my first 5 gal brew

[jimlin]

I chilled a single bottle yesterday after 3 weeks. Not getting much hop flavor at all. Also none of the cider/tang I've gotten from the MrBeer attempts.

Looked like I expected. A little darker than a red/amber. Tasted "ok". Drinkable. Hopefully more time in the bottle will help. A bit thin/watery. Is this what people mean by "mouthfeel"?

[spiderwrangler]

Yes, that's part of the whole mouthfeel thing. Did it seem to be appropriately carbonated? Carbonation plays a bit role in how you perceive the beer.

[jimlin]

Yes, that's part of the whole mouthfeel thing. Did it seem to be appropriately carbonated? Carbonation plays a bit role in how you perceive the beer.

It did seem a little light on the carbonation. I believe I shot for around 2.3 with the calculator to determine how much priming sugar to add when I bottled, so I didn't expect to be too light in carbonation. But after 3 weeks in the bottles, wouldn't you think carbonation is pretty much done? Not a high gravity (only about 4.3% ABV)

[spiderwrangler]

I generally figure 4 weeks it's where it's gonna be for most beers. All that depends on the temp, grav, yeast health, etc.

[jimlin]

Been chilling a few of the ambers to see if I can tell a difference. Started at 3 weeks in the bottles. Now at 4 weeks and I definitely noticed less of what I am guessing was the indicator of it being "green." It's still a bit thin, and perhaps more sweet than I had hoped, but it's not bad, and very easy to drink. seeing that it was a kit with a hopped LME can (plus DME), I should have more control of the bitterness and hop flavor or aroma going forward as I avoid any pre-hopped extract.

By comparison, the Mr Beer "hop head red" clone isn't near ready even though it was bottled before the amber. The HHR having more fermetables, higher ABV, etc... hopefully it's just a matter of bottle conditioning time. All my bottles are in the same closet which has an ambient temp of around 66. I suppose 70-72 might be better for that to help the conditioning along quicker, but I don't have any form of temp control in place for that yet. Come the warmer weather the house will be more around 73-74 with central air, which will be better for conditioning, and I can then move fermenting to the basement, where it will be cooler, but not cold like it is now.