My first brew

[juniorop]

Hey all,
I just popped the top on my first brew, a red ale (brewers best recipie)!
So It tastes quite smooth, a bit sweet at first, but lacks much aftertaste. It is carbonated, but not really enough to give it a nice head. It has been conditioning in bottles for a bit less than two weeks. I want to learn from this one, so any advice to fix these issues would be great! Will either of these improve as they continue to condition? I thinking about going for an IPA, any suggestions?

Thanks,
JO

 

[Axegod]

The best advice I can give is to keep good notes....ingredients, times, volumes, hydrometer readings, ect, etc. and update then notes/critiques even after 2, 4, 6 weeks in the bottle. This will help in the future when you make another batch. I have the book "the complete joy of homebrewing (1990ish)" and have homemade recipies in the handwritten in the back that still help me with ingredients, carbonation, bitteness, alcohol % etc.




As far as other advice on the current batch (its kinda early to tell - another week or two in the bottle will improve the taste) - post the details/info/procedures on the batch and your likes and dislikes -and you will get plenty of feedback.

 

[3rd and Long]

As Axegod said, good notes are the key to being able to quicky improve you're brewing skill by knowing how the actions you take influence the final product. Also picking a couple recipes as standard that you can experiment on will aid you in that process (I'be been using a wheat and a lager).

Your sweetness may be related to some unfermented sugar, this can be resolved by more aeration of the wort and/or making a yeast starter.

 

[Spoonta]

give a nother 1 or 2 weeks and c how u go

 

[joker_x]

If the carbonation isn't enough for your liking after you give the beer a couple more weeks in the bottle, I can offer a couple suggestions:
1. Are the bottles sitting directly on a cold basement floor? If so, find some way to elevate them off the floor.
2. Did you use 3/4 C (5 Oz.) corn sugar to prime the beer? That's what most sources I've seen suggest, but I find it doesn't give quite enough carbonation. Try adding an additional 2 Tablespoons of corn sugar to prime next time.
I hope that helps and good luck with your IPA! (I'd suggest letting the IPA condition in the bottles for close to 2 months for best results...that's my experience anyway)

Cheers!
-Rick

Primary: Honey Amber Ale
Secondary #1: Octane IPA
Secondary #2: Oatmeal Stout
Bottled/Drinking: American Amber Ale

 

[pariah]

Hey all,
I just popped the top on my first brew, a red ale (brewers best recipie)!
So It tastes quite smooth, a bit sweet at first, but lacks much aftertaste. It is carbonated, but not really enough to give it a nice head. It has been conditioning in bottles for a bit less than two weeks. I want to learn from this one, so any advice to fix these issues would be great! Will either of these improve as they continue to condition? I thinking about going for an IPA, any suggestions?

Thanks,
JO

I recently made that same brewers best kit (the red ale). It was my second batch...and it turned out much the same as yours. Kind of sweet and malty, smooth, strong alcohol taste, little head retention or aroma, and absolutely no aftertaste! Mine was also really cloudy for some reason. I highly suggest using Irish moss!

I've also done the brewers best classic english pale, and it has a pretty good aftertaste. Bitter on the tongue, about like you would expect from a classic english pale.

I have a brewers best IPA in the primary right now, going into the secondary tommorow. I just used their directions but I'm also going to toss 2 oz of cascade hops in the secondary 2 weeks for a stronger aroma/boquet. If you do an IPA I definately suggest doing this! Although it's my first time to dry hop...

Oh also, every Brewers Best I've done I've also used a liquid yeast except for the red. The red was by far the least impressive. So liquid yeast is also highly recommended!

 

[winter999]

give a nother 1 or 2 weeks and c how u go

Yep, I have found that the hardest part of brewing is the WAIT!