Newbie with yet another dumb question...

I bottled my first two batches of beer, one week ago (Ales, Extract). I was told that each week the beer ages (while conditioning) I should try one to see how the beer has changed. So I guess my question is after one in the bottle the beers are awful. They both have a chemical after taste and feel thin. Am I worried for nothing?

Did you taste any on bottling day? What kind of chemical aftertaste?

Time heals a lot of things, be patient and wait another week (or 2) before trying another one.

RDWHAHB. Let it age for about a month after bottling before you try it. I, and many others, made the same mistake you did. Green beer tastes awful. Don't worry about trying one each week while it ages. Let it age for about a month and go from there.

JAG410 said:

Did you taste any on bottling day? What kind of chemical aftertaste?

Time heals a lot of things, be patient and wait another week (or 2) before trying another one.

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Yes, tasted much better. No chemical taste at all. It was actually flat good tasting beer.

The real reason they suggest that you sample one after only a week is to give you a taste of the green beer so you will know what it tastes like while still green. If you sample one each week, you should notice a definite change for the better. After you have tried this a few times, you will come to realize that your beer should have time to come together and will gain the patience to let it age.

Don't fret about a bad tasting beer when it has only had a week. Best is to have some commercially produced beer on hand to drink while your homebrew is aging. After a month of aging, try your homebrew and it is likely that you will leave the commercially brewed beer for someone else to finish as your hombrew will taste so much better and you will have the pride of accomplishment.

I had no idea the beer would taste worse after one week in the bottle!

Rule of thumb is that the best bottle from each batch is always the last one.

Tagez said:

I had no idea the beer would taste worse after one week in the bottle!

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Remeber, when you bottle carb, The yeast are pooping all over in your beer. Luckily, they poop alcohol. As well as some other nasties, depending on the strain.

Luckily, once again, they also eat their own poop, but not the alcohol. So give them time to purge thier bowels, eat them up and fall asleep on the bottom of your bottle.

Cheers!

Shinglejohn said:

Remeber, when you bottle carb, The yeast are pooping all over in your beer. Luckily, they poop alcohol. As well as some other nasties, depending on the strain.

Luckily, once again, they also eat their own poop, but not the alcohol. So give them time to purge thier bowels, eat them up and fall asleep on the bottom of your bottle.

Cheers!

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Mmmmmm... nutritious, delicious yeast poop... omm nom nom nom nom!!!

So it sound to me like I really have nothing to worry about...I'm just being NOOB?

Tagez said:

So it sound to me like I really have nothing to worry about...I'm just being NOOB?

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Yes, after only one week it's supposed to taste bad. This is part of your learning process, and it will teach you two things: 1) have patience to let your beer have it's time and 2) plan ahead if you need a beer ready by a certain date.

We've all done it, and it was good for us, too!

So what styles did you do on these batches? Styles range in taste 'green' for sure.

I've had plenty that taste fine early, but every single one of them has gotten better with age. 3-4 weeks out from bottling seems to be my sweet spot.

The only one that's failed me is the 80-Shilling Scottish Ale I did. I'm just not a fan of peat smoked malt. It's like apple flavored bandaids with a touch of ass. YMMV of course.

One was a California Golden Ale (Extract kit 1056) other was a IPA (Extract Kit 1056). I might have dumped the wert a little warm, oxidation maybe? Both have the same bad taste.

Cleaning and Sanitation is as follows. Cleaning with PBW, followed by rinsing. I then submerge in StarSan for 2-5 min, dump place on bottle rack.

powerfreak said:

So what styles did you do on these batches? Styles range in taste 'green' for sure.

I've had plenty that taste fine early, but every single one of them has gotten better with age. 3-4 weeks out from bottling seems to be my sweet spot.

The only one that's failed me is the 80-Shilling Scottish Ale I did. I'm just not a fan of peat smoked malt. It's like apple flavored bandaids with a touch of ass. YMMV of course.

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Then don't use it. The Scottish recipe I used was from good ol' Jamil (it's in his book as well as from his show on The Brewing Network) and he says that there should be no smoke flavor in a Scottish ale. Most people misinterpret the BJCP description and think it should have a smoked flavor. His recipe has none, and he says the style should have none. I've made a Scottish ale that was basically his recipe, and I love it.

Tagez said:

I bottled my first two batches of beer, one week ago (Ales, Extract). I was told that each week the beer ages (while conditioning) I should try one to see how the beer has changed. So I guess my question is after one in the bottle the beers are awful. They both have a chemical after taste and feel thin. Am I worried for nothing?

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The only dumb question is the question not asked

Tagez said:

One was a California Golden Ale (Extract kit 1056) other was a IPA (Extract Kit 1056). I might have dumped the wert a little warm, oxidation maybe? Both have the same bad taste.

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IPA's are usually fine relatively quickly... the hop aroma actually fades with time. I think hot side aeration is a bogeyman for the homebrewer, so I don't think that was your issue.

Cleaning and Sanitation is as follows. Cleaning with PBW, followed by rinsing. I then submerge in StarSan for 2-5 min, dump place on bottle rack.

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Sounds good, did you fill them while wet? Star-san needs to be wet to work against bacteria etc. You should sanitize them and then pretty much immediately fill them so there's no time for airborne bacteria or spores to fall inside them and get a foothold on the inside of the dry bottle. Also, don't fear the foam.

When I was having bad tastes in my first few batches, it was due to poor temperature control. Now I use a water bath and frozen water bottles to control temperature for the first week, allowing the temp to rise for the second and third week (so the yeast can clean house). My flavors are MUCH better.

Also, I stopped being so d***ed critical of my own product and started actually believing my friends who complimented (and asked for more of) my homebrew.

Some take longer to age, I recently had a brown I didnt care for until about 4 months in the keezer. After about 4 months I had a cup and said, "Hey this aint bad", the cat must've overheard me then, cuz she jumped up and turned the faucet on and let it all run out.

dobeluvr said:

the cat must've overheard me then, cuz she jumped up and turned the faucet on and let it all run out.

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Bad *****!