20 Bottles Down the Drain

I poured 20 bottles of my third batch (a PM extra special bitter) down the drain on Saturday. It was terrible. Tasted like solvent, and it wasn't mellowing with age.

I think I had two problems with this batch. First, a high fermentation temp of almost 80*; second, a splashy transfer to secondary. There was also way too much carbonation for an ESB, which made the hot alcohol taste burn even more.

I have a chest freezer+RANCO controller set up now, so I shouldn't have high ferment temps anymore. And I also have an autosiphon, which makes quiet siphoning a breeze.

Lessons learned!

My blueberry ale at this time is totally undrinkable as well. To limit alcohol abuse, I drank the entirety of both bottles i opened to test (week 1, week 2). I'm praying that with age the off-flavors will hopefully mellow. This batch definitely knocked me down a peg as far as home brewing goes! I would just chalk it up to experience.

The fact that you figured out what was wrong shows you definitely know something about making beer. BTW, I believe my fermentation temps were probably a bit high as well. This beer was also tertiary'd into a 3rd carboy so oxidation is a possibility.

I'm about to dump an entire carboy of scottish porter. I think it was the yeast that I reused. Tastes awful...so sad. I wish I had a still, so I could turn it into booze.

Dang, that's a bummer! I am not looking forward to that learning curve one bit. But since I enjoy brewing and will definately be trying harder things it is bound to happen to me too.


I'm sorry man.

Petunia

Evan! I want a still too. I have scrounged a lot of stuff to build one but I had to put it on hold. So maybe later...

That does suck... I had a batch of snpa that I was going to toss because it had a bad astringent taste to it, I decided to just stash it away and tried it a few months later. The astringent(or whatever it was) taste has died down quite a bit, I figure a couple more months and it'll be even better(I hope...)

Petunia said:

Dang, that's a bummer! I am not looking forward to that learning curve one bit. But since I enjoy brewing and will definately be trying harder things it is bound to happen to me too.


I'm sorry man.

Petunia

Evan! I want a still too. I have scrounged a lot of stuff to build one but I had to put it on hold. So maybe later...

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Well, I don't know if I really wanna dump it yet...I might just cold-condition it for a good long while and see what happens...but I don't think that this taste is a problem that will go away with age. Oh well. The good thing about brewing so much is that it's not so much of a blow when you eff up a batch. 10 months ago, losing a batch would make me cry myself to sleep---now it's just a little frustrating. But the beer I brewed beside it, the Rochefort 10 clone, is unbelievable. It's lagering right now, but it should be ready to bottle soon.

Petunia said:

Dang, that's a bummer! I am not looking forward to that learning curve one bit. ...

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Yeah, this batch is the one that drove home the importance of temperature control. I figured that the basement was cool enough, but one spring heat wave showed me clearly that its not.

The trappist ale that is bottled now also fermented hot, but I don't think it will be as much of a problem with that one. I kept the red ale and the APA cool, so I expect them to be better.

I'm in a brewing lull right now (kids, work, travel, etc.) so I haven't had a chance use the chest freezer fermenter. I expect to brew a lot this fall and winter, and I'm really looking forward to some good beers.

Evan! said:

I wish I had a still, so I could turn it into booze.

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I have a couple of microbiologist friends interested in home distilling. They have access to all the equipment. So far its only talk, but some day...

I also have a batch that hit a temp in the 80's while I was out of town, and it had a solvent smell and taste. It has been bottled for 4 weeks now, but it is still very nasty.:cross:

I have had three different batches that was sure would be dumpster-brau. Luckily I was not at a loss for bottles. The first one was my second ever batch, which I brewed in spring of 2006. I brought a couple bottles to a tailgate party a couple months ago and one person said it was the best beer he had ever had... an exaggeration no doubt, but still...

All three have ranged from drinkable to pretty darn good after extended aging in the basement, anywhere from 3 additional months to a year.

If you can afford to let the bottles stay full, stash them in a cellar and revisit them every couple of months, you never know....

You are scaring me. It's in the upper 90's here in Omaha and I don't have a second fridge or a cool cellar.

Air conditioning on full-blast 24/7 only gives me 75F. The astringency of my currently conditioning beers is within limits though.

brett said:

You are scaring me. It's in the upper 90's here in Omaha and I don't have a second fridge or a cool cellar.

Air conditioning on full-blast 24/7 only gives me 75F. The astringency of my currently conditioning beers is within limits though.

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An easy way to keep your fermenters cool (cooler than room temp) is to put them in a large plastic bin or bathtub and fill it up halfway with cold water. Wrap a wet t-shirt or towel around the fermenter and put frozen water bottles in the water. Let a fan blow on it too, if you have one.

Search the forums for temperature control or fermentation temperature, and you will find a lot of discussion on this topic.

brloomis said:

An easy way to keep your fermenters cool (cooler than room temp) is to put them in a large plastic bin or bathtub and fill it up halfway with cold water. Wrap a wet t-shirt or towel around the fermenter and put frozen water bottles in the water. Let a fan blow on it too, if you have one.

Search the forums for temperature control or fermentation temperature, and you will find a lot of discussion on this topic.

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Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try with my next batch and see what happens.

I have been concerned about high temperatures too. Here in South Carolina we have had temps. over 100 for over a week now. I keep my brew on the pantry floor next to the a/c vent. There is a shelf above and little traffic so it is staying 65 to 70.

I too can't wait for 'winter' to make beer without being attached to the a/c vent. My husband would love it if I kept the house at 65 all winter! He usually looses that battle.

So the moral of the story is wait it out. Just how long does beer last on a shelf?

Petunia

Man, I am seriously thinking about building a cellar.

brloomis, I screwed up my second batch the same way. I didn't have an auto siphon and got a lot of air into it during the transfer to secondary...then, conditions in my basement got a bit warmish. When I opened up the carboy, I was greeted with a strong whiff of banana...really strong!

I'm going to wait until fall before I get going again, but in the meantime I'm enjoying some amber ale and a great german wheat!

Petunia said:

Dang, that's a bummer! I am not looking forward to that learning curve one bit. But since I enjoy brewing and will definately be trying harder things it is bound to happen to me too.

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I wouldn't sweat the learning curve too much. I've made about 40 batches of beer in my life, and have yet to make one that wasn't thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, the last ten (which I've made after a 20 year break from brewing) have approached spectacular. I'm far from an expert, and I'm sure eventually a batch will turn on me...but if I can enjoy this kind of success, anyone can. And if you do brew something that seems to have gone wrong, I have one word of advice: WAIT.

For awhile, I was convinced that the IPA I recently brewed was actually...well, a variety of mild poison. It seemed harsh and nasty, while the pale ale I'd brewed a week later was already wonderful. A month or so later, the very same IPA is very nice, and as I drive home each day I look forward to relaxing with a pint of it.

73 de KC6WOG