Home Brewing Ale

[AKMild]

(a) What kind of sugar should I use for home-brew ale?
(b) I have a water softener at home that uses block salt. Should I use the water that results from this, or the 'hard' water that comes straight off the mains?

Any help appreciated.

[Answerprancer]

a) Normal white sugar is ok, glucose will give a slightly more sophisticated result, varying quantities of demerara or honey added can be good too.
b) Try to use normal water and if it's heavily chlorinated, use 'camden' tablets.

[gingejbee]

...not particularly related to beer-making, but you shouldn't be drinking water from a domestic ion-exchange water softener.

[dave50]

Whenever I have tasted home brew, whether it was mine or someone else's, it never tastes like the beer you buy. It always has a yeasty taste. Anyone know why?

[Catapa]

I would use filtered, but not treated or softened water. Just running through a mineral filter to reduce sediments and ensure clean tasting water.

[johnk]

Ordinary white granulated sgar is fine. The water needs to be matched to the beer you are making, your hard water is OK for darker beers, boil it for lager and there are other additives for other beers.
Dave, most Home brewed beer has that taste when it's only gonr through a 2 stage fermentation, to get a good beer use 3 stages. A week in the fermenting bin, then rack it off the sediment into another vessel for 1 week to 1 month and finally into the final container leaving the sediment behind which is all the dead yeast. It's this dead yeast breaking down that give the yeasty taste in home brew. I use this system and my beer is as good as any you buy.

[Old_Geezer]

Not made beer or wine for years. I really must go get my beersphere back from my mate, and try again.