First batch of garbage

YooperBrew said:

Sure, give it some time. But I don't think "sour" and "burnt" flavors are normal, and you may have an infection going.

I think wheat beers have a sour taste when young- one of the reasons I don't like them. But that should have faded by now.

What was the grain bill, and the techniques you used, including fermentation temperature?

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YooperBrew said:

Sure, give it some time. But I don't think "sour" and "burnt" flavors are normal, and you may have an infection going.

I think wheat beers have a sour taste when young- one of the reasons I don't like them. But that should have faded by now.

What was the grain bill, and the techniques you used, including fermentation temperature?

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JoeMama said:

Yes, give it time... Ive had AHS kits that spent something along those same lines of time in the primary then keg, which tasted like salty nuts. Try to throw that keg in a corner to let it think about what it did. Forget about it for a month then come back and try it again.

I did that and the salty balls brews ended up being amazing.
-Me

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Henry Hill said:

If you are letting your beer ferment that warm, it doesn't matter who filled your order.

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YooperBrew said:

Yeah, I think the problem is the fermentation temperature. If you used a yeast that is best in the 65-72 degree range (beer temperature, not the room temperature!), and it was quite a bit higher than that, you'll get some off-flavors from it.

Since the beer temperature can be up to 10 degrees higher than the ambient temperature during peak fermentation periods, you might have been as much as 15 degrees too high, for example.

What yeast did you use, and how big of a starter did you make?

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BeerAg said:

Did you get any lemon pith into your beer? It is very important not to get pith when you are zesting lemons. Pith leads to tons of bad tastes.

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Firstnten said:

No starter.. Danstar Nottingham Dry. I have yet to make a starter or use yeast fuel when making beer.

The temp was the problem then I see now that 70 is the high range so I'm screwed...

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YooperBrew said:

Yeah, over about 72 (fermentation temperature, again, not room temperature!), Nottingham tastes really foul. It's great in the low-mid 60s, but is really a bad choice for higher temperature ferments.

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Firstnten said:

So much for keeping the AC off during the day when fermenting. The ambient temp never dropped lower then 72 the entire time.

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YooperBrew said:

And if the ambient was 72 or higher, the beer temperature was over 80 degrees inside, probably, during active fermentation.

I have a cooler that I use. I put the fermenter in the cooler, and put water around the fermenter in the cooler, and then add a frozen water bottle every day or so when the weather is warm. I have a floating thermometer, to check the temperature. When the water gets up to 70, I toss in a new frozen water bottle. It's ghetto, but works great.

I think controlling fermentation temperature was the single best thing I ever did to make better beer.

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Firstnten said:

I swear yooper no one has helped me more with this hobbie then you even my LHBS guy must kneel to your greatness. Next year I'll have to try that it looks like summer has broke here. I woke up today and is was under 60 outside.

Thanks again

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cuinrearview said:

After a year and a half of brewing I can say that temperature control has been the biggest improvement to my beers. I heard it here first. I too use a pretty simple means of controlling temps. with a storage tote, water, and some frozen coke bottles filled with water.

Don't think it'd work in Phoenix but up here I can brew a 64 degree primaried IPA in July. In another room I can have an 80 degree saison rocking out.

Who says the weather in MI sucks?:rockin:

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The Pol said:

Certain yeasts and styles are more tolerant of high temps. Maybe try making those beers and using those yeasts in the warm months if you can. Then go ahead and make some other ales and even lagers when it cools off.

I add a vote for temp. here... temperature control for the ferment is probably one of say three HUGE variables that will affect your beer quality. Without temp. control, nothing else really matters.

I think Saison, Belgian and Wheat ales are some of the best types for warm temps. Obviously into the 80's is a little high though, but upper 70's is close.

Give it time in a dark corner, and come back to it. If you dont need the keg room, you may be surprised by what happens in a month or two.

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Firstnten said:

Even though the keg has been cooled to 40? for 2 weeks

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Firstnten said:

I swear yooper no one has helped me more with this hobbie then you even my LHBS guy must kneel to your greatness. Next year I'll have to try that it looks like summer has broke here. I woke up today and is was under 60 outside.

Thanks again

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YooperBrew said:

Thank you so much for the kind words.

Flattery works for me!

As The Pol mentioned, some yeast strains will do better at higher temperatures, although very few will taste great with fermentation over 80 degrees.

The hefeweizen might be fine, but with a big banana bite or a bit of bubblegum taste. That's not out of style for a hefeweizen, though, so it might be quite good.

California ale yeast isn't very good over 73-74 degrees, but you might have it turn out better than the beer using Nottingham yeast.

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The Pol said:

2 weeks is nothing.

I had a Red Rye ale that I brewed last fall, oaked it... wow it was really "flavorful".

Given 6 months, the flavors became much more enjoyable.

2 weeks is green beer IMHO, yeah you had it in the primary for 4 weeks... but it has only been off the yeast and chilled for 2 weeks. Given your temps... Id give it at least another month.

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