Questions tagged [ale]
For questions related to warm fermentation of beer with yeast comfortable near room temperature (i.e. ale yeast).
66
questions
18
votes
5answers
30k views
Why do all my beers taste better after having aged for a couple months?
My impression is that ales are typically best drunk within a couple weeks of brew day. It's my experience that letting them age in the bottles for 2-3 months yields the best beer, both improving body, ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
Diluting beer after 11 hours of fermentation. What to expect?
Ended up with too high gravity wort. Since I was not prepared for this I didn't have enough sterile water to dilute the wort. I ended up pitching the yeast anyway and adding sterile water at 11 hours ...
9
votes
2answers
665 views
How do I prevent off-flavors in ciders
There's an abundance of apples this time of year (admittedly getting thinner now), and I would like to try a decent hard cider, but in the past I've had serious troubles with
Cloudy results
Odd ...
9
votes
2answers
4k views
What's the line between brown ale and porter?
Southern English brown ale, which I like, seems to differ from porter, which I dislike, by only a matter of degree. It just seems to be about the amount of specialty grains. Is there any other ...
8
votes
6answers
13k views
What ale yeasts can closely approximate the clean and crisp characteristics of lagers?
I'd like to brew a black lager. I don't have a temperature control setup yet, so accepting that my fermentation will be around 68-70 F, what ale yeasts would come the closest to mimicking the clean ...
8
votes
9answers
15k views
How do I make my ginger beer SPICY?
I've made tons of ginger beer (often just like this http://ieatfood.net/2009/12/18/real-ginger-ale/ ), I've tried various different recipes, and they all come out quite nicely. But I want a ginger ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
What does “a thorough diacetyl rest” mean when talking about ale yeast?
Most of my knowledge of diactyl rests come from Palmer's How to Brew, and it applies entirely to lagers. It mainly means bringing the temperature up slowly and letting the lager sit at a slightly ...
6
votes
2answers
764 views
Long cold crash for an ale. Benefit or harm?
I cold crash my ales to reduce sediment and clear the beer. My understanding is that even as little as a day would do that. But my brewing partner and I have often (due to time constraints) kept them ...
6
votes
4answers
606 views
Making a strong belgian ale
I'm pretty new to home brewing. I made a 1 gallon Belgian Ale kit which came out pretty good and then did a 5-gallon Strong Belgian Ale recipe I found on the internet which also came out pretty well. ...
6
votes
3answers
73 views
Adding extra ingredients/flavouring: what stage should I add?
I am stil fairly new to homebrewing; on my third batch of real ale now, and I wanted to experiment with adding a few extra things to my brew: some elderflowers, and miscellaneous herbs.
My idea was ...
6
votes
5answers
2k views
Which strains of yeasts are the cleanest for warm/hot fermentation?
I am from Puerto Rico and the temperature here is like summer all year round(between 75 to 95*F) , and I really want to know the cleanest strains of yeasts for this kind of temperature.
(clean yeast=...
6
votes
6answers
2k views
Any suggestions / stories on heather ale brewing?
I'm interested in hearing about people's experience brewing a heather ale.. from what I understand this was the predominant flavoring of beers before hops and it just seems like an interesting part of ...
6
votes
2answers
743 views
Scottish Ale - is it supposed to taste like fire?
Just yesterday I opened up my first stage fermenter to transfer my Scottish ale to it's second stage. First of all...it looked like toxic waste. Second of all...I smelled it and it literally singed my ...
5
votes
3answers
220 views
Problems with sealing fermentation tank
I am new to the world of the craft beer, and new to this community too!
I'm developing my first liters of beer, and so far, I have obtained results that have fascinated me! I think i will never gonna ...
5
votes
3answers
433 views
Using Maple Syrup/Sap in Brew
I am planning a Sweet Potato Ale and was toying with the idea of using maple syrup or sap. One thought was to substitute a gallon of water with a gallon of sap, if that is economically feasible. I ...
5
votes
2answers
532 views
What's the line between ale and lager?
There are several beers that blur the lines between ale and lager. Here's a few I'm aware of:
Styles
California Common is fermented at ale temperatures with a lager yeast, most often Wyeast 2112 ...
5
votes
2answers
564 views
Should I brew in too-warm climate or substitute the yeast?
