Bottled Beer Tastes Like Yeast/Bread

I waited a while before asking this because I figured that time cures all problems with beer.

I brewed a pre-hopped extract kit porter as my first beer. I am beginning to realize it was probably a mistake since I did a specialty grain extract kit next and it was just as easy.

However, I brewed the beer March 7th, bottled on the 16th. I tried one last night, and have tried several before that.

The CO2 level is rather iffy, it has a bit of carb, but 0 head.

Also, it still tastes like yeast. I figured by now it should have mellowed. Will time still fix the beer? My LHBS said I had to store it at a higher temperature, but that seemed dumb since it is sitting at the same temp it fermented at.

Is the yeast still active and thats why I'm getting that flavor? I figured a week in the fridge would draw the yeast flavor out or something but that didn't work either.

Any advice? As it sits right now I find the beer completely unappetizing and as ashamed as I am to admit this, I dumped out the second half of the beer because I didnt like it.

Other than the yeasty flavor it has a bit of malt sweetness, but not much else. Really bland.

If your beer yeast starts autolyzing, because it's unhealthy, it will result in yeasty flavours in the beer. Another other option is that the beer is still green but with the length of time you've left it that's likely not the case.

Was the beer agitated a lot in the primary after it began fermenting? Is it possible you oxidized it?

How long was the beer in the fermenter? Seems pretty likely that it wasn't finished yet.

geodave said:

If your beer yeast starts autolyzing, because it's unhealthy, it will result in yeasty flavours in the beer. Another other option is that the beer is still green but with the length of time you've left it that's likely not the case.

Was the beer agitated a lot in the primary after it began fermenting? Is it possible you oxidized it?

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Besides moving it from the closet to the kitchen to bottle (which I did gingerly), and siphoning it to the bottle bucket I didn't do anything that could have oxidized it.

I laid my hose on the base of the bottle bucket so it didnt splash.

Thats sad lol

llazy_llama said:

How long was the beer in the fermenter? Seems pretty likely that it wasn't finished yet.

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I had it in the fermenter for 10 days, I checked OG on day 7 and got 1.011 gravity and checked again on day 10 and it was at 1.011 still so I bottled.

Did you use the little packet of yeast that came with the kit?
If so, it's possible that the packet was just super old and the yeast was barely viable. How strong was the fermentation in the primary?

I am waiting for my bottled porter (made form a similar kit) to mature. Mine is three weeks in the bottle and I treid one week with same results as yours....good flavor however but no head and very low carb. Tried one this week and same result but flavors are better. I get a rush of CO2 but it doesn't seem to be diluted into the beer. I was advised to WAIT.....so I wait! Hopefully your will " mature?" like I hope mine does.

The answer is better yeast and longer fermentation times. The little unmarked packet of yeast that comes with these kits is notorious for being crappy, old, and rarely very viable. For your next batch, try a $1.50 pack of Nottingham, which is a pretty flavor neutral yeast.

Also, try 30 days in the primary, then bottle from there. If you do both of those, I can guarantee you'll notice the improvement (barring infection or oxidation).

tspilker said:

However, I brewed the beer March 7th, bottled on the 16th. I tried one last night, and have tried several before that.

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This is your problem...you bottled only 12 days after you pitched yeast?!?!

Did you take a hydrometer reading to even ascertain whether or not it had even finished fermenting. You didn't leave much time for the majority of the yeast to flocculate out, before you went ahead and bottled...

Many of us don't touch our beers for a MONTH after we pitch the yeast, that is those of us who skip secondary..and even those who use a secondary have there beer in primary and secondary combined for a month...

That is the biggest issue, and why it taste yeasty, you rushed the process...Even Palmer in How To Brew recommends slowing down...

How To Brew said:

Leaving an ale beer in the primary fermentor for a total of 2-3 weeks (instead of just the one week most canned kits recommend), will provide time for the conditioning reactions and improve the beer. This extra time will also let more sediment settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer and easier pouring. And, three weeks in the primary fermentor is usually not enough time for off-flavors to occur.

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Your best bet now is to leave this batch alone for at least a month...the yeast bite will subside with time.

