Alcoholic/Solvent Taste

So, in my AG munich sweet stout, everything tastes perfect except for this alcoholic/solvent taste. I know it's usually caused by fusels which are usually caused by high fermentation temps, but the whole time during the 3 week fermentation, temperature was 58-62F. The OG was 1.060-1.065, and FG was 1.020.

Also, I should mention that this is only after 1 week in the bottle (64-67F), so I don't know how much of it is due to being young. I just like to try a bottle every week until I think it's ready. Any ideas? Thanks.

What yeast did you use and if it was liquid, did you use a starter? It could be that it just needs more time to age as well.

I used Wyeast Kolsch since it can handle the cool temperatures (perhaps the only strain I can brew with in the winter). Yes, I made a starter, but it was slow to start fermenting in the primary, so I may have underpitched.

Whatever the taste was, it is fading I think. I just cracked another one open yesterday, and the taste was almost wonderful! Best beer so far, and even my own recipe.

I just wish I knew which chemical the taste was.

I've noticed hot alcohols in some hydro samples or un carbonated beer before. When its fully carbonated I'm expecting the taste will go away.

I've noticed that higher carbonation levels seem to cover up fusel tastes as well.

A chemical reaction with the carbonic acid, or is the carbonation simply causing us to taste the fusels less?

Since my pop-skull cream ale is about gone, I'm going to make another (better) batch soon. I want to make sure it doesn't have the fusel issue, this time.

1 week in the bottle is the issue...it's still green...give it a couple more weeks and you probably won't even notice the taste, it will mellow out.

I know some claim that the "hot" taste will not go away with age. However, my first batch ever (APA) fermented a very warm temperatures and had a distinct fusels taste that many have described and virtually disappeared after about 4-5 weeks in the bottle. Really weird--it was almost like it happened overnight.

novabrew said:

I know some claim that the "hot" taste will not go away with age. However, my first batch ever (APA) fermented a very warm temperatures and had a distinct fusels taste that many have described and virtually disappeared after about 4-5 weeks in the bottle. Really weird--it was almost like it happened overnight.

Click to expand...

There's quite a few stories like that here...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

Usually a lot of off flavors are misdiagnosed an are really just green and do fade away...That's why it's usually not a good idea to "diagnose" an off flavor until about 4-6 weeks in the bottle...not when the beer is barely carbed and conditioned...at 6 weeks, I believe is when we should then pull out the list of common off flavors from Palmer or elsewhere and figure out what we did wrong...NOT while the beer is still young....Most of the time those so called off flavors are long gone by then.

The cream ale I mentioned above has definitely gotten better as it aged, even in the kegerator.

It is actually pretty nice, now that the keg is almost dry.

That was a hot fermentation issue, I have no doubt. It was VERY hot in my office the first week it was in the better bottle.

Other than excessive heat during fermentation, what cause "hot" alcohols?

novabrew said:

I know some claim that the "hot" taste will not go away with age. However, my first batch ever (APA) fermented a very warm temperatures and had a distinct fusels taste that many have described and virtually disappeared after about 4-5 weeks in the bottle. Really weird--it was almost like it happened overnight.

Click to expand...

Palmer says the yeast will convert fusels into esters when conditioning.

The hot alcohol taste is now barely perceptible, and the roasted (burnt) flavor from the chocolate malt is subsiding too. Now I notice an increase in a metallic flavor. Several dark beers I've bought have been metallic to the point that it was like sucking a penny, but I just figured it was due to the copper kettles or whatever they use. However, I think it must be something else since mine is developing the same flavor.

The yeast does not have the attenuation.