Home Brew Method & Results

[Kiwis]

So a year or two ago I started home brew, did it for a few months (6 maybe) results were okay, drunk it fine. Got pissed fine. Stopped as I was drinking too much in fact.

The issue was, the beer wasn't the greatest, tasted average and very cloudy.

This is the method I used.

• Using a large white bucket (from original home brew kit) I added 3L boiling water
• Added warmed up Mangrove Jacks Kit
• Added 1Kg of sugar from home brew shop
• Added cold water to designated line
• Stired it all together
• Added yeast to stop of bucket
• Secured lid with the bubbler thing on top.

• Left it aside for about a week (normally 7 days).
• Bottled it all, added 2 carbonation drops to each bottle, secured the lids
• waited 2 weeks.

Now, obviously that process works but how can I get a clearer beer and a better tasking beer?

[Nathan]

Add hops

Use decent yeast

Control ferment temp

Crash cool

[Cain Harland]

All those are good suggestions, temp control being the big one. I would say cooling being more important than heating, a few degrees cold = slow fermentation, a few degrees warm = yuck flavors. Many of us have our fermenter in an old fridge with a heat source in it and an STC-1000 or similar to control both the heater and fridge.

The amount of yeast they give you with a kit is pathetic, usually 5g when an 11g pack of something better would be just enough.

Add tinny bit of dissolved gelatin after Crash cool to get a super clear beer.

Also more time, my standard is 2 week ferment, 1 week cold crash with gelatin mid week. This could be condensed a bit but 1 week is pushing it.

[Kiwis]

So how cool does it need to be? 

I left it in the wardrobe of my coolest room. I recall bottling watching NRL so was over winter too.

[Cain Harland]

Each yeast has an ideal temp range. In winter you are probably on the cold side for ale yeast. My point was really going above ideal is worse than being under. But if you want to make better beer set up to heat and cool so you can be at ideal temperature for any yeast at any time of year.

[Darren Wood]

Also I wouldn't use the sugar. I'd use another can of LME.