Should I pitch it?

I attempted to make a Belgian Quad. Efficiency was low, but overall my process was sound. However, I screwed up on maintaining a good frementation temp. It was way too high and went from 1.083 to 1.010 in about 3 days. It tastes like cardboard soaked in turpentine. Vegetal notes too. It's been about 1 month in primary and 1 in secondary, and still tastes awful.

So, I'm thinking of pouring it down the drain, as opposed to going through the effort of bottling it all. I don't know if it's possible to "save it", but I sure hate parting with it after all the hard work...

So, should I bite the bullet and pitch it?

NO! Save it. I will personally cockpunch anybody the recommends otherwise.

No friggin' way!

You better bottle that beast. It'll take at least 6 more months before you take a good taste. Don't mess up man! Bottle that beer.

Yeah, if you have the fermenter space, stuff it in some dark corner for a year and give it another try. Just remember to refill your airlock from time to time.

I know age can mellow some things; but possible DMS, oxidation, and fusels?

I did put oak chips in per my original plan, which is lending a vanilla note. But still, it's got a ways to go...

Fusel won't go away, but do you know that's what you have? As long as you have the space what's the harm in letting it set for a year?

Alright, I am going to bottle it and cross my fingers that it turns out OK. I hadn't planned on touching it until Christmas, so we'll see then.

Thanks for the input.

Thread revival!

I posted this almost 2 years ago. I want all new or less-confident brewers to know - Don't dump your beer!

I entered this into several contests. Scores averaged 39. Scores were much better after the 1 year mark. Won 2nd and 3rd place in separate competitions. Judges asked for the recipe on the score sheets.

It may take 6+ months for a big beer, but it is worth the wait. Don't make a rash decision and dump a beer!

That's promising news. I have a Lemon Light Ale that tasted like dish soap the first couple of weeks. It's kegged and I'm just going to let it mellow until spring and see how it goes.

leghorn said:

Thread revival!

I posted this almost 2 years ago. I want all new or less-confident brewers to know - Don't dump your beer!

I entered this into several contests. Scores averaged 39. Scores were much better after the 1 year mark. Won 2nd and 3rd place in separate competitions. Judges asked for the recipe on the score sheets.

It may take 6+ months for a big beer, but it is worth the wait. Don't make a rash decision and dump a beer!

Click to expand...

39 is a really good beer, congrats and +1 to never dumping your beer, we've had numerous undrinkable 3 month old beers that were excellent after a year, or two.