Worried about taste while bottling

Fellow brewers,
I just recently bottled my first brew. While bottling I tasted a little. It’s a Muntons nut brown ale. It had a nice taste, but tasted a little watered down. The instructions were for single stage fermentation. 2-3 days primary and another week then bottle. I used a secondary fermentation and racked after two or three days when it seemed to have stopped bubbling out of the air lock. I then let ferment in my carboy for 1 week. Could I have bottled too soon, or will this taste go away after it is fully primed in a couple weeks.
Thanks

the carbonating and the bottle conditioning will help it out. when you taste, prior to bottling, it should taste like..flat beer. don't give up on it yet!

If your beer seemed a little "thin," that is, did not seem to have enough mouthfeel for your taste, don't despair. As Deroux said, it should taste like flat beer. Most folks don't regularly drink flat beer (well, there were those desparate days in college, and that one time...I digress), so it seems thin. A little carbonation and some time to better develop flavors and you will likely be fine with the outcome. If not, consider the quantity of extract and specialty grains used, and perhaps increase them a bit to give a more sturdy beer next time around.

That's normal for all but the one or two really heavy final gravity beers I've brewed. Don't sweat it!

I thought that my 1st batch was having the same issue until I tasted it after a week's worth of conditioning. With the carbonation, it was a different, and much better, taste and feel.

After I started brewing I was amazed at how much carbonation contributes to beers flavor perception. It not only effects mouthfeel, but the bubbles help push aromatics into the glass and we all know how much of our taste is dependant on smell. I woud bet that after the beer is carbonated it will taste just fine.

First of all, your biggest mistake is the word "worry." "Worry" and "homebrew" should never be used in the same sentence.

While you are brewing or bottling... or cleaning or sanitizing, you should be sure to enjoy a nice cold glass of homebrew. If you don't have any homebrew then you need to get down to the nearest beer store and get something halfway decent from there to try.

I can almost guarantee you two things then:

1. You will not worry, and
2. Your beer will turn out better than you ever expected.

I agree about the carbonation. Once your beer is no longer flat it will taste much, much better.

Carbonation and conditionaing will help a great deal, like the others have said. One thing I have found though is that if you brew those kits (all of them not just munton's) to the instructions they tend to be a bit weak. If you add water to get the proper OG for the style, you will be much happier than going by just straight volume. If you do want to get a full 23l don't add more than 1kg of dextrose. You need to add some more extract. I brew all kits that I have been modifying and have found that about 750g of DME plus 750g of dextrose and the kit will give you decent results and a big batch.

Welcome.

Just to echo the responses, I sampled my Banshee's Brother last night after a week in the primary.....it tasted watered compared to the HB that I was enjoying last night, but I expect that now when I sample. I know that it is not weak because of the gravity measurements. I would not worry at all.

side note- this batch might be my best yet for my short brewing career. I am really excited about it. It gets racked tonight, and should be perfect for St. Patrick's day!

mmditter said:

First of all, your biggest mistake is the word "worry." "Worry" and "homebrew" should never be used in the same sentence.

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Unless of course you're quoting Charlie "Don't worry, relax, have a homebrew!"

Good point. I guess once you get your first batch done and to a drinkable state you never should worry again while brewing as long as you follow Charlie's instructions to make sure and drink a homebrew (or maybe even 3 or 4) while you do it.

I concur with all my esteemed brewers ( and the occasional P!ss heads) comments. Don't sweat it, let it mature a while. I'll be fine.