thanks for all the advise everyone posted. It looks like I wont be attempting anymore batches until I get a mini fridge conversion to keep the temp in the sixties. Im in Nor Cal so it is too warm to brew beer 7-8 months out of the year without a temp control device anyway.
So far ive done 3 batches, 2 truebrew kits which were octoberfest and a belgian Ale. The last batch I did was a homebrew brand honey ale. The 1st 2 I did not use a wort chiller and may have pitched the yeast a little to early. ALL 3 batches have a funky astringent/fusel aftertaste that is harsh...
it would have been 67-73% when fermenting starting and completed, is this likley my problem? Is there any other likley issue other than this that could have runied my beer? Anybody want a good deal on a barleywine octoberfest?
this could be possible... but the wort would have fully cooled down within 20-30 minutes, adding the yeast 15 minutes early would have sealed the fate of the entire brew process?
Yes I did... also I boiled the 1.5 gallons and then let it cool for about 10 minutes which is not long, but I wanted to get it cooled down quickly, so I put that still fairly hot wort in the 1st carboy and added the remaining 3.5 gallons of room temp water to cool it down quickly.
here is the breakdown of the ingredients.. I also added a small pinch of sugar in each bottle before they were capped.
Unhopped Amber Malt Extract (1 can)
2 1lb bags of Light Dried Malt Extract
Melanoidin Grain (8 oz)
Hop Pellets (2 oz)
Ale Yeast (1 pack)
Grain Steeping Bag...
After making this 1st batch that I have ever done and leaving it in 1st carboy 2 weeks, second carboy- 10 days and then 3 weeks bottle conditiong I thought I would have a great beer. WRONG, somehow it went terribly wrong. This kit had the Ale octoberfest yeast and was fermented temp was anywhere...
thanks for your imput... This aleviates some of my concern, I will have to wait and see how my 1st batch turns out and will iron out the wrinkles when I do the 2nd batch.
I am currently brewing my 1st batch of beer and 2 question have arose. I boiled 1.5 gallons and made the worst, but did NOT cool it down with ice as most brewers suggest. This is a octoberst batch. anyway I let the worst sit for about 10 minutes after the boil and then dumped it into 3.5 gallons...