Bottled today and not sure of my beer.....

[finished1]

I bottled today and not sure of the taste of my beer. It is beer because I am buzzed by the pint I drank but the taste seemed off. This was my first brew and my have done something wrong. I used the following recipe:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/170777/raging-red-irish-red-ale

The taste was almost medicinal. Maybe a little sour. I went ahead and bottled anyway. I used everything as the recipe suggested. Except changed out CaraAroma for Crisp 77. The brew store did not have it available. I think I did everything right. The only think I can think of is the beer became infected when the kiddos began playing outside with dirt and it may have found a way into my beer. The beer fermented for 7 days as it had hit it's FG and then some. I did check the FG 3 days in a row. Will the taste change after bottling for several weeks? Should I just dump and try again? I am going to do an IPA for my next batch. Oh well, what can you do but try again. Damn it!

 

[ctb1976]

I think it is too early to give up on it already! I think bottle conditioning is a minimum of 2 weeks and most people will recommend a little more.

For my 1st beer, Chinook IPA, I followed some advice from a forum member that I think was excellent. There is no better way to learn about the process than to experiment.


I put my cases of bottles in a cool dark place to condition. A week and a half in a put 1 bottled in the fridge. Then I waited 48 hours and tried it. It was not good (tasted bitter and kind of metallic) and I was a little discouraged, but nonetheless stuck another bottle in and waited 2 more days before repeating. A little better this time! I followed this pattern for my 1st 6 pack and by beer number 6, it wasn't half bad. Each time the beer tasted a little different and now I know to wait, although that is easier said than done.

Good luck!

 

[JimRausch]

Wait until after it's carbonated and conditioned- 2-3 weeks. The taste of green, uncarbonated beer gives you an idea of what the final flavor will be, but there will be changes. Hopefully for the better. Somewhere on the forum is a lengthy thread started by Revvy titled something like ' Never Dump your beer'. Read a couple pages and you'll feel better.
Now, if I'm reading correctly, you bottled after 7 days? That's too early. The beer may have looked like it's finished, but there are compounds that the yeast generated in early fermentation that they then clean up slowly at the tail end. Next time, wait another week or so beyond you think it's finished, before bottling.

 

[finished1]

Wait until after it's carbonated and conditioned- 2-3 weeks. The taste of green, uncarbonated beer gives you an idea of what the final flavor will be, but there will be changes. Hopefully for the better. Somewhere on the forum is a lengthy thread started by Revvy titled something like ' Never Dump your beer'. Read a couple pages and you'll feel better.
Now, if I'm reading correctly, you bottled after 7 days? That's too early. The beer may have looked like it's finished, but there are compounds that the yeast generated in early fermentation that they then clean up slowly at the tail end. Next time, wait another week or so beyond you think it's finished, before bottling.

The instructions for the beer was recommended to bottle in 7 days. I knew I should have waited. Will this get better the longer I keep it bottled? It did have a nice top layer in the primary fermenting bucket. What should I do now?

 

[chazzman]

It is probably just green. I remember my first brew I was very worried as I bottles and all that was wrong is I did not recognize green flavor. My brew's flavor was in defiance of the descriptions of green by those who posted here. In another week, try another bottle, try a bottle a week until or unless it
gets better as long as you don't feel a threat of some sort of illness. In the meantime, brew again!

 

[chazzman]

Oops, I meant to mention that my brew came out good beyond what I dreamed. It's an awesome hobby.

 

[JimRausch]

What should I do now?

Patience. Time heals all wounds. And beer soothes all. Or some such sh*t like that.

 

[finished1]

Thanks everyone for your help. I really hope it turns out ok. Your words of encouragement do help. I will update again in a few weeks. This hobby is fun but infuriating at times.

 

[eadavis80]

The instructions for the beer was recommended to bottle in 7 days. I knew I should have waited. Will this get better the longer I keep it bottled? It did have a nice top layer in the primary fermenting bucket. What should I do now?

It had a layer in the primary? You mean like the krausen was still there? Some linger even after FG has reached, but USUALLY if the krausen is still there and you bottled, you bottled too early - like while it's still fermenting and now you're in grave danger of creating bottle bombs. If you're sure the gravity was stable then nevermind, but the fact that you said you bottled after 7 days and this mention of a "layer" has me pretty worried for you.

 

[finished1]

It had a layer in the primary? You mean like the krausen was still there? Some linger even after FG has reached, but USUALLY if the krausen is still there and you bottled, you bottled too early - like while it's still fermenting and now you're in grave danger of creating bottle bombs. If you're sure the gravity was stable then nevermind, but the fact that you said you bottled after 7 days and this mention of a "layer" has me pretty worried for you.

It did have a layer but the FG did not move in the 3 days that I tested it. I hope I don't have any bottle bombs. Any suggestions or should I just pray to the beer God's?

 

[finished1]

I think it is too early to give up on it already! I think bottle conditioning is a minimum of 2 weeks and most people will recommend a little more.

For my 1st beer, Chinook IPA, I followed some advice from a forum member that I think was excellent. There is no better way to learn about the process than to experiment.


I put my cases of bottles in a cool dark place to condition. A week and a half in a put 1 bottled in the fridge. Then I waited 48 hours and tried it. It was not good (tasted bitter and kind of metallic) and I was a little discouraged, but nonetheless stuck another bottle in and waited 2 more days before repeating. A little better this time! I followed this pattern for my 1st 6 pack and by beer number 6, it wasn't half bad. Each time the beer tasted a little different and now I know to wait, although that is easier said than done.

Good luck!

The taste you are describing is spot on to my experience today. Thanks for the encouragement. I hope it turns out for the better.

