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Broom

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Sorry if this sounds a little strange but it's my first attempt at beer.

I picked up a one can kit from tesco's and followed the instructions to the letter. It was the the John Bull IPA. I left the beer ferment for 8 days as per the instructions and bottled in 500ml glass bottles with 1 tsp of sugar.

I tried a bottle after 1 week and it was very fizzy and sharp tasting. I thought this might be because it was too early. I've tried another bottle 2 and a half weeks after bottling and it's the same. Is this beer supposed to be fizzy and sharp.
 
Broom said:
Sorry if this sounds a little strange but it's my first attempt at beer.

I picked up a one can kit from tesco's and followed the instructions to the letter. It was the the John Bull IPA. I left the beer ferment for 8 days as per the instructions and bottled in 500ml glass bottles with 1 tsp of sugar.

I tried a bottle after 1 week and it was very fizzy and sharp tasting. I thought this might be because it was too early. I've tried another bottle 2 and a half weeks after bottling and it's the same. Is this beer supposed to be fizzy and sharp.
Click to expand...

Its probably down to the amount of sugar you primed with, i only use 1/2 tsp now on ales and find that level of carbonation suits me
 
Good call stevej, I've been messing around with priming amounts all year, for now I'm using a heaped half a teaspoon. Broom, I've done the John Bull IPA and I'd really recommend giving it two weeks in the FV minimum three weeks wouldn't hurt it. Let it sit in the bottles for a month and see how they are.
 
Thanks for the replies both.

Next time I make a beer kit I'll reduce the amount of sugar. As for this one, I'll put it in the back of the cupboard and forget about it for a month or 2. Hopefully I'll have something drinkable at the end.
 
Broom, give it a while but don't forget them. The John Bull IPA kit is really nice, I've done one and on the strength of that I bought another two in the last Tesco Sale. Here's the brew I did:

Brewed 23L 24/04/15 - 09/05/15 21c
Kit yeast + 1tsp Yeast Nutrient
1kg Youngs BE, 300g of honey
25g German Cascade hops, 20 min boil then added the bag to the FV
OG:1060 (May God have mercy on my soul) FG:1011

I loved this beer and it went far too quick for my liking. I have held four bottles over and I get to rip into them next week, can't wait.
 
Hi Broom,
I think your tasting the Home Brew twang that accompanies any can kit I've ever brewed, that could be your sharp taste. It will improve with time but never go away. Leave your brews longer in the fermenting vessel, as long as everything is sterilised and sealed it should improve things. Be more careful transferring to the bottles. I put my syphon halfway down my FV for my first batch and then most of the way down for the rest. That way my first batch are most likely to be my best.

Another suggestion is try out Clibit's simple AG recipe and you won't have this problem again :thumb:

As for carbonation, you've probably over primed. Just put less sugar in next time.
 
Most kits give an unrealistic time scale for primary fermentation to finish (...presumably to convince you that you can drink your beer sooner thus making you want to buy their kit!). You may have bottled your beer too soon with there still being some sugars from the kit to ferment out as well as your priming sugar making it overly fizzy.

The only way to ensure all the sugars from the malt have fermented out is using a hydrometer. Static reading for three days on the trot usually means fermentation has finished. I then usually leave the beer a few more days in the vessel as more chemical reactions occur that can improve the final quality of your beer.

Finally, beer from kits and also bottled beer (...as opposed to kegged) both have a reputation for taking longer to mature.

I've never had bottled kit beer taste good after only 1 week. I usually leave it a minimum of 1 month, and more commonly three months, to get it to an adequate condition. I have had some excellent results with no 'twang'. That said, some cheap kits with lower quality ingredients, may never get rid of the twang.

As many home brewers will tell you, the best bottle from a batch tends to be the last one - start trying to brew 3 - 6 months in advance like I do!
 

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