We tasted our first batch...

I've been blowing up the board lately, but I'm really concerned.

We fermented for 3 weeks, bottled, and last night (after exactly 2 weeks in the bottle), we cracked one open. It had been refrigerated for over 24 hours. It was supposed to be an IPA, but honestly it tasted like champagne.

When I say that, I genuinely mean that. There was zero hop character, and there was a distinct sparkling wine/champagne flavor. Very light (supposed to be 7%), and borderline undrinkable. Is it too early? That doesn't explain the lack of hop presence (although I could be wrong).

Anyway, we did a lot of things wrong. I guess I just hoped it would at least resemble beer.

We brewed an extract kit. Brewcraft Dry Hopped West Coast IPA.

http://shop.brewcraftusa.com/P-10660/Brewcraft+Recipe+Pack:+Dry+Hopped+West+Coast+Ipa

I don't know but it sounds like you need to start your next batch and let that one sit for a while.

Justintoxicated said:

I don't know but it sounds like you need to start your next batch and let that one sit for a while.

Click to expand...

Good call. We brewed up another batch yesterday.

So what ever happened to this beer?

I made the same kit as my first attempt at home brew early last month. My batch has been in bottle since Halloween the sample I took last week had champagne-like taste to it... not very pleasant; which is the 3rd time I've heard of that with this kit. I know I messed up the fermentation process (3 days primary, but extended secondary nearly 3 weeks... my mistake in reading the directions) but I also know my temp was 68-70 the entire time because I had it temp controlled in my kegerator with the thermostat in a 2 gallon jug of water next to it (to simulate the carboy temps).

I'm starting to think it may be the recipe. Anyone know someone who pulled it off? The Stone IPA clone I have in primary for 10 days now will hopefully be much better.

Are you taking hydrometer readings to insure fermentation is done?

Sorry, didn't realize this was an older thread.

Im curious to know what the boil volume was..

2 weeks is still pretty "green". Another week or 2 will probably improve alot of the characteristics of this beer. I suspect that the champagne flavor will fade with a little more time too. The hop character will probably not improve with time (hops usually are more prominent in fresher beer), but I bet another week or 2 will prove beneficial in many ways.

Can you post the recipe for this kit? I am curious to know what the hopping rates are in the boil, and in secondary. Hops are a critical component of IPA, and adjustments to the Hops schedule will make a big difference in the finished product.

Don't get discouraged. My first batch was a kit and was so-so. Since then I've been using recipes from the HBT recipe database along with Jamill's Brewing the Classic Styles and learning from my results. All batches since my first have been great! I simply don't use kits anymore.

Please take a gravity reading. It will clear things up alot. You may have had very good attenuation compounded by too much priming sugar or it could be that it was inoculated by something other than brewer's yeast. I'm also seriously questioning the supplier of you ingredients. Either way, let us know your process and the final gravity by letting one beer go flat and taking a reading.

5GAL batch w/2.5Gal boil

Target SG:1.069
Target FG:1.014
7.3% ABV

Contains:

6 lbs. Dry Malt Extract (Briess CBW Pilsen Light Dry Malt Extract)
1 lbs. Brewers Crystals
1 lbs. Specialty Grain (40L Crystal Malt)
5 oz. hop mix (5 varieties)
Fermentis US-05 Yeast
Grain & Hop Steeping Bags
Priming Sugar

Hops were: Columbus, Simcoe, Centennial, Cascade, and Amarillo -- They were mixed all together (pellets) then added 60/35/15/5 (I think) with 2oz of the mix used for dry hopping. I don't recall the exact hop additions or ounces, I don't have the recipe at the moment... I was also not impressed by the fact whom ever packed the kit completely forgot to include my steeping bags.

scoundrel said:

Please take a gravity reading. It will clear things up alot. You may have had very good attenuation compounded by too much priming sugar or it could be that it was inoculated by something other than brewer's yeast. I'm also seriously questioning the supplier of you ingredients. Either way, let us know your process and the final gravity by letting one beer go flat and taking a reading.

Click to expand...

I remember my gravity readings being nearly right on throughout. Since I'm not the only one having the champagne issue... I imagine it's one of 3 things: The ingredients, the need for more time (instead of what directions say), or we messed up the recipe in exactly the same way -- I'm finding that hard to believe since I keep hearing it's kind of difficult to mess up beer, much less multiple people messing it up in the saem way... although all instances I've heard are all noobs like me.

What about the yeast you're using? I know some kits can sit on a shelf for a while and become stale. That'll definitely affect what flavor compounds are created during fermentation.

Brewers Crystals are a mix of sugars. A high percentage of sugar will often give a winey or cidery taste. This is especially pronounced if your fermentation temps were high.

So, for future brews, try a recipe with 100% grain and think about how you can control fermentation temps.

Try purchasing the same ingredients as individual compoinents rather than a kit. Many times the kits sit on the shelf for a long time. Components are stocked and restocked as they are sold so tend to be fresher. Pilsen DME and 1 LB of L40 will make for a fairly light beer. On the other hand, 5 oz is a LOT of hops for a 5 gallon batch. If you do this again and are still unhappy, try the recipie forums for an IPA extract recipie.

+1 to bill above. The Brewers Cyrstals could have thinned the body too, giving it a more dry champagne-like mouthfeel

It's definitely the "brewers crystals". That's roughly 15% of the total fermentables (grist). I've used that much before for belgian beers. Although I've never had cidery taste, that amount will definitely thin the beer.

Malt is not fully fermentable and will leave behind residual sugar that will give it more body. Sugar is fully fermentable and can ferment to or less than 1.000 (water).

It looks to me that your supplier was trying to give you an alcohol boost on the cheap, by adding more cheap sugar to the recipe and cutting back on more expensive malt. A way to remedy this would be to reduce the sugar and add more malt on a scale of 1/1.

Check out Northern Brewer. Their kits are top notch.

Okay, here is an update:

The beer is STILL undrinkable and it's been in the bottle for 2 1/2 months. What's even more concerning though, is our 2nd batch, which wasn't a kit, tastes almost EXACTLY the same. We used table sugar. Could the brewer's crystals and sugar be the cause? The high fermentation temperatures are going to be better controlled going forward. We're brewing our 3rd batch this week.

We're not using any sugar this time around. It's a partial mash with 6lbs of DME.
I'm determined to make a drinkable beer.

Yes. High sugar levels definitely can give that taste, especially at higher temps.

Sea_of_Shells said:

Okay, here is an update:

The beer is STILL undrinkable and it's been in the bottle for 2 1/2 months. What's even more concerning though, is our 2nd batch, which wasn't a kit, tastes almost EXACTLY the same. We used table sugar. Could the brewer's crystals and sugar be the cause? The high fermentation temperatures are going to be better controlled going forward. We're brewing our 3rd batch this week.

We're not using any sugar this time around. It's a partial mash with 6lbs of DME.
I'm determined to make a drinkable beer.

Click to expand...

You hit it exactly. It's thin because of the sugar and undrinkable because of the fusel alcohol created because of high ferment temps. If possible try to get the temp to around 64. Now that's beer temp not air temp. For me beer temp tends to be 6-8 degrees higher than air for the first 48 hours.

There are tons of DIY ways to control temp. Search the sites for something that will work for you.

If you make these changes, you're beer will be much better than just drinkable.

One more thing. Make sure to pitch the correct amount of yeast. Go to mrmalty.com to calculate how much yeast you'll need.