Sorry for the rambling headline, but I thought that I must post my thoughts and my wrong doings with regards to home brewing since I started last year.
I received a Brooklyn Brew Shop kit from my wife as a Christmas present and I followed the instructions to the letter. The chocolate maple porter turned out pretty good and that gave me the confidence to try some more brews. I bought the Brooklyn Brew Shop book and decided to have a go at their Everyday IPA which again turned out pretty good.
Being a smart ar*e I thought that I could dispense with my auto siphon when bottling and just pour the beer into the bottles with a jug - BIG MISTAKE!! the beer was bloody awful, but me being bloody minded decided to do it again and what was the result? you've guessed it- bloody terrible beer due no doubt to the oxygen I introduced with my jug pouring method of bottling
Another issue I've faced has been with the bottling instructions in the Brooklyn book as 2 brews have tasted fine but turned out flat as a witches t*t.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, you live and learn. I now see the purpose of not introducing extra oxygen into the beer and I've now resorted to priming each individual bottle with sugar or honey depending on what flavour profile I'm looking for.
I must also give my thanks to this site and it's members who have been so helpful to any things I've asked previously and I promise not be a smart ar*e in future. I genuinely love beer and there's nothing better that brewing your own tipple that tastes good.
I received a Brooklyn Brew Shop kit from my wife as a Christmas present and I followed the instructions to the letter. The chocolate maple porter turned out pretty good and that gave me the confidence to try some more brews. I bought the Brooklyn Brew Shop book and decided to have a go at their Everyday IPA which again turned out pretty good.
Being a smart ar*e I thought that I could dispense with my auto siphon when bottling and just pour the beer into the bottles with a jug - BIG MISTAKE!! the beer was bloody awful, but me being bloody minded decided to do it again and what was the result? you've guessed it- bloody terrible beer due no doubt to the oxygen I introduced with my jug pouring method of bottling
Another issue I've faced has been with the bottling instructions in the Brooklyn book as 2 brews have tasted fine but turned out flat as a witches t*t.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, you live and learn. I now see the purpose of not introducing extra oxygen into the beer and I've now resorted to priming each individual bottle with sugar or honey depending on what flavour profile I'm looking for.
I must also give my thanks to this site and it's members who have been so helpful to any things I've asked previously and I promise not be a smart ar*e in future. I genuinely love beer and there's nothing better that brewing your own tipple that tastes good.