What went wrong?

Ok I have had my first batch ever sitting in bottles for about 3 weeks now. I tired one at the one week point and it tasted great nice hop aroma, a good balance between the bitterness and the malt, besides the lack of carbination it was great!
Tried one two weeks later and the carbination was about the same as the first still kind of flat. It tatsed worse, hardly any hop aroma and a wierd maybe tangy or astringent taste to it.
Tried one this morning the 3 week point now, still not much carbination when I pour the glass I maybe have an 1/8 to maybe 1/4 inch of head if I am lucky and then it dissapears right away. Same wierd taste also.
When I bottled I used the coopers carbination drops. I used tap water for my parital boil and distilled water for my top off water. It was a Big Ben Pale Ale from MW. I can get why that first one tatsed great besides the lack of carb, and then they got worse?
Anyone have any insight on what might be going on, or if you need any info from me let me know, thanks

I have my second batch in the secondary right now, transfered it last night, and now it is sitting in the secondary with some oak chips the recipe calls for. I did use spring water this time, not sure if the first one was a water issue or what?

I did use tap water for my partial boil, and I did forget to run it through a filter to get any chlorine out, could that be the issue?
It sat in the primary for a week and secondary for two with temps around 68 degrees sat in the bottles around 63 to 66 degrees

I now only use unfiltered tap water and have not gotten any off flavors from it. I suppose it just depends on the quality in each region.

3 weeks may still be a bit young to carb. I've had some batches take at least 4 weeks to fully carbonate. Is yours flat tasting with no head or is it carbed okay but with little to no head?

Were there specialty grains in your kit?

fezzman said:

I now only use unfiltered tap water and have not gotten any off flavors from it. I suppose it just depends on the quality in each region.

3 weeks may still be a bit young to carb. I've had some batches take at least 4 weeks to fully carbonate. Is yours flat tasting with no head or is it carbed okay but with little to no head?

Were there specialty grains in your kit?

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Yes there were specialty grains that I steeped for 30 minutes at 150.
It is flat tasting with very little head, there is some carb in the bottle as when I open it it doesn have the ccchhhh sound but not much. I havent noticed any difference in the carbing from the first week to the 3rd week, seems like it is all done carbing besause nothing has been added in the past couple weeks compared to the first?

I did use tap water for my partial boil, and I did forget to run it through a filter to get any chlorine out, could that be the issue?

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I have no idea what could be the problem but I do know that it is not the tap chlorine. Chlorine disipates out of water very quickly at anything above 120 degrees. If you boiled it the chlorine is gone.

desmo said:

I have no idea what could be the problem but I do know that it is not the tap chlorine. Chlorine disipates out of water very quickly at anything above 120 degrees. If you boiled it the chlorine is gone.

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Chlorine dissipates but chloramine does not. Many city water supplies are using chloramine in the water supply because it does not dissipate, however it has the same problems with beer as chlorine.
Craig

Leave them alone for another week or two. Try giving the bottles a little shake every so often to rouse the sleepy yeast. That won't necessarily help with the off-taste you describe, but it may help fully carb them, and the lack of carbonation might be contributing to what you describe as an off-taste. Won't hurt, anyway!

What temp have the bottles been sitting at? They carb best if they are close to 70. Too cool and the yeast slow down and carbonation will take a long time.

I seem to be having the same problem. I bottled two weeks ago and there is absolutly no carbonation. I used 1 1/8 cup of priming sugar for a 5 gallon batch. When i open the bottle it makes a tsst sound but no head what so ever! does higher alcohol beer take longer? does liquid yeast take longer? my temps are about 68. It would seem that there is no sediment in my bottles but i know the yeast are working cause i get a light tsst sound, did i not get enough of the yeast from my secondary and the yeast are struggling to reproduce to process the sugar? my FG was 1012, i took a reading today and it reads 1018.

OK I opened a bottle a few nights ago at a warmer temp and it had great head, good carbination was a little warm to drink but good.
Opened one last night that I had in the fridge for a while and no head what so ever, ok maybe a little few bublles on top. And tasted off again.
Anyone ever heard of issues with carbination dropping after you fridge the beer?
I am just not getting why a couple bottles tatsed good and the rest were bad?

Carbonation isn't released as quickly at low temps (so you get less head). Fun experiment: Stick one beer in the freezer and one on the counter. 4-12 hours later, bring them both out, pop the tops, recap them, and put them both in the fridge. When they reach the same temp, open them again. The one from the freezer will be more carbonated with a bigger head.

CBBaron said:

Chlorine dissipates but chloramine does not. Many city water supplies are using chloramine in the water supply because it does not dissipate, however it has the same problems with beer as chlorine.
Craig

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Gentlemen,

It was here on the forum a few weeks ago,
I first heard, I think it was old 'CBBarons,'
description of chlorimine.
I asked the 'Rockett water supply',
I did, I called them up!
Whether they used clorine or chloramine...
the chick came back and confirmed they used clorimine!
Dern!

'Rockett Water co.'
{Which was named after the little township of Rocket Texas,
which in turn was named after old 'Mr. Rockett' who had a cotton gin down southeast of Red Oak.
Mrs. Rockett lived 1/4 mile down the road from I used to live 25-30 years ago and I used to wave at her as she drove past and she would wave back.}


Now I am getting parinoid!
The water I use is reverse ossmosis U.V. light...
locally treated water.
.60 a gallon.
But I have to find out where he gets his water.
Chlorimine is permanant, and can't be boiled away!
Ossmosised out or blinded by that dern 'U. V. light'!
Now any store bought water is suspect!

If I am going to brew some good ale,
a full dollar a gallon
an extra $2.- 3. a batch?
is not too much to pay for really good water
which leads to having some good tasting ale.

To not to improve and develop ones abilities
is ignert!

J. Winters Von Knife

'Ya! ta! hea'!

My first thought was infection of some kind, wild yeast or the like.

Even the distilled water can get bacteria if it has been opened. Sanitize, sanitize.

Tony