Newest batch tastes cidery

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dgoldb1

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I brewed a Leffe clone about 2 months ago and I kegged it 3 weeks ago. It tastes very cidery and thin and that hasn't changed since I've been tasting it. If I bottle the beer, is this something that may change over time? I hate to dump it but I don't want to put the time and energy into bottling if it's just going to stay the same. Has anyone had a cidery taste dissipate over time? Is this an infection?
 
I had this happen recently and cost me 12bbls of beer :(

Turned out to be an infection caused by stuck grain in the cooling block, took a solid day to tear it down and clean it out by hand but it solved the issue.

Not saying yours is infection for sure, but it sounds exactly what happened to me.
 
In light of this I guess the next question is, did it taste correct coming out of or during fermentation?
 
lumpher said:
wow.. really? a lot of sugar doesn't make beer taste cidery? so i'm wrong, along with charlie papazian, jamil zainasheff, john palmer...

Yes, you're wrong. I am currently sipping on an IPA that is 16% ABV. Nearly half of its fermentables are from simple sugar, and it is not in the least bit cidery. Probably half of my beers have sugar in them, and the only occasion that I experienced that was when I forgot to oxygenate. So yes, they are wrong.
 
I don't understand how raw brown sugar could make anything taste cidery if fully fermented. The sugars have been digested, broth!
 
Nightshade said:
In light of this I guess the next question is, did it taste correct coming out of or during fermentation?

It has tasted like this since I've been sampling it. Could it taste cidery if it wasn't fully fermented?
 
Yes, you're wrong. I am currently sipping on an IPA that is 16% ABV. Nearly half of its fermentables are from simple sugar, and it is not in the least bit cidery. Probably half of my beers have sugar in them, and the only occasion that I experienced that was when I forgot to oxygenate. So yes, they are wrong.

Just because you haven't had it happen doesn't mean everybody else is wrong and it can't...
Ok so your 16%er with half fermentables from sugar doesn't taste cidery? Of course not, you've got plenty of malt to balance it out. Go make a 4% beer with half the fermentables from simple sugar and it'll taste pretty cidery (depending on other factors of course). I've done it before, and it is possible for too much sugar to make a beer cidery.
 
ChessRockwell said:
Just because you haven't had it happen doesn't mean everybody else is wrong and it can't...
Ok so your 16%er with half fermentables from sugar doesn't taste cidery? Of course not, you've got plenty of malt to balance it out. Go make a 4% beer with half the fermentables from simple sugar and it'll taste pretty cidery (depending on other factors of course). I've done it before, and it is possible for too much sugar to make a beer cidery.

Yeah. I think you're exactly right. At first I thought it may have been a sanitation issue, but I always pay special attention to cleaning and sanitizing. In looking back through some posts, my problem sounds like it's a lot like what other people have experience when adding too much sugar. My efficiency was low when brewing my belgian blonde (BIAB). I think the sugar that I added was a higher percentage of the fermentables then the recipe called for. Do you guys think this will be something that will fade over time?
 
It has tasted like this since I've been sampling it. Could it taste cidery if it wasn't fully fermented?

No it would taste sweet, not as sweet as original wort but on the sweet side.

My honest guess is it got contaminated somewhere along the line, probably during fermentation.
 
Nightshade said:
No it would taste sweet, not as sweet as original wort but on the sweet side.

My honest guess is it got contaminated somewhere along the line, probably during fermentation.

It does taste very sweet, hence the apple cider taste.
 
I brewed a Leffe clone about 2 months ago and I kegged it 3 weeks ago. It tastes very cidery and thin and that hasn't changed since I've been tasting it. If I bottle the beer, is this something that may change over time? I hate to dump it but I don't want to put the time and energy into bottling if it's just going to stay the same. Has anyone had a cidery taste dissipate over time? Is this an infection?

Most cidery flavors, regardless of cause, are more likely to worsen over time, not improve.

Back in the days before I understood the importance fermentation temperature control, I ended up with a few really cidery beers, especially during the summer months here in West Texas. One cidery beer I bottled and lagered for six months in hopes that the off-flavor would go away, but I got just the opposite result. As the hops fell off over time and the malt characters mellowed, the cidery flavors actually became more pronounced. I dumped the whole batch.
 
wow.. really? a lot of sugar doesn't make beer taste cidery? so i'm wrong, along with charlie papazian, jamil zainasheff, john palmer...

Define "a lot"....1 lb. certainly isn't "a lot". If they all said that (which I don't think they did), then they're all wrong. And if it's true, then most Belgian breweries make cidery beer. And my taste buds must be off because beers I make using up to 30% sugar don't taste cidery.
 
Denny said:
Define "a lot"....1 lb. certainly isn't "a lot". If they all said that (which I don't think they did), then they're all wrong. And if it's true, then most Belgian breweries make cidery beer. And my taste buds must be off because beers I make using up to 30% sugar don't taste cidery.

I think you have to keep in mind the malt to simple sugar ratio. My 1lb of brown sugar was probably more noticeable (cidery) because of my lower than expected efficiency.
 
The cider tastes in one of my latest beers seemed to be a combination of sugar (~1.5 lb in a cream ale) and high fermentation temperatures. I know that people have used sugar successfully, and I might try it again. But not until I can keep the carboy cool. It's a shame because this beer would have otherwise been excellent. The cidery taste has mellowed out a bit. To learn my lesson, I'm drinking the whole thing by myself.
 
ludomonster said:
The cider tastes in one of my latest beers seemed to be a combination of sugar (~1.5 lb in a cream ale) and high fermentation temperatures. I know that people have used sugar successfully, and I might try it again. But not until I can keep the carboy cool. It's a shame because this beer would have otherwise been excellent. The cidery taste has mellowed out a bit. To learn my lesson, I'm drinking the whole thing by myself.

I have a fermentation fridge so I don't think that was my issue.
 
I brewed a Leffe-type blonde last summer and it too had a cidery/green apple flavor. It ended up tasting great after about 4 mos in the bottle. Granted, this was a partial mash and I didn't keg (could be apples and oranges).
 
HopKeller said:
I brewed a Leffe-type blonde last summer and it too had a cidery/green apple flavor. It ended up tasting great after about 4 mos in the bottle. Granted, this was a partial mash and I didn't keg (could be apples and oranges).

Interesting. Maybe I won't dump it and wait.
 
Leffe does have a fruity apple character. I would bottle condition any belgian style ale for maximum flavor potential.
 
Leffe does have a fruity apple character. I would bottle condition any belgian style ale for maximum flavor potential.
 
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