I'm about to brew an Amber Ale (from an LHBS kit) that comes with a US-05 Safale yeast. The forecasted temperature for the next couple of weeks is likely to remain at min 20C (68F) overnight & ...
4
votes
6answers
3k views
Flat beer with table sugar?
I brewed this Ale Oktoberfest beer and I thought everything went perfectly, but the bottles are flat (have tried 4 of them)
Some details:
2 weeks in the primary
1 week in secondary (5 gal carboy)
FG ...
4
votes
4answers
343 views
Repitching yeast on back to back brews, which one first?
I'm brewing two beers back to back so I can reuse some White Labs California Ale (WLP001). One is a basic APA 1.058 OG and the Other is a Scottish Export/80 1.051 OG.
Is there any reason I should ...
4
votes
2answers
88 views
Any hop recommendations for a single hop PA out of these options
I'm about to brew an American Pale Ale or Pale Ale. I'm only considering a single hop on this time around. Any recommendation out of these options listed below? It’s what I have left. I'd love to go a ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Adding graham cracker flavor to a pumpkin ale
Has anyone had any luck/experience using graham crackers in a pumpkin ale recipe? I've seen some people using graham cracker "extract" with some luck, however, I'm referring to using actual graham ...
4
votes
2answers
221 views
Unexpected flavours after bottle conditioning
Been brewing beer for a few years. In my experience, bottle conditioning introduces unintentional flavours. It makes it very hard to make anything lighter than an IPA, IIPA and barley wine. The ...
4
votes
2answers
5k views
WLP001 v. WLP051
WhiteLabs provides these two great American Ale yeast strains (among others).
WLP051 (California Ale V yeast) and WLP001 (California Ale Yeast)
What are the differences in these two strains and what ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Recipe simply calls for caramalt
Some friends and I wanted to try to recreate the brew dog Vagabond Pale Ale from their diy dog catalog. The grain bill looks as follows
Pale Ale 3.38kg 7.43lb
Caramalt 0.5kg 1.1lb
Crystal 150 0.19kg ...
4
votes
2answers
268 views
New brewer, question about state of beer prior to bottling
Tomorrow is the Big Bottling Day. I snuck a peek about a week ago and took a hydro reading, and all is well I believe. I took another peek today (14 days in) just to make sure I'm not about to bottle ...
4
votes
2answers
455 views
Thick/Chunky Pumpkin Ale
I racked my Pumpkin Ale into a carboy last night and it seemed chunky or thick. Is this a product of using the Pumpkin in the brew? I siphoned as much as I could but I questioned how much of the "...
4
votes
2answers
617 views
Yeasty Tasting Pale Ale
This is already after the fact, since the batch has been consumed but...
My pale ale that I made had quite a 'yeasty' taste. It still wasn't bad, though I would have preferred it to be a bit milder. ...
3
votes
3answers
60 views
Lager vs Ale a comparison
Would it be incorrect to say a Lager is a lighter (in flavor) beer that takes a long time to make, while an Ale is a heavier more flavorful beer that can be made in less time than a lager? Ignoring ...
3
votes
2answers
84 views
Cidery or wine flavor after bottle conditioning ale
I’ve done a few batches using Safale F2 in combination with dextrose for bottle conditioning. They all came out tasting sour after 2,5 weeks, like I image young sparkling wine would taste. Now it’s do ...
3
votes
2answers
892 views
Best yeast for bottle conditioning
I’ve used Safale F-2 and sometimes CBC-1 for bottle conditioning with good results. Doing so, flavour impact has been minimal. It also drops its dead clear once bottle fermentation is mostly done. It ...
3
votes
6answers
6k views
Should I stir the fermentation?
After week 2 my double IPA is still fermenting and has a healthy yeast cap of about 1 inch. Should I leave it be or stir it into the beer?
The gravity is 1.019, near to what I'm expecting the final ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
Corny Real Ale?
I am interested in learning some of the intricacies associated with 'real ale'. I realize that out in industry, this is done in large stainless steel (or aluminum?) barrels with special corks etc etc ...
3
votes
3answers
86 views
How do old homebrews taste like?
I often come across guides on detecting off-flavors. But I never seen a guide on how to how to identify flavor caused by poorly aged beer, though I’ve come across plenty of home brews past it’s prime. ...
