Hello, i am new here. I just brew beer with kits and here is my question:
A few years ago me and my dad bought a home brewing starter kit. It consisted of a pressure barrel with the tap at the top and a woodfords beer kit. We were told when we bought it that you do not need to use a fermenter, you just put all the ingredients into the one barrel, leave it in a warm place for a week or 2 and then move it to somewhere cool for it to clear. These instructions go against what it says on the beer kits and was wandering if using a separate fermenter would alter the taste of the beer?
I have found the taste of our previous brews quite harsh, even the lagers were quite bitter, and was wandering if this is what homebrew is supposed to be like or if our method is altering the taste. I feel that homebrew tastes nowhere near as good as purchased ales and i don’t see a reason why it shouldn’t, especially if we are using the beer kits. Would using a separate fermenter make the beer taste better?
If using a fermenter makes no change to the taste of the beer, why use one?
Also, we have been putting the beer in a room next to our hot water tank to ferment, could it be too hot making the beer harsh?
Why use fermenter?
Hi JJ and welcome.
There's a few questions there!
1. Using a separate fermenter means that you can leave the bulk of the yeast behind when you put the beer in the barrel, so it isn't sitting on old dead yeast for months (if your beer lasts that long!) which can cause off-flavours.
2. Although kits are very good these days, you still won't get quite as good a pint as a commercial brewery (or an all-grain homebrewer) is capable of producing.
3. Fermentation temperature is best kept between 18 and 22C, and I would recommend the lower end of that range. Your hot water cylinder probably gets higher that that, which can produce off-flavours.
There's a few questions there!
1. Using a separate fermenter means that you can leave the bulk of the yeast behind when you put the beer in the barrel, so it isn't sitting on old dead yeast for months (if your beer lasts that long!) which can cause off-flavours.
2. Although kits are very good these days, you still won't get quite as good a pint as a commercial brewery (or an all-grain homebrewer) is capable of producing.
3. Fermentation temperature is best kept between 18 and 22C, and I would recommend the lower end of that range. Your hot water cylinder probably gets higher that that, which can produce off-flavours.
-
Ditch
- Five figured forum fanatic
- Posts: 11380
- Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2012 5:22 pm
- Location: Co. Leitrim.
- Contact:
Jim wrote:Hi JJ and welcome.
Using a separate fermenter means that you can leave the bulk of the yeast behind when you put the beer in the barrel, so it isn't sitting on old dead yeast for months
And the scales are lifted from my eyes! Thanks to JJ, for asking what I had in the back of my mind, and Jim for the enlightenment
-
Graham
The harsh taste you experience is almost certainly autolysed yeast - that is yeast turning itself into Marmite.
If home brewers could get away without using a fermenter before casking, believe me they would. Some of us, like me, use two fermenters before the beer hits the cask.
From what you said, I think you are fermenting too warm. Cool 'n' slow. You can't rush a good beer.
If home brewers could get away without using a fermenter before casking, believe me they would. Some of us, like me, use two fermenters before the beer hits the cask.
From what you said, I think you are fermenting too warm. Cool 'n' slow. You can't rush a good beer.
-
jjachnik