Homebrewing

[Guest cookoff013]

I've made a few batches of home brew from extract tins now,and they've all turned out mostly fine, apart from one thing - they all seem to taste or feel a little "thin" in the mouth. The flavour is good but doesn't linger as much as a professionally made pint and doesn't give the sense of filling the mouth with flavour. What can I do to improve the mouthfeel and enhance the length of flavour?

 

Should I try different water? I'm currently using mineral water to brew with instead of tap water. Or should I use less water to increase the ratio of extract to water?

 

Anyone got any suggestions?

 

use an all malt brew, not fermentable sugars ie glucose / sucrose /table sugar.

these single tins and a kilo of sugar are the bare minimum of what is considered beer.

 

if you check out the clone recipes for decent beer, nearly all have more than 3kg of malt. the tin/ kits may contain malt and some sugars.

 

one of the best things you can do is replace the sugar for dried malt extract. it gives a better mouth feel.

 

you can buy the 2 tin kits and brew normally, or short brew it (less than 40 pints) for alittle more strength and flavour per pint (usually 36pint batch).

[Andy135]

use an all malt brew, not fermentable sugars ie glucose / sucrose /table sugar.

these single tins and a kilo of sugar are the bare minimum of what is considered beer.

 

if you check out the clone recipes for decent beer, nearly all have more than 3kg of malt. the tin/ kits may contain malt and some sugars.

 

one of the best things you can do is replace the sugar for dried malt extract. it gives a better mouth feel.

 

you can buy the 2 tin kits and brew normally, or short brew it (less than 40 pints) for alittle more strength and flavour per pint (usually 36pint batch).

Thanks Cookoff. The last batch I made was done with spraymalt instead of sugar, yet it still tasted thin. It's a bit better now though - seems to be improving a little with age. Maybe I simply need to leave it for longer.

[Zapp]

Kit beers where you add fermentibles (malt extract or sugars) take a lot longer to come into condition and will taste thin during that conditioning time.

[Blunderbuss]

After making a few kits and enjoying the process and results, I decided to make the leap to all grain brewing. I've been making or acquiring the kit over the last few weeks and finally got around to doing it today. I made an American style IPA. Should be very hoppy and citrusy and about 6.2% Alcohol, so not quite a session beer! I'm hoping for a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale style or similar, if anyone has tried that. I had a lot of help from Zapp via PM

 

Some pictures:

 

My dodgy home made hot liquor tank/boiler. Not sure it would pass an electrical safety inspection! made with the elements of 2 x Tesco value kettles. If I get into this, I might upgrade to a stainless steel boiler, but this works perfectly for now.

 

 

 

6 kilos of lovely Maris Otter pale malt and hops

 

 

Hop additions labelled ready to go, they smelled incredible - even before they went in the boiler

 

 

 

Yeast starter, I drained a lot more of the liquid off before I pitched it

 

 

Sparging set up

 

 

Sparging in progress

 

Edited March 8, 2014 by Blunderbuss

[Blunderbuss]

Home made wort chiller - worked a treat

 

 

There's an app for everything! A timer to tell me when to add hops etc

 

 

Lovely hops in the wort. The smell was incredible.

 

 

Wort going from the boil to the fermenter after chilling. Plenty of splashing to aerate it. This helps the yeast do its work

 

 

 

Pitching the yeast

 

 

Safely in the fermenter. A week or two in here, then bottling and 4 or 5 weeks conditioning in the bottles, If I can wait that long!

 

Edited March 8, 2014 by Blunderbuss

[Zapp]

Excellent, looks like the kit worked a treat!

[Blunderbuss]

Excellent, looks like the kit worked a treat!

It did. I'd been quite daunted by the idea of all grain, but it was actually a lot more straightforward than I imagined.

[Thunderbird]

Looks like something out of Breaking Bad mate!

 

Will there be a small sample in May, dare I ask?

[Blunderbuss]

Looks like something out of Breaking Bad mate!

 

Will there be a small sample in May, dare I ask?

 

It is my intention to hold some back, but the temptation may be too great! I'll be brewing again before then though, but probably a different style.

[Thunderbird]

Not an issue, you enjoy it. Even just a taste to pass around would be good though. You might inspire other members!

[Blunderbuss]

Duncan one way or another I'll have some home brew there, and hopefully lots of it!

[cant hit rabbits 123]

Cider maker myself! Done on a student buget, too. Made various apple ciders of varying qualities and alcohol content levels, some pretty close to undrinkable (although they were drunk, students can't be too picky) some down right fantastic and in my opinion better than a lot of shop bought ciders. Made a few mixed fruit ciders, too.

