Brews all taste the same

[ChristinaS1]

BTW' date=' what is the expiry date on the kit? Just wondering because you mention it was on sale, and that might mean the kit / yeast is old.

 

[/quote']

 

Hi Christina.

 

The extract can itself has a best before date of March 2019. The Julian date on the pack.of yeast says March 2017, so it's about 12 months old now.

 

Ive read elsewhere that the yeast with this kit is quite possibly US-05 anyway. Apparently Cooper's changed it awhile back due to people having dramas with the previous yeast strain stalling more often than not.

 

I've always rehydrated US-05 at about 30 degrees

 

Coopers might have switched to US-05? That is interesting. I had not heard that before.

 

Back before I banned US-05 from my brewery I was has having trouble with it about 1/3 of the time, for whatever reason. When it worked, it made tasty beer, but I find other yeast easier to work with and more consistent. I was using 11.5gm of it in worts of 1.042 (23L) and having trouble.

 

Cheers,

 

Christina.

[karlos_1984]

What do u recommend as a good alternative to US-05 Christina?

[ChristinaS1]

What do u recommend as a good alternative to US-05 Christina?

 

I have two:

 

1.) the ale/lager yeast that comes with the APA and Cervesa kits. I often use the APA kit as a base for my recipes. I will either use 2 APA yeast or, if I don't have two, bung a one is a Shaken Not Stirred starter the night before brew day. I then save sloppy slurry for the next batch, one or two times.

 

2.) Mangrove Jack's New World Strong Ale M42. I gave this a try recently based high praise from Ben10, who uses it a lot. I have only used it a couple of times so far but I was impressed with it. It starts very quick, which is a big plus in my eyes, and ferments quickly too. Floccs well. No issues with persistent krausen, which you can sometimes get with US-05. Seems to be kind to both hops and malt, and is neutral (not ester-y). A very versatile yeast.

 

Cheers,

 

Christina.

[ben 10]

 

2.) Mangrove Jack's New World Strong Ale M42. I gave this a try recently based high praise from Ben10' date=' who uses it a lot. [/quote']

 

Yep, my favourite dry yeast by far. Works really well when reused too.

[karlos_1984]

So I've brewed up the TC bootmaker pale ale a couple days ago, as per recipe to 20 ltrs, just using 1kg of LDM. OG of 1045.

 

Rehydrated 1 pack of US-05 in 120ml of previously boiled water @ 30 degrees, pitched at 18 degrees. Really taking it back to basics.

 

Fermentation is underway. the beer was mixed up in the Cooper's FV then transferred to a new and sanitised 25 ltr water drum to fit in my Waeco travel fridge. (I've posted about this on the forum also).

 

My fridge has its own temp controller which is set at 19 degrees. I've been watching the fridge's temp and it's been between 18 - 20 degrees. I've been checking the surface temp of the side of the FV/drum with my infrared thermometer, is sitting on 18 degrees. This FV/drum takes up the entire fridge space so I suspect the surface area and volume of the beer is helping keep the ambient fridge temp consistent. However if I set the fridge to any lower than 19 degrees, it has kicked into gear and got down to as cold as 16 degrees on the display so I've found setting it to 19 has kept it where it should be.

 

Hopefully this will help me get a better result this time.

 

Given my previous failings using a fairly decent size dry hop, what amount of dry hops should adequately flavour this beer? I don't want to waste more hops and not get any flavour like previously.

 

I've got 40g of Mosaic hops left over in my freezer.

 

If this temp control and correct pitching fixes my past issues, would 40g be enough dry hopping to 20 ltrs be noticeable? Cheers

[joolbag]

Hey Karol’s. For me it is not always the quantity of hops, but the quality and freshness. I’ve dry hopped with 40g in the past with old hops as well as fresh from the packet hops. Chalk n cheese.

 

For me the dry hop is most noticeable from 50g and up. Most I’ve dry hopped is 80g so far but will try double that in a future session ipa brew. 40g mosaic and perhaps 20g something else like Citra/Centennial/Cascade?

[karlos_1984]

40g mosaic and perhaps 20g something else like Citra/Centennial/Cascade?

 

Thanks for that. I've got some leftover centennial in the freezer as well. Might do 40g Mosaic and 40g Centennial dry hop n see what happens.

 

I suppose I could go commando and cold crash now I'm using a fridge. I usually use a hop bag.

