First Taste

FXRS

The process started with 2 weeks fermentation. Then the lager was bottled. Great effort was made to ensure clean bottles and they were rinsed about 3-4 times each. After 3 weeks in the bottle I decided to give the brew a wee taste.

The findings were as follows.

It was lacking in fizz. When opened, the bottle gave a wee fzzz which resulted in very little activity in the beer. The head was ok but it seemed to have big bubbles which gave a watery look to it. Although the head was evident in the glass as the lager was consumed, again it was nowt to write home about.  There was little carbonation activity in the glass at any time in the process.

The lager cleared reasonably well however the first bottle sampled didnt clear so well. This had been in the fridge for a few days at about 4 degrees. Before going in to the fridge it was reasonably clear. I have since been advised that this lack of clarity may be a "chill haze". Taking a bottle that had not been in the fridge and had been at around 8 degrees, the beer was clearer. Not as clear as my local [ub but clear enough to see my fingers through out on the otherside of the glass.

Another bottle was considered to have a watery taste.

At least it smelled like lager.

With regards taste, it wasnt unpleasant at all. As this was my first ever brew I expected it to be horrid. Quite the opposite it was drinkable (but I may be biased).  There was a kind of after taste which reminded me of strong lager.

Questions I have are:

I had expected (and hoped for) considerably more fizz in the glass with a bit of activity going on. How can I improve on this.
I would like a fuller head. I assume the way to do this is to have much more smaller bubbles. How can I acheive this?
What about the haze in the lager when taken from the fridge. Is this to be expected?
I intend to use a keg with the next batch. Will this give more of an opportunity to intriduce some fizz both in the beer and when it goes in to the glass?

So there you have it.

Grateful for guidance and any feedback.

Thanks.

HBO_Staff

Cheers for the update, it sounds like your first batch is going well. Just bear in mind whilst it will be drinkable, 3 weeks is still fairly early for a brew, and we would recommend you storing it to condition for a few more weeks and you will no doubt see quite an improvement - the lager will be more carbonated and the head may improve, the taste will mature and improve too. Your questions for improving the brew are a good progression, and now you can think about how to improve future batches and see what different things you can try and what difference they make.

Generally speaking lager is well suited to bottles, it is sealed and airtight so there is no risk of problems with air getting in, and it stores well and can be chilled, which many people like. When making the lager, instead of using sugar, you can instead opt for a brew enhancer or spraymalt, they help with adding body, improving flavour, and aid head retention and formation. They generally give more body to the brew and improve the finished product, and cost not much more than brewing sugar. They can also improve fermentation times.

When priming the bottles (and the same applies to a barrel), you can use a spraymalt, which again will improve the brew in a similar way - check out this listing for more info; http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/spraymalt-extra-light-500g You can also increase the amount you prime with to make it a bit more lively, but experiment with this and don't go mad, try a bit at a time as you don't want to over-pressurise the bottles. If using carbonation drops people often add two instead of just one to increase this.

Again they will need to be left in the bottles to properly condition. The chill haze can be caused by storing the lager in a cold place, and will go once the lager is warmed up, it doesn't affect the taste, just the appearance, and is a problem the breweries go to great lengths to overcome so their lager is clear.

Using a keg is an option, but you should be fine with bottles. If using a keg just make sure it is fully airtight - follow the instructions on the keg, check the thread is lubricated with Vaseline before screwing it on, if any air gets in it will shorten it's life and it will go off. With a barrel you need to make sure it stays pressurised, so may need to add CO2 as you consume it, to keep the keg under pressure - it depends on how carbonated the brew is and how fast you drink the contents! CO2 cartridges are available for injecting into a barrel to increase the pressure as and when required, and also N20 cartridges which add Nitrogen - As Nitrogen forms much smaller bubbles than Carbon Dioxide, it’s great for giving your beer a think creamy head (similar to well known stouts and smooth/ cream-flow beers)

Keep us posted on the progress of your lager and next batch....

FXRS

Thanks for the response.

