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ledhed2222 · 08-04-2009, 12:55 AM

OK so I just took a specific gravity reading on my second ever homebrew batch. Naturally, I drank the sample afterwards.

I has the EXACT same messed-up aftertaste that my first batch had!!!

Don't worry, I'm going to finish this batch and see how it tastes at the end, but given that it is the SAME bad taste I had before, I'm not optimistic.

I sanitize like a maniac...I'm just at my wits end here! Everyone else seems to have had no problem whatsoever making a decent tasting first brew.

Also curious was the 1.02 gravity reading....WAY high, no?

Please help a frustrated newbie!

Tech211 · 08-04-2009, 01:00 AM

We need a bit more, I think. What is wrong with the flavor? What's the recipe? What was the og?

littlebu · 08-04-2009, 01:00 AM

Not everyones first batch comes out good, mine was awful. I bottle my second one tomorrow and it is much improved over the first.

***Yooper*** · 08-04-2009, 01:00 AM

1.020 isn't really that high. I've had some extract batches that just wouldn't ferment any lower. I think it depends on the brand of extract. It might be a bit sweeter than planned, but it should still be fine.

As far as the aftertaste, can you describe it? soapy? medicinal? flowery? ashy? Those perceptions can help diagnose the problem.

I'll look for the "flavors chart" to see if that can help.

adx · 08-04-2009, 01:03 AM

Did it taste like a warm, skunked out Genny Lite? That's what most of my beers taste like at this point in their lives. You need to give it at least 4 or 5 more weeks. Plus carbonation make a world of different in the flavor of a beer.

***Yooper*** · 08-04-2009, 01:06 AM

See if that flavor wheel helps you describe the flavor.

**weirdboy** · 08-04-2009, 01:08 AM

Yeah what is the flavor?

Also, how are you sanitizing your equipment? It might be the sanitizer causing the off flavor.

jescholler · 08-04-2009, 01:08 AM

The fact that you mentioned aftertaste brings up this post:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/attention-all-extract-brewers-harsh-bitterness-aftertaste-128731/

What extract did you use? Did you use tap water? If so, do you know the concentration of minerals (in specific sodium and sulfate) in your tap water? What were the IBUs for the recipe?

If you have a high concentration of both sodium and sulfate in your final beer, the bitterness will come off as harsh. Could that be it?

Rick500 · 08-04-2009, 01:32 AM

My last batch was the best I've brewed ever, in 13 years, and it only fermented down to 1.018. So 1.020 isn't too awfully bad.

ledhed2222 · 08-04-2009, 01:35 AM

I would say that "rancid" is the best way to describe the smell...it's really off.

@jescholler: Yes, I used tap water for both brews, but I brewed one at school and one at home. So the water source is definitely different. Again, this is the same smell that I had before.

@weirdboy: C-Brite brand sanitizer. I know that smell and it's not that.

THANKS so much for your concern. I don't want to give up! I want to triumph over this **$&ing bacteria!!!