hot/vinegar taste... what now?

I think i just committed a few brewing sins that may cause a batch to be lost. The batch in question is the Northern Brewer all-grain cream ale kit. I've made the kit before and it is a great break from "heavier" beers. I left it in primary for 10 days (first sin) and decided to keg it so I could brew another cream ale and use the yeast cake. I racked to my keg without checking the gravity(second sin) as I knew it was done fermenting and I wanted a backup keg ready to go. I tasted the brew during racking and it tasted hot and slightly metallic... had an almost cidery taste to it.
Here is my question. The brew is now kegged, so do I just let it sit for a few weeks and hope it mellows or is there no chance of that since it is kegged? Can I put it back into a carboy and hope things calm down or is it too late for that?

Well letting a beer sit in the primary for 10 days is not a sin where I come from.

Most people will leave the beer in the primary for 2 weeks.

As for the kegging I don't see anything wrong with that either. You are essentially usng the keg as a secondary vessel.

With my cream ale I ferment in the primary for a week then rack to a secondary vessle and throw it in the fridge for 2 weeks with some insinglass. Then I keg and enjoy it gets better with age.

I'm guessing after 10 days its done fermenting out. Most ales take 4-5 days if the yeast is good.

Metallic cider tastes come from beer that was fermented to hot. I ferment at around 68-72 what ever the house is set at.

Throw it in the fridge and let it age for 2 weeks it should get better.

Don't throw the keg into the fridge just yet. The yeast will stop cleaning up after themselves and will settle out.

Put some gas on it, and give it 2-3 weeks. It will probably mellow out.

Also, for metallic flavor, what do you use for a brew kettle?

i use an aluminum turkey fryer setup, but this is about my 10 batch and have yet to have any off flavors.

let it ride. 10 days after pitching is too soon to judge any beer's final flavor.

I am noticing that my temps are a little on the high side... the sticker on the side of my carboys say 75-77... which is probably the temp of the house...

brewjunky said:

Well letting a beer sit in the primary for 10 days is not a sin where I come from.

Most people will leave the beer in the primary for 2 weeks.

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I leave mine in primary for a month...They are better than when I used to secondary.

malkore said:

let it ride. 10 days after pitching is too soon to judge any beer's final flavor.

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+1 On this, more than likely those are not off flavors, only green.
Leave the keg at room temp for another 2-3 weeks and see if doesn't mellow.

Read this, even though it pertains to bottles, the principal is the same...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/558191-post101.html

shoebag22 said:

I am noticing that my temps are a little on the high side... the sticker on the side of my carboys say 75-77... which is probably the temp of the house...

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Give this a read, I had a similar experience. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

One thing, you need to discern whether the taste is cidery or vinegarry..If it ciderry and green apple like, then it is probably just green...If it taste like vinegar, then you have an aecetobactor infection. There is a Big difference.

Obviously, one is ruined, and one is just young.

But, yeah, I agree with all the other people who say to wait it out...and next time don't rack too soon...

it is definitely a cidery smell/taste and it hasn't mellowed. unfortunately I have the same thing happening to another batch in my primary right now... I will now use a rubbermaid tub with water and some ice to calm my temps...

actually those stick on thermos do report the inside temp of the fermenting beer with reasonable accuracy.

unless you have an A/C vent blowing right on that fermometer it should be +/- 2 degrees accurate really.

77F wouldn't give you vinegar flavors. Bananas, juicy fruit, cloves, and hot alcohol...yes. vinegar...no.

Give it a month at room temp in the keg, then chill/carb and try...

And get those ferment temps under control. A $10 trash can and some ice is cheaper than a sub-par $40 batch of beer.

My Belgian Pale Ale hydro sample tasted like poo poo. After two months of conditioning, it is one of the best beers I have made yet, and everyone who has tried it raves about how good it is (even Chris Colby liked it).

I dumped the batch... it had gotten worse in the few days it was in the keg... a $15 batch was not worth tying up my only spare keg...
as for the other batch that is in the primary right now with the similar problem... I'be put it in a water bath with some ice packs and the temp is reading at 65-68... any chance this batch can be salvaged?

shoebag22 said:

I dumped the batch... it had gotten worse in the few days it was in the keg... a $15 batch was not worth tying up my only spare keg...
as for the other batch that is in the primary right now with the similar problem... I'be put it in a water bath with some ice packs and the temp is reading at 65-68... any chance this batch can be salvaged?

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After the first few days it's mostly finished fermenting.

And stop tasting the damn beer before it's done aging!!! Give it a minimum of 2 weeks, ideally 3 weeks, before gathering an initial opinion on the beer. If it's meh or not very good, give it another month. Beer flavors change almost completely as time goes on.

My Hefe for example tasted like freaking pumpkins after 2 weeks in the fermentation vessel and was bright orange in color. Another week and it started tasting like hefe, but not very much, and the color improved. Three weeks later, in the bottle, and I was drinking it by the quart like it was water.

Giving it two days and pronouncing it's gotten worse is not giving the beer a chance. Barleywines can take 6 months of aging minimum to be drinkable.

Aside from that, 77 will *not* create cider flavors. I've brewed clear up into the low 80's with hefe & belgium ales and never had cider or vinegar. Are you adding sugar to your brews to up the alcohol content? If not, I'm suspecting you have a bacterial infection somewhere in your process.

TheFlatline said:

And stop tasting the damn beer before it's done aging!!! Give it a minimum of 2 weeks, ideally 3 weeks, before gathering an initial opinion on the beer. If it's meh or not very good, give it another month. Beer flavors change almost completely as time goes on....


Giving it two days and pronouncing it's gotten worse is not giving the beer a chance. Barleywines can take 6 months of aging minimum to be drinkable.

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+1 on this, and everything else we suggested...

Sigh...another batch killed due to the impatience of a new brewer...

Let's all have a moment of silence for all the innocent beer sent off to the fishes (lucky fishes) cut down in the prime of it's youth.... It would have probably been fantastic, had it been given a chance to reach maturity.

[youtube]HUzPqUYViIc[/youtube]

let it ride. 10 days after pitching is too soon to judge any beer's final flavor.

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Sage advice. Not to be doubted.

I've been there though, dumping and all. Only a month ago. Do I regret it?
Yes