Taste of first home brew

Hello,

I brewed my first home brew about 4 weeks ago, Caribou slobber via northern brewer. It sat in the Primary for 2.5 Weeks and then went to the keg for about a week under pressure.

Things I know I did wrongor atleast think I did)
Had more water in the kettle then recipe requested. IE did close to a full boil, rather then the 2.5G it asked for. - I know not following instructions close enough.
Inconsistent fermentation temperature. I didn't expect how much heat the yeast would create. It hit in the low 70s.

Now I Keg'd it with 12 psi @ 43' for a week.

Issues:
1. I believe its under carbonated. I think time will fix that.
2. It leaves a sharp after taste at the back of my mouth. Seems smooth enough going in. Heck almost to smooth.

Is that aftertaste the result of to high of fermentation? Did I not let it settle long enough? or not enough carbonation? Is it something else?

I know it hard to tell without drinking it yourself, but figured i'd ask the experts anyway.

Thank you,

Fermentation temp might have been a bit high, depending on the yeast you used, but after only a week it is still pretty young. I would give it a few weeks for that sharp taste to smooth out.

Only time will tell. Low 70's is maybe not ideal but probably not warm enough to cause a problem. Your beer needs a few weeks to age, which will also fix your carbonation. Just leave it under pressure, and start a new brew to keep your mind off it. It'll be fine!

Could just be young beer flavor... it may smooth out.

Probably your hops.

From what I understand of kegging,you still have to let it condition for a couple weeks. that should fix that sharp bite on the back. Kegging doesn't get rid of the need for conditioning.

Most of what you describe are the little things that happen to beginning brewers. Forgetting this and that and missing a step is par for the course. You have to juggle so many new techniques for the first time. You'll get better at it with experience and learning as you go. Mistakes will always happen, some affect taste and some don't. A lot of people give up after the first batch or two because of off flavors from first time brews. Enjoy the beer and learn from your mistakes. Keep notes and keep at it.

And one week at 12 psi is still probably early to expect reasonable conditioning. It will get better over the next few weeks. In order to get to serving pressure in a week you can do it it several ways that you can search archives for. I multiply the serving pressure I want by 3, then set it to that for 36 hours. After that I purge and set to the serving pressure. After 3 days I'm pretty close to what I want. The beer continues to clear and condition after that.

Cider123 said:

Most of what you describe are the little things that happen to beginning brewers. Forgetting this and that and missing a step is par for the course. You have to juggle so many new techniques for the first time. You'll get better at it with experience and learning as you go. Mistakes will always happen, some affect taste and some don't. A lot of people give up after the first batch or two because of off flavors from first time brews. Enjoy the beer and learn from your mistakes. Keep notes and keep at it.

Click to expand...

+1


And 1 week in the keg is definitely not long enough for the beer to condition. I have been brewing for 10 yrs now and still forget stuff sometimes.. Or maybe do I put too much effort in Relaxing, not worrying and having a homebrew.. who knows?

Keep brewing and don't worry !


Cheers !

Black

Sorry for the double post, but here's how I get my keg ready in 2 days :

Cold crash the beer to 2 celcius. Rack cold beer into keg. Turn regulator all the way up (around 30psi for mine). Put the keg head down on the floor and shake it for 4-5 minutes (you will hear the gas bubbling in the keg). Stop rocking the keg, put it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes without pressure on. Release pressure with relief valve (slowly). Hook back up the CO2 and set to 12psi. Forget for 1 day. Ready.


If you have more questions on kegging feel free to PM me !


Cheers !

Black

Just give it more time - it will probably mellow out in another couple weeks

Also, you might be tasting the gunk at the bottom of the keg. When I keg a beer and chill it, the suspended gunk drops out and settles at the bottom. Those first couple pints are cloudy and gunky and I suspect that gunk has a funky flavor. Just wait it out and I bet it'll be fine.

Ok. Thank you all for the good advise. I will let it sit for another week or two. Im sure I will try it along the way....

I have to say I'm having fun brewing. I'm defiantly looking forward to keeping at it.

I brewed 2 batches of caribou slobber...Now I bottle condition and have never kegged...but mine weren't "mature" until about 6-8 weeks of conditioning, before that they had that sharp taste you mentioned and just weren't really good....

Oh wow, never thought it would take that long. Good to know.

I guess patience is a virtue....

A lot of beers I've made were medium gravity and weren't at their best flavor until they were a 2 or 3 months old. Higher grav beers can take even longer. Although I must say, temp control is pretty important and you can get off flavors once you're in the 70s, depending on the yeast.
I'm in Bridgewater too, so I'm happy to swap beers if you want. My pipeline is a little low but I have an Octoberfest that is lagering now and am brewing an Irish Red this week.

You said you did close to a full boil.

Did you end up topping off to 5 gallons? If not, the gravity could be a little high.

did you add all the extract at the beginning of the boil? if so, you might have had a little scortching, that can leave a sharp taste.

Also your fermentation temp was probably a bit high, creating a few unwanted flavors and a little more of that "Hot" alcohol taste that can leave an aftertaste.

Still sounds like your first brew was better than mine. They just get better and better from here on out.