Mocha Oatmeal stout...like wine?

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BrewingPrepper

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So I am bottling up my second batch. Everything seemed to go ok. When transferring to bottling bucket it seemed very clear. I took a sample and it has almost a wine type smell. It has a bit of a harsh alcohol bite to it. Can anyone explain what might have happened or if this alcohol twang will subside. I was expecting a creamy thick type beer. It is thin and really like a wine.

It is a partial mash and the only thing I can think of is my temps were a little high while steeping...:mug::mug:
 
2 3.3# cans muntons dark LME
.5# English Chocalate
1# Briess 2 row
.5# Victory malt
1# DME
.5# Dark crystal (C-75)
1.5# flaked oats
2 oz goldings
2 packs S-04

Steeped for 60 mins with grains. It did get a little hot. It was over the recommended 145-160. Added hops at 60 mins. Added whirlfloc at 10 mins. Cooled and transferred to primary. Left 3 weeks. Bottled today and it just seems thin and like I said best way I can describe it is like a wine smell. Loud alcohol smell and taste. It doesnt have the creamy mouthfeel I was hoping for.
 
The wine alcohol smell and taste may be due to fermenting at too high of a temperature. Some of that will dissipate or be broken down by the yeast as it matures in the bottle. Let this beer have another 3 to 5 weeks to mature and it will be much better.

For your next brew read the recommended temperature range for the yeast and keep it near the low end as it ferments and you will avoid the hot alcohol and a lot of the off flavors. Also realize that beers that are light in color and low in alcohol will mature faster and as the color gets darker and higher alcohol levels it will take longer, sometimes much longer. Expect to wait nearly a year for a strong barleywine.
 
any other thoughts on what it might be?

S04 is best fermented at about 62-64 degrees. If it was at 68, it should still be ok, but if that was the room temperature and not the fermentation temperature of the actual beer fermenting (it can get up to 10 degrees hotter inside the fermenter than ambient temperature), that's where the wine-y notes are coming from.
 
Gotcha so I gotta focus on temp control next. I am under the impression that the stick on fermometers are actually telling the temp of the beer and not room temp. Is that correct?
 
Well I just tried another beer from this batch it is about 2 weeks after bottling. The wine like taste has subsided dramatically. However there is a strange aftertaste. It is mainly in the burp after I take a drink. It is hard to describe. However its really only noticeable in the burp. Not in the actual taste of the beer. Can anyone explain what Im trying to describe?
 
BrewingPrepper said:
Well I forgot to take an OG reading and then figured FG was irrelevant. I bottled after 3 weeks.

Well, knowing the FG even without the OG, would be a good idea. First off, you really should make sure it is done fermenting by observing a stable (and sufficiently low) FG. Waiting 3 weeks will probably be fine most times, but not always. Second, knowing the FG could help diagnose problems. You mentioned a wine-like character to your beer, which made me think perhaps you had some sort o infection that over-attenuated the beer, leaving you with a too-low FG and no body to the beer.

I also just noticed that it has only been 2 weeks since you bottled, so the beer is still pretty "green". Give it more time and see how things taste 2, 3, 6 weeks from now.
 
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