MBM30075
Well-Known Member
So, I just brewed batch #8 a couple of days ago, and it got me thinking.
My favorite beer style is a Dunkelweizen. My first batch was one. After 5 grueling days, I racked to secondary and after about another 5 days decided I could go ahead and bottle.
Well, after about 2 days (12 days from initial brew), that first batch was OUTSTANDING! It was EXACTLY like the Weihenstephaner I was trying to emulate. That lasted for a couple of weeks as I drank my way through the batch. It was GLORIOUS!!!
For this batch, ambient temperature was about 70 degrees (no more than 3 or 4 degrees of variation in either direction). I saved a 6 pack of bombers for 3 months per a friend's instructions, in order to catch them at their "peak." Well, after about 2 months I couldn't stand it any more, so I decided to try one. It wasn't good. It was obviously over-carbonated. The head wasn't creamy, but instead was a little more fizzy and dissipated quickly. Most of the banana aroma that the head HAD given off was gone, replaced by a smell and taste that were obviously the CO2.
I've got a handful left (2 or 3), and I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to save them. Should I crack the cap and let some CO2 bleed off? If so, should I do this warm or cold?
In the future, am I keeping them too long at room temperature before drinking? Was that first batch simply a fluke that was still fermenting in the bottle since I rushed it?
There are a lot of variables here, and I am not experienced enough to put my finger on exactly what went wrong. I have decided, though, that if a beer I've brewed tastes exactly how I want, I'm going to drink it then, and screw the waiting. The beer was perfect after 2 weeks; why oh WHY did I wait for it to get BETTER THAN PERFECT???
Thanks for any insight!
My favorite beer style is a Dunkelweizen. My first batch was one. After 5 grueling days, I racked to secondary and after about another 5 days decided I could go ahead and bottle.
Well, after about 2 days (12 days from initial brew), that first batch was OUTSTANDING! It was EXACTLY like the Weihenstephaner I was trying to emulate. That lasted for a couple of weeks as I drank my way through the batch. It was GLORIOUS!!!
For this batch, ambient temperature was about 70 degrees (no more than 3 or 4 degrees of variation in either direction). I saved a 6 pack of bombers for 3 months per a friend's instructions, in order to catch them at their "peak." Well, after about 2 months I couldn't stand it any more, so I decided to try one. It wasn't good. It was obviously over-carbonated. The head wasn't creamy, but instead was a little more fizzy and dissipated quickly. Most of the banana aroma that the head HAD given off was gone, replaced by a smell and taste that were obviously the CO2.
I've got a handful left (2 or 3), and I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to save them. Should I crack the cap and let some CO2 bleed off? If so, should I do this warm or cold?
In the future, am I keeping them too long at room temperature before drinking? Was that first batch simply a fluke that was still fermenting in the bottle since I rushed it?
There are a lot of variables here, and I am not experienced enough to put my finger on exactly what went wrong. I have decided, though, that if a beer I've brewed tastes exactly how I want, I'm going to drink it then, and screw the waiting. The beer was perfect after 2 weeks; why oh WHY did I wait for it to get BETTER THAN PERFECT???
Thanks for any insight!