Anyone brew their own beer?

[x-g.o.p.er]

I bought a starter kit, and I must have done something wrong. Tastes terrible. I reviewed all the directions, and the only thing I can think of that I might have done wrong is not letting the water cool enough prior to adding the yeast.

The beer having sediment doesn't bother me--I was stationed in Germany and got hooked on Dunkel-Hefeweizen, which is one reason why I wanted to try home brewing.

Anyhow, if anyone has a good tip or could recommend a good kit to try, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

[Book Lover]

1. I don't have any specific info

but I remember my grandmother saying (the family used to brew and distill before, during and after Prohibition) that if your first three batches of beer didn't taste like shit, you were doing something wrong. She also was a great believer in using the largest size equipment you possibly could.

[killbotfactory]

2. I do!

Sanitation is key. Bleach and sanitize everything the beer will come in contact with, otherwise strange flavors will arise.

The only starter kit I've done tasted terrible for that reason.

After that batch I was very anal about cleaning everything, and just bought the ingredients from a home brew shop. Since then all my batches have been delicious and friends and family request it.

[x-g.o.p.er]

4. Cleaned well, but no bleach used...

Could be the problem.

Is that home brew shop a local place, or can I find them if I look hard enough?

[killbotfactory]

5. The Kit I got had some kind of oxygen cleaner stuff

I don't think it worked very well.

The homebrew place I go to is local. The guys are really helpful, and the place smells like malt. It's great. If you can find a place near where you live I would visit and ask for advice and such.

[sendero]

7. Exactly...

... mine had a "vinegar" smell and that is a sign of a bacterial problem.

The fact is, beer is nearly a perfect medium for growing bacteria, molds and other nasties.

If you don't kill everything off really well, it will happily grow in your beer and mess it up :)

[tuvor]

3. I only do wine at home, but I found this a couple of days ago.

How to Brew Beer in a Coffee Pot

http://www.allaboutbeer.com/features/235coffee.html

Ehh, you never know.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

6. My grandpa used to make beer in the bathtub

and it was sweet and wonderful. Don't remember him ever taking any special precautions. And where it went out of the bathtub, I don't know...maybe we were just lucky, but it was very tasty once it was done! But back in those days no one questioned the people who seemed to know what they were doing. I guess I would talk to an old geezer who has done it before!

[rstlne]

8. My "ex" started home brewing for the exact same reason.

But adding the yeast to a too warm brew will effect the taste (if it is the alcohol flavor you are missing) since too much heat will kill the yeast in the initial fermentation process, maybe that's why it didn't taste good? Sugaring only adds the carbonation, so unless it was flat, I doubt that was the problem.
But it is very important to keep the batch warm but not too cold during the first fermentation, if it's too cold, the yeast won't thrive, too warm and it "spoils" or gets sour since bacteria can thrive too.
Hope this helps!

[killbotfactory]

9. sugar or glucose will add alcohol content

I add a lot of cheap honey to my batches for that very reason.

The yeast eats it up and produces carbonation and alcohol.

:)

[rstlne]

14. Sorry, guess I was misunderstood

The first time you add sugar, (in the vat) that's when your alcohol is produced, That's why you need that nifty valve to let the gas escape. The second time you add sugar, (in the bottle) that's where the carbonation happens, so if you add too much sugar then your bottles might burst since there's no valve, too little and it will be flat.

[EstimatedProphet]

10. I haven't made beer from a kit in ages...

I do remember the John Bull kits were good though.

[markus]

11. Sanitizer

I've used the stuff that came with my original Mr. Beer kit (a great way to start) and the stuff in bulk from the local brewing store. It works fine, but you do have to be pretty anal about sanitizing everything.

If the beer is carbonated, then the yeast did its duty.

Again, did you sanitize everything, including the bottles it went into? Did you boil the caps, and the tool you used to take them out of the hot water? Did you possible touch the surfaces of the inside of the cap as you capped it?

There's plenty of opportunities for contamination. But if you're just careful, brewing is a blast.

[x-g.o.p.er]

12. No carbonation, and I wasn't that careful about sanitizing.

After reading your post, I could see where I might have made several mistakes. I guess you can never sanitize enough. I did wash, but not boil.

Thanks!

[markus]

16. From your avatar, are you down in the Cities?

What brew shop did you visit?

Anybody who sent you out the door without specific and almost annoyingly stringent instructions to Sanitize wasn't giving you enough attention.

Really, just dissolve the oxygen bleach sanitizer in water and soak eveything you use up to the very rim, (and don't foget tools, etc), and you'll be fine.

If you're looking for an almost foolproof initial experience, try Mr. Beer. But you will want to get a bottle capper and the necessary plumbing (restaurant/lab quality hose and the bottle filler end)) to transfer into bottles. I ususally decant into a seperate pot to add sugar for secondary fermentation (many would tell me decanting into a second, open container is asking for trouble) but it's not failed me yet.

[two gun sid]

13. I never have but, I had a girlfriend whose uncle did....

his beer was the most awesome I ever drank. Good alcohol content and the best apple after-taste. I know he was adamant about cleaning everything. I wish I could give you some help. Sorry.

[Abelman]

15. Will do this summer

There's an interesting book on the subject which I believe is called "Making Beer." It's out of print though, but I highly reccomend it.

[Wapsie B]

17. I've tried it a number of times and all I can say is that

I just don't have the touch. My home brew would make a billy goat :puke:

[jandrok]

18. Go here

www.beeradvocate.com

They have a good homebrewing information center, and they have an active homebrewing forum. You can learn a lot from folks who have faced some of the same challenges.

[BikeWriter]

19. I made all my beer and wine for several years. Get some books...

and read up on it.

[Abelman]

20. Found the book!

"Making Beer" by William Mares. It's really good. Tells you a lot about the ins and outs of homebrewing.