First Batch Gluten Free Sorghum Syrup and Bottled

This if my first time brewing beer and I bottled it two weeks ago after it was done fermenting. I put one in the fridge today and tried it..it tastes like sweet cider and like it needs more carbonation. Any ideas? Thanks

I've never had a Sorghum beer so I can't comment on if a cider flavor is normal but I'd say relax, let it bottle condition for another 2 weeks and taste again. Most home brew needs 4 weeks in the bottle to lose all the "green beer" flavor. If the cider flavor doesn't go away you probably have high acetaldehyde or worst case scenario, a gusher infection (rare).

Okay, thanks! I'll wait 2 more weeks and give it another try. Is it alright to drink a beer with high acetaldehyde?

Sure, acetaldehyde isn't poisonous, it just tastes a little like apples. To help reduce it in future batches control your fermentation temp so it doesn't get too high, and leave it in the primary for at least 2 weeks, 3 is better. Then bottle and let it condition there for another 3-4 weeks. 6-8 weeks is a long time to wait but the beer is sooo much better then waiting 2-3 If you time your batches right you can drink one batch while the next is conditioning.

if however you wait 2 more weeks and the cider flavor intensifies, and tastes more like vinegar, then you probably have an infection and should toss the batch.

Alright, I have a glass secondary container, how long do you recommend it being in the primary before it goes into the secondary? I'm going to take a bottle to the local home brew store tomorrow and see what they think of it so far and keep the rest in the dark, they have never tried a beer made from sorghum before.

I keep most of my beers in the primary for 2-3 weeks. 2 weeks if the OG is ~1.055 or less and 3 weeks if it's higher. Not really sure if the extra week makes any real difference but I've had good results I actually don't use a secondary unless I'm going to lager. For ales I'll bottle or keg from the primary and let if condition for another 2-4 weeks, again, less time is required for a lower OG beer. Really big beers, 1.080+ will get 8+ weeks to condition in the keg or bottle. As for the sorghum, I've never tried a beer made with it so I really can't comment on any of its unique flavor properties. Best I can say is drink a few commercial examples and see if they share a common flavor that's different from beer made with barley. The local HB store should be able to tell you about any other common off flavors and how to correct them. Relax, your beer will be fine

Sweet, I'll follow those guidelines. I took a bottle to the DeFalco's, the local brew store and they said it was definitely young and they didn't any off flavors so that's good. Like you said, they recommended two more weeks in the bottles and to more the bottles around to activate the yeast some more. And if it's still not ready, he said it would okay to reopen each bottle and put a little more yeast in each one.

If you ever want to try out a g free beer, Anheuser-Busch makes one called Redbridge which is okay... My favorite is made by Greens and it's a Triple Blonde Ale...yum

Based on a recent post on the Gluten Free section of the forum, it sounds like the taste you're describing is pretty common for gf beer.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f164/hmmmm-how-its-supposed-taste-261621/

Good to know. My friends who are helping me brew regular beer so they didn't really know what to think of the taste either. I'm going to open one this Wednesday (giving it four weeks in the the bottle) and see how it's gotten along.