My beer tastes bad
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Guzluka
My beer tastes bad
Im a first time home brewer and tried to follow a pale ale recipe on line by john palmer. Fermented for two weeks, bottled for two weeks. Have now had a try and it tastes rough, is there anyone on here who can help. Is my beer completely ruined?? Is there anything I should be doing which I didnt??
Re: My beer tastes bad
There are lots of variables that could affect the taste of your beer. Is the taste 'off', 'harsh'?, 'over bitter' ? There are a few things that are important:
1. Was your sterilization good?
2. Did you treat your water with anything? If not what is your location? (water with high alkalinity will make poor beer if it's not treated)
3. Was your fermentation temperature abnormally high?
Your beer needs longer to mature in my opinion although there are those that would disagree, about one week per 10 points of gravity as a general rule. ie 1.050 OG = 5 weeks conditioning. So it could be fine in a few weeks.
A fairly brave move to attempt an extract brew first time out. Don't give up on it, sample it again in a few weeks. Click on 'Technique' above, to check the guidance notes for extract brewing if you haven't already, also 'Hints and Tips for sterilization.
1. Was your sterilization good?
2. Did you treat your water with anything? If not what is your location? (water with high alkalinity will make poor beer if it's not treated)
3. Was your fermentation temperature abnormally high?
Your beer needs longer to mature in my opinion although there are those that would disagree, about one week per 10 points of gravity as a general rule. ie 1.050 OG = 5 weeks conditioning. So it could be fine in a few weeks.
A fairly brave move to attempt an extract brew first time out. Don't give up on it, sample it again in a few weeks. Click on 'Technique' above, to check the guidance notes for extract brewing if you haven't already, also 'Hints and Tips for sterilization.
Mr Nick's Brewhouse.
Thermopot HLT Conversion
Drinking: Mr Nick's East India IPA v3 First Gold & Citra quaffing ale
Conditioning:
FV:
Planned: Some other stuff.
Ageing:
Thermopot HLT Conversion
Drinking: Mr Nick's East India IPA v3 First Gold & Citra quaffing ale
Conditioning:
FV:
Planned: Some other stuff.
Ageing:
-
Guzluka
Re: My beer tastes bad
Sterlization was good, thats the one thing I was particularly faustidious about. Did not treat the water with anything, am from Leicester. Not sure about alkalinity levels and am not sure how to find out? Should I be treating it with anything? Fermentation tempreture ranged from about 15oc when cold and 24oc max but id say the average was about 20oc average.
I did pitch the wort in two halfs because my pot was small but the biggest I could find (about 2 gallon). Would this cause aereation problems, etc? Another problem I found was that I was exposing the beer during bottling a little because my tubing was too small. I also left the hops in at fermentation stage but have been told this is ok? I know a whole lot more now than I did before so I will persist.
I have got a hydrometer but didnt realise you needed to use it to test the og and fg for strength, etc so not sure what the og was. The main thing I was worried about was inconsistent temperature but I find this hard to avoid.
The beer basically looks a good colour, is very well carbonated, over carbonated if anything, it has a good consitent head, it looks a good beer but after 1 and a half pints I could drink no more, Tasted a little yeatsy/estery/fruity. Not undrinkable but just not enjoyable, ended up going out for beers. I suppose all I can do is wait?
I did pitch the wort in two halfs because my pot was small but the biggest I could find (about 2 gallon). Would this cause aereation problems, etc? Another problem I found was that I was exposing the beer during bottling a little because my tubing was too small. I also left the hops in at fermentation stage but have been told this is ok? I know a whole lot more now than I did before so I will persist.
I have got a hydrometer but didnt realise you needed to use it to test the og and fg for strength, etc so not sure what the og was. The main thing I was worried about was inconsistent temperature but I find this hard to avoid.
The beer basically looks a good colour, is very well carbonated, over carbonated if anything, it has a good consitent head, it looks a good beer but after 1 and a half pints I could drink no more, Tasted a little yeatsy/estery/fruity. Not undrinkable but just not enjoyable, ended up going out for beers. I suppose all I can do is wait?
Re: My beer tastes bad
You can ask your water authority for the alkalinity and while your at it, ask them for the following concentration in mg/litre;
Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Sulphate and Chloride. These will come in handy if you decide to brew from grain.
The water treatment in your case will not be as important because you are extract brewing and probably won't affect the final beer that much. I would just treat the water with 1/2 camden tablet to remove the chlorine.
Introducing air whilst transfering to bottles or barrels will reduce the keeping qualities which won't be a problem in your case
Fermentation temp is a bit high at 24C but if it averaged at 20, thats good, although The fruity esthery taste you describe does point to a high ferment temperature.
Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Sulphate and Chloride. These will come in handy if you decide to brew from grain.
The water treatment in your case will not be as important because you are extract brewing and probably won't affect the final beer that much. I would just treat the water with 1/2 camden tablet to remove the chlorine.
Introducing air whilst transfering to bottles or barrels will reduce the keeping qualities which won't be a problem in your case
Fermentation temp is a bit high at 24C but if it averaged at 20, thats good, although The fruity esthery taste you describe does point to a high ferment temperature.
