I've been sampling my Irish Red as I've done gravity readings and it's been coming along great but after dry hopping in secondary for a couple of weeks it now has a really strong banana/clove taste. I used 1/2 oz of whole Fuggles hops. Is this normal? I didn't detect banana/clove AT ALL when I sampled it before racking into secondary.
Irish Red has a strong banana/clove taste . . .
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eschatz
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You probably fermented it too warm and/or with the wrong yeast. One thing you can do to bring down the temp somewhat is make a swamp cooler- put it in a bucket, big tupperware container, add some water, put a t-shirt over the fermenter, and blow a fan on it.
I used SafAle S-04 dry yeast and fermented it 70F.
The kit Bock I brewed for my first beer fermented at the same temp but used Nottingham yeast and didn't have an overpowering ester flavor like this Irish Red does.
Will it mellow out in the bottle while conditioning? I'm just concerned that it tastes like a Dunkel Weizen or something now instead of an Irish Red like it did when sampling it before racking into secondary.
The kit Bock I brewed for my first beer fermented at the same temp but used Nottingham yeast and didn't have an overpowering ester flavor like this Irish Red does.
Will it mellow out in the bottle while conditioning? I'm just concerned that it tastes like a Dunkel Weizen or something now instead of an Irish Red like it did when sampling it before racking into secondary.
craven_morhead
Well-Known Member
Are you sure about your fermentation temp? What sort of temp control did you have?
It was in my basement and I checked it daily. It stayed between 68-70 the entire time.
The only time out of the several samples I tasted that had the banana/clove taste was yesterday when I bottled it so maybe my taste buds were out of whack from being sick last week but I certainly thought it was strong.
I guess time will tell, hopefully I was just imagining it and it'll be fine in a few weeks when I crack open a bottle to try it out again. *shrug*
The only time out of the several samples I tasted that had the banana/clove taste was yesterday when I bottled it so maybe my taste buds were out of whack from being sick last week but I certainly thought it was strong.
I guess time will tell, hopefully I was just imagining it and it'll be fine in a few weeks when I crack open a bottle to try it out again. *shrug*
Wow- that's really surprising that it was under 70 the whole time, and you got all those esters. What was the ambient temperature of the basement, in order to keep it 68-70 degrees? I think many of us are jealous!
mc_eric
Well-Known Member
Wait, the banana flavor didn't come along for a couple of weeks? That seems weird, I thought that esters like that would be produced during primary fermentation.
I bet it will fade significantly if you let it age for a few weeks.
I have used S-04 and fermented in the same temp range w/out getting any banana/clove flavors at all, so that does seem weird to me
I bet it will fade significantly if you let it age for a few weeks.
I have used S-04 and fermented in the same temp range w/out getting any banana/clove flavors at all, so that does seem weird to me
Duckfoot
Well-Known Member
Is that the fermenting beer temp or ambient temp?
The liquid in the fermenter can be warmer than ambient with the amount of activity going on in your fermenting vessel...
Just a thought...
Good Luck!
The way I'm reading it the ambient was 68-70F, which might be 73-75F in the wort. Will be intersting to see what the OP says.
I have not heard that S-04 is associate with clove/banana even at higher temps. Maybe I have not been paying attention.
Austinhomebrew
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Why are you looking for off flavors while it is fermenting? You will find them.
It isn't beer for a least a month.
Please give your beer at least 5 weeks before you pass judgement. Do yourself a favor.
Forrest
It isn't beer for a least a month.
Please give your beer at least 5 weeks before you pass judgement. Do yourself a favor.
Forrest
The temp strip on the beer stayed at 68-72(was only at 72 for day 3-4 of fermentation); the basement is mid 60s almost all the time.
Like I said, maybe my taste buds are all jacked up from being sick and I'm interpreting the new aromas from the dry hopping as esters which would be way off.
I'm almost positive I'm worrying for nothing(like normal). Once I get over this sinus infection I will continue to RDWHAB
Like I said, maybe my taste buds are all jacked up from being sick and I'm interpreting the new aromas from the dry hopping as esters which would be way off.
I'm almost positive I'm worrying for nothing(like normal). Once I get over this sinus infection I will continue to RDWHAB
Are you sure the flavor/aroma isn't bubblegum? I've read some reports that S-04 can sometimes give a bubblegum flavor/aroma. Never happened to me personally, but that's what I've heard from others on the Intertubes.
Eh, maybe it is more bubblegum. I've never had a beer with an off flavor and this is only my 2nd brew so I'm still really green as far as describing this stuff. From what I've ready about diacetyls it might be that since after racking to secondary I had patches of yeast show up on the top of the beer. If I did pull it off the yeast cake too soon(18 days?!?) it could attribute those off flavors, right?
It's not diacetyl. First, S04 isn't much of a diacetyl producer, and secondly, diacetyl is distinctly buttery/oily. Think movie theatre popcorn.
18 days at 68-70 degrees doesn't sound like too short of time for me. Personally I leave it in primary for 28 days, but that's just how I roll (I'm a little OCD).
I think Yooper is right--not diacetyl--that's a buttery taste, not a sweet banana/bubblegum taste. I think diacetyl is also more common in pilsner-based beers . Again, I doubt that's the case with yours.
Again, my guess is that the S-04 gave you that flavor because of the yeast strain itself. If it were me, I'd try brewing it again and try a different yeast next time to see what happens. Just chalk this one up to learning on the job.
I think Yooper is right--not diacetyl--that's a buttery taste, not a sweet banana/bubblegum taste. I think diacetyl is also more common in pilsner-based beers . Again, I doubt that's the case with yours.
Again, my guess is that the S-04 gave you that flavor because of the yeast strain itself. If it were me, I'd try brewing it again and try a different yeast next time to see what happens. Just chalk this one up to learning on the job.
Bumping for cracking open my first bottle. The off taste is starting to fade but still really prominent. I know I asked about a month ago but I had a scare when I racked it into secondary and had some white patches on the top of the beer the day after I racked it that looked like grease spots; could it have been an infection and thus causing the off flavors?
It definitely has a weizenbock kinda clove taste to it that it didn't have when I sampled it when it was in primary.
Also, it's still pretty hazy like my first batch even though I used irish moss in the last 10 min of the boil; guess I've still got plenty of work before I get good at this. Practice makes perfect!
It definitely has a weizenbock kinda clove taste to it that it didn't have when I sampled it when it was in primary.
Also, it's still pretty hazy like my first batch even though I used irish moss in the last 10 min of the boil; guess I've still got plenty of work before I get good at this. Practice makes perfect!
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