But in the future leaving your beers on the yeast is actuall Beneficial fro your beers...it has been proven that autolysis (are you listening geodave?) is really not an issue for the homebrewer...many have left their beer in primary for a couple months.

Most people seem to miss what Palmer said about the autolysis bogeyman as well..

As a final note on this subject, I should mention that by brewing with healthy yeast in a well-prepared wort, many experienced brewers, myself included, have been able to leave a beer in the primary fermenter for several months without any evidence of autolysis.

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.Our experience is that it actually improves our beers to leave it on the yeastcake for 3-4 weeks..there's about 10,000 threads discussing long primary or no secondary....many of us have all manner of good things coming from it, including great contest scores...at the minimum many of us have noticed that our beers are clear, and crisper tasting.

So again...slow down...even if your kit instructions says otherwise...Generally speaking kit manufacturers, especially kit an kilo manufacturers, are concerned with selling more and more kits NOT with the brewer making the best beer possible. They no that if they say in the instructions to wait, they may loose some people to hobbies that have more instant gratification.

They also know that the time that a homebrewer will remain buying kits is relatively short...they know that after a few kits, the brewer will either give up, start brewing extract batches from recipes in books and places like this, formulate their own recipes, or go all grain...so they want to sell as many kits as possible to the new brewer before he moves on to bigger and better things.

SO they know that even their beer will taste better if you leave it longer...but they know that in the time you wait you will be reading and learning and be less likely to buy another kit...They can sell three or four kits to you if you follow their directions in the same time frame that listening to us and waiting a month and bottle conditioning for another 3-4 weeks.

Most of us wait 3-4 weeks and skip secondary...but if you choose to secondary you should wait til your Hydrometer tells you fermentation is complete.

Usually on the 7th day you take a hydro reading, and again on the 10th day, if the reading is the same, then you can rack it...

If I do secondary (which is only when I am adding fruit or oak) I wait 14 days then rack for another 2 weeks...

But honestly you will find your beer will be the best if you ignore the kit instructions, and don't rush it.


Your beer will thank you for it!

stevesbeer said:

I am waiting for my bottled porter (made form a similar kit) to mature. Mine is three weeks in the bottle and I treid one week with same results as yours....good flavor however but no head and very low carb. Tried one this week and same result but flavors are better. I get a rush of CO2 but it doesn't seem to be diluted into the beer. I was advised to WAIT.....so I wait! Hopefully your will " mature?" like I hope mine does.

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Generally speaking the 3 weeks at 70 degrees that we recommend is only a guideline, a minimum...the higher the grav, the longer it takes to carb and condition. Don't forget, just because a beer is fizzy doesn't mean it is still not green, and tastes like a$$...

I've had stouts and porters take 4-6 weeks to carb...I have a 1.090 Belgian Strong Dark Ale that is 2.5 months in the bottle and it is barely beginning to carb up, I don't think it will even begin to stop tasting green and like rocket fuel for about another 2-3 months....

this ain't koolaid we are making....

Read this gang, again, do your self a favor and slow down...

Revvy's Blog; Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning.

Hey LLama, ever feel like this, with the "be patient, your beer is fine" stuff?????

Nah, it's a very zen-like mantra for me now.

4 weeks in the vessel. 4 weeks in the vessel. 4 weeks in the vessel.

21 days at 70+ degrees. 21 days at 70+ degrees. 21 days at 70+ degrees...

Ooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmm.

And OP, TIME DOES HEAL MOST BEERS....but we are again talking MONTHS not days....maybe even a year...

Read the stories here....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

I've said it before but I really think 8 weeks from brewday is the absolute floor for porters to start tasting good

jmiracle said:

I've said it before but I really think 8 weeks from brewday is the absolute floor for porters to start tasting good

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+1 to this...

I used Nottingham as my yeast. Not the one taped to the can.

I used a hydrometer reading and went over LHBS instructions (they said to test at day 5 and bottle at 7, i tested at 7, bottled at 10)

I read Palmer's online book

I will wait longer

Even though all of this is from 2009.....it has been SOOOO helpful! Thank you all!