New To Home Brew/new To The Forum

[bradsbrew]

For the OP

Mate the over fizzy thing can point to a few things

1. Bottling too early....this can be solved by using a hydrometer before adding the yeast= Original gravity (OG) or Starting gravity (SG) and after ferment has finished (FG). The FG is the key indicator whether or not its finished BUT this will also be dependant on what type of brewing you are doing and ingredients mash temps etc.
2. The amount of sugar that is added to the bottle at bottling....eg. if you add to much sugar the yeast that is present will use the sugar to caarbonate the beer which builds pressure....too much sugar = too much pressure = bottle bomb
3. Infection .....heaps of info on infections on this forum .luckily I dont have much experience with infections......except for DIACETYL which shits me when it hits because I dont know wether its sanitation or yeast rest <_<

Cheers Brad

 

[thesunsettree]

There is alot to learn from taking regular hydro samples and having a taste at each stage. you will pick up heaps of flavour changes and be able to tell where your brew is at. I also use this method when brewing at different temps or using different yeasts. When using a differant yeast I will generally taste the changes from day 2 to end of ferment. When changing ferment temps I will taste samples on a daily basis and compare from notes taken at different temps for a similar brew. I took this on board from advice learnt on this forum, I listened to good advice tried it and it has helped me develop better brewing techniques but that is me.

Cheers

brad,

i have learnt an amazing amount on this forum from the generous ppl who extend their knowledge, again eternally grateful. but there is no need for any poster to be condescending, especially when new brewers are trying to learn something

cheers
matt

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

PET are fine but for some reason I think you can't leave beer in there for more than 18months (dont know who would in the first place).. after that i think the plastic goes a bit south..

Correct me if Im wrong guys..

2-3 MONTHS MAX is what i have found, beer seems very flat after that time.

Multiple fermenters my son. And I probably don't drink near that much, try to keep things to a long neck a night these days.

I Have 4 fermenters on the go now most times 2-3 for my regular recipies, and 1 i use for the "experimental" side of things, when only using 2, the other 2 get used for cold conditioning.

 

[bradsbrew]

brad,

i have learnt an amazing amount on this forum from the generous ppl who extend their knowledge, again eternally grateful. but there is no need for any poster to be condescending, especially when new brewers are trying to learn something

cheers
matt

Matt,
I hope what I was saying did not come across as condescending as I was only trying to project advice that has worked and help me.

Josh,
Have a good look through the link that was posted earlier this is great advice and technique in that link. temperature control during ferment IS a big issue.


When will Butters be back he helped so many new brewers! and that was just in his Sig.


Cheers Brad

 

[thesunsettree]

Matt,
I hope what I was saying did not come across as condescending as I was only trying to project advice that has worked and help me.

Josh,
Have a good look through the link that was posted earlier this is great advice and technique in that link. temperature control during ferment IS a big issue.


When will Butters be back he helped so many new brewers! and that was just in his Sig.


Cheers Brad

brad,
u certainly werent being condescending, it was someone else :angry: . in fact ur response to the op was quite informative, instead of saying "search forum" which some will do. u informed the basics and directed him were to find more info. much the same as is extended to me, from forum users, when i have a new question (new to me, anyway)

cheers
matt

 

[thesunsettree]

brad,
u certainly werent being condescending, it was someone else :angry: . in fact ur response to the op was quite informative, instead of saying "search forum" which some will do. u informed the basics and directed him were to find more info. much the same as is extended to me, from forum users, when i have a new question (new to me, anyway)

cheers
matt

:icon_offtopic: tell me of this butters, pls someone tell

cheers
matt

 

[manticle]

Old poster who was very informative and very knowledgeable. Works for one of the retailers, no longer posts here.

You can find his legacy in some of the articles.

 

[thesunsettree]

Old poster who was very informative and very knowledgeable. Works for one of the retailers, no longer posts here.

You can find his legacy in some of the articles.

lol, yeah i see his name a lot but i guess he's b4 my time. mental note - search for butters

matt

 

[Hatchy]

Old poster who was very informative and very knowledgeable. Works for one of the retailers, no longer posts here.

You can find his legacy in some of the articles.

Manticle is also a super informative & knowledgable brewer who is happy to give advice to noobs (like me).

Josh, if you want to drink vb then keep buying vb. If you want better beer then my suggestions (in order) would be: sanitation. You can't be too careful with sanitation, no rinse sanitiser may not be the best invention ever but it's high on my list. Ingredients; buy some "proper" yeast & stick the yeast from the can in the fridge for a rainy day (that you may not see). Temperature control. The coopers cans say that fermenting at 28 degrees is ok. You will make beer at 28 but it won't be the best beer you'll brew. If you can keep yr fermenter(s) at a constant temp then you'll be brewing something better than vb in no time. I'd also recommend some hops to go with the kits. A small amount of hoppy goodness can be the diference between a drinkable beer & a good beer.

 

[Cronessa]

Josh-

Some great advice here so far (as always) make sure you read the links provided carefully.

I'd just add that if you're going to have another go soon, make sure you follow the instructions on the kit exactly.

As you will no doubt learn around here, the kit instructions are not necessarily going to produce the best beer, but at least they will prevent absolute disasters. You will find that some things in the brewing process can be tweaked and changed, and others really need to remain constant (like the amount of priming sugar you use), until you know what can and can't be tweaked it's better to just follow the instructions as precisely as possible.

 

[peas_and_corn]

Josh-

Some great advice here so far (as always) make sure you read the links provided carefully.

