that stupid homebrew taste

[jaybon92]

I'm not sure where this is ment to go so maybe admins can change it!

That homebrew taste, I'm not sure if it's just my brews but that slightly lingering taste in every brew, everyone calls me crazy for noticing it as they love some of my brews but I can deffo taste it but cannot tell you what it actually tastes of. I know theres some drastic ways to cure it apparently but is there maybe a way of dealing with it, what do yous do?

 

[Mark1964]

if its a tcp taste or similar it could be your water. Do you treat your water at all? Are you using kits or grain also do you use a campden tab to treat your water?

 

[stesmi]

Depends what your drinking i suppose. I used to get it when doing cheap lager kits, but once I started on more expensive lager kits that require lagering it went. Oh and conditioning for a couple of month helped too. I don't get it when doing all grain either.

--------------------------
Fv1 coopers euro lager
Fv2 apfelwein
Fv3 cabernet Sav
Bottled coopers carapils mini mash lager
Bottled semi sweet cider
Bottled dry, dry, dry cider

 

[Covrich]

I mentioned this on your thread too but what temp are you fermenting at?

As you're brewing kits try a more premium kit and keep the temp at around 20ºc

 

[hop-head]

I have the same problem. I've tried different yeasts, Malt instead of sugar. It's put me right off using kits. I'm going to try mat extract and hops next.

 

[stesmi]

I have the same problem. I've tried different yeasts, Malt instead of sugar. It's put me right off using kits. I'm going to try mat extract and hops next.

Tbh hop-head, if you're having trouble with the taste of a good kit you'll have the same with an extract brew. However substituting in a good yeast and proper temp control may improve taste

 

[hop-head]

Tbh hop-head, if you're having trouble with the taste of a good kit you'll have the same with an extract brew. However substituting in a good yeast and proper temp control may improve taste

Ok thanks. I've never bothered with water treatment and its very hard down here in kent. My last dissapointment was a coopers stout which others have said very good things about.

This is only the third kit I've tried and I want to go the full grain mash route. I thought it best to work my way up first.
Temperature isn't the problem as I have a cellar and the brew stayed a constant 17 to 18 deg. The yeast was a seperate one (Girvin).

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Which kits have you brewed? Do you get the same taste with different kits?

 

[hop-head]

Yes. An out of date EDME bitter. too horrible to drink. then a coopers english ale and finally coopers stout. I'ts the yeasty home brew taste I object to. But perhaps the taste is something else and I assume its the yeast. a four month rest in the barrel made no difference. I want a pint that would fool people if it were served in the pub. Timothy Taylor landlord is my favorite.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Try a Woodfordes Wherry, the ultimate "go to" kit and will suit your water profile in Kent. If you are still having probs, let us know

 

[stesmi]

Try a Woodfordes Wherry, the ultimate "go to" kit and will suit your water profile in Kent. If you are still having probs, let us know

2nd that.

Btw hop-head. Jumping to Brew in a bag is pretty easy ;-)

 

[GHW]

I started a thread on this a while back. Since then I've done an extract brew and it tastes nearly as good as commercial beer (maybe better than some), no twang at all. And I'm a total novice at this lark. Extract brewing is dead easy too, I'm not bothering with kits now.

Other suggestions for losing the home brew taste included more obvious ones like making sure wort doesn't get exposed to air when kegging/bottling, and also skimming off the krausen regularly. I did skim my last extract a bit and got no homebrew taste but not sure it was totally down to that. Also using fresher extract/kits though I'm not sure how you'd either know or control that. I had a theory that wherry kits are good because they sell well, so they're never sat on shelves for long. bit of a circular argument though...

 

[bigbeefy]

ive done the coopers stout kit and gave a pint to my daughter and a mate at the weekend neither of them spotted the fact it wasnt real guinness and it still needed a week in the cold

 

[Covrich]

I started a thread on this a while back. Since then I've done an extract brew and it tastes nearly as good as commercial beer (maybe better than some), no twang at all. And I'm a total novice at this lark. Extract brewing is dead easy too, I'm not bothering with kits now.

Other suggestions for losing the home brew taste included more obvious ones like making sure wort doesn't get exposed to air when kegging/bottling, and also skimming off the krausen regularly. I did skim my last extract a bit and got no homebrew taste but not sure it was totally down to that. Also using fresher extract/kits though I'm not sure how you'd either know or control that. I had a theory that wherry kits are good because they sell well, so they're never sat on shelves for long. bit of a circular argument though...

Yes I have heard a lot of people have difference experience of kits because of their age ect.. someone was fed up but tried a different supplier and had a whole different experience.

My LHBS seems expensive and the stuff seems to have been on the shelve for ages so I order offline and the stuff seems to be fresh, I gather they are moving stock quicker I dunno :wha:

 

[bigbeefy]

i order my kits through click and collect at wilko the stuff on the shelves could be there months but the stuff in warehouse is more likely to be newer stock

i might be wrong but thats the way i think

 

[airymary]

...I've never bothered with water treatment and its very hard down here in kent... ...

The yeast was a seperate one (Girvin).

My first AG attempt was just about drinkable, but no better. I too hadn't bothered with water treatment, so I started to. I also made many other changes after the 1st attempt, to improve equipment, methods, etc. 'Cos of that, I can't put improvements down solely to water treatment, but I believe it made a significant difference.

I use Gervin regularly. To me, neutrality is one of its positive qualities.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[hop-head]

Thank You all for the advice. There's a home brew shop ten miles away which I shall go to next week. the kits (except the EDME) came from wilcos. There's no way of telling how they're stored other than they sit on the shelf in whatever temperatures.

 

[H0PM0NSTER]

As others have already said, I think water quality, temperature control and conditioning time are the biggest factors for eliminating home brew twang. My first brews were done during the summer months and I think they all suffered from higher temps (nothing drastic but perhaps a spell at 22-24c). I can taste the same underlying flavour across the different batches - wherry, St Peter ruby red ale etc. It shouldn't be the water as I've been using bottled mineral water, so I'm guessing it must be temperature related. The only other common addition was Dme

BTW - you mentioned liking Timothy Taylor's Landlord. There is a kit made by Festival - Festival Landlords Finest Bitter which is based on this beer. Not tried it, but I have just brewed the Razorback IPA which I was very impressed with (no twang!) and all their kits get good reviews here.

 

[MtirKiesh]

Water treatment, how far are we going? Are we just talk alkalinity or adjusting minerals too?:?

 

[wezil]

Hi, try skimming the krausen regularly (I've only heard this mentioned once in connection with kits) I usually do this and it seems to make a difference (missed doing it on one brew and the tang was there) If you are feeling brave give the skimmed krausen a taste, (take a good mouthful) then you can see why skimming is such a good idea :)