That home brew tang

[ora8i]

A long time ago when Beer was ……….. etc.

I used to brew beer (and wine) mainly from kits some good some bad, better when I discovered that reducing the sugar meant I could drink a couple of pints and still be able to see. Seeing's good

However even though it tasted OK it still tasted like home brew, it didn’t seem to matter which kit I used (Geordie, Boots, other names long forgotten) while they were often pleasant they were still brew if you know what I mean.

With the kits available now is it possible to match the flavour of Budweiser Budvar (not the US stuff), Leffe and other quality drinks – Badger Ales for instance? (Mmm.... a moment of quiet reflection for - Golden Champion)

I’m not interested in stuff that just causes the blind staggers (happy to stay between 4 and 5%) I would only have another go if I can get the taste right.

So can good stuff be made?


Regards Ora

 

[El Pistolero]

If you search back in the Recipes forum, you'll find Homebrewer_Bills recipe for Budvar. And yes, I think you can brew beers that are as good or better than what you can buy...if that's what you're asking.

 

[Caplan]

Hi Ora!

Boots kit? You from the UK?

If so the modern kits (if you have any Boots ones left bin em! They'll be years out of date! ) are a good start but replace the White Table sugar (Sucrose) with malt extract instead.

Have a quick read of the on-line classic http://www.howtobrew.com/

It's a brilliant guide to starting up and covers the kits you've mentioned

 

[ora8i]

Your right I am in the UK, I found this forum using yahoo.co.uk "Search UK" so I thought the forum was UK based.

Any way back to brew – some of the kits I made years ago could not be described as poor quality. But the results never tasted like the Pub served drinks every single one had the home brew taste to it and as I remember all had use white sugar.

So if I don’t use the sugar should I get rid of that tang/aftertaste?

Many Thanks Ora

 

[AHammer16]

There are so many things that could be causing that "tang". Get a good homebrewing book and take a read through it.
Your water may be the cause of it. It also could be the sanitizer you used , the temp of your fermentation among other things. But like your UK buddy said ditch the old crap and get some quality ingred. and you will get quality beer out of it.
We all hope you give it another try.

 

[Prost!]

Here's a good home brew book online. Free too.
http://www.howtobrew.com/

Good luck.

 

[sheephrdr]

ora8i ive tried a couple different "coopers" kits and they are pretty good but I know exactly what you mean, (mabye thats the way coopers taste in australia though?) but there is no comparison (from my experience) to an extract/ grain recipe from scratch. Batches where I use good ingredience have absolutly no "homebrew" flavour, they just taste damn good.

 

[Orfy]

Even an average homebrew kit (£12ish) should taste as good as the mass produced pub beer. The good kits (£18) are way better. The real cheapy ones (£5ish) should only be tackled if your used to poor quality beer.

When you start craft brewing you should be able to get beer with a quality up there with the micro breweries.

 

[McCall St. Brewer]

Why rely on kits? I go to my local homebrewing store with a recipe and they set me up with the ingredients to make it. Or, you can buy the same stuff online. Although there seem to be many AG brewers at this forum, you can make excellent beer using malt extract and steeping grains. In fact, if you are using good ingredients and good sanitizing practices your homebrew should not only not have a "homebrew" taste, but should actually taste better than most anything you can buy commerically.

 

[Caplan]

some of the kits I made years ago could not be described as poor quality. But the results never tasted like the Pub served drinks every single one had the home brew taste to it and as I remember all had use white sugar.
So if I don’t use the sugar should I get rid of that tang/aftertaste?

Using Malt extract and a decent yeast will surprise you!
Read the on-line book i mentioned and if you don't have a local Home Brew Shop try http://www.arkwrightshomebrew.com/ for pricing the ingredients. Ebay also can be a good source of cheap equipment too!

 

[Prost!]

I love tang, especially of the sweet poon variety.

 

[boo boo]

Go all grain and then you have no one but yourself to blame for either great or bad beer.

 

[oxford brewer]

ora8i posted...Badger Ales for instance? (Mmm.... a moment of quiet reflection for - Golden Champion)...the whole badger range is quality ...where you from in the UK?...