drinkin the stuff you don't want to waste but are ready to fini

My first batch was a cream ale, I didn't pick out the recipe kit and I was less than thrilled when I find out what it was. Nonetheless I brewed it. I made a vital mistake and left it in far too warm of a room the first night. Now I have a beer that still tastes mighty green about 4.5 weeks after bottling.

I know time and patience cures all (ESPECIALLY beer) but I'm ready to just get rid of it. I'm saving two bottles to try further on down the road (to prove the theory right), otherwise I'm drinking the swill so I can reuse the bottles in my next batch.

Anybody else suck down some homebrew prematurely to keep the pipeline going?

Yes....see if you can decide which batch I am referring to in my signature....

Sometimes off-flavors fade, sometimes they don't. High fermentation temperature flavor problems don't.

My motto is "life is too short to drink bad beer". If it's not going to be enjoyed, it's out.

If it is bottled, who cares? How is it holding up your pipeline? Now when you only have 2 taps and you have a beer you're not really digging, then that's a problem.

Yooper said:

Sometimes off-flavors fade, sometimes they don't. High fermentation temperature flavor problems don't.

My motto is "life is too short to drink bad beer". If it's not going to be enjoyed, it's out.

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Very true, I always read on here that all my bad flavors would go away eventually. Not true, especially higher ferm temps. You cant fix that, just work to try and find a way to control them for the next batch. It is worth every minute of effort to get to a point where you can control it. You will love the beer that much more.

Well 4.5 weeks after bottling isn't young (and you kind of illustrate the point that "green" is mostly a euphemism for bad).

I would dump it. I always have good stuff around to drink, no time to drink the bad.

agroff383 said:

Very true, I always read on here that all my bad flavors would go away eventually. Not true, especially higher ferm temps. You cant fix that, just work to try and find a way to control them for the next batch. It is worth every minute of effort to get to a point where you can control it. You will love the beer that much more.

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Right. Bad flavors don't usually go away, but some might fade with time. Phenols and esters tend to get worse in my opinion, though.

I actually experienced the exact opposite of that on my first brew. I was so excited to brew it, I didn't have temperature control and MN had a heat wave in August. The irish red ended up fermenting between 80-85F and tasted like hot fusel alcohol. I let it sit for about 4 months, came back to it and the burn had mellowed into a banana ester, hence why I called it the irish banana. Some high temp fermentation issues may get better with time but I'm sure that is highly dependent on what off products were actually produced.

I brew stuff that has flaws to me all the time and i just don't have the heart to dump it. Have a few good beers, then have some of your "not the best" it tastes better then and its not wasted

this problem is easily solved with an "essential oil distillation unit" and a couple of extra eyes watching the back door for ATF agents. just be sure to replace your copper packing with cheap steel scrubbies before you start, or you will be spending a lot to replace the copper when you are done

chase the white dog as they say

Bad move...

yeah actually i totally don't condone that unless you live in New Zealand, then again, I suppose I could have been talking about making ethanol for your vehicle, which is legal here, and then getting in that car to go chase stray pets down

As a follow up. I'm drinking a glass now. I was pleased to see that it has cleared up quite a bit but the flavors have hardly gotten better. Still alot of bubblegummy green appley crap up front. A little bit more hops and malt in the back than I remember but hardly justifiable.

Glad to see oxidation hasn't seemed to occur but wish this one would have gotten better

One bottle left in my box of tricks, I'll leave it for another month or so.

Now the worst part is due to a minor heat wave over the weekend (and me being out of town so I couldn't do anything about it), my fermentation room was up to about 72-75 degrees the other day. I moved everything to the basement, hope I wasnt too late. When I took a taste sample I was detecting alot of the same flavors Time to build a ferm-chamber

I agree to never dumping a beer. Although, I say if you can't stand drinking the beer and need the containers (bottles or kegs), then dump the bastard.

I scortched a 10g batch of saison last year. Choked down the first 5gs and talked myself into ageing the other till i needed the keg. I thought the burnt flavor might settle over time. I was wrong. A year later it tastes like day one. I can drink it, but only if I'm 2 sheets to the wind. BTW, I haven't needed the keg yet hehe.

Hm.. This thread frightens me a touch. 72 - 75 resulted in bad beer? That's about where my office stays during the day. Should I put the fermenter in the closet? It stays around 65 in there during the day, but drops to 55 - 60 at night. I was under the impression that fermenting at around 70 - 75 was ideal.

MaynardX said:

I agree to never dumping a beer. Although, I say if you can't stand drinking the beer and need the containers (bottles or kegs), then dump the bastard.

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I have had a few really bad batches, but nothing I couldn't stomach. I cannot justify dumping 5 gallons and hours worth of work. Esp, the money attached to it. I have had 2 that have been really "bad". Drinkable, but not to the point where it was THAT bad.

A friend gave me a few bottles of a Belgian quad that sat for a year. I was so excited to drink it. I popped the bottles and they were flat, and were utterly disgusting. I dumped those, but then again it wasn't mine.

I found it to be quite comical considering the fact the guy who gave them to me was saying how great they were going to be and how he had been saving them for the holidays.

I think he was giving them away because they were that gross.

Personally i wouldn't dump bottles, just try to find more. I would continue brewing as normal but collecting bottles as much as possible, and come bottling day if you don't have enough then start dumping them.

or try plastic bottles for future batches that you might need bottles for. 3L at the dollar store in green bottles.

or cook with it.

or just designate it as the beer that you drink only when you have already had 6 good ones.

I don't know. I did the "time heals all wounds" thing for a little while, but recently changed my tune. I bottle, so it really sucks when a batch didn't come out as planned, but I would rather sob a little bit as I dump time and money down the drain than hand someone a less than stellar homebrew. That is my new rule of thumb; if I would be uncomfortable to have a neighbor try it, it gets dumped. Brew enough batches and you will know a month after you bottle if a batch is worth keeping. A recipe problem, like "these hops seem to clash", or "gravity was a little too big" will fade, but there is not enough time in the world to clean up a sanitization problem or a run-away fermentation.

Joe