Bottled tonight - Strong Alcohol Taste/smell

Hey All-

Tonight I bottled a modified version of a papazian recipe, the Garden Grand Cru, on p 192 of his book. Instead of adding 2 lbs of honey, I added closer to 4lbs. I also added an extra lb or so of malt extract(total about 6 lbs of light dried extract). Fermentation went fine, eventhough it was a bit warm(I swamp cooled it). Put it into the second, let it sit. I bottled it tonight and naturally took a sip. WOOOO! It definitely had some kick to it! I would describe it as being a bit harsh, and you could really taste the alcohol. I was hoping for more orange flavor, I didn't taste much. No significant off tastes, just a strong alcohol taste and smell. For the record, OG was about 1.064 and FG was 1.010-1.012

I initially wanted to have this done about Oct 3th for the homecoming tailgate/football game(GO HAWKS!), but I am not sure I want to unleash this on the masses. I am wondering if letting it age for a long time will help the 'harsh' alcohol taste I described. Any suggestions?

Thanks all!

Steve

1.06 to 1.01 isn't too bad. You can always sample one that day and make up your mind. I think using that much honey will give you a more alcohol taste though.

How much was a bit warm? High fermentation temperatures can lead to a strong alcohol taste.

I'm actually in the same pickle. I brewed a batch with 2lb of orange blossom honey. Recently tried a bottle and the alcohol taste was a little too strong. My temps were fine also, so I have no idea what it could of been. Did you taste it before bottling? Did it have that same alcohol taste?

Well, this can result from many things here...
You added a ton of extra fermentables without adding more hops to balence the malt.
Honey takes a while to ferment, although from your og/fg it seems you took the time to wait.
Aaand, yes, you need to let them sit and wait. Time heals *most* wounds in beermaking. Chances are if you age the beer for a while in the bottle, and I'm not talkin a just a couple weeks, it will turn out much better. This should mellow out the alcohol taste and meld the flavors together much more thoroughly, allowing the honey/orange/malt/whatever else you added to come through.

Good luck and I hope this helps. I'm sure other, more qualified, members will come to the rescue in helping you to alleviate this small 'problem'.

I brewed a tripel that was was 1.075 down to 1.006. Nothing but 2-row, cane sugar, minimal amount of hops, and belgian yeast. Bottled after a 4 week primary at 68 degrees. You could smell and taste the alcohol at bottling. It goes away and your beer should smell and taste nice in a couple weeks. Mine is at 3 weeks and the harsh alcohol smell and taste are gone. I know it's not at it's prime yet but a defininate improvement and I happy to see how it tastes in another month of two.

Give it a couple weeks and then try one and see what you think once it's carbed up.

Hey All-

Again thanks for all of the comments. Yeah, this one may not be ready for homecoming in a couple of weeks, but our home schedule for football is STACKED! So I think I may have a good beer, ready to roll, for later games this season in 1-2 months. Hopefully by then it will have calmed down and make a great beer to enjoy and keep one warm on the cold late fall games.

Still would love to hear advice, as always!

"You added a ton of extra fermentables without adding more hops to balance the malt."

I knew I shouldn't have cheaped-out with only 1 oz of hops.

honey ferments out slow, and the more you add, the slower the beer ferments out. 4lbs? you'll probably have to give it 2-3 months

On all my beers, I let the flavor be the judge of when to bottle. if it has that alcohol bite, then it needs more time in the fermenter. It'll age out bulk a lot faster than in the bottle.

I had the same issue with my wee heavy. after 4 weeks in the bottle it has mellowed out nicely.

im having the same issue with a batch i created. too much molasses and not enough hop. i racked to a secondary and fry hopped heavy came out really good. Not sure if that will cheers