Burning Nose

[Mobstar]

Hello.
My brother inlaw and I just attempted to brew an IIPA but I think there might be a couple problems here.. It was an expensive all-grain batch so I'm hoping there's a way to save it.

Problem one - I took a nice sniff after removing the fermenter lid and the vapors burned my nose hairs. it was like inhaling jet fuel. Gravity should be roughly 9%. I never had this happen before.

Problem 2 - During mashing. The temp dropped 10 degrees over the hour from 153 to 143. With the amount of hops I used, I'm guessing it will be a pucker up sour/bitter since most of the sweetness will be gone?

It's currently in secondary and ready to bottle this weekend. is there something I Can do to increase the final sweetness with some sort of non fermentable sugars? Will that alcohol burning aroma calm down after bottle conditioning?

Thanks in advance!

 

[FVillatoro]

Hello.
My brother inlaw and I just attempted to brew an IIPA but I think there might be a couple problems here.. It was an expensive all-grain batch so I'm hoping there's a way to save it.

Problem one - I took a nice sniff after removing the fermenter lid and the vapors burned my nose hairs. it was like inhaling jet fuel. Gravity should be roughly 9%. I never had this happen before.

Problem 2 - During mashing. The temp dropped 10 degrees over the hour from 153 to 143. With the amount of hops I used, I'm guessing it will be a pucker up sour/bitter since most of the sweetness will be gone?

It's currently in secondary and ready to bottle this weekend. is there something I Can do to increase the final sweetness with some sort of non fermentable sugars? Will that alcohol burning aroma calm down after bottle conditioning?

Thanks in advance!

Problem 1: Two things here going on probably... co2 (a natural product of fermentation). Co2 gas is produced naturally during fermentation and it can burn when you inhale it. But I think that you may have fusel alcohols if your fermentation temp got out of control and went into the 80s-90s. What did you use for temp control? A high gravity beer will ferment vigorously if not tamed.

Problem 2: You will most likely end up with a drier beer, but it doesn't mean that it won't be drinkable. If you lost 10 degrees in an hour you need a better fermentation vessel or regulate the heat better if using a kettle.

Problem 3: for this style of beer I don't believe there's anything to add sweetness without throwing off the flavor. There's lactose sugar, but it's usually used for milk stouts/porters. I wouldn't add it to an IPA.

 

[TechyDork]

Hello.
My brother inlaw and I just attempted to brew an IIPA but I think there might be a couple problems here.. It was an expensive all-grain batch so I'm hoping there's a way to save it.

Problem one - I took a nice sniff after removing the fermenter lid and the vapors burned my nose hairs. it was like inhaling jet fuel. Gravity should be roughly 9%. I never had this happen before.

Problem 2 - During mashing. The temp dropped 10 degrees over the hour from 153 to 143. With the amount of hops I used, I'm guessing it will be a pucker up sour/bitter since most of the sweetness will be gone?

It's currently in secondary and ready to bottle this weekend. is there something I Can do to increase the final sweetness with some sort of non fermentable sugars? Will that alcohol burning aroma calm down after bottle conditioning?

Thanks in advance!

1 - that sounds like you just inhaled the co2 given off by fermentation. it will burn like that.

2 - While a 10 degree drop is a pretty big one your beer will still be fine. it may finish slightly drier than you intended, but that is not really a bad thing for a IIPA.

***edit*** I agree with the poster above that if you lost 10 degrees during your mash you need to figure out why and correct that issue. You want to try and stay as close to your target mash temp for the majority of the mash time if you can. What are you using to mash in?

What was your hop schedule like? What was your original and final gravity reading?

At this point I would just let it ride and not worry about trying to add anything.

How does a sample taste?

 

[hopbrad]

what yeast strain did you use? its most likely a big whiff of c02 that did it. I get that burning/co2 with certain strains, especially with Conan.
the mash temps shouldnt be much of an issue. most of the conversion happens early on. clearly it converted if your saying its 9%. what was the FG on it and howd the sample taste? may want to figure out how to insulate or set aside some hot water and add every 15 minutes to keep temps the same thru the mash.
dry hop it and bottle this weekend. dont add any unfermentables unless the FG is super low like 1.005 or less.

 

[Revvy]

1) The "burn" you experienced is simple carbonic acid... CO2, we call it CO2 Bite or Burn... It's normal.
And I can't tell you how many new brewer panic threads have been posted because of this.

2) Don't mess with your beer now. It's more thank likely more fine than you in your nervousness think it is. Since you smelled the co2 (which is normal) your now looking for issues that are probably not there at all. Or things that in the long run aren't going to cause major problems.

One thing to realize hops will fade and mellow with time, even if there was something wrong.

If there is something wrong, which I doubt, it's not going to make the beer undrinkable, it may not be EXACTLY what you wanted, but you still made beer.... chalk it up to experience, get a handle on the mash temps in the future, and someday down the line make the beer again. This hopefully isn't your one and only beer batch, you don't have to "get it right the first time" make it again. *shrug*

New brewers have a tendency to over catastrophize things, they tend to think every little thing they've never encountered before is a problem/infection, etc. (like your CO2 bite) and think every mistake is going to ruin their beer, OR they need to fix something they THINK might be wrong... without even tasting the finish product.


