Take 2
Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 7:13 am
Hey everyone!
I'm back again, after not brewing since early last summer. I've had too many issues that it's taken the joy out of making my own beer:
-Gravities coming out lower than expected after boil, even though they're spot on after the mash, leading to much lower ABV (like 3%) than planned.
-Beers just not tasting good (I've a Quad that is syrupy trash, a watered down Raspberry wheat that's tarter than expected because of no body and no ABV, 3.2% I believe, to offset the tart of the berry, a session that's alright but not something I'm excited to have a session of!, etc.), so I prefer to just drink what I can buy.
-A porter that tasted amazing, and then had 3 bottle bombs within a week, so I dumped the over carbinated batch.
-An Oktoberfest that was under carbinated to the point that 75% of the open bottles were flat and undrinkable
-I had back surgery in 2013, so it makes any brewing and bottling day a potential pain the the upper ass!
All these things have put me off brewing, and I'm disappointed because I enjoy the hobby and the fruits of my labor, when they turn out good. But, I still have quite the stock of supplies (wheat, hops, yeast) to get through before I leave Germany next summer, so I'm giving it another go now before I have to just waste the stuff they won't ship. Pretty much I'm just going to be making what I can with what I've got, tweaking/reusing old recipes, finding recipes that fit my grain bill, etc.
That said, I have a brown that just hit the fermenter, based on a recipe I found online. I only made one adjustment and that was using 40L Caramel malt instead of 60L, since I have 40 and not 60. I'm happy, thus far, to report that my gravities came out higher than planned after boil (1.060 vice 1.055 predicted) and it tasted pretty good too. Next up is a recreation of the porter mentioned above, hoping for less carbination issues, but same great taste. I'll be doing that one in 3 or 4 weeks, once this batch hits the bottles.
One final question for you all: Most of the beers I have on hand, I know I'm not going to drink (especially the quad), as they've gotten quite old, so the already un-enjoyable glass is only getting worse. Would you power through, or just cut your losses, toss the batch and get the bottles ready for the next round?
I'm back again, after not brewing since early last summer. I've had too many issues that it's taken the joy out of making my own beer:
-Gravities coming out lower than expected after boil, even though they're spot on after the mash, leading to much lower ABV (like 3%) than planned.
-Beers just not tasting good (I've a Quad that is syrupy trash, a watered down Raspberry wheat that's tarter than expected because of no body and no ABV, 3.2% I believe, to offset the tart of the berry, a session that's alright but not something I'm excited to have a session of!, etc.), so I prefer to just drink what I can buy.
-A porter that tasted amazing, and then had 3 bottle bombs within a week, so I dumped the over carbinated batch.
-An Oktoberfest that was under carbinated to the point that 75% of the open bottles were flat and undrinkable
-I had back surgery in 2013, so it makes any brewing and bottling day a potential pain the the upper ass!
All these things have put me off brewing, and I'm disappointed because I enjoy the hobby and the fruits of my labor, when they turn out good. But, I still have quite the stock of supplies (wheat, hops, yeast) to get through before I leave Germany next summer, so I'm giving it another go now before I have to just waste the stuff they won't ship. Pretty much I'm just going to be making what I can with what I've got, tweaking/reusing old recipes, finding recipes that fit my grain bill, etc.
That said, I have a brown that just hit the fermenter, based on a recipe I found online. I only made one adjustment and that was using 40L Caramel malt instead of 60L, since I have 40 and not 60. I'm happy, thus far, to report that my gravities came out higher than planned after boil (1.060 vice 1.055 predicted) and it tasted pretty good too. Next up is a recreation of the porter mentioned above, hoping for less carbination issues, but same great taste. I'll be doing that one in 3 or 4 weeks, once this batch hits the bottles.
One final question for you all: Most of the beers I have on hand, I know I'm not going to drink (especially the quad), as they've gotten quite old, so the already un-enjoyable glass is only getting worse. Would you power through, or just cut your losses, toss the batch and get the bottles ready for the next round?