Sharp tasting kit brew beer (beginner advice needed)

blackmadra

Hi all. I got a homebrew kit for Christmas and recently brewed up my first batch. I followed the instructions religiously and everything seemed to work fine. I bottled the beer, added some more sugar and left them to sit in the hot press for the required two weeks.

I had my first taste today, tow weeks since bottling, but the beer had a very sharp after taste. I was quite disappionted with it and I really can't think where I went wrong. Maybe this is how the beer is supposed to taste? The kit I used was Coopers Original Lager (the green one) with 1kg of brewing sugar.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Draco

Leave it alone for another week or two and see how it is then. My second brew tasted very sharp after 6 weeks but after another 4 weeks it has mellowed and is rather nice.

BeerNut

blackmadra wrote: »

I followed the instructions religiously

Mistake number 1. Kit instructions are often misleading.

blackmadra wrote: »

left them to sit in the hot press

Mistake number 2. Beer should never be left in a hot press. Cooper's kits are Australian and the recommended temperatures are normal ambient temperatures in an Australian house, but they're on the high side for beer.

blackmadra wrote: »

a very sharp after taste.

That does sound like something that may mellow in time. If not, take this as a warning -- people have made worse first-effort beers I'm sure -- and take a look at some of the advice from experienced brewers on this thread and other places before you try again. But do try again.

Here's some good stuff on kits, with better instructions than the ones supplied.

Irishrossoblu

I have the same kit and am going to start it this week. It does seem that the instructions that come with the kit are a little vague. On the coopers site there are better instructions, but they are totally different. In the kit it says that you should ferment the lager at 21-24c. That is quite difficult to maintain, so I bought a brewbelt. Outside temperatures are -10 here, so the spare room is a little cold.

Any advice on how long and what temperature the basic Coopers Lager kit should be done at? I will add half spray malt and half sugar.

Thanks

BeerNut

Irishrossoblu wrote: »

Any advice on how long and what temperature the basic Coopers Lager kit should be done at?

Any kit is ideal at 18C*. Lower it'll just take longer, but above 22 and you may start to get off flavours. Bear in mind that fermenting yeast generates its own heat. If the room is cold, even just a blanket will help keep the temperature up.

*In fact, any ale at all is ideal at 18. "Lager" kits are really blonde ale. Real lagers use a different strain of yeast, one which ferments at 10-12C.

Irishrossoblu

BeerNut wrote: »

Any kit is ideal at 18C*. Lower it'll just take longer, but above 22 and you may start to get off flavours. Bear in mind that fermenting yeast generates its own heat. If the room is cold, even just a blanket will help keep the temperature up.

*In fact, any ale at all is ideal at 18. "Lager" kits are really blonde ale. Real lagers use a different strain of yeast, one which ferments at 10-12C.

Should I ditch the brewbelt so, or use it now and again?

BeerNut

Irishrossoblu wrote: »

Should I ditch the brewbelt so, or use it now and again?

It depends on the temperature of your beer. If the liquid is below about 17 there's no harm in giving it a brief warm-up. But remember that too cold is much better than too warm. Just keep an eye on the temperature, and remember to sanitise your thermometer when you're checking!

Irishrossoblu

BeerNut wrote: »

It depends on the temperature of your beer. If the liquid is below about 17 there's no harm in giving it a brief warm-up. But remember that too cold is much better than too warm. Just keep an eye on the temperature, and remember to sanitise your thermometer when you're checking!

Cool. Thanks. Will the sticky thermometer strip supplied with the Coopers kit not do?

BeerNut

It might give you a general idea, but I can't see how it'll give you an accurate reading. Try comparing its reading with one taken in the bucket.

blackmadra

Thanks for the info guys. I fully intend to give it another shot! The beer I have now is drinkable but just not all that nice. I'll leave it a few more weeks.

While it was brewing in the bucket, I kept the temperature around 22 - 26C. by leaving it beside the radiator and using the brewbelt at night. Are you saying that this was too warm and probably responsible for the sharp taste? What temperature should I be aiming for while it is in the bucket? What temperature (roughly) should the bottled beer be stored at during secondary fermentation? In general how long are you supposed to wait after bottling before you can drink it?

Again many thanks for the advice!

BeerNut

blackmadra wrote: »

Are you saying that this was too warm

Yes.

blackmadra wrote: »

and probably responsible for the sharp taste?

Hard to say. You'd expect a funky, sort-of sour, flavour from too-warm beer. Not necessarily sharp.

blackmadra wrote: »

What temperature should I be aiming for while it is in the bucket?

18-20.

blackmadra wrote: »

What temperature (roughly) should the bottled beer be stored at during secondary fermentation?

18-20. Fermentation is fermentation: the yeast doesn't know or care if it's doing primary, secondary or bottle conditioning ("secondary" usually means in a fermentor, once it's in the bottle it's called bottle conditioning. Be sure that fermentation has stopped completely before you bottle or the bottles could explode).

blackmadra wrote: »

In general how long are you supposed to wait after bottling before you can drink it?

I find minimum two weeks, best after three.

blackmadra

Cheers man. I'll let you know how it goes!

Irishrossoblu

In the Coopers kit you get Brew Enhancer 2 (1KG). It states that this is to replace sugar in the brew. I had planned to put 1/2 Kg of the Brew Enhancer in with 1/2 KG of Spray malt. Now I read that the Brew Enhancer has malt in it. Should I stick my half/half plan or should I put in the whole Kg of Brew enhancer? Also when does this get mixed into the brew? Thanks

BeerNut

Irishrossoblu wrote: »

Should I stick my half/half plan or should I put in the whole Kg of Brew enhancer?

I doubt it'll make a huge difference either way. I'd go with as much malt as possible, so half-and-half.

Irishrossoblu wrote: »

Also when does this get mixed into the brew?

When it's at its hottest. You can probably throw it on top of the can gunk before you pour on the boiling water.

Irishrossoblu

Great. Thanks for the advice.