never made beer

[countrygirl]

i am several batches into winemaking and frequent winemakingtalk.com
i have acquired 2 cans of premier malt extract, light.
just doing some surfing/reading to learn. my question for here is this....
the brewing instructions found under the lid of the can says, after boiling and turning off heat, to "skim foam from top of mixture and transfer to fermentor." then add cold water to make 5 gallons.
so u don't actually use the stuff you poured from the can???
just the foam it makes???

 

[grapeman]

What they mean is to skim the scum off the top of what you heated- throw that away. Keep the boiled liquid and transfer to the bucket. Then add water to bring it up to 5 gallons.

 

[countrygirl]

gotcha appleman! thank you, i was reading it backwards, lol, but it just didn't make sense. i'm not a beer drinker, but i may try this for fun!
i will keep an update here on progress!

 

[countrygirl]

i'm assuming since the yeast expired 11/09, i shouldn't use the yeast that came with the malt. do i have to have a lauger yeast or can i use a wine yeast? this is what i have available...
montrachet, lavlin 1122 and 1116, cote de blancs, and premier cuvee

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Whoa! Don't use a wine yeast - that will ferment out every available sugar and leave you with an unsavory final product (especially since you are using light malt extract). Are you following a recipe or just the directions on the can? Is the extract already hopped or do you need to buy your own hops? What kind of beer are you going for?

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Also - lager yeasts ferment at lower temperatures (45'-55') so you might want to use an ale yeast (usually ferments at room temp, 68'-72').

 

[countrygirl]

i just put the 1 yr. expired yeast in warm water, (the lauger yeast that came with the can) and we'll see what it does. if it starts, i will use that. it if doesn't, i gonna have to come up with something, lol

 

[smurfe]

I recommend you get a new packet of beer yeast and use an ale yeast as well unless you are an experienced brewer able to propagate the yeast back up to a viable pitching rate. Like said to, if you are using a lager yeast and don't control the temperatures your fermentation if it starts will be rapid, incomplete, and leave undesirable off flavors. Also as mentioned, if that extract is not hopped, it isn't going to taste like beer and it will come out a sweet malt concoction sort of like what Malta taste like.

I am actually surprised one of these canned kits came with a lager
yeast. Most of them boast they are lagers but come with an ale yeast and
then don't make a true to style beer which disappoints the user and
drives them away from the hobby

As well, if no hops are present the beer will not last very long as all as the oils in hops act a preservative much like sulfites do in wine. Many of those canned kits came with hopped wort though. Just make sure before you proceed.

.

 

[countrygirl]

the yeast did not active
i know the true beer makers are gonna cringe, but i'm making a concoction. if it turns out drinkable, i'll post the recipe, lol.
thanks for the info.

 

[Wade E]

I also recommend ale yeast. If you use wine yeast it will be dry as the desert and you will most likely not like it. Beer yeast will always leave residual sugar behind.

 

[countrygirl]

what would happen if u used beer yeast in a wine recipe?

 

[Dean]

The wine would end up quite sweet with some "different" tastes as beer yeast usually produces esters based on sugars from grains. I'm not sure that would work well.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

My $.02 is that if you have never made beer, the best thing to do would be to follow a tried and true recipe down to the letter. That way you (1) see how it all works and (2) wind up with something you actually want to drink. If you're really interested in brewing, "The Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian is a very easy read with some nice recipes and pictures - your local library might even have a copy.

 

[countrygirl]

well, my experiment is decent, lol. i'm going to kmeta/sorbate like a wine and backsweeten. i guess this is now more of a wine, instead ofa beer? its definitely different, lol.

 

[smurfe]

If you were going to carbonate it, adding the sorbate will prohibit that unless you have a CO2 setup. Also, if the extract had hops in it, you don't need k-meta as the hop oils are anti oxidants. That is one of the main reasons to hop a beer. If you are going to finish it still and drink like a wine, I guess go for it.

 

[countrygirl]

thanks smurfe! i guess it is a wine now. the good news is...i have another can of malt extract! i promise to do a real beer with this one, no messing around, lol!
thanks for the beer/kmeta info, i didn't know that.
is there any online reading u could recommend for basic beer making. i like to do reading/homework and if i'm going to do a "real" beer, i need to read up on it first! thanks!

 

[countrygirl]

wait, or is it grog??

 

[smurfe]

thanks smurfe!

is there any online reading u could recommend for basic beer making. i like to do reading/homework and if i'm going to do a "real" beer, i need to read up on it first! thanks!

http://www.howtobrew.com


This site is the place to go to read about brewing beer. The first edition of How to Brew is free to view there. I always recommend that even though the first edition is free if you are to buy one book on brewing, get the latest edition of this book. I always have it handy when I brew if some type of question comes up. It will usually give me my answer quickly. The free first edition will enlighten you on the world of beer brewing.

 

[countrygirl]

thank you! i now have that added to favorites!
i received my yeast tonight. i bought munton's premium gold...will this be good for my real beer?