Golden Harvest

[rh1an5]

so i put this down 2 weeks ago, and have just gone to test teh fg and get it ready to bottle, but the hydro reading is around 1.020, way to high.

i used a ultra brew booster
brew booster, 500 dex, 250 ligth malt, and 250 corn suger i think

fermentation looks complete, but i have also noticed in the past few days teh smell has changed a bit as well, was a nice sort of a warm beckss/heniken aroma, now not as nice

what could have gone wrong. some kind of late infection? temps changiong to much, has prop moved up and down between 20 and 24 the past few days.

 

[solidghost]

ya, 1.020 is a bit too high. What's the base kit?
Have you tried a sip of the beer? How does it taste?

 

[rh1an5]

base kit is a c cascade golden harvest, dosent taste great, not totaly toxic but not super

 

[pjwhite5]

I think Cascade spent more on the can design then whats on the inside,,

Although the porter is quite good

Just my 2c


cede

 

[tjbyrne]

I have made a few beers using the Cascade kits (Lager and Draught) and have generally been pretty happy with them. The only problem I've had has been with the yeast with the kit. The 2 lagers I've used SAFlager yeast, but for the draught I used the kit yeast and although the yeast started growing fermentation never really got going. Temp was at about 18-20, so I had to add SAFLager yeast to get this going fermenting.

Maybe the Yeast supplied is a bit temp sensitive and hitting 20 degrees is a bit low for it???

 

[rh1an5]

hmm, i dont want to throw it, so i think i will bottle it tonight and see what happens, i mean beeer i beer, even if it tastse funny

 

[boingk]

Wait for it to settle out, perhaps give the fermenter a gentle rock from side to side to rouse the yeast. Are you sure the FG is 1.020? Did you bleed off a cup first to make sure no sediment was making it seem higher? Fermenting between 20-24 should see you ferment out quite fast...

Let us know what happens - boingk

 

[0M39A]

Doesnt the cascade lager kit come with a real lager yeast?

i just remember doing a kit a few years ago, was two row lager or something along those lines, and it gave off some very very sulphurish smells and tasted terrible after a couple of weeks in the bottle.

few months later it wasnt so bad, but still average at best.

at the time i was still a noobish brewer, so treated it like and ale yeast as i didnt know better.

also, cascade kits are renowned for their extremely long lag times.

give the carboy a swirl and see if you can rouse the yeast up a little bit.

 

[pokolbinguy]

was two row lager or something along those lines

They are "James Squire" Kits

 

[rh1an5]

gave it a shake last night and also drew a lot more of b4 my sample, seems to have dropped the fg and even smeel sa bit better.

wil try to bottle it b4 the wekend and see how it goes

 

[rh1an5]

finlay cracked a few of these open, they have a very strange ash like affter taste, any ideas??

 

[Pennywise]

finlay cracked a few of these open, they have a very strange ash like affter taste, any ideas??

When you shook the fermenter did it splash around? could be oxidised, or did any of the crusty gunk in the fermenter make it into your bottles?

 

[rh1an5]

nah airly sure no oxidisation, and no chunky gunk, will leave the rest a bit longer and see what happens

 

[Swinging Beef]

Ive tried this kit and the Spicy Ghost, and so has a mate of mine.
We had horrible results both times.
He drank his, but I couldnt be bothered and threw them out.
I just dont think they turn out very nice at all, and actually put me off home brewing for 18 months.
I'm sorry you have had a similar experience.

 

[goomboogo]

Ash like after taste, burnt match maybe. As suggested previously, a likely cause is the yeast under the lid. If, as speculated it is a lager yeast then fermenting at elevated temperatures for this type of yeast could produce the flavour you describe, amongst others.

These kits have been long debated as being below par product but the negative flavours ascribed to them often seem to be related to high fermentation temperatures for the yeast supplied. Can anyone confirm that the yeast under the lid is a lager yeast?

 

[rh1an5]

damm i got 2 spicy ghost on sale, 5 bucks each, might grab soem better yeast from teh LHBS, any suggestions of what to get?