Yeasty taste

[giraffe]

Hi,

I have done 6 or so brews now and I can't help notice that nearly all of them have a yeasty taste to them. I always bottle my beer and have left for up to 12 weeks. I have tried chilling before drinking (depending on style) and am careful when pouring.

Any ideas as to what is causing this? I have noticed it mostly with the Coopers kits, infact the only non Coopers kit I have done was Wherry and that was much better. My beer is often not completely clear when poured, so I though it could be yeast but some people seem to say that cloudy beer tastes the same

Thinking of adding some finings to the next batch (Better brew Czech pilsner) in the hope it improves.

Thanks

[millemg]

Two can kits are your friend

[duffymoon]

I've never been left with a yeasty taste from Coopers kits. Have you tried leaving the brew in the FV for 2 weeks before bottling (even if fermentation finished after a week)? I've never needed to do it myself, but others sometimes transfer to a second FV after the bulk of fermentation has finished just to get it off the yeast cake for a few days. If still no joy, maybe time to try another yeast - can only think maybe there is something with your water it doesn't like. I find Nottingham yeast drops out of suspension particularly well.

DM

[sills]

Hi Giraffe

I always transfer to a barrel to condition for a month or so (unless I am running low on supplies) before transfering to a cornie, and I always use Safale 04 yeast not what ever is supplied with the kit.

Sills

[giraffe]

I do now leave it in the FV longer, around 2 week mark. I also now now transfer to a bottling bucket and batch prime. Although I am yet to taste the results of this yet. Always add a campden tablet now as my water is pretty nasty, really chlorinated. That has made a great improvement to the taste.

I don't have a barrel, afraid of it leaking everywhere. Oh the trouble I would be in with the wife Say if I did put in a barrel for a month and it was crystal clear, could I then bottle from the barrel and add priming sugar? Would there be enough live yeast still in suspension?

Maybe its not a yeast taste at all! But I am sure it is, and find it has made all the Coopers kits I have tried taste pretty much the same.

Might start trying other yeasts, as I haven't gone down this route yet.

Thanks

[Mo06]

I like a yeasty taste in an ale myself.

[Barticus]

Onto my third kit now.

The coopers lager was full of a yeasty taste however after a few weeks in the bottle its now starting to go. Still not a kit I would do again.

The St Peters Ruby Red also had a bad taste but not as bad as the Coopers. I transferred that to a second FV then bottled. Havent tasted the result as yet.

The woodfordes wherry had its final hydrometer reading today after a week and does taste canny from this sample.

The above tells me its not my water as the last one was tap where the first two were mineral.

The other main difference between the last one and the first two is that I managed to brew the wherry at a lower temp, about 20 where as the other two had been 22 / 23.

[Monkeybrew]

What sort of temps are you fermenting at?

[duffymoon]

Say if I did put in a barrel for a month and it was crystal clear, could I then bottle from the barrel and add priming sugar? Would there be enough live yeast still in suspension?

Yes, you can re-prime after a beer fully conditions in the barrel, I've done this a few times & it's a good way of getting very little sediment - in fact I think it's a method mentioned in Graham Wheeler's book. You do need to wait for the beer to condition all over again in the bottle though so you need patience.

[lovelldr]

The woodfordes wherry had its final hydrometer reading today after a week and does taste canny from this sample.

But your wherry has only been in the FV for a week... I always leave my kits for 2 weeks when possible! |This allows the yeasts to clean up after themselves when they've been busy working hard fermenting. Think of it like a workman coming to put a new stair case in to your house. He tells you it will take a week to finish the job. After the week is done, the staircase is looking beautiful, but there's a mess all over the place of sawdust etc. What would you rather do, give him the money and thank him and let him go on his way, or ask him to stay for a few more days and make sure it's all cleaned up

[giraffe]

What sort of temps are you fermenting at?

As low as I can in my house, normally around 20c but one was about 18c and still had yeasty taste.

[Barticus]

The woodfordes wherry had its final hydrometer reading today after a week and does taste canny from this sample.

But your wherry has only been in the FV for a week... I always leave my kits for 2 weeks when possible! |This allows the yeasts to clean up after themselves when they've been busy working hard fermenting. Think of it like a workman coming to put a new stair case in to your house. He tells you it will take a week to finish the job. After the week is done, the staircase is looking beautiful, but there's a mess all over the place of sawdust etc. What would you rather do, give him the money and thank him and let him go on his way, or ask him to stay for a few more days and make sure it's all cleaned up

It will get the full 2 weeks in the FV I was just making the point that the hydrometer sample tasted canny and had no yeasty taste. Could be down to the kit or fermenting at a lower temp???

I dont know.