"Extract-brew twang" versus Malt Liquor

evanos · 08-12-2010, 05:20 AM

Hey everyone!
I just bottled my first brew (Cooper's Irish Stout) and found it smelled a lot like Mickey's malt liquor coming out of the fermenter. I've heard about the "extract-brew twang", or the "home-brew twang", and I was wondering if this twang is what makes Mickey's so unbearably vomitous (and yes, that's a word). I don't really have anything to compare my beer with in terms of this "twang" but I decided not to taste it directly out of the fermenter because all I've ever heard is that it has to age or it'll taste bad.

So, anywho, back to the original topic: Is the "twang" what makes malt liquors so disgusting?

prosper · 08-12-2010, 03:40 PM

'twang' is really more of a syrupy-sweet zip, perhaps faintly metallic even. It's pretty specific to beers made with liquid extract syrup (particularly stale syrup), so I doubt it's anything like malt-liquor has.

BogusOwnz · 08-12-2010, 06:57 PM

I've found that late boil extract addition, thorough fermentation and gold crashing/conditioning completely eliminate the "twang".

evanos · 08-12-2010, 08:58 PM

How many days after priming and bottling do you cold crash?

BogusOwnz · 08-12-2010, 10:36 PM

I keg but I usually have the beer in primary until close to fg so 7-12 days then I rack and let sit for a week then I put the carboy in the fridge for a week or so before racking to the keg.

evanos · 08-13-2010, 12:10 AM

So lots of aging is the moral of the story...?

**Yooper** · 08-13-2010, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evanos

So lots of aging is the moral of the story...?

Not necessarily. I'd have to guess but I'd say that maybe there was corn sugar in this recipe, and it was fermented at a high temperature. That can make it taste a bit twangy/cidery. Aging might help somewhat, but a better fix would be to have fermented it at about 65 degrees and to use quality ingredients like a good yeast and no corn sugar. I'm just guessing since I don't know what technique and ingredients you had to work with, but from the description it sounds like some canned extract, corn sugar, and warm fermentation temperatures.

chask31 · 08-13-2010, 12:28 AM

You dont like Mickey's? Thats my favorite 40z. Albeit, I havent drank a 40 in years, but that was my go to. Better than Big Bear!

evanos · 08-13-2010, 01:47 AM

@YooperBrew You're right on more counts than one. The kit was a Cooper's kit, which is basically a packet of yeast, a can of hopped malt syrup, about a pound of light malt extract, and about a cup and a half sugar. The kit called for sugar, but I had heard this kit doesn't turn out the best all the time, so I subbed in extra LME for sugar. The outside temp was about 75, inside, who knows. Hopefully it'll age out okay.

@chask31 The last time I drank Mickey's was two years ago at a frat party (the first and last frat party I've ever attended), and I almost left in a body bag. I don't blame Mickey's, I blame the frat boys with 40's and duck tape. To this day, the smell of malt liquor makes me violently ill.

BogusOwnz · 08-13-2010, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evanos

So lots of aging is the moral of the story...?

No it's still about 6 weeks from brew till drinking. It's about making sure fermentation is done before racking it. No matter how long primary takes I still secondary for two weeks. One week on the floor and one week cold crash. Then it's the keg for a few weeks set to carb at a desired volume.