Need help!!

[HeimbachBrewingCompany]

I just finished my first batch ever!! The process was fun but I've run into problems along the way.

First off, my wort boiled over. Didn't loose much. And my roommate threw away all of my new bottles thinking they were recycled so I had to use old wine bottles which I cleaned. But I feel he wine bottles ruined the taste of my beer. Any body else do this?

Secondly, there is residue at the bottom of my bottles. It goes away when shacked. I think it might be sugar for carbonation? I'm not sure. Help?

Beer tastes bad to me. Others love it but can't tell if it's to make me feel good. I made coopers Australian dark ale. Wasn't very strong or rich taste like I expected. More nutty and bitter. I think the boil over messed with taste.

Help and general advice please!!

 

[Zak]

While I am not an expert home brewer, from my understanding the sediment at the bottom of the bottle is normal. I don't know if it is fact sugar residue from the bottling process or yeast that is still there from primary but I've been told it's to be expected

 

[keesh]

I just finished my first batch ever!! The process was fun but I've run into problems along the way.

First off, my wort boiled over. Didn't loose much. And my roommate threw away all of my new bottles thinking they were recycled so I had to use old wine bottles which I cleaned. But I feel he wine bottles ruined the taste of my beer. Any body else do this?

Secondly, there is residue at the bottom of my bottles. It goes away when shacked. I think it might be sugar for carbonation? I'm not sure. Help?

Beer tastes bad to me. Others love it but can't tell if it's to make me feel good. I made coopers Australian dark ale. Wasn't very strong or rich taste like I expected. More nutty and bitter. I think the boil over messed with taste.

Help and general advice please!!

Damn that sucks about your roommate throwing your bottles away. Did you have a corker on hand, as well as corks to use? What do you mean when 'shacked'? There is usually sediment on the bottom of homebrew from the yeast flocculating out, as well as other particles still in the beer that eventually settle out.

Wine bottles probably wouldn't have effected the taste, however I am surprised you were able to carbonate in wine bottles. I didn't know they could stand up to the increased pressure.

I would give the beer more time to age, it will usually round out in time and lose any rough edges it has. The boil over shouldn't have messed up the flavor at all, unless you boiled over right when you did a hop addition, thus losing a lot of hop flavor.

In any case, iron out the rough spots and don't give up. Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.

 

[BobC]

sediment at the bottom of your bottles is normal with bottle conditioned beer. No need to shack it up either. Its a dark beer so age will improve the taste. Let it sit for a couple of months and then give it a try.

 

[cervezarara]

Some yeast is still alive and present in beer when we prime and bottle it. It is this yeast that consumes the priming sugar and creates the CO2 that carbonates the beer. After the yeast have consumed the priming sugar, they settle to the bottom of the bottle. Many people try not to disturb this yeast when pouring from the bottle, as it can change the flavor of the beer and make it cloudy. If you refrigerate the beer for a couple of days, this sediment will normally compact pretty tightly, making the pour easier. You can leave a few ml of beer in the bottle as the sediment reaches the neck. Or, you can drink it, as yeast is high in B vitamins and will not hurt you.

Depending on the recipe you followed for your Coopers Australian dark ale, you may be able to achieve more flavor and richness. Many Coopers kits have you add a can of liquid malt extract and some sugar. The added sugar will increase alcohol, but it may also decrease body, and really does not contribute much to flavor when fermented. I do not use Coopers kits, but there are many brewers on this forum who do. Some augment the kit with dried malt extract and additional hops, and some use two cans of the hopped malt extract to make a 5 gallon batch. Either one of these methods will generally yield a richer flavored beer with more body, since they increase the malt content of the beer.

There is a tremendous product on the market called Fermcap S that will reduce foaming of boiling wort. You add afew drops before the wort starts to boil and you can avoid boil overs altogether. many Coopers users advocate a no boil method. They boil their water and add the can after turning off the heat. Liquid malt extract doesn't really need to be boiled, and the heat from the near boiling water will sanitize the extract.

You will need to boil, however, if you add any hops. An hour of boiling is needed to isomerize hop alpha acids and maximize their bittering potential. You can also add hops for shorter boil durations (20 minutes or so) for hop flavor or (0-10 minutes) to give hop aroma.

Read some of the advice in these forums, and try another batch! I hope you will enjoy brewing!

 

[hogwash]

Don't shake the bottles, residue is normal and you want to try to keep it out of your glass when you pour it out. It's not bad for you but will detract from the flavor of the beer.

