alcoholic aroma?

I just finished bottling my first extract batch of an irish stout. OG of 1.062 and just before I bottled it the FG was at 1.021. The highest the temperature got on the main fermenter was 74 F. It was only at that temperature for the first day only in the afternoon. At night it would dip to 68 to 70 F. After that the temperature was anywhere from 62 to 68. I have tasted it a few times and it does not have any distinguishable off tastes expect for tasting generally like apples or fruity. However after siphoning the beer into the bottling bucket all I could smell was alcohol. If I looked hard enough I could smell the roasted barley but otherwise the alcohol smell covered it up. It does not taste alcoholic however. I've been through John Palmer's website and can't really find anything. I've noticed that Guinness had a slight alcohol smell along with the barley after pouring. I did read that Guinness was fermented at 25 celcius or 77 fahrenheit. I have no idea if this is true. So basically whats up with the alcohol smell and how much of the fruity taste goes away? There is no overpowering alcohol or fruity taste and the beer tasted good. I'll be sure to figure out a way to keep temperature lower during the early stages of fermentation.

I've noticed that any Guinness I've had recently has had a hard time keeping consistent. Especially the 12 oz bottles with the plastic thing inside. Anyone else?

At the time you're transferring the beer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket, it is still rather young/green and hasn't really developed into the glorious beverage it will become after a few weeks (or more depending) in the bottle.

True, fermenting warm will generally develop more fusels and esters depending on the yeast. Some of that can mellow as the beer matures too.

I get the big G so infrequently anymore that I couldn't comment on consistency. We have a local brewery dry stout that flat out rocks faces.

Yeah, when you transfer it into a big open container like a bucket it tends to release the alcohol smell a little more. I always smell it most in the bucket. I think you will be fine as long as it doesn't have any off taste. In the individual bottles the smell should not be present.

Sorry ............I thought this thread was going to be about what alcoholics smell like.

If I judged my beers by taste or smell at the primary or secondary stage, I'd have tossed a few batches.

Don't be misled by the aroma or taste at this stage of the game. Clear it, condition it, age it and chill it...then make a judgement.

So I bottled it on Thursday and opened my first bottle tonight. I can taste the roasted barley but after each drink there is a solvent like fume in my nostrils. The beer is very tingly on my tongue. I cleaned, then sanitized everything with Star San and then rinsed everything again. How does cardboard taste? Should I actually put some in my mouth to see if my beer is like that? Can the priming sugar oxidize if not cooled down enough when added to the beer? There seems like there are too many things that can go wrong.

wait 3 more weeks, then open another bottle

DeathBrewer said:

wait 3 more weeks, then open another bottle

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Gotta agree with Death here. 3 days isn't going to cut it. The hardest part is the wait. I wouldn't be able to make it 3 weeks, but at least 1.5-2. Nothing has changed in a couple of days.

green apples and fruitiness indicate phenols and esters produced by slightly unhappy yeast. too warm, not enough oxygen, lack of nutrients (almost unheard of with beer making tho...more prone to wine and mead makers).

luckily, these age out over time. never judge a beer younger than 3 weeks in the bottle...and even then, 6 months from now it might be exponentially better.

Beer is an alcoholic beverage, therefore it should have an alcoholic aroma. Let the final product judge.Go by taste.

I had a terrible terrible beer. During a period of non-brewing, I consumed them and it depressed me because they were so terrible.

Then I started brewing again and the last few bottles just kind of sat around and got dusty.

The second-to-last bottle I tasted was FANTASTIC... and now I don't even want to touch the last one....



I also made a stout with European Ale Yeast. It was fruity awful at 3 weeks, but mellowed phenomenally over the course of about two months.

My opinion is this: Brewing errors are easily identified- not hoppy enough, too much dark malt, not clear enough, etc. Bad Yeast errors are also easy to identify- autolysis, etc. However, pretty much any other "funky" flavor that isn't an infection is simply going to get better over time.

Stout Man said:

So I bottled it on Thursday and opened my first bottle tonight. I can taste the roasted barley but after each drink there is a solvent like fume in my nostrils. The beer is very tingly on my tongue. I cleaned, then sanitized everything with Star San and then rinsed everything again. How does cardboard taste? Should I actually put some in my mouth to see if my beer is like that? Can the priming sugar oxidize if not cooled down enough when added to the beer? There seems like there are too many things that can go wrong.

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You should let it condition for at least three weeks after bottling. A lot of the fruitiness and alcohol harshness will calm down in this time and the carbonation will develop properly.

I used Nottingham Dry Yeast which says that aeration is not needed as nutrients are included with the yeast. The yeast is also not supposed to be fruity and can go to 70 F but it did get to 74 in the afternoon and dropped from there. I had pitched the yeast the afternoon before. The average temperature reading on the carboy was 70 during primary fermentation. From the 4th to 7th day of primary fermentation the temp was around 66 and would be 60 or 62 at night.

I have read that stouts take a month to condition. Has anyone else made a stout and how long did it take before it was good?

After brewing my first batch I do see how I could do things a little different. Basically I need to modify some of my equipment.

Stout Man said:

I have read that stouts take a month to condition. Has anyone else made a stout and how long did it take before it was good?

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Lots of factors involved so there really isn't a hard-fast rule.

My beers usually sit for a couple weeks after fermentation before they hit the bottle, then sit in the bottle for a few weeks more before I sample. Based on that sample, I get an idea of how it is conditioning. Then I may sample one each week or so after 'till it hits the mark.