First Attempt At Brewing

[spicks]

I got given a homebrewing kit at Christmas and I've just bottled my second batch. My first batch I did came out too sweet - kinda cidery. Not good at all. I ended up pouring most of it away to use the bottles on my second attempt.

Here are the ingredients I used:
- Tooheys Special Draught Kit
- Brewiser Liquid Brewing Sugar

And I just used the perscribed amount of normal sugar in each bottle when it came to secondary fermentation.

My second batch may well be doomed, but what can I do in the future to make beer that is at the least drinkable?

Note: Whilst I don't think many people here like Tooheys beers much I really don't think it was meant to taste like that.

Thanks,

Spicks.

 

[deebee]

Don't give up, you will make good beer and will probably prefer your own beer to commercial beers before long. A good place to start is to read www.howtobrew.com and then spend a few hours messing with the search function on this site.

Search for "temperature control". You should ideally be brewing ales between 18-22*C. You could just wait a month for it to cool down.

Your next problem is ingredients. Swap the brewing sugar for malt extract from your homebrew shop. Ordinary table sugar (I think the main ingredient in Brewiser "brewing suguar") will give you that cidery flavour you talk about.

Maybe also do a search under "newbie" as your questions have been asked by lots of new brewers.

 

[spicks]

Is Coopers Brew Enhancer a good alternative to normal Brewing Sugar? Cause that's what I've recently bought, though at $5 I'm happy to not bother with it.

Ok so what about this product? I just found it at The Country Brewer place:

Coopers Extra Dark 1kg

Made from 100% quality malting barley. Supplied in re-useable clip lid tubs.

Would that go well with the Coopers Dark Ale kit I just bought? And would I use that as opposed to or in conjunction with Brewing Sugar?

You're probably thinking why don't I just read How To Brew, but I have read it, I just hate reading large things on the net.

Thanks for any replies,

Spicks.

 

[Jovial_Monk]

malt in any form would be good, the liquid malt is most convenient, just tip into the fermenter.

Dry malt extract needs to be dissolved then boiled: adding some hop pellets to this boil will boost hop aroma.

Jovial Monk

 

[KillerRx4]

Spicks,

Ive been using coopers enhancher 1 for quite a while now & find it much better than other sugars ive used. (100% dextrose, brewing sugar etc)

 

[dickTed]

I have some 1kg plastic Goulburn Valley fruit jars, and get them filled at a health food shop. $4.95/kg. The actually hold 1.3kg. But it was a vast improvement on both sugar and dextrose. Don't know about the brew enhancers, they still contain dextrose and corn sugar which may help the head slightly, but seem to give you thinner beers. At $5 or $6/kg from your hbs, it's hardly any dearer than Coopers Brew Enhancers.

In fact the only thing I'll get from a supermarket now is crown seal tops.

And yes, I agree with deebee about temps. If you don't have any temp control, make it a rule to brew lagers in winter and ales in summer.

 

[redbeard]

sorry dickted, are your Goulburn Valley fruit jars are filled with liquid or dry malt from health food shop ?

 

[pint of lager]

When buying any sort of brew additive pack, check the ingredients. If it says sucrose anywhere on it, move to the next pack, or go to another supplier. I know one of the cheapies at Big W was half sucrose, half dextrose.

Sucrose is plain white table sugar. Sometimes, it is crushed to a very fine powder and looks different.

Country Brewer sell a 1kg amber pack, which is a mixture of malts, dextrose and maltodextrin and is a great pack to add to dark beers. The plain dark malt would also go well in your beer.

 

[chiefman]

Has any one tried Brown sugar, caster sugar,
I suppose they would be inferior to Malted Sugar

 

[pint of lager]

Caster sugar is sucrose, or table sugar, with smaller crystal size, which makes it easier to dissolve when used in cooking. So does not play much part in brewing except maybe in priming bottles.

Brown sugar can be used. Eat a spoonful, and go past the sweet sugar flavour to the flavour that makes it different to white sugar. This is the flavour that will end up in your beer. Try using 200-300 gms in a dark ale or stout. If you like the flavour change, try a bit more in the next brew.

Most brown sugars these days are refined white sugar with a bit of molasses added back in.

Other things to try are honey, molasses, golden syrup, treacle and palm sugar from Asian supermarkets. Do not add huge amounts, just 100-200 gms at first, especially with stronger sugars like treacle and molasses. Like so many things in brewing, a little is good, more can be bad. Use it to replace the equivalent amount of your regular malt/dextrose addition in stouts and dark ales. Honey, because it is lighter in flavour can be used in larger quantities, and will compliment a lager.

You are after a balance of flavours, not an overwhelming molasses flavour.

 

[Backlane Brewery]

Caster sugar is just finely ground white sugar, and using it would be no different to using white sugar.
Brown sugar is less refined sugar, with a different flavour that will affect the taste of the brew.
By "malted sugar" I guess you mean dextrose or maltodex? These are the best things to use, although treacle, molasses & golden syrup (derived from cane) maple syrup (tree sap sugar) honey (from a bee's bum) or lactose (milk sugar) can all have a place in your brew as fermentables or flavourings.

Give the seach button a poke and you will find a load more info.

 

[dickTed]

redbeard - I buy my liquid extract from the health food shop in Station street, Cheltenham Vic. The old fellow has a bulk drum of it - with a tap. Right next to his bulk honey drum. He is about 90, wears a bow-tie, and won't retire because he hasn't got anything else to do. Used to brew. He sells fermenters and kits and accessories too, but I doubt that much of his stuff is very fresh. I reckon he sells most of his malt to me. But it's easier for me to carry than the plastic containers you get at the hbs. I lost my license to VB, and ride a bike. Really easy to use too.

chiefman - After my first few brews with dextrose, I tried sugar. It tasted the same. I was using supermarket kits. Mainly Coopers lager - which has ale yeast. When it got to the point where VB tasted grouse, I thought enough is enough.

It used to cost me $11 for a kit $9.90 and kilo $1.10, but drinking it wasn't easy.

Now I get a good beer for about $25. Either a 3kg ESB kit with hop pellets, or a Coopers Heritage range kit $14.90, 1kg extract ($5.95 at hbs) and pellets.

Think I'll use 40g pellets next time (5 min). I have to boil the extract anyway. Who knows where it's been. Have used hops in 4 brews, but only got a good whiff of it when I got to 30g. I like Hightail Ale and Gippsland Gold and would like to get those types of flavour.

That's enough crap from me. Glass is empty, so's the stubby.