Batches 1-3 Update

Cracked open bottle two of the first batch (British Pale Ale) which is now six weeks old and three weeks in the bottle. Hard to tell from the pic but it has clarified significantly over last week.



The banana flavor I got last week has faded but there still is some fruitiness. Also still some greenness to the flavor but the astringent aftertaste I got last week is all but gone. I could definitely start drinking it now but I'll wait to see what next week brings. Besides we had our halloween party last night and I have a ton of beer left over, hardly any of which is BMC.

Also tried the Nut Brown (batch 2) after taking a sample Friday for gravity at 13 days. Nice and dark with less bitterness than the Pale Ale had at 5 weeks.



Tastes like it should end up very nice. Tastes like the fermentation is done, i.e. no sweetness left. Gravity at 1.016 against a target of 1.011 but my OG was 1.058 with a target of 1.045. Passed the sample round last night and people liked it. Bottling next week if gravity is steady.

Finally my Apfelwein is still chugging away at 1 bubble every 2 seconds through the airlock. That's 7 days at that rate. Should be about ready to drink.

Man, that Nut Brown Ale is dark.

I'm sure someone else more knowledgeable than I will chime in, but I was under the impression that apfelwein did better with staying in primary for 6-9 weeks.

GroovePuppy said:

Finally my Apfelwein is still chugging away at 1 bubble every 2 seconds through the airlock. That's 7 days at that rate. Should be about ready to drink.

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Uh...I dunno where you got your info, but your apfelwein won't be ready to drink for months...months my friend...Mine was about 4 or 5 months before it cleared enough to read a newspaper through...But it didn't stop burning on the way down until it was about 8 months in the bottle...now at close to a year it is pretty fine...

So wait on the Apfelwein

And start brewing some more.

joe6pack said:

I'm sure someone else more knowledgeable than I will chime in, but I was under the impression that apfelwein did better with staying in primary for 6-9 weeks.

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Revvy said:

Uh...I dunno where you got your info, but your apfelwein won't be ready to drink for months...months my friend...Mine was about 4 or 5 months before it cleared enough to read a newspaper through...But it didn't stop burning on the way down until it was about 8 months in the bottle...now at close to a year it is pretty fine...

So wait on the Apfelwein

And start brewing some more.

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Ahem, forgot the <sarcasm></sarcasm> tags.

Edit: Hey wait, I put the after it.

It's still chugging away this morning. I don't how much there can be left to ferment. I know my first two beers stopped at the airlock after only a few days. I definitely need transparent primaries at some point though. That's just too much action to miss. :rockin:

goodbyebluesky82 said:

Man, that Nut Brown Ale is dark.

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Yeah, the chocolate malt was upped a bit to boost the toasty flavors. I may need to call it a stout when I'm done but if it tastes nice then good beer is good beer.

I cracked the 2/3 bottle of Nut Brown at the weekend after being spooked by the "headspace" thread. It was only a week in bottle and undercarbed.

It tastes awesome. :rockin:

It's clarifying but is really dark. Not sure if it's got quite the toastiness I was shooting for but it has a nice hint of chocolate. Turns out it IS possible to make decent beer at home. Who knew?

GroovePuppy said:

Turns out it IS possible to make decent beer at home. Who knew?

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Some of us might have had a clue!

YooperBrew said:

Some of us might have had a clue!

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OK, so I have evidence that some people can do it, I'm just relieved to find out tha I can too.

On batch#1 I just spoke with my friend. She thinks it may have been an infection coupled with higher fermentation temperature. I know the temp was higher than it should have been and probably gives me the fruity/spicy flavors. Is it possible I had an infection that wasn't visible in the secondary?

GroovePuppy said:

On batch#1 I just spoke with my friend. She thinks it may have been an infection coupled with higher fermentation temperature. I know the temp was higher than it should have been and probably gives me the fruity/spicy flavors. Is it possible I had an infection that wasn't visible in the secondary?

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Sure, you could have had an infection. Most infections don't have visible clues to them anyway. I mean, some have an obvious pellicle, but the ones I've seen tend to be beer that just tastes "off". Maybe sour (lacto infection, or less commonly acetero bacter) or an oiliness that is present.

Usually a beer with an infection, though, leaves no doubt. If it's infected, it tastes really, really bad. I guess early in the infection it could just taste a little sour or weird, but later on you'll know for sure. Sometimes you even get bottles that foam uncontrollably when opened (gusher infection).

A high fermentation temperature could cause lots of off-flavors, though, without indicating an infection. Band-aid tastes, clove-y, "hot", medicinal, etc can come from high temperature fermenation, or from chlorine in the water.

GroovePuppy said:

Yeah, the chocolate malt was upped a bit to boost the toasty flavors. I may need to call it a stout when I'm done but if it tastes nice then good beer is good beer.

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Chocolate malt won't do a lot fot the toasted flavor. I would suggest a little biscuit (victory) malt for that. Keep some chocolate for caramel flavors and color, but biscuit would do wonders in there.