Not sure what you mean here? pitching is adding the yeast. Do you mean boiling, or did you pitch into two small fermentation vessels? It's good to aerate when pitching because the yeast needs O2.I did pitch the wort in two halfs because my pot was small but the biggest I could find (about 2 gallon). Would this cause aereation problems,
Mr Nick's Brewhouse.
Thermopot HLT Conversion
Drinking: Mr Nick's East India IPA v3 First Gold & Citra quaffing ale
Conditioning:
FV:
Planned: Some other stuff.
Ageing:
Thermopot HLT Conversion
Drinking: Mr Nick's East India IPA v3 First Gold & Citra quaffing ale
Conditioning:
FV:
Planned: Some other stuff.
Ageing:
-
Guzluka
Re: My beer tastes bad
Sorry yeah I meant boiling. Would this make a difference? Was thinking of buying another pot of similar size to combat this problem. Thanks a lot for you help. I suppose I should just wait and see if it matures in a couple of weeks. Will probably pick up a heater tray or mat to control the temperature problem.
I fermented for two weeks, do you think thats long enough? I am going to persist with the extract brewing now, thinking of picking stuff up, am quite into belgian/abbey/trapist beers also quite like a dark ale such as old peculiar. Have you got any easy recipe ideas?
I fermented for two weeks, do you think thats long enough? I am going to persist with the extract brewing now, thinking of picking stuff up, am quite into belgian/abbey/trapist beers also quite like a dark ale such as old peculiar. Have you got any easy recipe ideas?
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mysterio
Re: My beer tastes bad
Just a few tips,
Sounds like you had a fermentation issue with your beer. Stick to dried yeast like Safale or Nottingham for now, try rehydrating the yeast, pitch the yeast into the wort at 18 - 20C, and do everything you can to keep the fermenting beer in that range. These simple steps will probably solve your problems. If you have a room in your house that stays around that temp that should be fine, if you're going to use a heat mat or anything you'll need to rig it up to a thermostat with the probe either in your beer or taped to the side.
I would tend to stick to lower gravity bitters, stouts etc until you can brew these consistently well, then move onto stronger ales, belgian beers etc.
Stick with it though. I brewed plenty of rough tasting beers when I started because I let the temps get out of control. Keep reading the forums and brew lots!
Sounds like you had a fermentation issue with your beer. Stick to dried yeast like Safale or Nottingham for now, try rehydrating the yeast, pitch the yeast into the wort at 18 - 20C, and do everything you can to keep the fermenting beer in that range. These simple steps will probably solve your problems. If you have a room in your house that stays around that temp that should be fine, if you're going to use a heat mat or anything you'll need to rig it up to a thermostat with the probe either in your beer or taped to the side.
I would tend to stick to lower gravity bitters, stouts etc until you can brew these consistently well, then move onto stronger ales, belgian beers etc.
Stick with it though. I brewed plenty of rough tasting beers when I started because I let the temps get out of control. Keep reading the forums and brew lots!
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Guzluka
Re: My beer tastes bad
Think buying a mat, etc for temperature control is my only option, my house is quite inconsitent when heating is on/off.
I was thinking of trying a steeped grain/extract recipe for a porter as my next ale. This is recommended by john palmer on his website as a next step and then contine with steeped and extract recipes. I wouldnt even contemplate ag, but he said the speciality grain process was not any more difficult than extract? What do you think? The link is below:
http://howtobrew.com/section2/index.html
I was thinking of trying a steeped grain/extract recipe for a porter as my next ale. This is recommended by john palmer on his website as a next step and then contine with steeped and extract recipes. I wouldnt even contemplate ag, but he said the speciality grain process was not any more difficult than extract? What do you think? The link is below:
http://howtobrew.com/section2/index.html
Re: My beer tastes bad
Steeping specialty grain is a good idea to get the hang of the basic ag procedures, It's really not that much different to full ag brewing. It's surprising how little equipment you can get away with using for ag brewing also.
You seem to be heading towards ag, so I would suggest finding out if there are any JBK members nearby, most would be more than happy to invite you round for a brewday. It's the best way to see how simple it all is, just post your location.
You seem to be heading towards ag, so I would suggest finding out if there are any JBK members nearby, most would be more than happy to invite you round for a brewday. It's the best way to see how simple it all is, just post your location.
Mr Nick's Brewhouse.
Thermopot HLT Conversion
Drinking: Mr Nick's East India IPA v3 First Gold & Citra quaffing ale
Conditioning:
FV:
Planned: Some other stuff.
Ageing:
Thermopot HLT Conversion
Drinking: Mr Nick's East India IPA v3 First Gold & Citra quaffing ale
Conditioning:
FV:
Planned: Some other stuff.
Ageing:
-
Guzluka
Re: My beer tastes bad
Thanks for the help. Had a try of the brew tonight and actually not bad at all. What a difference a week makes, needs a couple more weeks to be complete but tastes pretty good!!! Rate pleased.
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Guzluka
Re: My beer tastes bad
We could start a new forum, my beer tastes crap, what went wrong? Lets be honest it must happen now and again!!!
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Billy Hunt
Re: My beer tastes bad
It could be sponsored by Budweiser.Guzluka wrote:We could start a new forum, my beer tastes crap, what went wrong? Lets be honest it must happen now and again!!!
