I've ended up with a bad batch of beer and I'm wondering if anyone knows a fix.
I made an IPA and everything went fine until I sampled it to find out the gravity after a week in the carboy. The gravity was still higher than I expected and it tasted off. Everyone asks what it tasted like, but these things are hard to describe. It has an obvious smell and tastes like a cross between soap and alcohol. It's also kind of an aftertaste not like the beer is completely bad. I am a bit anal about sanitation so I don't think it's contaminated. Also one week seems a bit too soon for a full blown infection. All I can think of is that it's been hotter than usual and I didn't take that into account before I brewed. Any ideas for saving the batch?
Just give it another week in a secondary, it's probably fine. Most beer doesn't really taste that good after only a week, so just give it some time. Whatever you do, don't throw it out unless you are absolutely sure it is contaminated! RDWHAHB!
If you're tasting alcohol, and it's a hot-alcohol taste, you had some fusels develop during fermentation. I've heard conflicting reports from people on whether those will mellow out over time or not. It's a byproduct of high fermentation temperatures. Next time, consider doing a water batch, or a wet t-shirt and a fan (evaportative cooling) to keep temps in the high 60°s.
If you really think it's too warm where you have your carboy, it couldn't hurt anything even now to cool things down. Have you tried the wet t-shirt trick?
I have had this same problem before. The only time this happens is when the fermentation temperatures are higher than they should be. Now I put the carboy in a tub with a couple of two liter bottles of ice and just change them every other day. The temp usually stays around 62.
Thanks. I guess I just needed reassurance that I shouldn't throw it out yet. I've since put it in a tub of water and used the t-shirt trick. I don't seem to get a lot of results, but I live in Oregon and the humidity is pretty high. Luckily the weather is cooperating this week. I built a cooler out of high density rigid insulation from home depot. I plan on putting bottles of ice in there with the carboys. I may end up putting in the fan and thermostat setup I've seen if need be. We only get a couple warm months a year here so it may not be a big issue.
Any one have a suggestion whether I should store the beer cold or regular temp while I wait for the off flavors to go away?
fusel alcohol flavors never mellow out. I've had 2 batches of beer fermented at high temperatures that were aged for one year, yet they were still very strong on the "hot alcohol" taste.
Thanks for the help. I plan on kegging it, and saving it for while. If it nothing happens I'll have a ceremony and dump it. Better to have a fridge full of good beer than have that one keg in the back you never want to touch. It's a like an old pair of pants that you never want to wear but you keep in the back of your closet for eight years just in case.
fix for high fermentation temp
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