Redpiper
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure where to ask this, but am putting it here as it is more of a curiosity/learning question than anything urgent.
Because of my most recent bottling experience, I'm wondering about the effect of some things on the smell and taste at the time of bottling. First, let me say, I don't think my batch is ruined - I've read enough here to be fairly at ease about that. But, my most recent batch didn't smell all that pleasant when I opened and bottled it, and I had no desire to finish the hydro sample. This is in contrast to previous batches where in the sample I taste the promise of the future. I can best describe the smell as a strong beer smell (duh) dominated by the pungent smell of what I think is the yeast. At least, reminds me of the smell from when I dumped the batch 4 yeast cake in the garden. Sort of this mixed with the smell of stale beer gardens I remember from being a kid at the fair!
This was my 5th batch and here's what was different from the earlier ones:
First 5 gallon
First in bucket (all in MB size before)
First bottled warm (others spent a couple days in the frig prior)
First with Nottingham yeast
Really just wondering if anyone has any insight into how these various components might have played into this. I heard from another forum where I ended up asking this question that Nottingham can be fairly distinctive, not always matching the beer flavors (until it's done of course).
If it matters, recipe was all extract with steeping grains which I've done before.
Because of my most recent bottling experience, I'm wondering about the effect of some things on the smell and taste at the time of bottling. First, let me say, I don't think my batch is ruined - I've read enough here to be fairly at ease about that. But, my most recent batch didn't smell all that pleasant when I opened and bottled it, and I had no desire to finish the hydro sample. This is in contrast to previous batches where in the sample I taste the promise of the future. I can best describe the smell as a strong beer smell (duh) dominated by the pungent smell of what I think is the yeast. At least, reminds me of the smell from when I dumped the batch 4 yeast cake in the garden. Sort of this mixed with the smell of stale beer gardens I remember from being a kid at the fair!
This was my 5th batch and here's what was different from the earlier ones:
First 5 gallon
First in bucket (all in MB size before)
First bottled warm (others spent a couple days in the frig prior)
First with Nottingham yeast
Really just wondering if anyone has any insight into how these various components might have played into this. I heard from another forum where I ended up asking this question that Nottingham can be fairly distinctive, not always matching the beer flavors (until it's done of course).
If it matters, recipe was all extract with steeping grains which I've done before.