help, my beer isn't very good.

[technobabble66]

I'm still kinda newbie, so take this in context:

I'd say your temp control could definitely improve, but at this stage it's roughly within ok range (though the kit yeast might b less tolerant than the us05 & bry-97 I've used). Similarly, sanitation is v important, but if you haven't had any infections then it doesn't sound like an area needing more focus.

Similar to manticle et al's suggestions:
I'd sub out all sugar/dex/honey. Just stick to ldme (light dry malt extract). BE2 is ok also as a 2nd choice (has ldme + dex in it).
Get better yeast - use us05 or bry-97. Cleaner & probably more forgiving.
Lastly, consider doing the hop tea manticle suggested. 10-15g of a light hop like saaz will b noticeable but subtle (think euro ale). Or the same of citra/galaxy (us or nz hops mainly) will be more pronounced citrus hop presence (think US pale ale style)

Temp control is definitely better at a steady 18*C, but I've had mine fluctuate up to 23*C & still be ok, just not great. Also, temp control seems most important during the first 2-4 days of fermentation. Note that I'm referring to ales with this. Lagers need much better (& lower) temp control.

Oh, one final thing. If you can b bothered, get 100g of crystal grains (cracked), steep in 1L of ~70*C water for 30min, strain, boil the liquid for 5mins & add it to your fermenter. Adds some great full, grain flavour to your beer!

Good luck & don't give up!!

 

[damoninja]

4. Substitute dextrose for sugar and to step up again get some light dme

Really? I thought Dex was an improvement over table sugar?

My dad used table sugar a few times and so have I just to see the difference.

Absolutely revolting.

 

[manticle]

Really? I thought Dex was an improvement over table sugar?

Pretty sure he means sub dex in, sub sugar out. Substitute dex in place of sugar in other words.

 

[pcmfisher]

Get better yeast - use us05 or bry-97. Cleaner & probably more forgiving.

I would suggest the kit yeasts are more forgiving than US05 etc.

In fact, I would go as far to say you might as well stick with the kit yeasts unless you have some form of temp control.

 

[bum]

From what i've heard the kit Ginger Beer isn't very nice anyway (it has lots of artificial sweetener in it) so don't be put off by that one.

It is better than any "scratch" GB I have made but it does need a fair bit of work to shine.

Even the straight tin is better than every commercial alcoholic GB I've tried - and I try pretty much every one I see.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Really? I thought Dex was an improvement over table sugar?

You are right I read that again and it is backwards :blush:

 

[gap]

Really? I thought Dex was an improvement over table sugar?

Please read what he wrote . He is suggesting using Dex not Sugar .

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

It is better than any "scratch" GB I have made but it does need a fair bit of work to shine.

Even the straight tin is better than every commercial alcoholic GB I've tried - and I try pretty much every one I see.

What is your favorite tin/ best receipe bum ? A GB is on my list to try.

 

[bum]

I don't really stick with one recipe (not sure I've ever brewed the exact same recipe twice).

The closest things to constants that I have are:

• I mostly make my fermentables up out of the tin (only tried Coopers but have a Morgans lined up to try next), and a 1:3 mix of dark brown sugar and raw sugar - if the intended OG is pretty high I might swap the ratio to something like 1:4. Sometimes I add a bottle of Buderim's Ginger Refresher once fermentation is well under way.
• I pretty much always boil up some fresh, washed ginger I've run through a food processor then add the liquid only.
• Spices in the mortar and pestle: cinnamon quills, a couple cloves, some cardamom. These go in with the fresh ginger towards the end of the boil.

That's basically my most common base. I play around with it from there.

 

[bry2]

Without temp control I would stick with the kit yeast. However I am not a fan of coopers kit yeast. To me it adds a dirty home brew flavour. Try a different kit such as morgans or black rock. Their yeast produces a much cleaner flavour (it is different to coopers). As recommended before try morgans blue mountain lager. It has hop oils mixed in the can whereas most other kits will have no hop aromas or flavour.

 

[Zardez]

Oh, one final thing. If you can b bothered, get 100g of crystal grains (cracked), steep in 1L of ~70*C water for 30min, strain, boil the liquid for 5mins & add it to your fermenter. Adds some great full, grain flavour to your beer!

Good luck & don't give up!!

could you elaborate a little more for me, this sounds like something I could try, thanks for all the great suggestions guys I appreciate it,now I wanna know where did you all get your temp controller from, what have you done at home to keep your temps constant

 

[MrTwalky]

My brewing mantra is cleanliness, temperature and fresh ingredients. Nail these and you're guaranteed a good beer.

In saying that, I believe kit beers need to be fresh to taste good. If you're buying kits, stay away from the woolworths shelf stock, I think it sits there for a looooong time. Instead go to your LHBS as they have higher turnover and better range.

