horrible tasting while bottling

I was bottling my pale ale last night and i tasted just a bit of it before adding the corn sugar. it tasted awful and smelled pretty bad as well... can i expect it to get better after conditioning in the bottle? i was really careful with sanitization and what not but i think i might have my first throwaway batch.

Your flavor depends on your yeast, brewing and fermenting temps and sanitation processes.

dont judge a book by its cover... spend the time to bottle it, toss it in a closet for a few months and then judge it.

my beer always tastes pretty good when i sample it right before bottling...now granted its flat and warm...but i do get an idea of how it will taste...

im NO expert by any means...but bad smell, bad taste...id be worried its bad.

Yeah,

It may be horrible tasting
but it will probably give you a buzz.
Use limes and just chug it down holding your nose.
Don't pour it out,
it won't kill you,
it'll just taste bad.
And better luck next time.

It just may, having to drink all that {xxxx},
serve as a training exercise in sanitation.
You will remember to be clean next time,
even dream about being sanitary in your sleep.
It will become ingrained.
Thats how you learn stuff.
Wash your hands,
& soak them in the Iodophor water.
Constantly.
Carry the trash out the day before and mop the floor in the kitchen.
Don't lay nothing down on the cabnet or anywhere.
Cleanliness is next to being a good homebrewer.


Keep your head down

J. Knife

BeerLuvnGrl said:

my beer always tastes pretty good when i sample it right before bottling...now granted its flat and warm...but i do get an idea of how it will taste...

im NO expert by any means...but bad smell, bad taste...id be worried its bad.

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I second that. It shouldnt taste 'awful' at all...ever. Were you just using hyperbole or was it that nasty?

What kind of awful? Sharp, stinky, bitter, sour?
Give it some time it might improve. Brew another, that Always helps.

I'm too new at this to even consider giving advice but I will tell you about my experience with my first batch.

My first batch tasted OK at bottling time but it had a really nasty aftertaste that wouldn't give up; the very unpleasant plasticy / medicinal taste lingered for a couple of hours, even after a thorough tooth brushing.

After a week in the bottle, it was (very) good beer and the nasty aftertaste was completely gone. I'm glad I waited it out.

I almost choked on my wee heavy coming out of the secondary.. it smelled a bit foul too, same with my spice wit.. both turned out rather good... I'm not a big fan of green beer , not even mine.

Give it time, as long as it didn't have an acrid odor (not a hoppy one) it probably just needs to grow up.

When my dad brewed his first IPA he opened a couple bottles to share at Christmas after it had only been in the bottle for 2 weeks. It was pretty much undrinkable...we poured most of the two bottles down the sink. My dad was actually ready to stop brewing it was that bad! But he waited, and 2 months later when we tried it again, it was like a completely different beer, and definately one of the best IPAs I've had. And, now he's glad he didn't stop brewing. So, I would say that bottle conditioning can make all the difference in the world, and though they say that 2 weeks is usually good, most of the homebrews I've had only get better with age.

Cheers!
-Rick

Primary: Honey Amber Ale
Secondary #1: Octane IPA
Secondary #2: Oatmeal Stout
Bottled/Drinking: American Amber Ale

My lastest Brown was sour when I kegged it, I've never had a sour brown before. After a month. it's fine.

You might want to take a look at Palmer's (howtobrew.com) section on off flavors to see if you can identify it.

Hey Ya'll,

If sitting in the bottle improves 'bad' beer,
think what the same bottle conditioning does to 'good' beer.
This is why I try and leave beer-ale in the bottles for 3-4-5 months.
In fact I intend on brewing all summer.
I'll just turn the air down,
and brew at night rather than in the hot part of the day.
I have about 170 full bottles in the brewery,
and 5 gallons in a secondary.
I can't go back to drinking out of the primarys and secondarys.
I gotta brew all summer in order to have my ale supply in the fall.
I'd like to have 400-500, bottles in the brewery.
Well aged.
I've never had 6 month old ale.
What is the longest beer or ale should be in the bottle?
How old is too old?


J. Knife

A friend of mine who has been brewing longer than I, likes to keep a 6-pack behind from every brew he does to save. Then when he throws homebrew parties, he can crack open some of the older brews for what he calls "vintage tasting." In his upcoming party, he's having some vintages that I think are going on 5 years! So ales can be in the bottle for a rather long time, especially if you rack to a secondary fermenter before bottling.

Cheers!
-Rick

Primary: Honey Amber Ale
Secondary #1: Oatmeal Stout
Secondary #2: empty
Bottled/Aging: Octane IPA
Bottled/Drinking: American Amber Ale

I read in the Dummies guide that most "normal" beers don't survive a year...

I'm not familiar with the dummies guide, but I can assure you that most home brew will last longer than a year in the bottles. And some beers can last much longer than that, according to Charlie Papazian, "skillfully made barley wines can be aged for over 25 years!" (The Complete Joy of Home Brewing)

Cheers!
-Rick

Primary: empty
Secondary #1: Honey Amber Ale
Secondary #2: empty
Bottled/Aging: Octane IPA, Oatmeal Stout
Bottled/Drinking: American Amber Ale

The higher the ABV the longer it needs to age and longer it will last. Most things I've read by the pros say flavor peaks at 120 days. Saving beer for 5 years is cool but Beer like all grain products does go stale. This would be the reason most commercial Breweries pull unsold product after a specified time.

Does anyone know why mass market beers like Budweiser say to drink before 110 days?

So you buy more?

Well, it works!

I know I've found some old Budweiser cans in the fridge after the 110 days period. I cracked one open and it smelled different, so I figured it had to be bad :cross: - threw it out. Hopefully I won't have to deal with Budweiser in the fridge now that I'm a homebrewer!

NoBull6 said:

Well, it works!

I know I've found some old Budweiser cans in the fridge after the 110 days period. I cracked one open and it smelled different, so I figured it had to be bad :cross: - threw it out. Hopefully I won't have to deal with Budweiser in the fridge now that I'm a homebrewer!

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Uh oh! I heard something about budyuck in the fridge!! I thought that was not allowed.

Who the hell drinks budyuck?!

- WW