10
votes
Accepted
Why do my spice flavors disappear when my beer is chilled?
It's a combination of human perception and physical science. Volatile compounds are less volatile at cold temperatures (physical chemistry), and the human nervous system is dulled or numbed slightly ...
- 3,415
9
votes
Accepted
Beer way too bitter. What should I do?
The advice that I give all new brewers is to taste what you have at every step. Taste your grain, taste your runnings, taste your wort when it goes into the fermenter and, of course, taste it when ...
- 1,152
6
votes
Accepted
How does chilling my wort slowly affect the taste of my beer?
Usually the biggest concerns of a slow chill are....
DMS (cooked corn flavor) is created from SMM when wort is hot. DMS will form until below 140°F (60°C). SMM is boiled off during boil, it's why we ...
- 18.5k
5
votes
Beer way too bitter. What should I do?
Don't dry hop. Bottle and leave for 6-9 months,or more. The bitterness will decrease noticeably with time. A beer considered much to "bitter" or "hop tangy" will be quite mild and enjoyable after one ...
- 5,631
5
votes
Accepted
Kegging an 11% stout
Kegged beer should last almost as long as bottled beer if sanitation and gas pressures are properly maintained. I don't think you need to do anything different because you are kegging it. The high ABV ...
- 3,012
5
votes
Accepted
What is a good time frame for aging cider/apple wine?
I don't age my ciders intentionally. I control the fermentation so they are clean.
While I have aged cider up to two years in bottles (Got lost in cooler) I prefer it fresh.
My friends that do ...
- 18.5k
4
votes
Adding extra ingredients/flavouring: what stage should I add?
I always recommend adding non fermentable flavorings as close to packaging as possible. This helps prevent that flavor and aroma from getting "blown out" by fermentation.
- 33.4k
4
votes
Accepted
Adding extra ingredients/flavouring: what stage should I add?
I would add the ingredients in late fermentation. When there is plenty of alcohol, minimal co2 blow off, but still active yeast. This will allow the yeast to consume those sugars, dominate the culture ...
- 18.5k
4
votes
What is a good time frame for aging cider/apple wine?
This is purely anecdotal, but I feel like my ciders have been pretty harsh early on and have improved with time, but it was a quicker timeframe than I had expected (a few months, not years). If you ...
- 710
4
votes
After I eat some foods beer tastes weird?
Certain foods can have effects on taste buds. Rinsing your mouth out with water (not mouthwash as that can do the same thing) will help. This is why we learn to food and beer (or wine) parings.
When ...
- 41
3
votes
Why is lemon zest undetectable in my beer?
It's possible that the aromatics went volatile in the boil and was then gasses off in fermentation. Leaving only oils that manifest aroma at warm temps.
Try the zest as a secondary addition, or a ...
- 18.5k
3
votes
Accepted
Hop Bags, What are the Advantages?
Using hop bags is just for ease of use of hops. Using them in the boil pretty much depends on your system. With my system, the pickup tube will clog if I use whole hops without a bag. For that ...
- 33.4k
3
votes
Storage Temperature
Beer should be stored cool. Around 7°C (45°F), never colder than 3°C (37°F) [#1].
Charles Bamforth says that every extra 10°C (50°F) of temperature doubles the rate of beer aging. So when your beer ...
- 2,060
2
votes
Accepted
Grape-like flavors in beer
Methyl Anthranilate is the compound that makes a grape flavor, it's found naturally in grapes and can be produced by some bacteria.
Im not aware of any yeast that produce Methyl anthranilate.
It's ...
- 18.5k
2
votes
What could cause an earthy flavour in beer?
Unpleasant fresh soil as you describe it can be a sign for ethyl fenchol which is a water contamination issue. I don't think Willamette or any hop for the matter should lead to a result how you ...
- 171
2
votes
2
votes
How necessary are specialty malts in an extract brew?
Different specialty malts affect your beer differently:
color malts: color, body
roasted malts: toasty, chocolate, roasted, or coffee flavor
cara-... malts: caramel flavor, mouthfeel, head retention
...
- 1,266
2
votes
How necessary are specialty malts in an extract brew?
I assume when you describe "specialty malts" you are talking about the whole grain components of a partial mash recipe. Strictly speaking specialty malts are any grains besides the base malt. To ...
- 933
2
votes
How to improve my homemade Hooch
To improve it, start measuring how much of each ingredient you use for it and take readings for S.G. and F.G. if possible , start using brewers yeast Vs bakers yeast.
starting logging your brews and ...
- 1,769
2
votes
Beer way too bitter. What should I do?
As has been mentioned before: a predicted IBU of 62 really isn't anything to worry about for an IPA. BJCP 2015[1] lists the range of IBU for American IPA as 40-70. Depending on the yeast, specifically ...
- 394
2
votes
Sour beer over herbed with Basil
Reducing the intensity of the Basil flavor is pretty much impossible, as this is the result of the amount of Basil used during brewing and you can't take some out. So your only option is to mask it ...
- 2,565
2
votes
Accepted
Using fresh fruit for wine
My advise would be to freeze the fruit before adding it, it causes the cell membranes and cell walls to become perforated by the expanding ice crystals allowing all the colour and flavour out.
I use ...
- 7,048
2
votes
After I eat some foods beer tastes weird?
Here's the must read for you: https://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894
More to that, BJCP judging guidelines recommend judges to abstain from eating too spicy or hot ...
- 1,498
2
votes
Why do my fresh fruit wine's finish with no body or flavor
In terms of body, you need a balance of acids, tannins, and sugars. If these three are balanced correctly, your wine will have better body. As for flavor, freezing the fruit is a good way to go, but I ...
- 560
1
vote
Blending different apple varieties for hard cider (uk)
I once bought ready to ferment juice from an Orchard, and they mixed 3 different variety of apples to make the juice. I think it is common practice.
The goal is to get a balance of acidity and taste....
- 4,806
1
vote
Accepted
How do I use Honey Malt?
When using grains for a kit, you should steep them. That is the simplest. According to this question it is normally better to mash honey malt, but you can steep it too.
For steeping put your grains ...
- 3,665
1
vote
How to improve my homemade Hooch
So, I had American friends that lived and worked for Aramco in Saudi on the Aramco housing area. They were not allowed to have alcohol, but everyone made "hooch". Their recipe was a can of frozen ...
- 3,012
1
vote
How does chilling my wort slowly affect the taste of my beer?
Try No Chill brewing where you don't worry about chilling the wort. https://beerandbrewing.com/no-chill-brewing/
- 3,012
1
vote
How does chilling my wort slowly affect the taste of my beer?
I can think of a few possible things that might differ (assuming your recipe takes the cold water addition into account):
You've already mentioned the sterilising effect of boiling.
Boil volume can ...
- 181
1
vote
Adding fruit to beer
Use only the orange zest, and put it into the hot wort when the boil is complete (at "flameout"). Use only the skin of the orange that is coloured, not the white underneath (the "pith").
Bitter ...
- 2,060
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