strong alcohol flavor

Hey all,

Used Coopers extract 3.7 # IPA and added 2 # DME light. I also used 1 # honey to dry it out and up the Alc. I added 1 oz cascade pellets for the cool down,8 min.

I used a safale s04 yeast 59-75 degrees and fermented at 70 degrees. It went like crazy for about 3 days. Did it ferment too hot, or was it the honey I added. Tastes OK but stong dry flavor, instead of smooth. 9 days primary 18 days sec and currently 7 in the bottle.

If I lager it in the cold for the next few weeks will this mellow it out.

It will mellow out, but you should try fermenting it in the mid to upper 60s next time.

Kai

I agree with Kaiser, sounds kinda low to ferment properly. I have made many batches using 1 to 2 lbs of honey and when they are all green they have a strong alcohol flavor. Let it mellow with age. All of my big beers with honey added have been best after 6 months or so.

loop

its the honey...

Just brewed a honey wheat beer, yeah. Alot of alchol roll on. Its definatley a time thing.

Let her sit. She'll be better in a few months...

I just cracked my Fieldhouse Salted Black Porter (2 weeks in the bottle) and the alcohol put me off a bit. This definitely reaffirms my thoughts that it needs some time. Whew!

poetic_entropy said:

Hey all,

Used Coopers extract 3.7 # IPA and added 2 # DME light. I also used 1 # honey to dry it out and up the Alc. I added 1 oz cascade pellets for the cool down,8 min.

I used a safale s04 yeast 59-75 degrees and fermented at 70 degrees. It went like crazy for about 3 days. Did it ferment too hot, or was it the honey I added. Tastes OK but stong dry flavor, instead of smooth. 9 days primary 18 days sec and currently 7 in the bottle.

If I lager it in the cold for the next few weeks will this mellow it out.

Click to expand...

Unless you had active temperature control the activity of the yeast will have raised the temperature of the beer as it chewed away at the sugars, possibly above the 75 degrees that are listed at the upper limit of the yeast. That would likely have produced fusel alcohol which does give a strong alcohol taste and can lead to hangovers if you drink much of it at one setting. Longer in the bottle will help some but it won't eliminate fusels. Warm is better for maturing beer. Lagering slows or stops that bit of activity.

For your next beer, start fermenting in the low 60's as that keeps the yeast less active which then keeps the temperature of the beer in check. I often start mine at 62 and at the peak of fermentation the temperature of the beer will only reach 65, perfect for this yeast in my opinion.