my first brew ! question

[Romain Veneault]

hello , i know this question must have been asled many time before
i did my first brew with the kit , i used 1 k dextrose , the beer have a cidery taste ,
is it because it is to young in bottle only 15 days ! is this taste will go away or is it cause of the dextrose
thanks for your help

 

[Nubiwan]

Think you will need to explain your process in a little more detail.

Sounds like you used an extract kit. Some questions I would have.

What kind of beer did you make? Lager, Amber, Stout......
What temperature did you ferment your primary?
How long did you let it ferment?
How much sugar did you use to bottle?
What was your bottling process?
How long has it been bottled?
How long was beer in fridge?

 

[Romain Veneault]

Think you will need to explain your process in a little more detail.

Sounds like you used an extract kit. Some questions I would have.

What kind of beer did you make? Lager, Amber, Stout......
What temperature did you ferment your primary?
How long did you let it ferment?
How much sugar did you use to bottle?
What was your bottling process?
How long has it been bottled?
How long was beer in fridge?

Hi thanks for your reply

i used the coopers pale ale kit , the can plus the yeast that i bought to the brew shop , he gave me 1 kg of dextrose , i got the basic starter kit to ferment
the fermentation went for 9 days at 21 degree
he gave me a sugar scoop to mesure the sugar for the bottle
i used quite different kind of bottle
330 750 and 1 litre and i ad the right amount of sugar for each bottle ! the carbonation is perfect , really bubbly
i left the bottle for 2weeks at around 20 degree in a dark woodraw
i put them in the fridge for few hours
i drunk one without refrigerating also , was the same taste ! they don t taste bad , it s still a drinkable beer , i m pretty happy for the girst time , but at the end on the palate , i can feel a little soury taste , like a cidery taste ! wich i would like to avoid for the next brew
thank you hope it s enough details , i don t have much vocabulary of brewing , it s really a new thing for me.

 

[Abhishek Dewan]

If you intend to continue extract kits, I'll advise use partial method and substitute dextrose with DME. You can further improve the kit by mashing a kilo of crushed malts of your choice or recipe. May I also add use, hops for dry hopping.

 

[Romain Veneault]

If you intend to continue extract kits, I'll advise use partial method and substitute dextrose with DME. You can further improve the kit by mashing a kilo of crushed malts of your choice or recipe. May I also add use, hops for dry hopping.

thanks for the answer , i put the second batch on , i did use half dextrose half dme ! the next one i will use only dme ! i will see for the hops later on when i feel like i get the hang of brewing and understand more the process , it s only been the first and second atm and still try to understand the vocabulary of brewing and the basics

 

[Nubiwan]

This is a good reference here for off flavour in beer:

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-4/is-my-beer-ruined/common-off-flavors

Also, search this forum for terms like "sour taste", "cider taste" or "bitter taste" and you will get some immediate response, rather than having to wait for answers.

Few things I would consider.....

Did you clean everything thoroughly? What did you use to clean your pales, bottle and just about anything that comes into contact with the beer? Contamination can cause a cidery or bitter twang. Many people recommend using Star San to clean stuff with. I use the pink powder I buy at the brew stor, and give everything a goos swish and soak before a decent rinse.

9 days to ferment, at that temperature, should have been adequate, but it is possible it was not finished fermenting too. Worth while getting a hydrometer ($5-10) to measure final gravity, at the very least. Once it levels off for a few days, then fermentation is over. If you measure your original gravity - before pitching yeast - then you can also calculate how much alcohol (ABV) in your beer, which is cool to know, and impresses your friends

Your fermentation temp of 21 degrees might also be considered high, based on what I read on this forum. While it might ferment faster, warmer temps might give off undesirable flavours to beer. If you have a cooler basement or garage, then I think it will help. I live in a cooler climate, so never a problem to find a cooler room. My beer is all fermented at around 16-17 degrees. 21 degrees is not that high, having said that, and I bet many good beers are made at even warmer temps. Just a consideration. You could search for "fermentation temperature" to get some ideas on this forum.

Last bit of advice. Let bottle sit for a while. See if them flavours dissipate. Might be just young. If nothing else, hopefully they will smooth out.

 

[ncbrewer]

I think the kilogram of sugar is pretty standard for the Coopers kits, but most brewers agree you're better off using DME instead. But I think you would be better off with some other kit that doesn't start off using a lot of sugar - Northern Brewer and many others sell these.

The cidery flavor most likely comes from the large amount of sugar. It could be an infection - almost any off flavor can come from infection. But it's probably best to figure it's from the sugar unless you get some other indications of infection. Definitely use good sanitation to prevent this. Clean after using the equipment, then sanitize immediately before the next time you use it. Oxi Clean or generic is a popular cleaner. Star San is a popular sanitizer.

Welcome to HBT and good luck.

 

[doctor strangebrew]

Look very closely at your bottles before opening. Right at the top level of the beer is there a ring? If so, it means contamination. Hold the bottle with light from behind... gently tip it at an angle to see the ring. You don't always have a ring, but if you do there were sanitation issues. I agree to use malt extract instead of sugar (except at bottling for priming) Sure, you can get more alcohol for cheap, but why not get more flavor also? Most of my failures where at bottling time (that's why I quit until I got a keg... much easier too) I also had issues from oxidation.

 

[cswant88]

I bet it’s the dextrose. Simple sugars can boost your gravity but a large amount can give a cidery flavor. Try using dme next time.

 

[doctor strangebrew]

I could also tell the difference between just sour taste and actual contamination by the smell. Can't describe it in words, but I could tell. Most likely is just the "cidery flavor" as mentioned... didn't mean to get you worried.