johnnyivan
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- Joined
- May 23, 2022
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Hi All,
I watched my dad brew beer as a kid and teenager, but most of his beer was only drinkable if mixed with supermarket stuff! Some of it occasionally smelled of eggs or tasted of vinegar but he still drank it! Somehow... When my mum said "Why don't you clean and sterilise everything!" He replied, "Agh, I can't be bothered. Minimum effort, maximum amnesia." Eventually he started to clean up his act and the stuff got better.
When I started again years ago I found that the most basic thing like sterilisation - even with bleach - made a huge difference. Also bottling it in basic 2 litre plastic fizzy drink bottles and adding hops to the wort created bitterness and fizz that hid a multitude of faults! But there was always that slightly umpleasant 'home brew ' undertone. I still don't know what that is.
Recently I started again and I've followed some of my friends' advice. He's a scientist, and inspired and advised by me, he immediately surpassed his master with beers that are better than bought ones. He usually boils up the grain himself, uses higher quality yeasts and nurtients and all sorts of techniques. He records everything that he does and tweaks.
I do some things that he does, trying to keep all infection to a minimum. I'm still using kits but I get much improved beer doing this:
But to be honest, at present it's tasting nicer than any I've ever brewed, and I don't want to negate the financial savings of brewing my own. I know you can take it to higher and higher levels and spend more and more.
Couple of questions:
John
I watched my dad brew beer as a kid and teenager, but most of his beer was only drinkable if mixed with supermarket stuff! Some of it occasionally smelled of eggs or tasted of vinegar but he still drank it! Somehow... When my mum said "Why don't you clean and sterilise everything!" He replied, "Agh, I can't be bothered. Minimum effort, maximum amnesia." Eventually he started to clean up his act and the stuff got better.
When I started again years ago I found that the most basic thing like sterilisation - even with bleach - made a huge difference. Also bottling it in basic 2 litre plastic fizzy drink bottles and adding hops to the wort created bitterness and fizz that hid a multitude of faults! But there was always that slightly umpleasant 'home brew ' undertone. I still don't know what that is.
Recently I started again and I've followed some of my friends' advice. He's a scientist, and inspired and advised by me, he immediately surpassed his master with beers that are better than bought ones. He usually boils up the grain himself, uses higher quality yeasts and nurtients and all sorts of techniques. He records everything that he does and tweaks.
I do some things that he does, trying to keep all infection to a minimum. I'm still using kits but I get much improved beer doing this:
- I bought a sealed bucket with a tap - and for the first time ever - an airlock
- I use an acid no-rinse steriliser
- I boil the contents of the can and the sucrose for about an hour
- I boil ALL of the water that I use (which takes ages) then seal the fermenting bucket up with the airlock and wait for it to cool to room temperature and pour the yeast into the airlock's bung-hole. My friend reckons the boiling removes the in-solution chlorine in the water (but it also removes oxygen)
- I still bottle it in 2 ltr fizzy drinks bottles
But to be honest, at present it's tasting nicer than any I've ever brewed, and I don't want to negate the financial savings of brewing my own. I know you can take it to higher and higher levels and spend more and more.
Couple of questions:
- Might it actually be MORE cost effective to boil up the barley myself?
- Is it beneficial to get oxygen back into the wort after boiling all of the water? My friend rocks the bin around with the lid on to achieve this. Maybe a pump of some kind, with tube down to the bottom of the wort would be better?
John