Brew Demon One Evil Pilsner

[monsteroyd]

I made this last night. I did the basic recipe, but added 300G of light DME for a little ABV punch, And did a 5 minute boil of 1 oz Saaz for a little aroma/flavor, and then left the hops in. Went smoothly and can't wait to try it. The only thing I noticed was the LME may have been a little old as the malt crystallized a bit in the cans, and seemed a little darker, than you would imagine a pilsner to be. I've never seen the sugar crystallize out of malt before. It looked very similar to what honey does in that case.

Monty

[mashani]

If I recall, those HMEs had "hop chunks" in the cans, and the malt would soak into them and/or glob around/crystalize around them sometimes. Are you sure that's not what you were seeing? None of the Coopers HMEs have the "hop chunks". That was specific to some of those Maltexo extracts. I think they add them at the last minute during the canning process to get something like a "no chill" style flavor addition.

In any case, that's the old Pilothouse and that was one of the better original Mr. Beer refills. It never turned out as light as a real pilsner, but it was always tasty.

The one thing the Coopers HMEs are "better" at is being light colored when appropriate.

[monsteroyd]

Hmm.. Yeah it could have been hop chunks. There was a lot of 'stuff' in the wort when I pitched, even though I put the hops in a sack with marbles, there was a lot of hop 'dust' in the DME wort before I put the HME in. So your explanation could be what I saw, even though I thought it was the Saaz.

I think I will make beer, and I am glad to hear that it was one of the better original MB HME.

Thanks
Monty

[Oesh01]

This is my first homebrew batch and I am not sure if I have done it right. This batch has not seem to clear at all... is that correct? I did the primary for 3 weeks, secondary w/ priming sugar in keg for two weeks, and now has conditioned in my kegerator for a week at 37 deg. Am I missing something? What should this beer taste like?

[Kealia]

There are a lot of factors that go into a clear beer. Don't get too hung up on that aspect. More important is how does it taste?
That recipe uses Nelson Sauvin hops which to some/most throw of a white grape/melon flavor. It shouldn't be the predominant flavor as I recall this being a pale ale recipe (right?).

So....what does it taste like to you?

[bpgreen]

On a side note, if you're begging and force carbonating, there's no need to add priming sugar. That will increase the ABV slightly, but it's not really needed. You can go straight from the fermenter to the keg.

Sometimes, when you transfer to the keg, you'll transfer some of the trub from the fermenter. Some trub also often settles out while its in the fridge. So it's not unusual for the first beer or two to be a bit cloudy.

And as Realia said, having a clear beer isn't as important as having a beer that tastes good. It's nice for the sake of presentation, but flavor is more important than clarity.

[Oesh01]

I think it taste just fine. I guess I am asking if my process was on par with what I should be doing to get good results. Do you have any suggestions on what I have done or what I should tweak with my next run...

[BlackDuck]

If it tastes good to you, then you pretty much did it right. Since that was your first batch, I would suggest doing a couple more so you get used to the process. And so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. Great looking beer there, glad it came out good for you.

[bpgreen]

I think it taste just fine. I guess I am asking if my process was on par with what I should be doing to get good results. Do you have any suggestions on what I have done or what I should tweak with my next run...

Skip the secondary. If you bought a kit that included priming sugar, you can add that along with the rest of the ingredients. It'll add a little ABV and since it came with the kit, you may as well use it. If the kit didn't include priming sugar, there's no need to add it.

You can cold crash for a few days (put the fermenter in a fridge so more stuff settles out) before transferring to the keg. That often helps make it more clear. I've never done it because I figure it will eventually settle out, but a lot of people are big fans of cold crashing to get clearer beers. When I tap a keg, the first beer is often cloudy and sometimes a couple of beers are.

And be careful when doing the transfer that you don't pick up any (or at least much) trub. You'll still have yeast and other solids in suspension if you don't cold crash, but you're trying to minimize the solids.

There are other causes of hazy beer, also. I'm really just addressing the haziness that can be caused by having some trub in the keg.

[Oesh01]

I think it taste just fine. I guess I am asking if my process was on par with what I should be doing to get good results. Do you have any suggestions on what I have done or what I should tweak with my next run...

Skip the secondary. If you bought a kit that included priming sugar, you can add that along with the rest of the ingredients. It'll add a little ABV and since it came with the kit, you may as well use it. If the kit didn't include priming sugar, there's no need to add it.

You can cold crash for a few days (put the fermenter in a fridge so more stuff settles out) before transferring to the keg. That often helps make it more clear. I've never done it because I figure it will eventually settle out, but a lot of people are big fans of cold crashing to get clearer beers. When I tap a keg, the first beer is often cloudy and sometimes a couple of beers are.

And be careful when doing the transfer that you don't pick up any (or at least much) trub. You'll still have yeast and other solids in suspension if you don't cold crash, but you're trying to minimize the solids.

There are other causes of hazy beer, also. I'm really just addressing the haziness that can be caused by having some trub in the keg.

I feel like I am being the "little brother" asking all the questions... but, what is the best way to force carb beer?

[Kealia]

Don't feel bad at all - we all started somewhere and still have questions that we rely on each other to help answer. So ask away.

"Best" way is tough to answer because there are multiple ways. My preferred method is to set my regulator to 12-14 psi and to let it carb up over 10-14 days. I keep my kegerator at 44 degrees. Your psi may vary depending on temp, desired carb level, etc. (which we'll be happy to explain/reference if needed).

There are methods referred to as "burst carbing" that will do it faster than 10-14 days, but I like this process because it is fool-proof and allows for more time for the beer to lager, clarify, etc. I'm sure somebody can jump in here and give pointers for burst carbing but it's not a method that I use so I won't speak to it myself.

[Dawg LB Steve]

I feel like I am being the "little brother" asking all the questions... but, what is the best way to force carb beer?

Not at all! We told you when you introduced yourself ask questions if you got them. Best way to force carb w/o over carbing is to set your regulator, for most American Ales the volume of CO2 is right about 2.5, to 10-12 lbs @ 38-40 degrees and leave it be for a week to 10 days.

[bpgreen]

I use the same approach--set it and forget it. I also have a bunch of kegs and two CO2 canisters, so I can carb a keg outside of the fridge with one canister while serving from the kegerator using the other one.

If you're impatient, you can set the CO2 higher, and shake the keg every once in a while to try to quickly get more CO2 into suspension. Then you turn it down to serving pressure and give it a day or so to reach equilibrium.

[Oesh01]

Kealia, LB Steve, bpgreen…. Thanks for great direction! I am going to set my regulator to 12-psi and let it set for the next 10-14 days. That sounds like a pretty sound plan. Seems like having patients is a key to getting the desired results of good brew!

[mashani]

I'll just mention that if you used the included yeast, that's a dry yeast called S-33, and it is a powdery yeast that doesn't flocculate out easily. So it will take a longer time for your beer to clear then if you used a highly flocculent yeast like say Nottingham for example.