Does plain wort always taste terrible???

Hi, just completed my first batch, and we are now bubbling!!!

Anywho, everything went great thru the full boil, chiller, and all that.

well, sanitized the best i could.......and finally snaked a sample pre-yeast to check the gravity. It's a honey brown ale.

Anyway, drank this beginning sample afterwards..........AND IT WAS HORRIBLE. I can't even explain WHAT is tastes like, just really really bad. I know at the end was a really nasty, bitter kick.

SO i want to know, is this normal??? Does wort before the yeast is added and all that usually taste this bad???

Now i am starting to freak out in thinking something broke down in sanitation and my whole batch is ruined!

Help me, assure me, or let me know if I am screwed! THANKS!!!!

I can't comment on your flavor issues much, but you shouldn't worry about sanitation having ruined your batch yet - if you JUST finished boiling and cooling it, there's no way any nasties could have grown that quickly to ruin it.

I always drink them to get an idea on how beer changes over time and with fermentation. It should be sweet and bitter. It will change during the process so keep tasting and you will be begin getting a sense of how your final product will end up before it is even finished.

Yes wort tastes a little funny the first time when you are used to finished beer. There are all kinds of compounds in there that the yeast will use and convert into completely different compounds. Unless you dripped diesel fuel in there or something, it will very likely be drinkable once it gets done fermenting. Let the yeasties do their thing and taste it after a couple weeks. I bet it will taste a LOT more like beer then.

Wait a minute, so i wasn't suppose to drop diesel fuel in the wort???? just kidding....

Thanks for your guidance, i guess i am just not use to that "wort" taste yet. Yes, i did taste it right after cooling, so i guess if none of the nasties would have been in yet anyways, I AM GOOD TO GO and am just worrying myself.

On the one other bad thing, i noticed my hydrometer was broken when i was going to get initial gravity.....so i didn't have one.

Am just planning on waiting 10 days and test 2 days in a row with a new one. Just makes me mad i can't get a alcohol content reading. I have read similar gravities with this type of beer are usually around 1.040.

My second brew which I just started drinking tasted really bad when I drank my test samples. It is now one of the best beer I have ever tasted. I think that when you are dealing with very bitter hoppy flavors, it is important to hold judgement untill all of the flavors have had time to develop and mellow out.

Good luck.

If your wort tastes cloyingly sweet and very bitter, you are right on track. It will not taste the same when it is finished.

heertsy said:

Wait a minute, so i wasn't suppose to drop diesel fuel in the wort????

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Diesel can add really great body and substance to your beer! It also adds that wonderful truckstop aroma we're all after.

I'm sure your beer is fine. I've never tasted "good" tasting wort before. Usually really sweet like RichBrewer said.

Regards,
Alan W

I always think it's tastes like Southern "sweet tea" with a bitter bite. I can usually tell from the wort which beers I will like when finished from the first taste. My brew partners can tell from my expression which beers they are going to like after fermentation. They like it WAY more hoppy than I do.

Yeah, don't worry about it. I always take lots of samples along the way and always get into a funk because I don't think it tastes that great. Then, once it's truly ready, the beer always turns out great.

i usually enjoy the taste of my wort before fermentation, but i think it's just because i'm in love with brewing

heertsy said:

On the one other bad thing, i noticed my hydrometer was broken when i was going to get initial gravity.....so i didn't have one.

Am just planning on waiting 10 days and test 2 days in a row with a new one. Just makes me mad i can't get a alcohol content reading. I have read similar gravities with this type of beer are usually around 1.040.

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I am assuming you made your beer from extract. Unless you forget ingredients, or use the wrong amount of water and end up with too much/not enough wort, it's pretty hard to miss your OG - there aren't nearly as many variables as there are if you brew all-grain. If there were some steeping grains then there's a little more chance for variation, but you'll probably be alright to assume the "predicted" OG from your recipe was what you actually got. If you used a kit or at least a well-formed recipe, it should tell you the estimated OG, and if not, you can plug your recipe into some brewing software and it'll do the prediction for you.

Then again, it's also not that important, as long as you do as you said and make sure the FG is reasonable and stable before bottling, your beer should come out fine. Personally, I often forget to take OG readings but don't sweat it, but I always take FG readings to see if the beer is done fermenting.

I used a ingredient kit, so i did steep the grains and all that, but no, i didn't do the mash or an all grain.

Oh, i guess one more thing.

I put the whole package of hops in........then realized I should have only used 50-75% if doing a full boil, which i did.

Will that just make it hoppier is all???? No biggie????

it will definitely be a much hoppier brew...what were you making?

heertsy said:

Oh yeah, i guess one more thing.

I put the whole package of hops in........then realized I should have only used 50-75% if doing a full boil, which i did.

Will that just make it hoppier is all???? No biggie????

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It will be hoppier, yes, and that is no biggie! I've been known to take recipes and double the hops (yeah, I like 'em) so you don't have to worry about ruining your beer. It should be good!

Did i say I LOVE THIS MESSAGE BOARD!!!!!!!!!! WOW, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING FOLKS!!!

That being said, deathbrewer, it's a honey brown ale. Got it from Northernbrewer.

BTW, and i promise the LAST thing. I started out with 6 gallons (maybe it was a bit more, i used my fermentation jug and guessed after 5) to boil thinking i should end up with the right amount. Well, i noticed i do have well over 5 gallons. I would say 5 1/2 probably.

I am thinking GREAT, MORE BEER! That being said, i don't want it watered down.

It shouldn't be "watered down" when it's done. Might be a little lower in ABV, but should still be fine, especially if you over hopped it a bit. Don't worry- it'll be good!

You'll lose a little into the trub anyway. I always shoot for 5.5 unless I know the trub will be small.