cidery flavors

I was just wondering what causes a beer to get cidery flavors. i have made two batches and both are cidery. sanitation is not an issue.

Often the addition of complex sugars will contribute a cidery flavor. Did you add sugar to your beer?

Janx said:

Often the addition of complex sugars will contribute a cidery flavor. Did you add sugar to your beer?

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No. I just used the ingredients in the kit that i bought. The first batch came with dry malt and the second came with malt extract. Also, I am now brewing a pale ale and added finishing hops. The hops are still at the top of my carboy. Do I wait for the hops to settle out before bottling? thanks

bacochrane said:

I was just wondering what causes a beer to get cidery flavors. i have made two batches and both are cidery. sanitation is not an issue.

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What kind of beer was it?

Well, the thing about extracts is that their quality varies greatly. It's just a guess, but I imagine the extract sold with a lot of kits is some of the lesser quality extract than some of the brand-name stuff. Fact is, a lot of extract makers add complex sugars that are not malt sugars to extract. It's misleading and crappy, but there it is.

I would continue trying different types of extract until you find one you like. I would stick to dry extract rather than liquid. Liquid will have more unfermentables in it. Maybe try coming up with your own recipes and buying ingredients. That way you can get better brand-name extract. You'll find that if you make the same recipe over and over, changing only the brand of extract used, the quality, color and flavor of your beer will vary wildly. Hopefully you can find one you like. Adding some steeped grains may help hide the cidery flavors also.

Cheers!

river rat said:

What kind of beer was it?

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The beer I made first was an american pilsner and the second was an irish red ale. i have went to pale ale now hoping that the hopped up recipe would be better. I have had it fermenting now for 8 days it was finished at 5 so i transferred it to a secondary fermenter and put in finishing hops and they are still at the top of the carboy. do i wait until they are settled out to the bottom to bottle, or can i bottle now? whats the best way? i am fairly new at this as you can tell.

You used pellet hops for dry hopping I'd imagine?

Let it sit. 8 days is *really* quick to bottle. Your beer will taste a lot better and pick up some more of those dry hop aromas if you let it sit at least another week in the secondary. I would think a lot more yeast is going to drop out, too.