That's my 2c. Stick with it mate.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I got mine for 20 bucks of ebay. Search for stc1000. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/220V-All-purpose-Digital-Temperature-Controller-with-Sensor-STC-1000-Useful-N4U8-/390679804651?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item5af654baeb I dont know if linking to ebay is ok.... I dont have any connection with the chinsese dudes that sell these though if that makes a difference.

If you then search for stc1000 on this site or even youtube you will find some good how tos on setting them up. The chest feezer I just got on gumtree.

 

[mr_wibble]

From what i've heard the kit Ginger Beer isn't very nice anyway (it has lots of artificial sweetener in it) so don't be put off by that one.

Fn(A) on that. I carbonated a keg of that up (without fermenting) for the kids on the suggestion of the LHBS.
Massive artificial sweetener aftertaste, the kids wont drink it.

It beggers belief that a company that produces otherwise good products output such a thing.

 

[MartinOC]

Zardez, this isn't an exact science. It's ART!

If I was to throw my 2c's worth into the equation, I'd suggest you go & read as much as you possibly can about the whole thing & then start from a simple base, changing one thing at a time until you understand what happens when you change things.

DON'T just rely on things you read here - confirm them for yourself!!

Be prepared to screw-up (& you will - we ALL do/did as we learned). As long as you learn from the experience, it'll make you a better brewer overall. Soon-enough, you'll get a regime of things to do that works for you.

Don't get disheartened with failures (I've chucked hundreds of litres of AG down the driveway over the years), it's just part of the journey.

Welcome to the vortex!!

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Your driveway must be sticky

 

[MartinOC]

Your driveway must be sticky

Don't mention the War!

I come from a time when I was getting a 50Kg bag of base malt for $30, so I had the luxury........ Ner-ner!!

 

[technobabble66]

could you elaborate a little more for me, this sounds like something I could try, ...

It's pretty simple. Basically exactly as i described above, that's all there is to it. Slight variations on how to steep it, but that version works for me. I thought it was a bit daunting the first time i did it - playing with all this grain stuff. But it's a piece of cake once you try it
Another description of it, plus other things you can do, plus generally being a really awesome summary on the whole brewing thing, is How To Brew, by John Palmer. Google & download it. It's free!! Some of the more technical stuff is outdated, but is about the best starting point there is for newbies looking to learn. HIGHLY recommended. It's also well structured so you can even just read the bits you need now & go back to the rest later.

The process of just steeping Crystal grain & adding it to the brew works because the grain is kinda pre-mashed & roasted. Hence it gives you sugars & flavours when steeped, as opposed to flour/starch like regular malted & unmalted grains if you haven't mashed them yourself.
Crystal's got a sweetish honey (light crystal) to caramel (medium crystal) to toffee (dark crystal) flavour. And adding any grain element will add better depth to your brew. The crystal can easily be too much, so for most beer styles somewhere between 100-300g in a 23L batch is plenty.

Beware - once you've steeped crystal it's not long before you start looking at All Grain brewing & as MartinOC says, down the vortex you go!

...now I wanna know where did you all get your temp controller from, what have you done at home to keep your temps constant

Lots of options, as above, depending on how much you want to spend.

I have no temp control per se.
In Winter if it gets too cold I wrap the fermenter in a towel or 2. If it's getting really cold, maybe put a warm water bottle or a jug with warm water next to it.
In summer, when it gets too hot, i plonk the fermenter in the bath which is half filled with cold tap water. If that's not enough, i wrap a towel around it leaving the bottom edge in the water - water seeps up the towel & evaporates, cooling the fermenter further. If that's still not enough, i then get a fan & blow it onto the towel-wrapped fermenter, increasing the rate of evaporation & cooling it even more.

Eg: My latest batch pitched Sunday night was put into the bath Monday morning (after bubbling had started) as the temp was still ~22°C (i had to pitch into 25°C wort). Dropped it below 20°C within a few hours. Sitting at 17°C for most of last night & today, & was pulled out to sit on a bench late this afternoon. Happily bubbling at 18°C for the last few hours. So far so good!

 

[black_labb]

just butting in. Most kit ale yeasts are the mauri 514 which is a nice ale yeast that suits english ales but is pretty versatile especially if fermented at lower temps to keep it clean flavoured. The reason "kit yeasts" are bad is because there is not enough yeast and often the yeast that came with the kit hasn't been properly stored. some kits have only 7g of yeast in them which is really too few. you want at least 10g.

You could try buying 2 brews at once and pitching both kit yeasts yeasts in one brew, and the other brew you can buy another yeast to ferment with.

 

[mattdean4130]

I read on here somewhere the worst thing you can do is follow the instructions on the can!

What's been said above, but also maybe look at adding some additional hops into your brews? Quick and easy way to improve a kit tenfold!