Beer taste slightly sour

I bottled a Saaz Cream Ale and conditioned it for 1 month but there's a slightly sour tinge at the end of it. The foam is good, taste is good, clarity is amazingly clear and has a nice hoppy smell. But I can't get around why there is that slightly sour note at the end (Other people can't taste this or is it only me? ) Basically 1 week in primary fermenter, 1 week in bottle (room temperature) and 3 weeks in the fridge (10 to 14 degrees celsius)

There's a few possibility that I thought of but i am not sure which is it . I hope you guys can enlighten me

1.) I rinse all my equipment with bleach but I am aware of the potential of chlorine as a contaminant in beer so I thoroughly wash the equipments three times with mineral water after every rinse.

2.) I bottled my beer in a coke PET bottle (475 ml) and store them in a dark place. Could the oxygen permeating into the bottle cause this?

3.) I took out the beer too fast out of the fermenter and it is still green when i tasted it after 1 month (because there is lesser yeast after racking it into the bottle).

Thanks guys

1 week in the primary and 1 week in the bottle isn't enough time for the yeast to do their thing. Just assume, until you really nail down your fermentation, 2 weeks in the primary and 3 weeks in the bottle. Do not put them in the fridge until they've been in a 70 degree dark place for 3 weeks.
I'd get starsan and use that instead of bleach
Above all else, don't rush your beer. You put a lot of time and effort into making it and time will usually do some good. Get started on the next batch so you forget about your current one!
I'd take your beers out of the fridge, carefully swirl them to rouse the yeast and let them sit out at 70 degrees for 3 weeks. Then put them in the fridge for a few days and taste it again. Good luck!

Thanks bobeer for the reply Ah, so I have to give it more time, I guess I will start pulling all the bottles out of the fridge first and let them finish up in room temperature. I can't get any starsan back in my country , the only disinfectant that is readily available and easy to obtain is bleach!

So to summarize I should let the beer

In fermenter for 1 week, rack it to bottles and then let it stay for 3 weeks at 70 degrees before cold conditioning it for 1 week? Cheers

I started off using bleach as well but found it such a pita to thoroughly rinse every piece of equipment/bottle afterwards. I have a bottle of starsan sitting here to try but i havent yet made the switch from iodophor.

If you have access to povidone-iodine, it should make a pretty decent sanitizer, and is much easier to work with than bleach. You should be able to find it fairly easily anywhere that you could find medical supplies. When I use it in the hospital to soak/clean wounds, I mix it with water until it's about the same color as a weak tea or coffee. Not a very scientific measurement, but if it will disinfect wounds, the same mixture should be enough to sanitize equipment. Ours was usually a 10% solution from the bottle, and we'd use roughly one ounce per gallon, if I had to estimate.

It's essentially the same as iodophor. Just be careful, because it can discolor your plastic equipment.

asiabastian said:

Thanks bobeer for the reply Ah, so I have to give it more time, I guess I will start pulling all the bottles out of the fridge first and let them finish up in room temperature. I can't get any starsan back in my country , the only disinfectant that is readily available and easy to obtain is bleach!

So to summarize I should let the beer

In fermenter for 1 week, rack it to bottles and then let it stay for 3 weeks at 70 degrees before cold conditioning it for 1 week? Cheers

Click to expand...

Minimum of 2 weeks in the fermenter and 3 weeks won't hurt. Start it on the cool end of the yeast's preferred range for 3 to 5 days, then let it warm to low 70's for the remainder of the time. Then give it 2 to 3 weeks in the bottles. Longer time in the bottles will get you clearer beer and probably a better, longer lasting head on your beer.

asiabastian said:

Thanks bobeer for the reply Ah, so I have to give it more time, I guess I will start pulling all the bottles out of the fridge first and let them finish up in room temperature. I can't get any starsan back in my country , the only disinfectant that is readily available and easy to obtain is bleach!

So to summarize I should let the beer

In fermenter for 1 week, rack it to bottles and then let it stay for 3 weeks at 70 degrees before cold conditioning it for 1 week? Cheers

Click to expand...

yeah 2 weeks in the primary fermentor for a regular gravity beer, 1.040-1.060, is how I do it. Anything over 1.060 I let sit for 3-4 weeks. I've let a 1.085 beer sit for 5 weeks because I think I get the best results that way and it gives the yeast time to clean up after themselves.
The rule of thumb for bottling is 3 weeks at 70 degrees; also for regular gravity beers. If you bottled a higher gravity beer it will take longer to condition out. What I did when I was first starting out was put a beer in the fridge every week so I could see how time affected the bottled beer. Plus having a tester beer of a new batch is always enjoyable!

Munchkin said:

I started off using bleach as well but found it such a pita to thoroughly rinse every piece of equipment/bottle afterwards. I have a bottle of starsan sitting here to try but i havent yet made the switch from iodophor.

Click to expand...

Valtyr said:

If you have access to povidone-iodine, it should make a pretty decent sanitizer, and is much easier to work with than bleach. You should be able to find it fairly easily anywhere that you could find medical supplies. When I use it in the hospital to soak/clean wounds, I mix it with water until it's about the same color as a weak tea or coffee. Not a very scientific measurement, but if it will disinfect wounds, the same mixture should be enough to sanitize equipment. Ours was usually a 10% solution from the bottle, and we'd use roughly one ounce per gallon, if I had to estimate.

It's essentially the same as iodophor. Just be careful, because it can discolor your plastic equipment.

Click to expand...

I find the rinsing a pain in the A** too, I wonder whether they do sell iodophor here... I am thinking of using hydrogen peroxide or a phosphoric acid based cleaner instead, will that work better?

Ahh I love this community so basically the best thing that i should do is

1.) Beer in the fermenter for 2 weeks minimum (3 weeks better and starts at a lower temperature then go to 70 degrees)
2.) Bottle it for 2 weeks minimum (room temperature)
3.) Cold Condition for a minimum of 1 week?