Bad Batch - Need Help

I recently edited a recipe for an English Bitter that I found on another forum. I changed a few of the ingredients but kept the basic process the same. I just tasted the beer and it came out wrong: The beer had a very watered down and strange taste that is nothing like it was intended to be. Also the carbonation did not turn out at all.

This is my exact procedure. Maybe one of you could tell me some reasons my batch came out wrong.

Information

Beer Style: English Ordinary Bitter
IBU: 40
Batch Size: 6 USG
Initial Gravity: 1.040
Final Gravity: 1.012
% ABV: 5.0
Primary Fermentation: 5 days
Secondary Fermentation: 5 days

Ingredients

Yeast: London Ale III (1318)
Malt Extract: Muntons Amber
Hops: Kent Golding Hops (5.4 AAU’s), Northern Brewer (8.5 AAU’s)
Grains: Pale Malt (Maris Otter 3.0 SRM), Cara-Pils/Dextrin (2.0 SRM), Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM), Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM).
Extras: Whirlfloc Tablets, Gelatin Finings

Mini-Mash Method:
Prepare the ingredients for the mash

Pale Malt, Marris Otter 7.26 lbs
Cara-Pils/Dextrine 0.55 lbs
Crystal Malt 0.25 lbs
Chocolate Malt 0.06 lbs

Add 1.5 gallons of water to the stock pot. Heat the water to 75*C (167*F). Add the grain bag and let it soak for 60min. Be sure to leave the grain bag loose so that the water to flow through all the grains.

Add the Northern Brewer hops to the stock pot prior to sparging.
Batch Sparge 1: Sparge with 0.5 gallons of water at 77*C (170*F)
Batch Sparge 2: Sparge with 0.5 gallons of water at 77*C (170*F)
Add water to the stock pot until the total volume is 3.5 gallons and let boil for 60 minutes.
The estimated pre-boil gravity is 1.030

Start the boil.
1.) Once the wort is up to boil, add the Muntons Amber malt extract.
2.) After 15 minutes add the Kent Golding Hops.
3.) After 50 minutes add one Whirlfloc tablet and turn off the flame.

Cool the wort to the fermentation temperature of 70*F. Siphon the wort into the primary fermenter and add water until the final volume of 6 gallons is reached. Be sure to aerate the wort by either rocking the bucket back and forth for 15 minutes (3, 5 minute intervals) or by continuously transferring the wort between 2 buckets until the head is too high that it might overflow.

Add the London Ale III yeast to the primary fermenter and close the lid. Allow the wort to ferment for 5 days in the primary fermenter. After the 5 days, add the corn sugar and bottle the beer. Carbonation will take 5 days. After this time it is recommended to age for 2 weeks at 17*C (63*F).

Do a search for "green beer taste." Or read this:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

It sounds like what you're tasting is a beer that's not ready yet. I could be wrong, since you didn't say how long it's been in the bottle. But looking at your recipe, I think that's the problem: you only left it in the fermenter for 5 days before bottling! Most people here let their beers ferment for at least 3 weeks, then bottle or keg and wait at least another 3 weeks before drinking.

I'd put my money on green beer. Put the beer away for another month or so, then taste it - you'll probably like it a lot better then.

What I did not see in your excellent notes was an OG and FG. The second thought is pre boil with 6 gal estimated did you boil it down to five gallons?
Otherwise, I would ask if you have left the bottles in 65F to properly carbonate and age.

Yeah I thought that the fermentation period was a bit low, but that is what the original recipe called for so I followed those instructions. I did make a few other batches that turned out well and those took longer to ferment.

I will definitely try aging it a month or so longer and check it every week or so. Will it be a problem if I did leave it in the refrigerator to carbonate already? The original recipe, again, called for it to be placed in the refrigerator to carbonate, which I also thought was strange. I'll take it out of the fridge immediately and see what effect it has after a month or two.

Your mash temperature was a bit high at 167F. Did you hold the grains at 167F for 60 mins or did you drop them in and turn off the heat?

boXycOOt said:

Yeah I thought that the fermentation period was a bit low, but that is what the original recipe called for so I followed those instructions. I did make a few other batches that turned out well and those took longer to ferment.

I will definitely try aging it a month or so longer and check it every week or so. Will it be a problem if I did leave it in the refrigerator to carbonate already? The original recipe, again, called for it to be placed in the refrigerator to carbonate, which I also thought was strange. I'll take it out of the fridge immediately and see what effect it has after a month or two.

Click to expand...

The beer wont carbonate in the fridge. It needs to be kept at room temperature for the yeast to work.

Yeah that's what I thought. They're out of the fridge now, I'm just hoping it hasn't had an effect on the beer yet.

Yeah, the rule of thumb for carbonation is 3 weeks at 70 degrees.

That original recipe seems a little sketchy. A 50 minute boil? 5 day fermentation? Weird.

boXycOOt said:

I recently edited a recipe for an English Bitter that I found on another forum.

Click to expand...

I see yer problem right there.

Haha well being from England myself I was looking for a clone of a specific bitter from my home town called Boddington's which is why I checked a British forum. I might need some help making some final adjustments to this recipe before I try it again.

Or you could just use this one:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f64/boddingtons-bitter-21131/

Oh whoops that is the one I used. My bad.

I think you need some practice in converting AG to PM and/or metric to US units.
Brewing software such as Beersmith or Promash makes this much easier, and they both have trial versions that are free.

If you bottled the previous batch after just 5 days, there is a good chance that fermentation was not complete. This could cause bottle bombs when you take them out of the fridge to carbonate so be careful.

Now what sort of self respecting Englishman puts bitter in the fridge?

-a.