New Brewer Questions

[rpatchy]

Hey everyone, I thought I should update you all on the Mexican Cerveza(my first brew) since I tried it last night after the 3-4 rule. As a few have said, at 4 weeks, it wasn't good at all. I had a couple friends over to watch a game last night and we each cracked one of the beers(2 were made with carbo drops, and 1 used table sugar). The one with table sugar poured good head and was well carbonated but tasted sweet. The ones with carbo-drops had little to NO head and wasn't carbonated well at all. Both of those were VERY sweet. They all tasted like cider basically. Clearly I am somewhat disappointed but from what I have read, this beer needs to age for quite a bit longer than most. I have the Bewitched Amber Ale in the LBK right now and will be bottled on Wednesday. When that one conditions for 4 weeks, the Mexican Cerveza will have been in bottle for 9 weeks and hopefully it will be much improved. Fingers crossed.

[John Sand]

I think it will condition out. They shouldn't be sweet, that means the yeast didn't consume the sugar. I had the same problem with my first batch. Try rolling the bottles to stir up the yeast, and try to keep them around 70 degrees to carbonate. Then keep waiting. I find a week in the fridge after conditioning helps absorb the carbonation.

[Crazy Climber]

Good luck rpatchy, and welcome! It's pretty obvious that you've done more research than the average new brewer. With that type of approach, I'm sure you're going to have no problem getting where you want to be with the hobby. Many good brews and fun times await you -- cheers!!

(PS - if I had anything to add to the advice already given, I would...but as usual, the Borg membership has already got you covered pretty well.)

[BrownstotheBone]

Hey everyone, I thought I should update you all on the Mexican Cerveza(my first brew) since I tried it last night after the 3-4 rule. As a few have said, at 4 weeks, it wasn't good at all. I had a couple friends over to watch a game last night and we each cracked one of the beers(2 were made with carbo drops, and 1 used table sugar). The one with table sugar poured good head and was well carbonated but tasted sweet. The ones with carbo-drops had little to NO head and wasn't carbonated well at all. Both of those were VERY sweet. They all tasted like cider basically. Clearly I am somewhat disappointed but from what I have read, this beer needs to age for quite a bit longer than most. I have the Bewitched Amber Ale in the LBK right now and will be bottled on Wednesday. When that one conditions for 4 weeks, the Mexican Cerveza will have been in bottle for 9 weeks and hopefully it will be much improved. Fingers crossed.

Damn. We followed nearly the same path. I did just what you're doing, letting the Cerveza set another 4 weeks while the Bewitched Amber Ale Deluxe conditioned for 4.

I don't think I EVER liked the Cerveza. Even after 8 weeks it was just "OK" to me. But the Bewitched was SO GOOD. That one I gave a few away (family and friends) and got all good reviews.

Invite your buddies back over for that one. You'll be a beer rock star!

[rpatchy]

It's good to hear that it wasn't just me lol. Since you followed the same path, any advice on the Amber Ale? I just cold-crashed it today and will be bottling on Wednesday and letting those sit for 4 weeks. Should I do anything different? Should I cold-condition for a couple weeks after the 4 weeks at room temperature? Also, I plan on making the next beer right after bottling, what should I make next? I have the American Ale, Grand Bohemian Czech Pilsner and the Oktoberfest Lager left.

[BrownstotheBone]

It's good to hear that it wasn't just me lol. Since you followed the same path, any advice on the Amber Ale? I just cold-crashed it today and will be bottling on Wednesday and letting those sit for 4 weeks. Should I do anything different? Should I cold-condition for a couple weeks after the 4 weeks at room temperature? Also, I plan on making the next beer right after bottling, what should I make next? I have the American Ale, Grand Bohemian Czech Pilsner and the Oktoberfest Lager left.

3 days should be enough for the cold crash. I've been swearing by that (to clear up the beer) although it's not completely necessary. It makes my batch priming day easier and keeps the trub in check better.

I drank most at 4 weeks but saved a few for another month or 2. Having that one tonight. Time is your friend.

What you do next is up to you. I moved on to a DME and a hop boil w/ Patriots Pride. But after that I've got Downtown Amber Ale cued up.

Whatever makes you happy is what you should do next. That's the idea right? You're the boss! Surprise yourself.

[shewdawg]

It's good to hear that it wasn't just me lol. Since you followed the same path, any advice on the Amber Ale? I just cold-crashed it today and will be bottling on Wednesday and letting those sit for 4 weeks. Should I do anything different? Should I cold-condition for a couple weeks after the 4 weeks at room temperature? Also, I plan on making the next beer right after bottling, what should I make next? I have the American Ale, Grand Bohemian Czech Pilsner and the Oktoberfest Lager left.

I've personally always enjoyed the Oktoberfest and the other derivative recipes that MB has to offer with that base. I saw earlier that you were having issues with the carbo drops. I had a similar experience and went back to measuring for each bottle. Of course I've gone onto 5 gallon batches and batch prime my batches now. Another hint is to go onto Screwey Brewers website as they have calculators on there for carbonation. I ran into a couple of batches that were extremely carbonated and found that sometimes you can use less sugar to get the correct carbonation for the style.

Cheers and good luck with the new hobby! Still learning myself but everyone on here has been great.