Acetaldehyde

[Sovietnam]

Hey guys.
So I brewed a Cascade/Willamete IPA and it has been bottled for about a week. I popped one open to test how it's doing and it carbed up nicely but has a pronounced Acetaldehyde/ green apple taste.

My question is this: I know the yeast in the bottle should be able to clean up the off flavors at room temperature over time, but would gently rousing it into suspension help the process? I was thinking that un-caking the yeast would provide more surface area and come in contact with the entire volume of the liquid in each bottle. What do you think?

Second question: Of course only time will tell, but would about 3 or 4 weeks in the bottle clean up Acetaldehyde (luckily I didn't detect any other noticeable off flavors)

 

[bobeer]

A week isn't long enough for your beer to carbonate and condition in the bottle. 3 weeks at 70 degrees is the rule of thumb for average gravity beers.

When you prime the beer to carbonate it you're restarting fermentation. Fermentation creates carbonation by the capped bottle not allowing any c02 to vent off so it's forced back into the beer. You need to then let the yeast clean things up again just like initial fermentation.

What you're tasting is pretty normal and is described as "green beer" for this reason. It's young and unconditioned so it will have off flavors. Let it sit for another couple weeks, at least, and then pop one in the fridge for a few days before opening. You shouldn't have to rouse the yeast or do anything to it. Just leave it be and get started on the next batch. Good luck!

 

[JimRausch]

What bobeer has said above is completely true. However, you won't hurt anything by giving the bottles a quick shake to resuspend the yeast. I'll sometimes do this after a week or two when I'm carbonating at lower than optimal temps.

 

[unionrdr]

It all starts with high initial fermentation temps. Then not giving the yeast time to clean up by-products of fermentation after FG is reached. It usually needs 3-7 days after FG is reached to clean these things up n& settle out clear or slightly misty. But the yeast do a lot more clean up in primary after FG is reached. Some clean up happens in the bottles, but not as much as in primary.

 

[Sovietnam]

Yeah, I kept it at about 62 deg for the first 10 days of primary(The ambient temp was about 59 so I am just estimating here.) then let it creep up to 65 the remaining 6 days. I did however bottle after 2&1/2 days of the fg stabilizing due to having to leave the state the next day, so the yeast didn't really have much time to clean up. There is a decent amount of sediment in each bottle so I think it there is enough yeast to do the job ( I hope!!)

 

[unionrdr]

The yeast will carbonate the beer over a couple of weeks & then absorb their own by-products. So it will clean up, but no as much as in primary from my early experiences with it. I depends on how much of the off flavors you started with.

 

[Sovietnam]

Well, Boys and Girls:
I popped one yesterday and the ASS-etaldehyde flavor was less than half as noticeable as a week ago. I'm guessing in two weeks it will be mostly if not completely gone. until then... popping one a week for "research" purposes.

 

[BreezyBrew]

Well, Boys and Girls:
I popped one yesterday and the ASS-etaldehyde flavor was less than half as noticeable as a week ago. I'm guessing in two weeks it will be mostly if not completely gone. until then... popping one a week for "research" purposes.

Don't you just love how yeast eats the bad tasting stuff in the beer? So great!

 

[GHBWNY]

Don't you just love how yeast eats the bad tasting stuff in the beer? So great!

Haven't been brewing that long, but over time I have come to appreciate more and more that beer is all about yeast. Without knowing who you are dealing with, and giving these little critters the best and most comfy home you can for a few weeks in which to prosper, reproduce, live for awhile and then die, you have nothing.

[Good] "beer" is simply a by-product of good yeasting.

 

[JimRausch]

[Good] "beer" is simply a by-product of good yeasting.

Pete- I think you need to keep this as your signature. It's a great quote!

 

[masskrug]

At least 3 weeks in the bottle, then pop a top.