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catfishunter

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I just bottled my third batch and its terrible. It has no clarity to it, just has a funky orange color. I hopped it 4 times during the boil and dry hopped it, yet it doesn't really has any hop character to it. It has this sour, yeasty smell to it and has sediment floating in it. I swear to god i just brewed natty light, but worse. When i dry hopped it it was clearer and had a more pleasant smell, now its just gross. Does anyone know what i did wrong? could it be the yeast? I have to let it ferment in my basement and i was thinking i may have mixed it up a little while walking it up the steps but it seems unlikely. Any advice would be great. Thanks
 
What were initial and final gravity readings? What kind of beer was it? Yeast? Recipe? Methods, timing? Need lots more info to answer questions.
 
I was attempting a german pilsner. I did a partial mash for the first time. I had 4 lbs of briess pale grains with 1/4 lbs of carafoam. I used 31/2 lb container of golden light malt extract.(liquid) I soaked the grains for 60 in hot water and then brought it to a boil. I added the extract and boiled for 60 mins. I added perle hops at 60, sazz at 15, hallertau at 10,5,and 2 minutes and dry hopped after five days. My og was low at about 1.041 so i added 3/4 of a pound of sugar to try to bring the gravity up a little. I did not take a reading afterwards though. My final gravity was 1.009. I let it in the fermenter for exactly two weeks. Like i said it just has this cheap crappy beer smell to it and its really cloudy. I used the irish moss but it didnt work.
 
I've found that the best ways to get a really clear beer are to keep the wort at a vigorous boil all through the boil period and then cool it down as quickly as possible -- both of these things help the proteins (which cause haziness) to precipitate out. Irish moss at 15 also helps!

I'm not sure why you're not getting much hop character. Sounds to me like it was hopped sufficiently. Maybe old hops? My best guess on the sour yeasty smell, however, is contamination -- either the equipment didn't get fully sanitized or a bug took up residence in your brew before the yeast could get up to speed. Cooling the wort as quickly as possible and pitching sufficient yeast for your batch-size (or using a yeast starter) can help with the latter scenario.

Also, if you just dry-hopped it, let it sit for a few days before bottling/kegging. A week is the usual recommendation -- this gives enough time for the hops to do their thing and settle out before starting to give your beer weird vegetal flavors. (Or, if you let the extra hops sit for too long, maybe that's part of the problem?!)
 
Thanks for the response. The wierd thing is when i took the lid off to dry hop it the beer looked fine. It was fairly clear and smeled good. Today when i went to bottle it it just smelled bad and look strange. I think i just might dump it and start again.
 
Don't dump it yet. This might turn out to be a pretty good beer if you let it mature a bit. Give it 3 to 4 weeks in the bottles in a 70-74 degree area and then chill one (just one!) bottle for 2 to 4 days before you open it. Find this thread and give us a report then.
 
what were you fermentation temp? what yeast did you use? 3 weeks for a pils is a very short time if you used a lager yeast
 
I have had some of my beers, especially IPA's get cloudy from dry hop additions. Let em condition. They may turn out fine.
 
How clean were the bottles, what do you use to sterilise them. Were they rinsed thoroughly? I assume so, but just thought I'd ask.
 
this part jumped out at me
I had 4 lbs of briess pale grains with 1/4 lbs of carafoam.... I soaked the grains for 60 in hot water and then brought it to a boil.
what temperature was the hot water that you soaked the grains in?

what yeast did you use?
 
progmac said:
this part jumped out at me

what temperature was the hot water that you soaked the grains in?

what yeast did you use?

And I'm guessing you didn't, but just to be sure - you didn't boil the grains, did you?
 
It does sound like an infection or something- but let it age a bit and see what happens. Keep an eye on the bottles and put them someplace safe just in case it is an infection.
 
Thanks for all the responses! I am an idiot, its only my third batch but i should have realized i used a lager yeast and fermented it at around 60 degree's. The grains i steeped at 150 and i sanitized everything to my knowledge. Not sure if its right but i put all my bottles in my garage, the temp ranges from 35 to 50, was going to let them sit for a couple weeks to see if they improve. I only had them in the fermenter for 2 weeks so maybe its a lost cause. I will keep you updated though and again thanks for all the responses.
 
Thanks for all the responses! I am an idiot, its only my third batch but i should have realized i used a lager yeast and fermented it at around 60 degree's. The grains i steeped at 150 and i sanitized everything to my knowledge. Not sure if its right but i put all my bottles in my garage, the temp ranges from 35 to 50, was going to let them sit for a couple weeks to see if they improve. I only had them in the fermenter for 2 weeks so maybe its a lost cause. I will keep you updated though and again thanks for all the responses.

choosing a lager yeast when you want a lager but not knowing about temp control issues is a totally reasonable mistake to make.

which lager yeast? s-23 is supposed to do okayish at 60. a little time in the fridge (or your garage) to drop some of the yeast might help a lot.
 
Not sure if its right but i put all my bottles in my garage, the temp ranges from 35 to 50

You really want the bottles to sit at 70 to be able to carb up. Put them someplace warmer, but cover them just in case there is an infection.

Beer tastes a lot different after it has aged and carbed up. Also, time in the bottle will let them clear up. AFter they have sat for 3 weeks, then put a few in the fridge. The longer the time in the fridge the clearer they will be.
 
Ok, well i think i'm just going to let them sit outside for a few weeks to see what happens. Thanks though
 
beergolf is right - the "35 to 50" range is great for lagering but they won't carb up until you move them someplace warmer. generally when people bottle-lager they let them carb up and then cool them down.
 
Ok i'll bring them inside for awhile. Should i do that for about a week before i put them back out?
 
Ok i'll bring them inside for awhile. Should i do that for about a week before i put them back out?
hard to say without cracking one and seeing if it is carbed. 1-2 weeks should do it, depending on temperature and how much yeast is in suspension.
 
i have had them outside for the last three nights. If i bring them inside to carb up is there a chance they can go bad from the temperature fluxuation? Oh and whats does "carb" mean? sorry real new at this.
 
Oh and whats does "carb" mean? sorry real new at this.

Carb is short for carbonation. When you add the priming sugar the yeast in the brew eats the sugar and produces CO2. It take a while for this to happen and then absorb into the beer. That is why it. is. recommended to keep the bottles at 70 degrees for 3 weeks.

Don't worry about warming them up. Bring them in and let the yeast do it's job.
 
ok so i had them inside now for a few days. I bottled a few in clear bottles so i can see what's going on. There are clumps of stuff that have formed inside and are floating around. Any idea what it is?
 
Just want to thank y'all for the advice. I opened one up this weekend and there was a huge improvement. It actually tastes like beer! and not too bad of one either.
 
Excellent news! Some beers just need a little time to think about what they've done and decide to behave themselves.
 
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