First Kit Great 2nd One Not As Good, Why?

[keezawitch]

Stevia is meant to be a natural product - another sweetener called xylitol (despite
its name) is also a natural sweetener, suitable for diabetics, not fermentable by
yeast. Had an unopened bottle from some while back for diabetic family - brewed
a DrSmurto Golden Ale that ended up a bit too bitter so added some xylitol during
priming/bottling and it turned out quite well.

For diabetic hubby, you might want to look into using oat malt extract (available
from one of our site sponsors as it happens) as a way of adding body/mouthfeel
to brews. The usual way of adding mouthfeel by adding maltodextrine (or mashing
at higher temperatures to increase dextrins production in All Grain brewing) might
not suit a diabetic as I think the dextrins might have a high GI rating.

I'm thinking oat extract might create body by adding proteins to the beer (see THIS
chaper of How To Brew). So using a combination of normal malt extract, oat malt
extract, xylitol or lactose (which is meant to be medium GI) you might be able to
make some nice beers for hubby.

thank you, i will ask at the brewer about it, i never understood the mouthfeel thing until i tasted the first brew i made and then it clicked, this is what we (son and I) feel is missing from second, so will look into it for next batch. As for artificial sweeteners we dont use them at all, they will kill you faster than the sugar, after much research and testing on hubby, we use only raw sugar for his sweetening and it doesnt upset sugar levels, they are less stable when we dont put a bit of sugar into his diet. He has confused the hell out of the specialist we were under, she ended up throwing her hands up saying "But it shouldnt work like that way, when he has no sugar and exercises ,he always eats right, his sugar goes sky high, they wanted to admit him to study like a rat, we dont go to her anymore) just a piece of useless info there.

 

[keezawitch]

I have skimmed the How To Brew, think i will print it up for reference thanks

 

[kario]

Second time posted today and credit for the article goes to Thirsty Boy, not me. I just think it's a great summary.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A2j_MO6...en_US&pli=1

Doesn't answer your specific question but will help you make better beer from kits.

Wish I'd read this article before today!

I've only ever used kit yeast with any kits/partials. Damn! I wonder if that's affected the quality of my beer as much as he says in the article? (I was quite shocked)

Would it be ok to top up a Coopers English Bitters brew in which I pitched the kit yeast this morning? With another yeast tomorrow morning? Or is it too late to avoid any damage?

 

[roverfj1200]

Wish I'd read this article before today!

I've only ever used kit yeast with any kits/partials. Damn! I wonder if that's affected the quality of my beer as much as he says in the article? (I was quite shocked)

Would it be ok to top up a Coopers English Bitters brew in which I pitched the kit yeast this morning? With another yeast tomorrow morning? Or is it too late to avoid any damage?

Don't under estimate the kit yeast. When used at a good temp the kit yeast can ferment quire clean..

Cheers

 

[Deebo]

I think this has already been mentioned, but try using 1kg of light dry malt extract (or 1.5kg of light liquid malt extract) with whatever kit you brew and a better dry yeast like us-05 or nottingham.

The malt will give a bit of residual sweetness and a better head on your beer, the yeast will make sure it ferments out a bit better than kit yeast (they normally have about double the qty of yeast to get the ferment off to a better start).

Also try and keep the temps about 24c or below.

 

[misfit]

have not read the whole thread so sorry if it has been said,just trying to help.
Mabye on your first brew everything was nice and new and you did not clean/sanatize as well as you should have before the second brew.
Not saying you did not clean your gear,but it may take more cleaning than you thought.
May not be your problem but something to think about.
Cheers MISFIT

 

[Yob]

Also try and keep the temps about 24c or below.

20 effing 4 :blink: no, no , no , no , no....

18 to 20 max... especially at the start, not so important toward the end

Gorden Bennet...

every brew I did +20 suked arse over every brew I have done -20

 

[Deebo]

20 effing 4 :blink: no, no , no , no , no....

18 to 20 max... especially at the start, not so important toward the end

Gorden Bennet...

every brew I did +20 suked arse over every brew I have done -20

I do mine at about 17 but this possibly isnt realistic for new brewers, just mentioned below 24 as that is top of fermentis temp range for us-05 and s-04 (15 - 24c).
I have personally done a number of brews around 24c before I got a fermentation fridge and never had any problems with overpowering fruity esters.

 

[boingk]

Fermentation range for me (ales) is 17~21'C, with 18~19'C being my optimum for most ales. Lagers are a different story and require sub 12'C for the most part.

Also, try and keep it simple. I still like kits with 500g LDME, 250g white sugar and a 15g dry hop addition around 2 to 3 days before bottling.

Cheers - boingk