 

[HeimbachBrewingCompany]

Damn that sucks about your roommate throwing your bottles away. Did you have a corker on hand, as well as corks to use? What do you mean when 'shacked'? There is usually sediment on the bottom of homebrew from the yeast flocculating out, as well as other particles still in the beer that eventually settle out.

Wine bottles probably wouldn't have effected the taste, however I am surprised you were able to carbonate in wine bottles. I didn't know they could stand up to the increased pressure.

I would give the beer more time to age, it will usually round out in time and lose any rough edges it has. The boil over shouldn't have messed up the flavor at all, unless you boiled over right when you did a hop addition, thus losing a lot of hop flavor.

In any case, iron out the rough spots and don't give up. Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.

Fortunately my kit came with a wine set too so I was prepared. I have seen alot of talk about adding hops to enhance flavor. I have brewed two batches of beer and both of them being a malt extract in a can. Thanks for the advice about the sediment during the bottling process.

 

[HeimbachBrewingCompany]

Some yeast is still alive and present in beer when we prime and bottle it. It is this yeast that consumes the priming sugar and creates the CO2 that carbonates the beer. After the yeast have consumed the priming sugar, they settle to the bottom of the bottle. Many people try not to disturb this yeast when pouring from the bottle, as it can change the flavor of the beer and make it cloudy. If you refrigerate the beer for a couple of days, this sediment will normally compact pretty tightly, making the pour easier. You can leave a few ml of beer in the bottle as the sediment reaches the neck. Or, you can drink it, as yeast is high in B vitamins and will not hurt you.

Depending on the recipe you followed for your Coopers Australian dark ale, you may be able to achieve more flavor and richness. Many Coopers kits have you add a can of liquid malt extract and some sugar. The added sugar will increase alcohol, but it may also decrease body, and really does not contribute much to flavor when fermented. I do not use Coopers kits, but there are many brewers on this forum who do. Some augment the kit with dried malt extract and additional hops, and some use two cans of the hopped malt extract to make a 5 gallon batch. Either one of these methods will generally yield a richer flavored beer with more body, since they increase the malt content of the beer.

There is a tremendous product on the market called Fermcap S that will reduce foaming of boiling wort. You add afew drops before the wort starts to boil and you can avoid boil overs altogether. many Coopers users advocate a no boil method. They boil their water and add the can after turning off the heat. Liquid malt extract doesn't really need to be boiled, and the heat from the near boiling water will sanitize the extract.

You will need to boil, however, if you add any hops. An hour of boiling is needed to isomerize hop alpha acids and maximize their bittering potential. You can also add hops for shorter boil durations (20 minutes or so) for hop flavor or (0-10 minutes) to give hop aroma.

Read some of the advice in these forums, and try another batch! I hope you will enjoy brewing!

Thanks for the advice. I have only done the extract kits and am interested in adding hops when brewing. Any suggestions where to buy?

And the instructions in my extract have not been very helpful. No information on how much sugar to add to the wart or when bottling.

 

[cervezarara]

Most homebrew stores have a selection of dried pellet hops. Some have whole leaf hops, and/or plugs. There are probably HBS in Nashville if none are near your town. You can also order online from many reputable outlets, however, shipping costs can be prohibitively high unless you order a bunch of stuff to get free shipping. Austin Homebrew Supply, Midwest Brewing, and Northern Brewer are all pretty good for sourcing ingredients, and each has a selection of their own kit beers that produce good quality brews.

I would recommend starting with known recipes or kits so the finished product has a decent balance. There are many recipes on this forum in the recipe section, broken down by style.

In general, try to keep the sugar addition around 10% of the total fermentables unless you are making a dry beer or emulating a Belgian or other style that adds sugar for dryness.

For bottle priming, use about an ounce of corn sugar per gallon of beer. Maybe 4.5 ounces per 5 gallons if you are using cane sugar. Boil 2 cups of water, dissolve the sugar and boil a minute or two, then cool and add to your bottling bucket. Rack the beer into this sugar solution, trying to avoid splashing or aerating the beer. Really get the end of the hose down to the bottom of the bucket. The swirling of the siphoning beer into the bottling bucket should blend the sugar solution pretty well, but you can gently stir for a few minutes with your rackng tube too, as long as you don't introduce much air at this point. Then you can bottle and cap.

 

[PhillyMike]

Most home brew stores should have someone working there who knows beer. If you explain what you want to brew, they should help gather everything you need. If you do order online, call and speak to someone who can help.

Don't be shy to ask for help, most of these guys love to assist.