ive just brewed pu my first batch of yorkshire bitter and ive got a few questions.....

anybody out there know a thing or two about homebrew beer? i may need to pick your brains....


thanks

Matt

You doing it properly with grist n' hops etc?
If so CAMRAs book is v nice!!! How to brew @ home copies of proper beers- which is good news for me seeing as all the London nonce bars round here sell only Budvar or wine (not knocking the vino but every few days you can't beat a proper jar!!!)...

knocked up a few barrels myself in the past.
Cheated and used kits though.

They're good 'n quick and easy but its never going to be like the real thing.
I think one problem though is because people know the kits aren't going to be super gorgeous they make them flipping strong!!! And they do this by adding four bags of sugar- never a good base for a tasty beer....

I used to do some kits from Muntons and they were a decent drink. Link to a site google turned up. I never used extra sugar and I'm not a beer snob but I do like a decent swilly

i cheat and used a kit too, i plan on doing my next batch the proper way lol

my main Q is that i fermented it until thr hydrometer is readng what is it meant to, ive then added a little more sugar and yeast to prime the beer and ive had it in a pressure barrel for 10 days, its nice and fizzy now but its still cloudy.

ive never brewed before so my question is: is it meant to be cloudy and if not is it safe to drink whilst its cloudy?

i fancy some beer but im skint at the moment so my homebrew is looking rather like a good option, im dying to know what it tastes like

Matt

You not a little young to be brewing your own headache juice?

P.S. Cloudy beer can be good, but equally it can force you refuse leaving a 20meter radius of the toilet

[Edited on 9/2/07 by iank]

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Originally posted by iank
You not a little young to be brewing your own headache juice?
[Edited on 9/2/07 by iank]

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gets better if you can manage to leave it a little longer than the instuctions say

been a while since i made any beer, only do wine now

You can drink it cloudy but it'll taste finer if you leave it to clear as long as you don't have any barrel leaks (oxygenation is a bad mojo- taste pants and gives you serious hangovers)... Cloudy beer tends to be yeast rich, rather vigorous on the bowels as mentioned....

I'd have a few jars to see how it tastes. If it's a good'un then leave it to settle to leave a nice clear brew. If it tastes bobbins then get the mates over and get bladdered Just make sure they're back in their own homes (and near their own toilets) the next morning!!!....

quote:

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Originally posted by BenB
They're good 'n quick and easy but its never going to be like the real thing.
I think one problem though is because people know the kits aren't going to be super gorgeous they make them flipping strong!!! And they do this by adding four bags of sugar- never a good base for a tasty beer....

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If you get a barrel with a top take off and a co2 cylinder you can get the clear stuff a lot sooner. I used to leave mine a fortnight and run 2 40pt barrels at a time. I used to brew some in 1ltr plastic supermarket beer bottles, the PET type as they will stand the pressure of secondary fermentation. Don't under do it with the steriliser as you will end up with vinegar if you are not clean enough.