[Paddybrew]

i dry hopped my most recent IPA with 75 grams centennial, 50gms citra and the final product is citrus hop heaven

[Phoenix76]

Interesting topic. We all experience strange results from our brewing. I am no expert in home brewing, but one thing I remember is that if my OG is 1.050, then I need to double up my yeast.

 

Christina and Otto have both suggested that you are under pitching. With a straight kit recipe, there should never be any reason to up your yeast. But as you seem to add specialty grains etc, you should be checking your OG. As I said, I am no expert, but I do read up on the subject, and this is one thing I read, and I apply this rule.

 

I use the kit yeast and then throw in some S-04 or some US-05. It seems to work for me.

 

I'm not really up on hop flavours. Being a pensioner, I can't afford to experiment as much as I would like. But, as Christina mentioned, Citra hops are beautiful. I won a local show using Citra in a Pale Ale.

 

So mate, keep at it, keep experimenting. You will come up with a brew that will blow your mind. All you have to do then is remember what ingredients went into the brew

 

Cheers

Bill

[Beervis]

I've had good results with the Coopers recipe packs (ROTM) by forgoing the dry hop completely and adding those additions at flameout instead. I find that I usually have lots of home brew and I don't drink a lot, so the aroma punch from dry hopping is generally gone by the time I drink most of the batch. The ROTM's generally don't use a lot of hops anyway so I've found it's a more economical way to use the hops as well.

 

It's too late for this brew, but for a future one you could try boiling a bit of LDM, adding the hops at flameout instead of dry hopping.

 

It's also a money issue for me, I can't afford to be dry hopping 50-100gms in one batch.

[karlos_1984]

So I've reached FG of 1011 with this TC bootmaker pale. From the samples I've tasted this time, there is already a noticeable improvement. It actually tastes like beer this time, rather than a twangy sort of cider taste. Using the fridge has hopefully helped sort out my past issues.

For comparisons sake, I've bottled one long neck of the beer today and kept it aside, to see how different it is without the dry hop.

I've added 75g of Centennial and 40g of Mosaic hops into a hop sock and pushed it into the container. Given the small lid space, I've tied off one end of the sock with a piece of sanitised string, which has a sanitised rubber band on the other end that's looped over the outside of the lid hole, so it's easier to pull out before bottling. I've resealed the hole with 2 layers of sanitised glad wrap, as I did earlier when pitching the yeast. (The regular lid is just a pinch too high to allow the fridge lid to close/seal properly)

In 5 days, I'll pull out the hop sock, then squeaze the beer out of it (Lusty style) and funnel it back into the FV before bottling.

Really keen to see if this experiment with the water cube in my fridge has finally sorted out my previous issues. If so I plan to increase my beer production because it's so much easier to set n forget the fridge and not be constantly fart arsing about with cold water and the swamp method and keeping close eyes on the bloody weather forecast all the time.

Cheers.

 

[highlands]

My first home brew used the IPA can however it tastes a little bit diluted.  My next one will be with the bootmaker pale ale can, should I make it up to 19L instead of 23L or should I go out and buy some crystal malt to add some flavour?

Thanks

 

 

[PaddyBrew2]

it depends. what was your first recipe  that came out diluted. 

[highlands]

44 minutes ago, PaddyBrew2 said:

it depends. what was your first recipe  that came out diluted. 

I used the coopers IPA can, 500g Light Dry Malt, 1 kg Brew Enhancer 2, 100g galaxy (25g 10 min boil, 25g steeped, 50g Dry hopped) made to 23 L. The hop flavour and bitterness were strong enough though.

[ChristinaS1]

Hi Karlos,

Just out of curiosity, do you bottle in PET bottles? If you are still having problems, it might be that the PET bottles are the issue. Polyethylene, whether high density or low density, is gas permeable: it lets oxygen in, which can oxidize your hops and cause them to fade very quickly. This recently came up in another thread, wi

 Maybe try bottling some of your brew in glass and compare.

Cheers,

Chrisitna.

[karlos_1984]

Hi Christina,

I was reading that post today actually. Even before I read it I was always sceptical of the pet bottles when used more than a few times. I have used them for.my.first couple of brews and they were ok, but we've already established my dramas were likely due to under pitching and poor temp control. My stout I've most recently brewed was all in glass bottles and they've been quite good, even without temp control. I'll be bottling this latest batch in glass though. 

