update of depression part 2...

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tranceamerica

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Ok, brewed again last night - this was a ME batch, used one-step sanitizer, preboiled the water and let sit overnight to offgas chlorine, boiled & chilled a gallon of water for the carboy, cooled the carboy in the sink & was able to pitch an hour after the wort went into the carboy.

Was really anal about sanitization.

this morning, it's bubbling along very strongly.

But - I tasted the blow off, and it's is very very very very bitter

PLEASE tell me this is just the hop resins, not some off flavor - I think I'm getting paranoid!!!

Also, I bottled the first 'band aid' batch yesterday - the bad flavor is still there, but maybe is a bit less. But how do you go from disgusting, to just simply not drinkable...maybe in a month it will be ok?!?

OH - someone suggested I leave that batch to age at 60*F - usually I leave my batches to age indoors, at room temp. Would the garage (temp probably varies between 35*F and 65*F) be ok?
 
That's just hop resins. Blowoff usually tastes like sh*t.

Leave the band-aid batch indoors for 2 weeks, check the carbonation, then stick er in the garage for a month.
 
The blowoff has a lot of co2 in it and that is what you are tasting along with resins and such. That will not be the flavor of the beer though. You will have to siphon some using a beer thief or transfer pump of some sort. A small sanitized turkey baster with a piece of tubing pushed onto it works too.
 
dear god i'm getting paranoid. thanks for the kind words. I have been tasting band aid and astringency in everything I eat & drink now. Just popped open a store bought pale ale - and it tasted the same way to me...so I think paranoia has set in.

yes, it must be hop resins...heres a thought I just had...

3 batches:

oldest (band aid) batch was very lightly hopped - because I didn't really understand adding hops - I was putting in the 60 min hops, then pulling them out at 1/2 hour, then putting in the 30 min hops, pulling them out at 15 min...etc

middle batch (astringent & band aid....) had the hops correctly added, and left in till the end of the boil. maybe the astringency I was tasting was just more hops????? I can only hope.

latest batch (from last night) also had the same hopping schedule - the flavor I was smelling and tasting was the same as the astringency I had before....but that was impossible because it was just a ME brew, not a PM.

Could it be that by changing the way I do hops - I'm just getting a new, but correct, flavor that I'm not used to in my beer? I hope so.

Got a buddy coming over this afternoon to learn how to brew - I sure hope I'm not leading him astray with bad technique - I'd hate to turn someone off to the hobby...


EDIT - used dry windsor ale yeast in the batch from last night - it's like a family of bats have inhabited my beer - the yeast is in big clumps and is flying around more than I've ever seen - cool!
 
mrkristofo said:
Are any of your beers over a month old in the bottle?

If not, then you really can't determine what the flavors taste like.

No, they're not & thanks for the reminder. The reason I'm paranoid, is that in ALL of my previous batches, they've tasted great at racking time & at bottling time. Yes, they taste better after a month, but no weird or yuckky flavors when they're green.
 
Quit trying to taste a beer when it is young and think that's it for the finished product. Beer is a living thing that is always changing because the yeast is always working on it. That is why beer that is 2 months old might be better than ever at that time and other beer you brewed might be starting to get less tasty at that time. It all depends on the yeast and what the beer was made from and the sanitary practices you use. Generally pale and amber ales are good after 28 days from boil to drinking if the yeast took off right away. I never use a secondary for ales as I want the yeast to clean up the beer. 10 to 14 days is good for the ale primary and then I keg and condition to the 28th day. I carbonate on day 21 so it will be ready on the 28th day. Sometimes I go longer if the SG is higher than 45 points.
 
I have been havingn the same impatients too. I really am very patient but when the beer IPA has been in the keg in the fridge for at leat a month i want to have alittle, but it just tastes off. I guess I still need to just wait. Bummber, mine is kind of bitter too. All grain carefully done sanitary the whole way and deliberate with lots of lovin, i know sounds wierd but I really do take care and take my time som I don't screw it up. I want to to be ready now. It has been abot 9-10 weeks since brew day. UGH!

Oscar, I need some spring or to get laid. Either one would be great.
 
well, I've got the band aid ale into bottles & I put it in the closet & I'm going to forget about it for a month or so. The ASStringent ale is in the secondary, where it will live until I need the carboy for other uses. It will also be bottled and forgotten about until further notice.

Two batches of identical brown ale are also in carboys, brewed back-to-back - these are the ones with bitter blow off - but I think they will be fine...fingers crossed!!

going to switch to star-san ASAP. I'll have to check w/a different LHBS to see if they carry it. My regular store has really good prices & the guy that runs it is great...but doesn't carry star-san. I found the one-step to be easy to use. What is the downside of one-step? I know it works a bit slower...what else?
 
I have used starsan for a long time and it is really the best. You can make up a 2.5 Sparkletts distilled container of Starsan solution and use it on the fly as it does not degrade due to solids in tap water. It takes 1/2 ounce of starsan in 2.5 gals of distilled water and the cap comes off the Sparkletts water very easy. I put some of this solution in a spray bottle and use it to squirt fittings etc to sterilize them. A band aid taste is an infection and will not get better with time. If you use Starsan to prevent infection you will have great beer. Do not fear the foam. Starsan is designed to coat all surfaces and kill bacteria and other organisms that will ruin beer. I have never experienced any infection and do not want any.
 
WBC said:
A band aid taste is an infection and will not get better with time.

oh, now what do I do? I thought the flavor was from left over chlorine in my sanitization procedure...now it's from a bacterial infection? I really need to know which it might be... I've bottled the band aid batch hoping the flavor might drop, but if it won't get any better then I might as well have dumped the whole thing and saved the time, energy and cost of bottling. regardless, star san is in my future.
 
RDWHAHB

Everything is bottled or in carboys.... IGNORE this thread and come back in a month or two after having tasted things. Go brew another batch and relax.
 
maybe the astringency I was tasting was just more hops?????

Could it be that by changing the way I do hops - I'm just getting a new, but correct, flavor that I'm not used to in my beer?

Go purchase some commercial IPAs, or pale ales. A lot of people who don't drink many beers don't know what hops taste like and don't like them at first (e.g., this tastes like nail polish remover! ew)

If you don't like the commercial IPAs, you just don't like hops (yet?). Brew an amber or a low hopped brown ale.

Good luck, and RDWHAHB. That is the key to everything
 
I use Oxyclean in fairly high amounts to clean AND sanitize everything, including my filters. It's cheap and works well. No worries about chlorine or other residues in plastic etc.

Another consideration is (if your 4 week old beer still tastes odd), what temps are you fermenting at? Remember yeasties orgy gets warm and the beer will be higher than air temp.
 
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