My First Post - My First Brew

[davewaldo]

Hello Everyone! I've been reading and learning a lot from this site, but this is my first post.

Tonight I had the pleasure of tasting my first homebrew beer. In short, IT WAS GREAT!

Here are the details of my brew, I was trying for a Heineken style beer from a recipe from my LHBS:



26 August 2008

Heineken Clone attempt Morgans Blue Mountain Lager

• 1 Can Morgans Blue Mountain Lager
• 1KG BrewBooster (500g Dextrose, 250g Corn Syrup, 250g Light Malt)
• 1 Lager Booster (LHBS blend of nutrients and additives)
• 1 Saaz Hops 12g Steeped in 300ml Boiling water for 20-25mins
• 1 large teaspoon of Vegemite dissolved in hot water
• Kit Yeast

Dissolve Lager Booster and BrewBooster in 4L Hot water and mix in, heat can and mix this in also, water temp below 75C.



Add Hops liquid and Vegemite liquid



Add filtered water up to 23L



Aerate vigorously for a few minutes then added yeast to vortex and mixed in.



Yeast Pitched at 26C.



Ambient/Brew temp around 20C



Initial Specific Gravity = 1040 (1038 with meniscus)



Fermentation Temp: 20-21C for 6 days. Main activity slowed after 2 days and ceased after 3 days.



Final Gravity: 1012



Bottled: 1/9/08 with 2 Coopers Drops per 750ml. 2 Weeks @ 19-20C



Tasting:



15-09-08: Tastes Great. Good aroma, lacking a little in body. Quite bitter but not sour. Good light amber colour not as pale as expected. Perfect Carbonation.

I was extreamly pleased to have such a good result so early on. I know I've still got loads to learn, and there are things I would do differently next time. But I'm totally hooked on homebrew now!

I'm keen to see how this beer will mature.

Next time I plan to boil my dry fermentables, add more malt instead of dex and maybe do the hops at this stage also.

I'm keen to hear any feedback or suggestions.

Thanks,

Dave.

PS. The vegemite was a hint from the LHBS guy, is this realy a good thing to be doing?

 

[wambesi]

G'day davewaldo,

Welcome to both the brewing and AHB world!

The vegemite isn't my type of thing, but if it works!
Everything else sounds pretty good, especially as it's your first. I would be looking at what was in this "lager booster" though, sounds like it might have been some dry enzyme (at a guess) and maybe some yeast nutrient as I haven't see specific boosters apart from the sugar blends - not a bad thing but not something alot of people use unless needed.

Best advice now is scour this site for tips!
Lagers are actually brewed with proper lager yeast which normally you will have to buy separate (most lager kits actually use an ale yeast) and ferments at around the 10-12deg mark, but thats something you can look out for later as I wouldn't worry too much about it now.

Not saying anything bad about your LHBS, but I have found many that I have dealt with (especially when it comes to kit and kilo's) to be lacking in the real knowledge department.
Since finding this site I have learn't so much more and found a lot of the initial "advice" from these stores I was given was in fact incorrect. Just something to watch out for.

Finally add your location in your profile so we know where you're from and others in the area could maybe catch up with you.

Enjoy!

 

[davewaldo]

Thanks Wambesi,

Yes, I'm starting to feel like this site will be a better source of knowledge than my LHBS (not to say they won't be helpful).

My plan is to buy a freezer to convert into cold storage (using a fridgemate) for fermenting and Lagering of beers. This way I can start to brew true lagers. But I might do a couple more brews before I take that step.

Thanks for the welcome!

Dave.

 

[wambesi]

Thanks Wambesi,

Yes, I'm starting to feel like this site will be a better source of knowledge than my LHBS (not to say they won't be helpful).

My plan is to buy a freezer to convert into cold storage (using a fridgemate) for fermenting and Lagering of beers. This way I can start to brew true lagers. But I might do a couple more brews before I take that step.

Thanks for the welcome!

Dave.

Good idea, although it wont stop there... I now have three fridges not including the "food" one inside!
And then wait until you get into all grain, just got my next three batches of grains from Ross at Craftbrewer today...this is really an obsession!

Another piece of advice, try a heap of different recipes, ales are real good. When I started I was into the whole wanting to do lot's of lagers as that was the main type of beer I drank however since learning so much more about beer it is now actually not often I drink lager.
I'm not saying leave the ol lager alone but try as much and as many different styles as you can, benefits of ales especially is the temp's don't need to be so low, however temp stability is the key - hence a fridge or freezer with a fridgemate is the goods....got four of em myself.

About the LHBS advice, it depends alot on the people and how much they are into it. A lot of the chains (not all though) seem to be just a "business" I have found, I have found others though (usually via this forum) that are alot more helpful and usually never say no to a quick phone call - even after hours.