[karlos_1984]

Just bottled my latest batch tonight. The TC Bootmaker pale. I ended up dry hopping with 40g mosaic and 70g centennial to use them up. Tasted fine. Not sure if the hop aroma and taste will shine through after bottle conditioning though.

I've got a long neck bottled prior to dry hopping to compare.

Still tasted better than the last but hopefully I get the results I'm after. 

Ended up having to use about 6 pet bottles at the end as I ran out of long necks n stubbies. See what happens. Surely it'll be an improvement as it was kept at about 20 iny weaco fridge.

Was a nightmare trying to wriggle the hop sock out of the lid. Did enough squeazing to prevent having to do the dunk n lusty sqeaze.

[jackgym]

Regarding the phantom home brew "twang" that blokes complain of.

I believe it's caused by drinking too many crap Coronas or Crownies in the past. 

Use more hops if need be and try a few recipes on Cooper's website.

This should reintroduce your palate to what a real beet tastes like.   

[Otto Von Blotto]

I'm not sure about that one. I went to a BBQ a few years ago, well after I began drinking craft beer and also brewing my own; I'd been AG brewing for probably 2 and a half years at the time, and someone brought along some home brew (I think his mate did it). It was an English Bitter kit beer, and overall it was a nice drop - but as soon as I tasted it I could tell it came from a kit. It just had that extract taste to it. It wasn't overpowering or anything but it was there. I'm sure they can be brewed without that flavor though as I had done it myself back in my kit and extract days, but I don't think it's drinking too many megaswills that is responsible for it.

[jackgym]

A lot of that was tongue in cheek  but some of that megaswill must rub off.

I was mildly surprised the other day when I had a schooner of gold and tasted a smidgen of hops.

The best they sell at the club is 150 Lashes but even that has deteriorated from the original.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I'd agree there although I never had the original 150 lashes. I definitely enjoyed it more when I first drank it, don't really like it much now, it lacks the bit of caramel malt flavour that I like in pale ales.

I think the megaswill thing is more that those drinkers aren't used to beer with lots of flavour, more so than it making homebrew have that infamous twang, though no doubt a lot of first brews do given they're usually brewed with sugar and at way too high a temperature.

[karlos_1984]

It's only been a week since I bottled this latest batch, but couldn't help myself.

Different recipe base, more hops, yet STILL TASTES THE SAME. There is literally no hop flavour or aroma. I used 110g of total dry hop in a basic kit n kilo in 20 ltrs.

I know the beer is young, but seriously. This is doing my f'ing head in.

All of your advice has been awesome, and I believe I'd sorted my past issues of underpitching and getting temp control for this batch, yet this beer tastes exactly the same as the last one.

Literally don't know where to go from here. It's still nice, but im not getting the results I'm after. I just can't fathom how 4 different recipe bases with varying amounts of malt n hops can all end up tasting pretty much the same. It's got me buggered.

 

[Hairy]

I’m a bit late to this thread (and it is a bit too long for me to read it all ) so forgive me if it has been covered.

You mentioned band aid / phenolic tastes before. It’s possible you have a wild yeast (your new house yeast) getting into the beer and out-performing the yeast you added. It may be the dominant yeast providing the flavour you keep tasting. Do you get any ‘gushers’ in bottles that have been stored for a while? 

Perhaps you could give the FV a blast with bleach, rinse thoroughly and then do your normal sanitising procedure. Is it possible to ferment the next one in a different location?

[karlos_1984]

I've never had a gusher. This batch was brewed in a 25 ltr cube inside a fridge, sealed with sanitised, double layered glad wrap and rubber bands over the lid. All previous brews have been fermented in the Cooper's FV with only swamp cooling methods. So this batch has been in a different location than all previous brews.

It was mixed up in the Cooper's FV then immediately transferred into the cube once topped up to 20 ltrs.

How does wild yeast occur?

[Otto Von Blotto]

Wild yeast floats around in the air. Leave a sample of wort sitting uncovered and you'll see it start to ferment after 2-3 days and a thin white layer forms at the bottom. I did this once, then grew the yeast up and fermented a couple of litres of leftover SNPA wort with it. The resultant beer was nowhere near as nice as the proper batch, but it was an interesting experiment. 

This may not help much but I never noticed the effect of dry hops much in kit beers. Maybe I didn't use enough, but when I went AG and used similar amounts, they were far more noticeable.

Cheers

Kelsey