Stout Tastes Terrible

Just opened my third ever batch -- a dry stout kit from AHS. It's a clone of Anderson Valley Brewing Company Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout.

It's been bottle aging for three weeks, and is fully carbonated but tastes aweful. Kind of bland and astringent.

I think I've read that stouts need more time than other beers to bottle condition, but my other beers (a pale ale and brown ale) both tasted great after three weeks of bottle conditioning.

Any way to tell if it needs more time in the bottle or if it's contaminated?

PotreroHill said:

Any way to tell if it needs more time in the bottle or if it's contaminated?

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Yes, leave it for another couple of weeks and sample again. If it tastes better...it needed more time in the bottle.

It's green.
Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

From your description "bland and astringent," I'm guessing the beer may not have had the strongest recipe to begin with. A stout can be many things taste-wise. But I've never heard bland used to describe one. The most common cause of astringency in homebrew is oversparging and/or sparging too hot.

I wouldn't think it's infected unless a you've seen a pellicle - and for what it's worth, infections typically give off a sour taste. If it isn't sour, it's probably not infected.

The answer to part one of your last sentence is: YES. Beer needs more time in a bottle (unless it's going into my belly). Can you get good beer in 3 weeks in a bottle? Yes. Will the same beer be noticably better in an additional 3 weeks? Yes. The tannin astringency might not go away, though. Worse case scenario, this can be your "end of the night beer!"

Was this an all-grain recipe or did you steep the grains in the brewpot? If the dark roasted malts get boiled they can really become astringent and that will take forever to mellow out.
What yeast did you use? If the beer is to dry it can really boost the astringency from the darker roasted malts/grains.