Flowery English Bitter?

fredstock99 · 09-18-2007, 03:36 PM

here is the ingredients used:
12 oz british crystal 60L
8 oz dextrine malt
1 oz black patent
3 lbs extra light DME
3 lbs light DME
4 oz maltodextrine
1 oz fuggles (4.8%AA 60 mins)
1 oz northern brewer (8.2%AA 45 mins)
0.5 oz kent goldings (6.9%AA 15 mins)
irish moss
wyeast 1968 liquid yeast mixed with a little krausen taken from dry irish stout wyeast 1098

log:
07/23/2007
steeped grains in 2L of water at 145-155 for 45 mins. then 155-160 for 30 mins.
then poured 1 gal 170 degree water through grain bag into boil pot.
once boiling, added hops according to schedule, and all DME.
maltodextrine added about 10 mins before end of boil. added cool water to boil to make up 3 gals in boil pot. cooled in cold water bath in sink. poured 3 gal wort into primary, adding 2 gallons chilled water. pitched yeast at 77 degrees.
O.G. = 1.043.
08/10/2007
bottled. yes, i left in the primary for 18days. (went out of town).
08/24/2007
it tasted incredibly flowery, not that bitter. almost like eating raw plants.
09/09/2007
still very flowery, although a little more drinkable.

any idea on why its so flowery, and will this go away with time? i'm pretty new to this, so any information helps. cheers.

Ó Flannagáin · 09-18-2007, 04:10 PM

You mean it has a plant like taste? Like chewing grass? Or is it a sweet flower like flavor?

fredstock99 · 09-18-2007, 04:29 PM

i mean like chewing on flower petals, its not really sweet, its more like what pot'pouri would taste like, i think. not the 'green' taste most of my other beers had, which seemed to disappear with time.

Ó Flannagáin · 09-18-2007, 05:29 PM

A "grassy"/plant-like off-flavor can occur from over steeping your grains and certain bacterial infection. It can also come from the hops and it will settle over time. I say just give it a bit longer and I bet it will mellow.

Sir Humpsalot · 09-18-2007, 05:57 PM

I'm always pleasantly surprised when new(ish) brewers take on English Bitters. There's a reason the style is popular with a lot of people. It's a great beer.

As for your flowery taste, I've never used Wyeast 1968, but my experience with English-style yeasts with low attenuation is that they tend to have an exaggerated fruity/flowery taste when they are young. It mellows with time, but there is a sweet spot with those beers, somewhere around 4-5 weeks in the bottle or so, when there's a hint of ridiculous maltiness that's balanced by good hoppiness.

Cheers!