Brew might be spoiled :(

I have brewed 4 beers so far. The first 2 were great. However, for the 3rd and fourth, I let them age in secondary for too long.

The 3rd was a wheat ale, with low OG and also hopped very lightly(1 oz). I let this one age a month in primary, and then a month in secondary. I found a layer of bubbles/foam(patches of it) at the top, so I poured it out without tasting.

My 4th batch was a cascade pale ale, with 4oz of hops, and OG of 1.056, and FG of 1.05. Even uncarbonated it tasted ****ing delicious. I let this age about the same as the wheat, and just today I noticed the same stuff on top as was in the wheat ale.

Here's the weird thing...Exactly a week ago, I bottled 2 - 22oz bottles of the cascade pale ale. I opened one today, and it was pretty damn flat, barely carbonated. No head. Then I poured a pint directly from the secondary, and it had a head, and was carbonated! It was very clear, and tasted good...?

Ok guys, what the hell is going on, and how can I fix this?

Also, will drinking it make me sick? It tastes fine, no off flavors, except for the tang that is always present in extract brews.

Thanks guys.

My guess is that you opened it after a week. Try waiting another 3-4 before opening another. What temp are you storing your bottles at?

I'm confused by your post/

First, you poured a whole batch out - without tasting it! - because there were some bubbles in the fermenter?!? Where did you learn that beer wasn't allowed to have bubbles on the top?

Second, how did you go about carbonating just two bombers of your pale ale while leaving the rest in secondary? And how can you be worried about carbonation after only one week in the bottle? It could take 3 weeks or longer to get full carbonation, especially if you didn't put in the right amount of sugar.

Third, it shouldn't be a surprise that the beer in your secondary has some carbonation, it has been fermenting all that time, after all, and some of that CO2 will of course be absorbed back into the liquid.

Fourth, what is it that you want us to help you fix? You said yourself the beer is clear and tastes great - find a priming calculator, bottle the dang thing and drink it in three weeks. There's absolutely nothing wrong with your batch from anything you've described, except for "the tang that is always present in extract brews." I brew with extract all the time and I don't know what "tang" you're talking about.

Alright, well the weird thing is that last week, there was no carbonation in the secondary. I drank a pint just to taste it, and it was flat. Now, there is a ****ing head on my beer. Something fermented vigorously over the past week.

The bottled beer has no head. So why would there be more carbonation in the open fermenter in comparison to the bottle? Also, I put in 3/4 of a teaspoon in, usually this will carb my beers within about 3 days.

That tang I refer to might be something localized to my brew store. All my beers have tasted like that. If it helps I use a light liquid malt extract.

What I want help with is determining if my brew is salvageable. At the top of the fermenter there are bubbles, and was almost appears to be stringy gelatin or something. Something having to do with a protein change is my guess, but I'm no expert.

I don't think there is anything wrong with your beer at all. The bubbles / tiny white patches on top are perfectly normal. Besides, the nice thing about beer is that even if it does get an infection, it won't hurt you any if you drink it. It will only cause off flavors. Don't dump anymore beer without sampling it first. If the beer tastes fine, it is fine. My advice would be to stop dumping beer and start bottling it.

As for the carbonation, that is normal as well. The beer from the secondary will be mildly carbonated from fermentation and usually does taste pretty good......a little flat but good. After you prime and bottle, you need to let the bottles sit for a minimum of two weeks to allow enough time for carbonation. I'm always dissapointed when I sample a bottle of beer to early. I like to wait 4-6 weeks myself.

BBL_Brewer said:

I don't think there is anything wrong with your beer at all. The bubbles / tiny white patches on top are perfectly normal. Besides, the nice thing about beer is that even if it does get an infection, it won't hurt you any if you drink it. It will only cause off flavors. Don't dump anymore beer without sampling it first. If the beer tastes fine, it is fine. My advice would be to stop dumping beer and start bottling it.

As for the carbonation, that is normal as well. The beer from the secondary will be mildly carbonated from fermentation and usually does taste pretty good......a little flat but good. After you prime and bottle, you need to let the bottles sit for a minimum of two weeks to allow enough time for carbonation. I'm always dissapointed when I sample a bottle of beer to early. I like to wait 4-6 weeks myself.

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Well this is good then, because I'm drinking some right now. The thing I'm worried about isn't the fact that it's carbonated. It's the fact that last week, it wasn't carbonated at all, and this week, it is. The airlock water is also carbonated, and this foam on top appeared within the last 2 days. Something is going on as of late, and this is why I am alarmed.

I guess I'll bottle today, and hope for the best.

As for bottling, I know I'm supposed to wait, it's just hard

First of all your public profile says your 19. At this point I cannot offer your advise. Give it a couple of years.

First of all your public profile says your 19. At this point I cannot offer your advise. Give it a couple of years.

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Wow, I didn't even look at the public profile! Good catch! I didn't think you could even sign up for this site unless you at least said you were 21.

Well, I agree with likwid's assessment and retract any other previous advice.

Honestly the name gave it away.

I'm pretty sure I got pwn3d.

TTB-J said:

Wow, I didn't even look at the public profile! Good catch! I didn't think you could even sign up for this site unless you at least said you were 21.

Well, I agree with likwid's assessment and retract any other previous advice.

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You can't, of course. You must state that you are of legal age to brew in order to join the forum. Or at least be smart enough to lie about your age.