And it's usually THEN, when they throw "solutions" at problems that usually aren't there, that they end up actually ruining the beer. When if they just had relaxed everything would have been fine.

Just relax, see this through the process, I betcha in a month you'll laugh and wonder why you ever worried.

You didn't hit you mash temps this time... ok, but guess what, you still made beer.

 

[bobeer]

Hello.
My brother inlaw and I just attempted to brew an IIPA but I think there might be a couple problems here.. It was an expensive all-grain batch so I'm hoping there's a way to save it.

Problem one - I took a nice sniff after removing the fermenter lid and the vapors burned my nose hairs. it was like inhaling jet fuel. Gravity should be roughly 9%. I never had this happen before.

Problem 2 - During mashing. The temp dropped 10 degrees over the hour from 153 to 143. With the amount of hops I used, I'm guessing it will be a pucker up sour/bitter since most of the sweetness will be gone?

It's currently in secondary and ready to bottle this weekend. is there something I Can do to increase the final sweetness with some sort of non fermentable sugars? Will that alcohol burning aroma calm down after bottle conditioning?

Thanks in advance!

the nose thing is normal. I've learned to let the c02 degas for a second before I take a wiff.

10 degrees over an hour isn't terrible. A lot of the sugars are converted in the first half of the mash time. IPAs are better as a dry beer anyway IMO.

Not sure if you'd want to sweeten it. If it's too boozy mash a little higher and use more grain next time to add some maltiness to the taste. I brewed a 9% red one time and it was way too thin and boozy. I added more grain and mashed higher the 2nd time around and I hit close to the 9% but it was a much better beer.
The alcohol bite will mellow after it conditions out but it can take a while for high ABV beers. That's why a lot of IIPA's 8%+ use a ton of dry hops so the resins and aroma overtake the alcohol bite. IMO 8% IIPA's are the best balance for alcohol bite and hoppiness because a lot of 10% IIPA's are too hot and by the time it mellows a lot of the hoppiness has also subsided, but again, that's just IMO. Brewing big beers is fun either way you spin it but it's more difficult than brewing a regular gravity beer. You can put it in a secondary and let it mellow out then dry hop it for 7 days or so if you want the best of both worlds; low abv bite and a good fresh hop character

Bottom line is all sounds normal. Enjoy your beer!

 

[kombat]

I still want to know what the OP did for temperature control during fermentation, and what temperature the beer fermented at.

 

[Mobstar]

I still want to know what the OP did for temperature control during fermentation, and what temperature the beer fermented at.

I used a brew belt for 3 days to keep a steady temperature of 26 degrees. At least thats what the thermometer tape strip said. I used 2 packs of rehydrated Nottingham yeast. It got violent because things got messy in my laundry tub.

I dry hopped it so ill have to wait until I bottle to sample.

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[hopbrad]

I used a brew belt for 3 days to keep a steady temperature of 26 degrees. At least thats what the thermometer tape strip said. I used 2 packs of rehydrated Nottingham yeast. It got violent because things got messy in my laundry tub.

I dry hopped it so ill have to wait until I bottle to sample.

Thanks for all the replies!

you used a brew belt to keep the temps up?
notty above the low 70s(22c) can give some off flavors and alcohol burn. 60's(15-20c) is more ideal for a clean IPA

 

[chickypad]

I used a brew belt for 3 days to keep a steady temperature of 26 degrees. At least thats what the thermometer tape strip said. I used 2 packs of rehydrated Nottingham yeast. It got violent because things got messy in my laundry tub. !

Uh oh, I also figured all was was well until this. No wonder things got violent, that's really hot for Notty. It's even on the warmer side to start fermentation for a Belgian yeast. See what it tastes like but I'd be worried about that.

 

[kombat]

If the OP fermented Notty at 26° C (79° F), then that's not CO2 burn he's smelling, it's fusel alcohols. And unfortunately, that doesn't age out.

This is a lesson many of us have learned the hard way: Temperature control is crucial to producing great beer.

 

[Mobstar]

My basement is really cold. "around 12 degrees celcius" so this is why I used the brew belt to hold a steady fermentation temp. I've used it in the past with no problem but this is my first attempt at a 9% beer.

I threw in 2oz of cascade for dry hopping. I'm hoping that this will mask the problem. Any risk to drinking this brew other than it tasting like hopped up jet fuel? lol.

 

[kombat]

Assuming it doesn't taste too much like nail polish remover to drink, and you're able to get a few glasses down, fusels are known for producing headaches.

You can still use the brew belt, but I would highly recommend you connect it to a temperature controller like an STC-1000, and employ a thermowell stopper. That way, when the beer gets too cold (in your nicely-cooled basement), it can turn on the belt and warm it back up to the desired temperature, without overshooting it.