Bland Beer, Will It Get Better?

[david d]

Hi
this is my first attempt at making beer
I used a coopers kit but tried canadian blonde instead of the supplied lager although I only used the supplied brewing suger
It started out at 1040 and finished on 1007 after 9 days.
I Bottled them 16 days ago
and thought Id try one
and what I found was that they are too carbonated (tastes fizzy) and are really bland
I did chill it pretty cold although I dont know whether that matters
Well Finally the question is. Will it get better after a couple of months or do I junk it and start again?

Dave

 

[Chad]

Why don't you keep that one, and get another started of the same recipe/kit. Then you can compare the two.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[microbe]

I'll second Chad, but add that 16 days in the bottle might be jumping the gun a bit. I've not used that kit before but I have often (not always) found that flavours can change slightly over time.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[kelbygreen]

If you do another one try to do 1kg of LDME (thats light dry malt extract) and maybe 250g of dextrose but the malt extract will give more body and mouth feel it makes it sweeter why I tend to add a touch of dextrose (although never tried a full malt one yet) I like a little drier tasting beers and dextrose gives this.

If you used the carbonation drops I found that they made my beer to fizzy the first time but the second is perfect. Make sure the fermentation has finished fully (I think that contributed to extra fizz in my first one) 3 of the same readings 3 days in a row is a good sign and doesnt hurt to leave a few more days to drop some yeast out

 

[Cube]

That kit is bland mate. Grab another blonde and do a toucan with the lager. Simple, add both the lager can and the blonde to the fermenter with some Fermentis US05 yeast ( pink packet 15g.. or 14grms? ) No other addatives. If you must add 500 grms light malt ( dry ) or 500 dex.

Should be nice but add some hop tea bags for that something extra. I'd maybe go for a Saz tea bag.

 

[Dazza_devil]

Try one after 4 weeks, if it's still bland have another one and continue to have another one until you don't know or care if it's bland or not. Don't toss it.

 

[kelbygreen]

worst if you cant stomace it try mixing it with some "cheap" commercial beer (had to do this with my first 2 beers) Main problem I had was temp control beers do not taste good fermented at 26-32 degs lol

 

[david d]

Thanks for the welcome and the replies

Cube, Do you still add brewing sugar or just the lager and blonde cans?

kelbygreen, The fermentation was at between 24 to 26 degrees do you think this was the cause or me adding just sugar and not brewing enhancer or extra malt?

Ive also got a can of coopers Pale Ale does this taste alright standard or do you guys recomend enhancing the brew??

Dave

 

[Dazza_devil]

Two cans, just that or add some LDME or Dextrose if you want.
Fermentation temp at 24 to 26 will give off flavours, try and keep it around 18-19 degrees.
The Pale Ale can make a nice beer, just use a kilo of fermentables with it or whatever you like. There's plenty of recipes on here using it, just do a search.

 

[kelbygreen]

yeah try keep fermenting temps between 18-19 for ale yeast. kit yeast you could go into low 20's but try to stay away from mid to high 20's. If it was me I would just use 1kg LDME and 250-500g dextrose. Just depends what you like really just try few different things and you will figure out what to put in to get the beer you like. You could also dry hop a hopbag for something different but will give more aroma then anything. But prob just stick to simple brews for now read threw the forum in a few weeks you will have some good ideas.

 

[Bribie G]

Canadian Blonde must be the blandest kit out of their range and once bottled, there really isn't much you can do to boost the flavour other than do a 'shandy' with it when drinking. Rather than chucking it, I reckon a good 'partner' would be a $29 slab of Oettinger German Lager from BWS and, in a beer jug, combine one bottle of the blonde and one 330ml bottle of the Oettinger and they should go together fairly well.

For future brews, and something more flavourful all round:

• Coopers Lager tin
• 1kg box of Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 - it contains light dried malt, dextrose and a 'heading agent' that gives a smoother more creamy beer
• Ferment no higher than 20 degrees
• Add some hops - for practice, just pop in a hop 'teabag' into the fermenter initially. Instructions are on the hop teabag packet.

Welcome to the obsession :icon_cheers:

 

[Mickthe]

Been there Dave - just a few months back!!

My first brew was with 1kg brewing sugar, thin taste and no head, was like drinking alcoholic water. Second brew was brewed at 30 degrees odd and is bairly drinkable, fruity when it should not be.

My third brew came out a ripper if you want to try it - Coopers Pale Ale Tin + Brew Enhancer 2 + 250g Light Dry Malt Extract + Cascade Hop Bag steep (from brew shop) and US-05 Safale yeast (from brew shop) , brewed at 20 degrees by sitting fermenter in a dish of water with a couple of ice bottles each day.

Cheers

Mick.

 

[svyturys]

I'll back Mick up on this one. I just went through my brew book back to brew number 5 and found that the first brew which really took off for me was Coopers Pale Ale tin, Coopers BE2, Safale US 05 and 15g of Cascade hops in a "teabag". So simple. Easy way to start experimenting with hops and all the possibilities that they provide. And, of course, it was fermented at 18/20C.


Cheers

 

[Nick JD]

Get 20g of high AA% hops and boil them in 2L of water for a bit more than half an hour (don't worry about the SG of the water the bitterness and flavour still come out), cool the water and then use about a shot of it in each schooner. That'll un-bland any beer.

It's good to do when your friends leave a six pack of VB in your fridge. VB with a shot of Amarillo hop tea is really quite nice.

 

[david d]

thanks for the info
Will try the pale ale with BE2 and hops, and will make sure to keep temp at 18-20 degrees

I'll give the original brew a month or more and then try it, if its still too dodgey to drink
I think Ill donate it to my grand mother-in-law for her shanties

Ill keep you informed of progress


Ta

Dave

 

[Gronko]

I sample all my brews first at 2 week after bottling and they are usually hideous at this early stage. Shallow, bland bottles of pus!

Next sample is usually around the 4 week mark and they have always improved a lot but are still ordinary.

I find 6 weeks + to give the best results. Something happens to the beer around this time and it develops a lot more complexity.

My current coopers mexican is 5 weeks in the bottle as is really starting to taste good. It was bloody awful 3 weeks ago and I felt like chucking it out. Most tasteless brew I'd ever made.
I'm glad I waited though coz it really was nice to drink today. (37 degrees here today)
Another week or two and it'll be a ripper.

Give yours some time to mature and I'm sure you'll be happy with the results.

All beer is good, just some more than others