3
votes
3answers
949 views
Bourbon soaked wood chips in secondary
Making a wee heavy and adding medium toasted oak chips that have been soaked in bourbon. The chips are tied up in a cheese cloth bag. My question is, should I let the chips dry thoroughly before ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
Brewing with chili pepper
I would like to have a hot peppered ale from extract batch. I won't be able to make an all grain, what style do you recommend? How should I add the peppers, in secondary or primary, or into the bottle?...
3
votes
1answer
360 views
What changes needed to recipe when switching Ale to Lager yeast
I plan on brewing a porter next week that calls for a American Ale yeast. But my basement temperature would be perfect for using a California Lager yeast (aka Anchor Steam yeast). I've seen some ...
3
votes
1answer
326 views
Pumpkin Ale Slow Fermentation
I tried out my first five gallon batch (prior to this I had a 1 gallon system) with a pumpkin ale. I followed this recipe: SMASHING PUMPKIN ALE except that at the last 15 minutes of the boil I added a ...
2
votes
2answers
775 views
What makes a beer syrupy in texture?
I have recently brewed a nice rye ale. It turned out very nicely, however, compared to all the other beers I've brewed, it has a really syrupy texture and thickness to it. It quite dry but it isn't ...
2
votes
3answers
752 views
Too much sweetness and banana like aroma/taste
I've been brewing 6 batches of Ale and I've had problems with sweetness and banana like aroma and taste (esters probably). I think the problem is the fermentation temperature. My fermentation bucket ...
2
votes
3answers
81 views
Wine or cider yeast for ale
I'm a noob brewer and being distracted added boiling water to my yeast. I added cold water immediately however I'm afraid I may have committed yeastocide.
The only place I could think of around me ...
2
votes
1answer
258 views
How can I save my beer after long delay before bottling?
I have a home ale brew in a tub from a kit, and I added 20 teaspoons of sugar to the beer as instructed (the equivalent of 1 half teaspoon per bottle) but this was about 10 days ago. I haven't bottled ...
2
votes
2answers
421 views
Cold crashing and risk of oxidation
I'm brewing a Belgian golden strong ale for the first time. According to the fermentation schedule, it should cold crash and lager at 32°F (0°C) for three weeks. Even though I've cold crashed before, ...
1
vote
4answers
2k views
Do I have to bottle/keg an ale?
I've got an ale (23L) that's been brewing for six days now, my recipe says I should bottle or keg it after eight. I don't have any bottles or a keg, but I do have another bucket (25L, made for brewing ...
1
vote
2answers
4k views
How to get a richer body when brewing
I brewed my first home written beer recipe in the end of last year, now I want to improve the beer.
It was a simple single hops pale ale recipe, brewed in a 5L container, so it was a very small batch ...
1
vote
2answers
4k views
Amount of lactose (or milk?) to make a real 'Cream Ale',
So I'm brewing the recipe below for my wife. (She wanted a "fruity" beer.") It was listed on beersmith.com as "Strawberry Cream Ale". I asked at the LHBS, and they confirmed what I thought, in that ...
1
vote
3answers
3k views
Adding boiling water to raise temperature during fermentation
Beer was getting cold so in a desperate attempt to raise the temperature I put near boiling water into the container. So 450ml into 23litres of beer. The beer had only been brewing for 4 days.
Will ...
1
vote
4answers
625 views
Controlling fermentation temperatures
I'm conscious this is the third question I've asked before I even get started on my first brew, but hey-ho; better to learn from the experience of others and get as close to "right" first time.
I am ...
1
vote
2answers
739 views
Gluten Free Summer Ale
My wife recently found out she has a gluten sensitivity, so sadly a number of things she loved are now off-limits.
As summer is upon us here in Boston, she today realized that Sam Adams Summer Ale is ...
1
vote
3answers
1k views
What happens if I Double Brown Ale
I'm thinking about making something like Frambozen from New Belgium from brown ale and added raspberries. However it's more of a sipping beer / higher alcohol content than the regular brown ale.
...
1
vote
3answers
233 views
Carbonation gone wrong?
I was trying my first all grain brew yesterday when I realized that the beer was almost flat, which is weird because they spent about a week inside the bottle. It's a belgian golden ale and I've added ...