I think I will in future have a go with substituting the 1kg of brewing sugar and use Spraymalt instead. In addition I will add 2 carbination drops per 500ml bottle.

My next brew is a 2 can Muntons Pils lager and I undestand that I do not add the 1kg of brewing sugar. However I still need to prime the bottles (I will continue using bottles rather than a keg despite the hassle of cleaning the bottles). How much Spraymalt should be used to prime 500ml bottles? 1 teaspoon? Can the Spraymalt and 2 carbination drops be used in the same bottle at the same time? I note your caution about pressure and potential for fountains!

Thanks.

HBO_Staff

That's right, if you're going for a larger 3kg kit they come with all the ingredients included so you don't need to add sugars for the primary fermentation, the manufacturers include what they believe is best so the drink turns out exactly as they intended. That's partly why they're often more expensive to begin with, but then you save by not needing to buy enhancers or spraymalts so overall tend to be quite competitive.

As you say too much pressure in a bottle can be a problem, whereas a barrel has a safety valve as a back-up. You don't tend to use more than 2 carbonation drops (or equivalent) in a 500ml bottle. A good heaped teaspoon would be about right for a 500ml bottle, but you could try a couple of bottles with a level teaspoon, some with a heaped, and cautiously some with a bit more, as a trial to see which you prefer, just store them somewhere safely just in case they get a bit too fizzy. As long as you know which is which, you then know for future batches. If using crown cap PET plastic bottles, you could always colour code with different caps. (HBO amendment note - use either 2 carbonation drops OR spraymalt, not both, or you will in effect have primed them twice)

If you decide to stay with bottles rather than a keg, a bottle rinser and also a drainer can be great timesavers, one quickly rinses the bottles and the other hangs them to conveniently dry without taking up your whole kitchen! The bottle drainers are the same price strangely for an 80 or 45 bottle drainer so we'd get the 80, you don't have to use all the layers, and check out the genuine reviews on the bottom of each listing - if washing a lot of bottles, they are well worth it. If you do opt for barrels though, we wouldn't bother with the rinser or drainer, just a long brush and some elbow grease. Let us know how you get on....

FXRS

Thanks

I am not clear about using the spraymalt and the carbonation drops together. Is it acceptable to use up to 2 carbonation drops and the measures of spraymalt mentioned above in the same 500ml bottle?

Regarding the bottle rinser, is this equipment used to sterilise the bottle and rinse or just rinse after sterilisation?

I already have a bottle tree.

Thanks again for your guidance.

HBO_Staff

Sorry, to clarify that you would use one or the other, either 2 carbonation drops, or prime with spraymalt instead. With the bottle drainers what people tend to do is mix up a solution of warm water and steriliser, then use this in the rinser to steriliser the bottles. You can then either rinse them with clean water under the tap, or use clean water in the bottle rinser to remove any traces of steriliser. It is just a quick and easy way of rinsing each bottle with a sterilised solution when cleaning quite a few bottles at once

FXRS

UPDATE:

My Youngs Lager has been bottled for 5 weeks now. I tried a wee bottle the other night and I was well pleased.

On opening the top a good FFFzzzz was heard. A good start!

Pouring the lager was also a pleasure. The head gathered quickly and it looked the part. The real encouraging thing was the many bubbles which were in the glass. The head lasted all the way to the bottom of the glass and the taste of the lager was very good. My mate, who happened to be with me at the time, also tasted and commented, saying he could drink that quite happily. Could have been a tad more chilled but hey ho.

Very pleased.

HBO_Staff

Fantastic news, the extra time you leave it in the bottles can make all the difference as you have found, and we're really pleased for you! This is of course the cheapest range of lager we do, and made with no enhancer is a really good sign of how good these kits are. Chilling them down a bit more in a fridge can improve the drinking experience, if very cold it can sometimes cause the chill haze mentioned before, but it is only visual, and does not harm the lager in any way or it's taste.

If you feel inclined to do so, a review left on the Youngs Lager would help others, just scroll down to the bottom of the products page and post one - a link is here;

http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/youngs-harvest-lager

Thanks for the update!