Brewing Master

Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My 1st try is just about finished.  Several problems, most of which are probably correctable, but more experiments need to take place before I can get useful data. 1) Seemed too hoppy.  I like hoppy beers, but this seemed like the only    flavor that the beer had.  Seemed a little like hopped amber water. 2) Not enough carbonation.  Head, but not fizzing off of the bottom, and    not fizzy in your mouth much. 1) and 2) improved over time.  2) still isn’t quite up to par, and 1) could be a lot better.

How much Extract did you use? Which Yeast did you use? I have had some very good all-extract beers. There is a variety of extracts available, which/whose did you use? If you post your recipe, we can offer a lot more comment on what you are experiencing. Metallurgist for International Space Station Alpha My file, How to Brew Your First Beer, containing info on equipment,

terms, brewing processes and troubleshooting, is available via FTP from Homebrew/Docs at sierra.stanford.edu or via WWW on Spencer’s Beer Page at http://guraldi.itn.med.umich.edu/Beer/

Response:

My 1st try is just about finished.  Several problems, most of which are probably correctable, but more experiments need to take place before I can get useful data. 1) Seemed too hoppy.  I like hoppy beers, but this seemed like the only   flavor that the beer had.  Seemed a little like hopped amber water.

Hoppy how? Bitter or character (flavor or aroma) or both? How much extract and hops did you use and when did you add them? What was the %AA of the hops? You may have added too much hops or not enough extract (depends on the style you were trying for). The yeast can also effect the final bitterness and maltiness of the brew. 2) Not enough carbonation.  Head, but not fizzing off of the bottom, and   not fizzy in your mouth much. 1) and 2) improved over time.  2) still isn’t quite up to par, and 1) could be a lot better. Problems I recognized: 1) I used too little dried malt extract to prime.  I used 3/4 cup instead of   ?????

1 1/4 cup. 2) Possibly the fermentation/conditioning temperature was too high, but   that didn’t seem to affect the beer too much in the ways described in   Dave Miller’s CGHB.

Might give an astringent (sort of harsh) aspect to the brew. So I can’t decide whether to try again with an all extract batch, or to try a partial mash.  Maybe it’s the case that an all extract batch can only get so good, and to get the level of sophistication that I want, I’m going to need to try a partial mash.  The flavor combinations were just not there. Ideas, comments?

You should be able to make a pleasing beer with extracts. I’d work on getting that right before moving so partial mash (unless you want to do a partial mash). Hows your water? If your water is hard or not good in other ways you may want to try brewing with bottled water. It’s hard to evaluate what happened without your recipe or technique. –Russ

Response:

My 1st try is just about finished.  Several problems, most of which are probably correctable, but more experiments need to take place before I can get useful data. 1) Seemed too hoppy.  I like hoppy beers, but this seemed like the only    flavor that the beer had.  Seemed a little like hopped amber water. 2) Not enough carbonation.  Head, but not fizzing off of the bottom, and    not fizzy in your mouth much. 1) and 2) improved over time.  2) still isn’t quite up to par, and 1) could be a lot better. Problems I recognized: 1) I used too little dried malt extract to prime.  I used 3/4 cup instead of    ????? 2) Possibly the fermentation/conditioning temperature was too high, but    that didn’t seem to affect the beer too much in the ways described in    Dave Miller’s CGHB. So I can’t decide whether to try again with an all extract batch, or to try a partial mash.  Maybe it’s the case that an all extract batch can only get so good, and to get the level of sophistication that I want, I’m going to need to try a partial mash.  The flavor combinations were just not there. Ideas, comments? thanks.

Response: