First batch racked to secondary...weak flavor?

I just transferred my first batch (Breakfast Stout) to the secondary. It was in primary about 10 days. It smelled nice and fermenty, color was good and no wierd floaties. Gravity read about 1030...honestly, I probably don't care as much about gravity as I should...but I don't. Anyway...

Of course, I had to take a taste. It wasn't horrible. I mean, yeah it's really green, but it wasn't bad. I couldn't spot anything that seemed blatantly "off". My main observation was this: It didn't have that nice roasted grain flavor that one should get from a stout. Is this something that comes with the aging process or will I just end up with a very thin stout?

thats pretty high for racking to secondary. What was your starting gravity? Im sure its weak because odds are very very good its not done fermenting

At 1.030 that puppy probably wasn't done fermenting! I would have left it until you were closer to your FG. You really run the risk of it not finishing out.

On to your question. When you are tasting a warm flat beer out of the fermentor, it's a warm flat beer. The taste will change once you get it into bottles, cold and carbed. It just depends on your recipe on how it will finish out.

Warped's right-if it doesnt drop anymore i would repitch some dry yeast into your carboy....it needs to be lower. Whats ur recipe?

scinerd3000 said:

Warped's right-if it doesnt drop anymore i would repitch some dry yeast into your carboy....it needs to be lower. Whats ur recipe?

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It was a kit. Once I got it into secondary, the airlock started bubbling again, so it clearly wasn't done working. Ingredients are as follows:

1.5 lbs. Flaked Oats
0.5 lbs. Simpson's Roasted Barley

3.15 lbs. Dark Malt Syrup
1 lbs. Lactose

1 oz. Willamette (60 min)

Danstar Windsor Ale Yeast

rowespencer said:

It was a kit. Once I got it into secondary, the airlock started bubbling again, so it clearly wasn't done working. Ingredients are as follows:

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It may ferment more slowly now, so be patient. Take a gravity reading every now and then to make sure you get the gravity down near your FG (should have been supplied with the kit). You don't want bottle bombs.

I'm going to make the assumption that you steeped the roasted barley? I think once it finishes fermenting, you are going to see the flavor that you are expecting.

Don't be so much in a hurry to rack or do anything....Many of us leave our beers in primary for 3-4 weeks then bottle...that way it let's them finish out and the yeasts then can clean up their waste byproducts.

Revvy said:

Don't be so much in a hurry to rack or do anything....Many of us leave our beers in primary for 3-4 weeks then bottle...that way it let's them finish out and the yeasts then can clean up their waste byproducts.

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I figured with only about 3lbs of LME, 10 days would have been plenty of time....guess I need to rely more on the almighty hydrometer

the hydrometer is most definitely your lifeline....use it like the force.

scinerd3000 said:

the hydrometer is most definitely your lifeline....use it like the force.

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"Brew or brew not....there is no try." - Yoda on homebrewing