Need a little advice!

Hey everyone! I started a new brew back in June, and I still have it sitting in secondary fermentation for 1 reason. I could bottle it as is as a cider. The green apple smell, and taste is still completely crazy in it. I have heard that goes away with time, but its been nearly 2 months now, and its still super strong. Does anyone have any ideas on how to back off on the green apple vibe!! I dont want to bottle a cider! (yet)

Alex

alexp said:

Hey everyone! I started a new brew back in June, and I still have it sitting in secondary fermentation for 1 reason. I could bottle it as is as a cider. The green apple smell, and taste is still completely crazy in it. I have heard that goes away with time, but its been nearly 2 months now, and its still super strong. Does anyone have any ideas on how to back off on the green apple vibe!! I dont want to bottle a cider! (yet)

Alex

Click to expand...

Were there green apples in the recipe or is the an off-odor that you are getting?

What were your fermentation temps?

What was the OG and what is the gravity now?

Give us a little more info on your process and the recipe, but I agree, sounds like you may have had some high temps somewhere. Extract or AG?

Sorry guys! Its an Extract out of a kit. Its an off Odour. My temps were right where they should be! The summer has been pretty hot, but I know it didnt get any warmer than 70 degrees in my pantry (where I brew). My OG started around 1.048 and its sitting at 1.000 So obviously something has gone terribly wrong. I am just wanting to figure out what, so I can learn from my mistakes! Is there anything I can do, or is it a lost cause!

Thanks guys, really appreciate it.

1.000 sounds a little low, did you use the hydrometer corrections too? What temperature did you pitch at? Even if your pantry is at 70, the initial fermentation will cause the beer to warm up to mid 70s, not that that is too big of a deal, but mid 60s is more ideal.

I assume you had good sanitation practices. Did you have any steeping grains? What temperature were those steeped at?

Also, what did you use for your priming sugar?

70 degrees ambient is too warm for most ale yeasts, considering that fermentation will bring it up at least 3-5 degrees. Now, without knowing your recipe, process including pitching temps, and what kind of yeast you used, it's hard to really say for sure, but it sounds like the apple-y flavor is a by product of too warm a fermentation.

You didn't say yet if you added sugar to the brew? That can add a cider flavor when you overdo it, and I can't imagine how you would get to a 1.000 FG gravity without a bunch of sugar, even a saison won't attenuate that much. Also, previous posters are right, a room temp of 70 is too high for an ale. If this beer is not a saison, and there isn't 3 pounds of sugar in there, the fermentation temp is your culprit.

Hey! Yeah so the beer was my first one... It was a Brewers Spring Draught kit, so it was basically add the wort, water, pitch yeast, and begin. I am using Dextrose as my priming sugar, but I havent even gotten around to bottling the beer yet, as I wanted to see if I could get this beer to mellow. Not sure how much sugar was in the Wort. I know for my next batch, I am doing it in the basement where it is much cooler. All I did was heat the wort, put it into my fermenter, and pitched the yeast. I did do the fermentation with the lid on but not tight, in order to allow C02 to escape. After 2 weeks I siphoned it over to my secondary fermenter, using an auto siphon. I sanitized everything so it was spotless and there was no smell. I used bleach, and water, making sure to rinse every last ounce of bleach away. I sanitize everything after I use it.

I'm kinda baffled at the 1.000 FG.... this 'kit' did have some sort of malt extract (DME or LME), no? What are you using to take SG readings? Are you making corrections for temp (hydrometer) or alcohol (refractometer)? What type of yeast did this kit come with?

Heres a quick update....

The apple vibe is gone. I tried the beer again last night and its mellowed to the point that theirs very faint traces of it but thats it. The beer has built in body as well. I dare say I think time actually sorted this one out! Whewwwww!


Thanks tons for all the advice.


Alex