew club, including BJCP judges, preferred my extract + specialty grain Deschutes' Fresh Squeezed clone over the real thing and not one had any idea it was an extract version

I attributed it to the freshness of mine vs an Oregon beer shipped to the east coast, but still... to say you have to brew like the big boys to make beer taste as good as theirs is profoundly ignorant. also: a good many commercial beers are complete crap.


little to no commercial brewers use converted cooler mashtuns, either. yet you can make outstanding beer in one.

your argument is invalid

please see Citizen86's reply.

Using extract can make great beers, but the dump and fill versions usually aren't that good. The hop flavors and aromas are usually pretty poor and they don't usually come with particularly interesting yeast (from a guy that loves US05 and Notty).

 

[GrogNerd]

Oh... you must think I'm a dick.

You shared it with a dick.

 

[DreBourbon]

Thanks man

 

[mongoose33]

I'm going to have to test this myself at some point; I'd rather do a side-by-side comparison with the same wort, but I'm unsure if I can pull that off given my equipment. I have two fermentors, thought about doing two batches, splitting each into the fermentors so the wort would be the same in each and then sprinkle dry or rehydrated yeast into each. I wish I had a boil kettle and mash tun big enough for a 10-gallon batch.

If rehydrated yeast gives me a better shot at better-tasting beer, it's worth a trial.

I think you're over thinking this. If you just did one batch and split it truly in 2 and then split a package of yeast in 2 and went from there you wouldn't need to have 10 gallons.

Here's a little update. Yesterday I brewed a what is now standard recipe for me, an ESB.

I used S-04 and rehydrated it before pitching. It took off faster than usual (I had a bubbling airlock within 8 hours), and this afternoon it is pushing out CO2 faster than I've ever seen before--it's continuous bubbles with no interval between them to speak of.

High Krausen within 24 hours. I can't say it is a completely honest test of just rehydration--I also added some yeast nutrient, did first wort hopping for the first time, and dumped all the boil product into the fermenter, trub and all.

But it's a good recipe, came out exactly the same OG as before, and the yeast has taken off like a rocket.

Anxious to see how it comes out, and I cannot imagine that rehydrating made it worse. I'm sure it's as good or better.