 

Just got home to find one I made earlier had fermented much more vigorously than expected and blew off the air lock, I now have raspberry pulp on the ceiling.

Edited March 9, 2014 by cant hit rabbits 123

[Muddy Funker]

It did. I'd been quite daunted by the idea of all grain, but it was actually a lot more straightforward than I imagined.

 

Nice work,

 

Some all grain brewers will have you believe it's the most complicated thing ever. It isn't.

 

It's a shame as this attitude will prevent quite a few people wanting to try it.

 

Glad your first ag brew day went well, should be proper tasty

[leeds chimp]

I do beer out of a can still as find all grain just too daunting at the moment and the time needed

[Blunderbuss]

Nice work,

Some all grain brewers will have you believe it's the most complicated thing ever. It isn't.

 

It's a shame as this attitude will prevent quite a few people wanting to try it.

Glad your first ag brew day went well, should be proper tasty

 

Thanks MF. It's like a lot of hobbies from the outside looking in, including shooting. Full of seemingly impenetrable techo babble and arcane terminology. I read quite a bit before I dived in and asked a few daft questions but based on my very limited experience so far, it's a lot easier in practice than it seems in the books/forums. Having said that, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. My first brew may yet taste like creosote filtered through a tramp's y-fronts!

 

I do beer out of a can still as find all grain just too daunting at the moment and the time needed

Go for it! Its not as bad as it looks and there are some knowledgeable people on here to ask. Edited March 12, 2014 by Blunderbuss

[Muddy Funker]

 

 

Thanks MF. It's like a lot of hobbies from the outside looking in, including shooting. Full of seemingly impenetrable techo babble and arcane terminology. I read quite a bit before I dived in and asked a few daft questions but based on my very limited experience so far, it's a lot easier in practice than it seems in the books/forums. Having said that, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. My first brew may yet taste like creosote filtered through a tramp's y-fronts!

 

Go for it! Its not as bad as it looks and there are some knowledgeable people on here to ask.

 

 

I'm sure it'll be just fine, you'll actually find that AG can be very forgiving. I remember having a chiller connection leak and ended up spraying about a litre of untreated hosepipe water into the wort, it ended up the best brew I've ever done!!!!

 

You've certainly gone about it the right way by keeping things simple, I think people get daunted when people mention water treatments, stepped mash, exact temperature controls ect.

 

All these things have their place but you can still make amazing beers without treating water and by being a few degrees out on the mash, you don't realise this until you make mistakes and it still turns out great. I didn't start playing around with water profiles using CRS and Gypsum until I'd done about 10 AG brews, my reasoning was that if I start doing all these things from the first brew I'm gonna end up over complicating things plus I'm not going to have a benchmark to see the improvements additional steps like water treatments can give.

 

I guess it's the same with all hobbies you can take it as little or far as you want

[rtaylor]

I've done quite a few kits and extract brews, all been perfectly acceptable. I've got the the stage where I want to try the next step so I've got the ingredients to make my first AG brew and am currently making the equipment. I'm trying to keep it basic and expand when required or desired.

 

So far I have two kettle elements mounted in a spare heavy duty fermenting bin. I was planning on running one element for the boiler and the other as a temperature controlled element for the mash. I have ordered an STC-1000 thermostat of ebay and am hoping to wire this in to control an element.

 

My thoughts were if I suspended the grain in a grain bag I would do away with the need for a separate mash tun. And after heating it at 65 I would then take the liquid of and recycle it over the grain effectively sparging it. Then just boil the wort/hops (hops in a fine hops bag) in the same container using the other element.

 

If nothing else I would get fewer complaints for having less "junk" in the house. I've looked a few set ups people have made but they all seem to have 2 or 3 different vessels for different stages, am I missing something or can it be done in 1 vessel?

 

Cheers

[Zapp]

In theory that should work, but to be honest you would be a load better getting a dedicated mashtun and using both elements in your boiler. Heated mashtuns are a bit of a dark art, and not as reliable as a decent well insulated tun.

 

If the cost of a picnic cooler is the issue, you can make a very good mashtun from a fermenter bucket clad in central heating tank insulation fitted with a tap and a false bottom make from a plastic plate drilled with holes. Google false bottom mashtun for instructions.

 

So, yes, it can be done in one vessel, but it will involve a lot of messing about, and you will soon be looking for a separate mash vessel in my opinion.

 

Give me a pm if you want any help with things like water chemistry.

[rtaylor]

Lovely, cheers for your reply. I've got the thermostat on the way so I'll give it a go as it is and adjust or upgrade if I need to.