Have fun

 

[Bribie G]

Apart from the 'brew boosters' it sounds like the sort of brew I started off with (just a few months ago but it feels like kindergarten)

Rather than pay for premixed 'boosters' or 'enhancers' it's cheaper and more manageable to mix your own. The main ingredients of 'enhancers' are dextrose (glucose) and light dried malt extract which you will see referred to on the forum as LDME. Corn syrup is high in fructose which yeast likes, but it's expensive and dextrose is just as effective to produce some extra alcohol but dextrose and corn syrup don't provide anything in the way of flavour and if you use too much the brew can turn out thin tasting. Better to 'up' the LDME.

So my typical brew when I started would be a kit of Morgans / Coopers (personally I think Morgans are a cut above Coopers if you like a more hoppy brew) plus maybe 750g dextrose and 500g LDME plus a hop teabag boiled as you did. Results, a nice smooth refreshing drop with a nice hop character, but being a kit & bits it lacked the full malt flavour of commercial grain brews. That will come later if you want to branch out into grains.

I'm currently doing partial mashed brews plus extract & hops etc. Having said that I'm currently sipping a Coopers Lager I did in mid July with the above ingredients and hopped with a Cluster teabag and It's going down nice and smooth.

Fortunately you didn't fall into the trap of using a kilo of supermarket sugar (sucrose). You sound like you are well on the right track.

As far as the vegemite, as you would be well aware most LHBS have a 'distilling' side to the business which whether we like it or not supports the beer side, and pehaps many would not be viable without this aspect. We shouldn't discuss spirit production on the forum, and I don't have any interest in spirits, but I am aware that home distillers often use vegemite as a yeast nutrient because the ingredients they use for their base distilling 'wash' are poor in nutrients.

In the case of beer it is rich in yeast nutrients so vegemite is of no benefit. The point I am making is that your LHBS guy because of his customers on the other 'side' of the business therefore thinks 'vegemite = good fermentation'. In the case of beer brewing keep the vegemite for your toast

Cheers

 

[buttersd70]

congrats on the first brew, and welcome to the forums.
wambesi and bribie have given good advice (even if Bribie cant spell. For the last time, it's 'sugaz' :lol: )

As far as the vegemite, Bribie might be right about the hbs guys reasons, but I like to think it's more that he had a knowing smile and a twinkle in his eye.

If you do a search of every thread on here that contains the word 'vegemite', it is always used in a negative context. Thats OK, though, taste is the main thing.

 

[davewaldo]

Fantastic, thanks BribieG.

I'll be ditching the vegemite in the future (for my beer at least). I was under the impression Corn Syrup is less fermentable and thus gives more body to the beer. I was led to believe corn syrup and corn sugar are two differnt sugars....?

Also... I live very near to CraftBrewer, I think I'll have to introduce myself to Ross :beer:

 

[davewaldo]

Well, even though I've stumbled through my first brew, I'm over the moon with the taste!

I'm wondering what most people would recomend to help mature this beer and for how long.

At the moment it is stored at a relativly consistant 20 degrees.

Cheers,

Dave.

 

[Adamt]

Yeah, corn syrup is maltodextrin, it is different. This is why we (on this forum and generally in Australia) we use maltodextrin/dextrose instead of corn syrup/corn sugar. Maltodextrin will not ferment.

 

[wambesi]

Fantastic, thanks BribieG.

I'll be ditching the vegemite in the future (for my beer at least). I was under the impression Corn Syrup is less fermentable and thus gives more body to the beer. I was led to believe corn syrup and corn sugar are two differnt sugars....?

Also... I live very near to CraftBrewer, I think I'll have to introduce myself to Ross :beer:

Corn syrup (or maltodextrin) is less fermentable and used in kit beers to give a beer more body and head retention, however a lot of people frown upon it also, but same ca be said using dextrose or only malt extracts, in the end do what your happy with!
If you don't want to use maltodextrin you can steep specialty grains and they can add body and aid in head retention - quite easy to do too.

Corn sugar is normal sugar or dex, not sure scientifically speaking but if any sugars are being added dex is the better rather than sucrose.

Sounds like a plan to go into craftbrewer, I deal with Ross via phone and email and service is second to none.

EDIT: Beaten by Adamt.

 

[Bribie G]

The way things are now in SEQ the beer isn't likely to fall below 20 for the next week or so, so just leave it be, and given that you cracked your first one after about 2 weeks in the bottle and enjoyed it, then it will be extremely drinkable from 3 weeks onwards. You will notice that after that as it gradually carbs some more, it will slowly develop a much creamier head and be less sweet in character, and you will notice more 'clean' hop flavours.

As far as I'm concerned the Coopers I'm drinking right now is good at about seven weeks in the bottle but isn't all that much better than at four weeks, and personally I like a sweeter brew.

I remember the corn syrup from yonks ago, it was a favourite ingredient when most recipes were made from malt extracts that often were not intended for brewing (Wander or Saunders brands) and could often produce a thin beer lacking in body. As you say the corn syrup isn't entirely fermentable but I don't honestly know what the 'residual' consists of. Maybe a maltodextrin or something, but with modern malt extracts like they put in the kits probably not needed.

Cheers.

