1st batch sub par

When I drink beer I'm looking for that fuzzy feelin when I first open a bottle or poor the draught. You know that feeling of relaxation of general good will and almost a state of enlightenment that comes with your first sip of a good beer. That is what I have been imagining for the last month while my first batch of home brew sat fermenting in my closet
Reality Check it tastes like alcoholic bum piss. Very disheartening I have 5 gall s of his crap on tap and just smelling it makes me want to cry hope fully my second batch won't be so bad

Does everyone's first batch taste like donkey piss

My first batch didnt taste like donkey piss. Mine tasted like Granny Smith apples because I pitched and fermented too warm. It was a Scottish Ale. The color and mouthfeel was like soda. It carbed fine but never formed a head.

Just keep working at it, it will get better.

Thanks man I knew it was gonna be crappy, I made a million mistakes , and probably the biggest was I transferred to the secondary on the 3rd day. I don't know what I was thinking.

I have a second batch that has been fermenting for 2 weeks now and I haven't touched it since I put it in the carboy. So I'm hopin that it will be more drink able.
Both batches were ranger ipa clones

I also brewed a batch last night that I'm hoping turns out great. But u never know this one is a concoction I came up with on beer smith it's

It's a imperial ipa

Mash:
12 lbs pale 2 row 1 lb flaked barly 2 lbs crystal 60
1oz I cascade 1 lb rice hulls

90 min boil
.5 Zeus
.25 zythos.
.25 falconer 7 seas

60 min
.25 zythos.
.25 falconer 7 s

30 min
.25 zythos.
.25 falconer 7 s

15 min
.75 zythos.
.75 falconer 7 s

10 min
Irish moss

0 min steep 10 min
.5 cascade
.25 zythos.
.25 falconer 7 s

Yeast wyeast 1450 Denny fav

Right now it's blowing bubbles out of the airlock and my closet smells like a citrus market

Well, that recipes low on late hops for an IIPA, and high on crystal malt, but it should be drinkable. You don't need the rice hulls, especially a whole pound, but they won't hurt except to suck up liquid in the mash. Flaked barley gives great head retention, but creates a haze that won't clear so it's usually used in dark beers like stouts.

It's too late to change the recipe now, but for next time I'd try something like this, using the same ingredients:

12 lbs pale 2 row
.75 pound 60
1 pound corn sugar
60 min boil
1 oz Zeus 60 minutes

15 min
1 oz zythos.
1 oz falconer 7 seas

10 min
1 teaspoon Irish moss
1 oz zythos.
1 oz 7C s

5 min
1 oz zythos
1 oz 7 Cs

0 min
1 oz zythos
1 oz 7Cs

Dryhop with at least 2 ounces of above

WLP001 yeast


A couple of things that will help with all batches- pitch enough yeast (make a starter with liquid yeast), pitch at no higher than 65 degrees, and keep the beer under 70-72 degrees during fermentation. (Beer temperature, not ambient, so a stick-on thermometer is really helpful!). That should make even not-so-great recipes turn out pretty well.

Thanks for the tips, I live in Florida and don't have a cold room to keep the fermentation temps Under 70 degrees. Does anyone have any ideas I can use? Right now it's about 78 degrees in my house

Danno81 said:

Thanks for the tips, I live in Florida and don't have a cold room to keep the fermentation temps Under 70 degrees. Does anyone have any ideas I can use? Right now it's about 78 degrees in my house

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You can set up a water bath in a cooler or bin, and add frozen water bottles to the water. If you keep the water at 65-66 degrees, the beer should stay about the same. I just change out the frozen water bottles once a day when it's really hot.

A room temperature of 78 degrees is way too warm for brewing, as the fermentation itself produces heat so you'd have a "hot" fermentation. I've personally see fermenting beer be 10 degrees warmer than ambient. A beer fermented that hot won't taste very good, and will have fusel alcohols produced. Those are those higher alcohols that cause headaches and taste hot. Or, in other words, taste like "alcoholic bum piss" to use your own words!

Brew some Belgian beers in that temp - the yeasts like it in the 70-95 degree area.

Dipa is a hard one to tackle for your first brew - try something a little easier when it cools down like pale ale, stout or brown ale.

Keep at it I brewed some terrible beers in the beginning too- especially my wild yeast fan on the open fermenter to cool it sour band aid beer

Thanks guys, I set up a swamp cooler last night and I picked up a chest freezer off of CL for 50 bucks I plan on turning into a fermentation chamber.
I started out by turning a side by side fridge into a kegerator and was just buying store kegs, my friend brought over a home brew his boss made and I have been hooked

I read fermented for a month.

I didn't read how long you bottle conditioned it.

I let mine sit for at least four weeks before I pass judgement. If it hasn't aged, it will possibly have a harshness to it. I call it green beer.

(I do sample ahead, but wait the full four weeks before I say yuk)

Dynachrome said:

I read fermented for a month.