 

It says on the specs that it will run +/- 1 degree. I know that will be more in a bigger volume but hopefully it will be more accurate than having it on the hob in a pan.

 

I had read somewhere (and can see the logic) that running two elements of of the same circuit might cause issues with the switch board or melting the plug? 3.4kw is quite a draw over an hour and a half. I wouldn't be able to run each element of a separate circuit in my house, hence my idea of having one for boiling and one for mashing.

 

I thought there must have been a reason everyone wasn't doing it in one vessel but hey ho got to try these things.

 

I've got just under 5 weeks to get a brew together to take to my cousins stag do, so I'll have to press on with this method and then see about changing stuff. I know I will be cutting it a bit fine, but we only got the dates on Sunday! As long as it has the desired affects everyone should be happy.

[Blunderbuss]

Good luck! I'm trying to get some ready for a canal trip with some mates.

Edited March 17, 2014 by Blunderbuss

[Muddy Funker]

I've done quite a few kits and extract brews, all been perfectly acceptable. I've got the the stage where I want to try the next step so I've got the ingredients to make my first AG brew and am currently making the equipment. I'm trying to keep it basic and expand when required or desired.

 

So far I have two kettle elements mounted in a spare heavy duty fermenting bin. I was planning on running one element for the boiler and the other as a temperature controlled element for the mash. I have ordered an STC-1000 thermostat of ebay and am hoping to wire this in to control an element.

 

My thoughts were if I suspended the grain in a grain bag I would do away with the need for a separate mash tun. And after heating it at 65 I would then take the liquid of and recycle it over the grain effectively sparging it. Then just boil the wort/hops (hops in a fine hops bag) in the same container using the other element.

 

If nothing else I would get fewer complaints for having less "junk" in the house. I've looked a few set ups people have made but they all seem to have 2 or 3 different vessels for different stages, am I missing something or can it be done in 1 vessel?

 

Cheers

 

What you're describing is a method called BIAB (brew in a bag) it's a perfectly viable way of all grain brewing. You start with total volume of the water used and you actually don't really need to sparge so it simplifies the process.

 

Here is a link to an old thread I posted on a brewing forum that shows the process.

 

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13457&hilit=gail+porter

[rtaylor]

I had seen the abbreviation but there are so many I couldn't work it out. I'm glad I'm no the only one trying to do it that way.

 

I know there was a question at the bottom of that thread about squeezing the grain, was the answer no don't bother, I would have thought you would want to get as much wort as possible out?

 

That recipe looks very similar to what I was going to try and make so I'll try and go with that one. Was it your recipe/thread? How did it work with the coconut, never heard of it added to beer.

 

Cheers

Roger

[Muddy Funker]

I had seen the abbreviation but there are so many I couldn't work it out. I'm glad I'm no the only one trying to do it that way.

 

I know there was a question at the bottom of that thread about squeezing the grain, was the answer no don't bother, I would have thought you would want to get as much wort as possible out?

 

That recipe looks very similar to what I was going to try and make so I'll try and go with that one. Was it your recipe/thread? How did it work with the coconut, never heard of it added to beer.

 

Cheers

Roger

 

It was my thread I've even got the same forum name over there, not exactly my recipe I just played with an existing one.

 

With regards to the coconut it was a very subtle flavour initially that vanished over time, it was still a lovely porter though.

 

As for squeezing I've never bothered, I just let the bag hang for a few minutes then put it in a fermenter with a collinder in the bottom and that allows more to run off.

 

I've always hit the amounts and gravities as per the recipe so never felt the need to squeeze

[rtaylor]

Well the first brew is underway!!!

 

I've done a very similar recipe to yours Muddy.

 

The STC-1000 arrived today. The wiring diagram is a bit vague so if anyone is going to buy one and needs a hand with the wiring just ask (plenty on google and youtube). It seems to keep a pretty accurate temperature and you can change when it clicks in and out.

 

I have a feeling my boiler bin is a bit small. I only managed to get about 20l in, and with the grain its not far of the top. I think I will just top it up when it is in the fermenting bin. Possibly not the way to do it but 4 or 5 litres of fresh water can't make too much difference.

 

Many thanks for your help and advice and fingers crossed my first all grain brew works out ok.

 

I shall keep you posted after the stag do (if I can still type).

[Zapp]

20ltr sounds a lot to mash with, a normal grain to water ratio would be 2.5ltr per kilo of grain. Depending on the water supply in your area and the style of beer you were making it could impact on the finished beer.

 

Boiling with only one element is fine, I did it for ages. It just takes longer. I run two elements off one loop and havent had any problems.