EDIT double beaten by wambesi :lol: :lol:

 

[buttersd70]

God I hate the term "corn syrup".....corn syrup can be one of several things derived from corn...maltodextrin, dextrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, etc etc. All of which have different properties in fermentation. The most common usage in Australia (as far as I'm aware) is as maltodextrin, like adam and wambesi have already stated. But the yanks will use the term interchangeably for maltodextrin and glucose, which are two completely different animals.

 

[wambesi]

God I hate the term "corn syrup".....corn syrup can be one of several things derived from corn...maltodextrin, dextrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, etc etc. All of which have different properties in fermentation. The most common usage in Australia (as far as I'm aware) is as maltodextrin, like adam and wambesi have already stated. But the yanks will use the term interchangeably for maltodextrin and glucose, which are two completely different animals.

Same here, it is annoying in so many of the (yank) books that we get that term.
Another one is the term corn sugar meaning dextrose or sucrose, oh well you get used to it I suppose.

As stated above though there is not a huge reason to use it much anymore unless you use dextrose only as the addition to the kit, but I did for a while as I am sure alot of others have too.

 

[davewaldo]

Thanks guys for all the great info.

Sounds like I can ditch the maltodextrin and aim for roughly a 50/50 mix of DEX and LDME (depending on style) in my future brews...

As for allowing my beer to mature. I think I will give them another 2 weeks before I taste some more then I might even put some in the fridge for some cold conditioning, then compare these to the others in a couple of months.

Thanks again!

Dave.

 

[wambesi]

Thanks guys for all the great info.

Sounds like I can ditch the maltodextrin and aim for roughly a 50/50 mix of DEX and LDME (depending on style) in my future brews...

As for allowing my beer to mature. I think I will give them another 2 weeks before I taste some more then I might even put some in the fridge for some cold conditioning, then compare these to the others in a couple of months.

Thanks again!

Dave.

Sounds good, could even add more LDME than dex in most things but thats the beauty of this hobby, experiment!

As to the conditioning, before I went AG (and before I knew more about brewing in general) I had a stack of different brews all bottled up, they would typically be at room temp in the bottle for weeks or months sometimes before I got to them. This is not bad in itself but they were in the garage which temps fluctuated a lot and I think in the end I could taste some of the effects.
Now that I have started AG (and acquired another fridge) I bottle them and leave them for 2-4 weeks at room temp (in the house so it is more stable) to carbonate then they go straight into the fridge. Some may stay out if I don't have enough room but I ensure they go in the coldest part of the house to try and keep them around the constant 20deg mark.

I also use a heap of stubbies per brew that way I can crack one open and taste test, I also do two plastic (PET) bottles per brew so I can simply squeeze the bottle and test at what stage the carbonation is.

 

[petesbrew]

Well done Dave.
The blue mountain lager is an awesome kit to start with.
Saw the vegemite thing and thought WTF?!?!? But glad it worked!
Welcome to the obsession!

 

[davewaldo]

Thanks Wambesi, currently my bottles are inside the house and do stay quite constant around the 20 degree mark. So this sounds like it will be the best place until I get a fridge.

Your idea if bottling 2 PET bottles per brew is a brilliant one! Sounds like a great way to be able to check for potential over carbination (exploding bottles) which still worries me. I'll definatly be doing that for my next brew.... My current brew is in PET bottles which I found to be convenient. But on the weekend I managed to pick up over 100 old school (exchangable) tallies, so from now on I'll be bottling in those.

Hi Pete, thanks for the welcome!

 

[buttersd70]

Davewaldo
A very generalised rule of thumb when starting out is to leave the beer in the bottle for one week per point of final gravity, so for a 1012, 12weeks in the bottle. As I said, its a general guide, and can certainly be drunk before/after. But put at least some of the bottles away for this length of time, and you will see a difference in the development of the beer.
As you get more experienced, you will get a feel for different beer types, and soon realise that many styles are best younger, some benefit from even longer conditioning. I used to divide my batches up. some bottles were earmarked for 4 weeks, some for 8, and some for 12.

 

[wambesi]

Davewaldo
A very generalised rule of thumb when starting out is to leave the beer in the bottle for one week per point of final gravity, so for a 1012, 12weeks in the bottle. As I said, its a general guide, and can certainly be drunk before/after. But put at least some of the bottles away for this length of time, and you will see a difference in the development of the beer.

Interesting, I had not heard that one. I've usually just done the 2-4 weeks or so depending on temp they are at.

 

[buttersd70]

Yeah, cant remember where I read that one, might have been on the homebrewandbeer forum, maybe. But this is referring to when it will be at its best, not when it becomes drinkeable, and is also referring to un-altered k&k with large amounts of, shal I be kind and say 'less flavourfull' adjuncts. :lol: and as I said, it is a huge generalisation. I moved up to full extract before I'd had a chance to really muck around with improving kits, and they didn't need anywhere near as long, imho, as an undoctored, straight k&k does. And now I'm on grain, I'm brewing some stuff that is best consumed within a month, and is at its best about 3 weeks from pitching.