I didn't read how long you bottle conditioned it.

I let mine sit for at least four weeks before I pass judgement. If it hasn't aged, it will possibly have a harshness to it. I call it green beer.

(I do sample ahead, but wait the full four weeks before I say yuk)

Click to expand...

I fermented for 4 weeks and then I force carbonated

Danno81 said:

I fermented for 4 weeks and then I force carbonated

Click to expand...

...I don't keg, but give it a couple days I think.

That's my plan. I tried it again tonight and it wasnt so bad. Still rough but I think it's because of fermenting at high temps

Totally agree with Yooper. My beers changed dramatically when I conquered temperature control. I too, have seen my beer rise 10F above ambient during active fermentation. Swamp coolers are water-based, and the water mass will pull heat out of the fermenter. Air-based coolers like refrigerators, you will want to tape the thermostat to side of the carboy/bucket, with a layer of insulation (foam block) to measure the beer temp so the refrigeration gets the beer cold, not just the chamber.

I ferment at 64F in a water-based bath, and don't touch for 3 weeks, minimum. Sometimes 6 weeks...

Good luck, welcome to the new hobby!

Yooper said:

Well, that recipes low on late hops for an IIPA, and high on crystal malt, but it should be drinkable. You don't need the rice hulls, especially a whole pound, but they won't hurt except to suck up liquid in the mash. Flaked barley gives great head retention, but creates a haze that won't clear so it's usually used in dark beers like stouts.

It's too late to change the recipe now, but for next time I'd try something like this, using the same ingredients:

12 lbs pale 2 row
.75 pound 60
1 pound corn sugar
60 min boil
1 oz Zeus 60 minutes

15 min
1 oz zythos.
1 oz falconer 7 seas

10 min
1 teaspoon Irish moss
1 oz zythos.
1 oz 7C s

5 min
1 oz zythos
1 oz 7 Cs

0 min
1 oz zythos
1 oz 7Cs

Dryhop with at least 2 ounces of above

WLP001 yeast

A couple of things that will help with all batches- pitch enough yeast (make a starter with liquid yeast), pitch at no higher than 65 degrees, and keep the beer under 70-72 degrees during fermentation. (Beer temperature, not ambient, so a stick-on thermometer is really helpful!). That should make even not-so-great recipes turn out pretty well.

Click to expand...

I let my falconer ipa ferment at room temp for about 18hours before I set up my swamp cooler do you think that it had already had a negative effect on the beer or should I be ok if I keep the temps down

Yes, the first few hours are critical, so this won't be your best effort either - however, keep the temps down and try it - don't dump it. It will still be beer, and may be quite drinkable, if not optimal.

Thanks I have been drinking my donkey piss ipa it's gotten a little better with time. It now has a burnt aftertaste it's not horrible just not what I was expecting

The donkey piss is supposed to be a Ranger IPA Clone

The first 3 days are when most esters are produced and thus this is the most critical time to keep the temperatures down. Ales generally like being in the 60's, depending on the yeast. This will make fermentation take a bit longer but will yield siginifcantly better results due to lower fusel alcohols and such. After a few days you can let the temp rise a bit to help out attenuation.

IMHO very critical aspets for good homebrew:

- Sanitation
- Fermentation temp control
- Proper pitching rates
- Letting fermentation fully complete

Just waiting on my temp control module from eBay and my fern chamber will be up and running!

I have to say either my palate has been murdered or this Donkey Piss IPA has turned out pretty good after a few extra days. I'm glad to say that I brewed this thing. I just wish I knew what a true ranger ipa tasted like so I could compare the two

So, now you can lead the cheer also. Patience young jedi - "Good homebrew takes an bit of time."


...nice looking pint BTW.

Dynachrome said:

So, now you can lead the cheer also. Patience young jedi - "Good homebrew takes an bit of time."

...nice looking pint BTW.

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Thanks you were right about giving it more time. Even my wife thinks its better now

yes, also just because something is carbed up in the keg doesn't mean it's ready to age, especially if you didn't let it sit long enough in primary.

Hey guys I asked this question on another thread but didn't get any replies. I have a 5 gallon batch of an ipa i brewed 3 weeks ago I transferred it to the secondary on Saturday almost a week ago, and I decided I want to dry hop it. Is it too late or would I be fine to dry hop now?

I would if I felt the need.

you can dry hop anytime in the process. If my kegged IPA needs a bit of a punch, I will drop a bag o' hops into the keg for a week...

Thanks guys

Danno81 said:

Hey guys I asked this question on another thread but didn't get any replies. I have a 5 gallon batch of an ipa i brewed 3 weeks ago I transferred it to the secondary on Saturday almost a week ago, and I decided I want to dry hop it. Is it too late or would I be fine to dry hop now?

Click to expand...

Bombs away. Dry hop the crap out of it!