My Wee Heavy tasted like poison :(

**fat x nub** · 10-20-2008, 01:26 AM

you think it was due to:

1) A month in the primary

2) Exposed to a good amount of sun
3) Temp was loosly controlled

I am about to just toss this...it tasted like somebody is trying to assasinate me. It looks soooo good but tastes soooooo bad

eschatz · 10-20-2008, 01:37 AM

Is it bottled? If it is then just put it away for a long time. A Heavy should age well. Let it ride my brewing brutha!

eschatz · 10-20-2008, 01:40 AM

... either way you should make everyone in your family and friends try a beer to make sure no one would poison you. This thing is Shakespearean!

k1v1116 · 10-20-2008, 01:40 AM

my money would be on temp, I made a wee heavy last year that spent 2 months in the primary at 9% abv without any problems. sun would make it taste distinctly skunky, if its sharp and hot tasting its probably temp. my IIPA is gonna need a long time to age cause it reached 85 when my air conditioner went out this summer.
did you add peat smoked malt by any chance? some people think its taste like poison, I like it though.

Judochop · 10-20-2008, 01:46 AM

You are aware that 'wee' means something completely different in Scotland than it does in the United States, right.

You didn't add anything... unorthodox to the boil, is what I'm getting at.

:P

Zymurgrafi · 10-20-2008, 01:55 AM

Month in primary is not at all a problem. In fact I leave most my "normal" gravity ales for 3 weeks then keg directly. Higher gravity brews benefit from sitting longer on the initial yeast bed.

A Scotch strong ale should be lightly hopped so skunking by light is not as signifigant a threat.

Temp control issues could be giving you hot alcohol and phenols if it was too hot of a fermentation. I recommend fermenting Scotch ales on the cool side. Low 60's F even as low as high 50's F depending on the yeast. Then conditioning them cool as well, almost lager like.

What is the OG on this beer. Is this the first high gravity brew you have made? Higher gravity beers are pretty harsh upfront and take time to mellow. Describe the poison taste a little for us?

**fat x nub** · 10-20-2008, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zymurgrafi

Month in primary is not at all a problem. In fact I leave most my "normal" gravity ales for 3 weeks then keg directly. Higher gravity brews benefit from sitting longer on the initial yeast bed.

A Scotch strong ale should be lightly hopped so skunking by light is not as signifigant a threat.

Temp control issues could be giving you hot alcohol and phenols if it was too hot of a fermentation. I recommend fermenting Scotch ales on the cool side. Low 60's F even as low as high 50's F depending on the yeast. Then conditioning them cool as well, almost lager like.

What is the OG on this beer. Is this the first high gravity brew you have made? Higher gravity beers are pretty harsh upfront and take time to mellow. Describe the poison taste a little for us?

It just tastes like warm chemicals especially coming from the alcohol. It is really really really harsh. I wont give up but it tastes terrible

**mmb** · 10-20-2008, 02:43 PM

More often than not if you have good sanitation then temperature fluctuations are to blame. Stick the bottles away for a while (6 months) and come back to it. You'll find an entirely different beer.

Cheers!

**Jester369** · 10-20-2008, 03:45 PM

I let my Wee Heavy sit for a little over a year before I tapped it

novafire · 10-20-2008, 04:18 PM

The first Wee Heavy I made probably got a little warm since it was in primary near the heat vent in the middle of January. Even taking the airlock off and giving it a sniff after 6-8 weeks, it smelled like nail polish remover. After a few more months in carboy and a few weeks in bottles, it tasted delicious.

Don't give up. Set it aside, and brew a quicker maturing beer for the time being.