 

[thehaze]

Just wait until fully carbonated and judge it there. CaraAroma is 130-170L so a 77L Crystal malt is half that, which means, you will probably not get the colour and some of the flavours in your beer, from the original recipe you followed.

 

[TwistedGray]

The seven day thing would have me more worried.

Curious, what was OG, FG, yeast, and how were the bottles carbonated?

 

[finished1]

The seven day thing would have me more worried.

Curious, what was OG, FG, yeast, and how were the bottles carbonated?

The OG was at 1.050 and the FG was at 1.010. I used a SG refractometer and used northern brewers refractometer calculator at:

https://www.northernbrewer.com/learn/resources/refractometer-calculator/

Yeast was Safale US-05.

I carbonated the bottles using 4.5 oz of Corn sugar for the 5 gallons.

I did more research and found the original recipe and the actual person who made the brew and the guy held primary fermentation for 3-4 weeks. I bottled the beer anyway and will hope for no bombs and will see in three weeks what happens. I will probably make this brew again and next time wait.

 

[thehaze]

With the OG and FG you had, the yeast was done. That puts you at 79% attenuation, which is pretty on point given the recipe. For FG readings, it is best to use a hydrometer, which is pretty inexpensive.

7 days is kinda short, but the beer is low-ish ABV, so I think it was long done.

 

[TwistedGray]

I did more research and found the original recipe and the actual person who made the brew and the guy held primary fermentation for 3-4 weeks. I bottled the beer anyway and will hope for no bombs and will see in three weeks what happens. I will probably make this brew again and next time wait.

Open one in a few days to see its carbonation level. Also, open outside.

 

[finished1]

With the OG and FG you had, the yeast was done. That puts you at 79% attenuation, which is pretty on point given the recipe. For FG readings, it is best to use a hydrometer, which is pretty inexpensive.

7 days is kinda short, but the beer is low-ish ABV, so I think it was long done.

Looking back on my dates of brew, it was actually 8 days from start of primary to bottle. I hope it comes out ok. The taste was just what I was expecting. Metallic but just a hint. Still drinkable. It was great smelling beer but the taste was not there. Thanks for the advice.

 

[thehaze]

I usually ferment for 9-10 days for my low ABV beers ( I am only referring to hoppier beers, where freshness is desired ) and then cold crash, bottle and enjoy 10-12 days later. So 3 weeks is a good turnaround time for me. At 10 days in the bottle the beer should taste good. A week later, it will be even better, given the malt complexity.

 

[RM-MN]

At 7 days your beer was likely done but it would have a lot of yeast, hops, and trub still in suspension and they don't taste the best. Had you waited longer to bottle a bunch of it would have settled out and the flavor would have been better but it will settle in the bottles too. You will have a bigger layer of trub in the bottles but with careful pouring you can leave that behind. I'd suggest that you sample one bottle (after a minimum of 24 hours in the refrigerator) at one week, then one more a week later. Continue that sampling until 3 months have passed. At that point this beer should be fully mature and great drinking.

 

[mattdee1]

I have bottled tons of batches within 7-10 days of brew day and as long as the fermentation is done, it's fine. The conditioning still needs to happen to get a good tasting beer, but it can happen in the bottle. So I wouldn't worry about that part.

The only thing that concerns me here is the descriptors you used in the original post -- namely, "medicinal" and "sour." If you're using untreated tap water, that might account for some "medicinal" flavors, but that can also be a sign of wild yeast. Sourness is also associated with infection. If there is some sort of infection, the beer will not get better, and will likely continue to deteriorate. You will find out soon enough, I guess.

 

[65C]

It's hard to gauge what final beer will taste like out of the fermenter - I've had it go both ways (got better, got worse)

The first few beers for me were discovering what works with my water/setup/air temp etc. (porters, stouts etc. it appears)

Also getting the mash temps, water volumes, hop quantities etc. right - my first brew turned out nice, but my 3rd was nasty, it's more consistent now

 

[finished1]

I have bottled tons of batches within 7-10 days of brew day and as long as the fermentation is done, it's fine. The conditioning still needs to happen to get a good tasting beer, but it can happen in the bottle. So I wouldn't worry about that part.

The only thing that concerns me here is the descriptors you used in the original post -- namely, "medicinal" and "sour." If you're using untreated tap water, that might account for some "medicinal" flavors, but that can also be a sign of wild yeast. Sourness is also associated with infection. If there is some sort of infection, the beer will not get better, and will likely continue to deteriorate. You will find out soon enough, I guess.

I used bottled spring water. I wouldn't say it was sour but more just a warm crappy Budweiser. It did have and metal taste (medicinal) to it.

 

[ctb1976]

I used bottled spring water. I wouldn't say it was sour but more just a warm crappy Budweiser. It did have and metal taste (medicinal) to it.

I have read that the metallic taste can happen with partial extract boils, but it looks like you were all grain. I have not attempted a full boil or all grain BIAB yet. I ordered a bigger kettle and plan to go full boil a few times before trying all grain. I find the act of brewing is more addictive than the beer we create!

 

[finished1]

Just wanted to leave an update. There beer is maturing fantastically. The metalic taste has definitely gone away. It has been two weeks and the beer taste great. Smells fantastic and the tatse is coming together. I will leave it for another few more weeks before I really did into it. Thanks everyone for the help and support.

 

[finished1]

Perfect pour!

 

[seatazzz]

Beautiful! How does it taste?

 

[finished1]

Beautiful! How does it taste?

It taste great. There is still a hint of the bitter taste that was from two weeks ago but I am sure with a few more weeks of bottle conditioning it will come around. It was good enough that I wanted to drink more but had to hold back.

 

[seatazzz]

Wonderful! And that's why I stopped bottling and went to kegging...I have NO patience.