::sigh:: I feel if another batch is ruined...

[MarcJWaters]

I tried modifying a Brewer's Best kit and making it more personal, and the result is something that can be defined as not beer. I used the Dunkelweizen kit and racked it on top of a 750 ml bottle of malibu banana, and the flavor's just are not there.

The beer is not bad, but it is... odd tasting. Sort of that you can taste the liquor, but not the flavor of the liquor. I don't know how else to describe it. Couple that with the fact that my last batch failed to carbonate and ended up tasting metallic, and I have a streak of failure.

So now I have committed to saying that I am not modifying any more kits. It is going to be a kit or a recipe - not mixing them.

Oh well. I have a Black Lager kit and a Hop Nog kit to burn through, then I might start recipes.

Sorry all, just blowing off some steam.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Get the techniques nailed and then start playing with adding "stuff". This way you can be certain it is just the "stuff" that is the problem.

Personally, I want the Banana to come from the yeast.

 

[Hellfish76]

How long has it been in bottles? It may just need to age...

 

[Grinder12000]

Or you can commit yourself from buying Brewers Best kits! OR you could commit to making normal beer before you try going rogue.

 

[MarcJWaters]

It has been in the bottle for only a few days.... so it does need aging. I cracked one open to make sure that it was carbed right and the like.

 

[bknifefight]

Get the techniques nailed and then start playing with adding "stuff". This way you can be certain it is just the "stuff" that is the problem.

This is good advice. My first several Mr Beer kits I added stuff to in order to "jazz it up" but I had no idea what I was doing and things weren't that great. Luckily I read a few books and turned to working from a recipe instead of a hopped can of syrup and I have always made something that I've enjoyed (minus a few instances that will remain unnamed )

 

[fezzman]

I'm going out on a limb of guessing but you may never get any of the flavor from the Malibu. The flavor/sugars that are used in the Malibu may just ferment out when pitched where yeast is present.

I recently brewed a mini batch of oatmeal stout. In a bright shining moment, I added amaretto to my secondary. I can tell that something is different but the amaretto taste is not really there. I suspect that something in the amaretto simply fermented out.

Anybody have any input on this theory?

 

[springer]

just about all liqueur is sweetened with cane sugar/fructose. I did a Saison that I added orange rind to the secondary . I soaked the orange in a cup or two of Grand Marnier and added everything to the secondary. Fermentation started again within hours.

 

[david_42]

Flavors going weird due to a lack of sweetness is a common problem. That's why honey and maple syrup beers are always disappointing and why fermenting soda results in disgusting beverages. (Of course, Mt Dew is disgusting to start with.)

When I brew a kit, I follow the kit exactly. I purchase a kit to experience a specific beer. I may play with the recipe in another batch, but knowing where the beer started is important.

 

[smiths9312]

I too suffer from just-need-to-add-one-more-thing-itis. Let's add some fresh raspberries to the wheat beer or if I use 5 types of malt, I bet it's gonna be a good one. After a few beers and having to drink 50 fruity beers, I started getting back to basics.

I brew the recipe now and it must be a simple recipe. A kolsch can be made with pilsner malt, a nobel hop, and kolsch yeast. Just 3 ingredients, but it's good just like that.

There are chefs that can add 15 ingredients to a dish and balance all the flavors. There are brewmasters that can do the same thing with a beer. However, I am no brewmaster so I try to keep it simple.