I'd just add that if you're going to have another go soon, make sure you follow the instructions on the kit exactly.

As you will no doubt learn around here, the kit instructions are not necessarily going to produce the best beer, but at least they will prevent absolute disasters. You will find that some things in the brewing process can be tweaked and changed, and others really need to remain constant (like the amount of priming sugar you use), until you know what can and can't be tweaked it's better to just follow the instructions as precisely as possible.

Are you being sarcastic? The kit instructions tell you to ferment at 27C :icon_vomit:

 

[Cronessa]

Are you being sarcastic? The kit instructions tell you to ferment at 27C :icon_vomit:

That's why I said "the kit instructions are not necessarily going to produce the best beer, but at least they will prevent absolute disasters."

Fermenting at 27C is obviously not ideal, but it's still a lot better than blowing up the majority of your batch, no?

 

[brettprevans]

Welcome to AHB Josh. Happy brewing

You must have missed the part of my post where I said "the kit instructions are not necessarily going to produce the best beer, but at least they will prevent absolute disasters."

Fermenting at 27C is obviously not ideal, but it's still a lot better than blowing up the majority of your batch, no?

ummmm no. even fermenting an ale at 16C wont blow your batch.
and i would say that fermenting some beer at 27C will be a disaster. sorry but IMO your wrong on both counts.

 

[Cronessa]

ummmm no. even fermenting an ale at 16C wont blow your batch.
and i would say that fermenting some beer at 27C will be a disaster. sorry but IMO your wrong on both counts.

Sorry, but where exactly did I say that the temperature of fermentation had anything to do with bottle bombs?

Perhaps I should clarify my point. If the OP doesn't do any further reading, or tries another batch before before doing any reading, then the OP could do worse (and has done worse) than following the kit instructions. At least the OP will sanitise everything correctly and use the correct amount of priming sugar.

I'm not advocating the use of kit instructions, but if that's all you bother to use then you should at least follow them. At the very least the OP will end up with some beer (even if its not good) and will want to learn how to make it better rather than blowing up the bottles (or getting a nasty infection) and never wanting to brew again.

 

[brettprevans]

Sorry, but where exactly did I say that the temperature of fermentation had anything to do with bottle bombs?

you said it here

Fermenting at 27C is obviously not ideal, but it's still a lot better than blowing up the majority of your batch, no?

not sure how many ways there are of interpriting 'blowing up your batch. if u meant something differant, fine.

Perhaps I should clarify my point. If the OP doesn't do any further reading, or tries another batch before before doing any reading, then the OP could do worse (and has done worse) than following the kit instructions. At least the OP will sanitise everything correctly and use the correct amount of priming sugar.

I'm not advocating the use of kit instructions, but if that's all you bother to use then you should at least follow them. At the very least the OP will end up with some beer (even if its not good) and will want to learn how to make it better rather than blowing up the bottles (or getting a nasty infection) and never wanting to brew again.

that's fair enough. you should have said that instead of

make sure you follow the instructions on the kit exactly.

you may think its being pedantic but i err on the causious side with new brewers as they can take advice verbatem and think its gospel.

 

[manticle]

Manticle is also a super informative & knowledgable brewer who is happy to give advice to noobs (like me).

Nice to be appreciated but I'm still a learner too.

Very happy to give advice because I've received so much from brewers way more knowledgeable than me which has helped amazingly. I would still consider myself a noob in so many ways. There are so many people who have both experience and knowledge that goes way beyond mine. Some of them are kind enough to answer my silly questions but unfortunately a lot of them post less or not at all. Sometimes some of them may forget that they were once noobs and the same questions do tend to get asked a bit. I'm relatively young, enthusiastic and use a computer a lot for various things (no I don't work in IT).

If you ever get advice from screwtop, even if he seems grumpy telling you, perk up your ears.

Reading as much as you can (both on and offline) is the best way to learn (and obviously putting what you read into practice and critically assessing the results). Working out where a brew went wrong instead of just writing it off is gold. Even when you get a brew you think is great, think about why it's great, how you can repeat it and if necessary, how you could improve or tweak it.

Generally speaking brewers are a helpful bunch, especially to people who make an effort to help themselves.

Cheers

 

[Screwtop]

Is thesunsettree attending Chappos brewday tomorrow????? :lol:

Screwy

 

[Cronessa]

not sure how many ways there are of interpriting 'blowing up your batch. if u meant something differant, fine.

What I meant was, if the OP follows the kit instructions exactly he may well ferment at 27C (although kits generally say ferment at between 21 - 27C), but at least he will use the right amount of sugar (or other fermentable) to carbonate.

you may think its being pedantic but i err on the causious side with new brewers as they can take advice verbatem and think its gospel.

By all means. I could suggest to the OP that he buy a temperature controller for a spare fridge and ferment at 18C, that he substitute sugar for light dry malt extract, that he substitute the kit yeast for a liquid yeast or more specific dry yeast, that he activate the yeast before pitching, that he add extra hops, that he steep some specialty grains etc etc. But first, the OP (with all respect) should be getting the basics right and following the instructions he has.

Anyway, that's enough from me. I've just had a couple of my stouts and its made the World a better place

 

[thesunsettree]

Is thesunsettree attending Chappos brewday tomorrow????? :lol:

Screwy

no i'm not, cant make it tho i'd like to. why do u ask screwy??

matt

 

[thesunsettree]

no i'm not, cant make it tho i'd like to. why do u ask screwy??

matt