Coming back from temperature fluctuations

[scottbrews]

Hi Homebrew,

Well, I screwed something up and I think it has to do with temperature fluctuations.

I brewed my beer (5 gallons of an IPA, 5 gallons of a stout) in the beginning of January. I bottled both about 2 months ago. I've since cracked open a few bottles and they're all flat, and taste terrible.

My first thought was contamination but it would seem crazy that I screwed up TWO separate batches of beer, although since I bottled them the same day it's possible.

My second thought was that, these beers have been through a lot, as far as temperature goes. The winter we had heat but now that it's summer it's definitely a fair bit warmer in the house.

So, my questions:

* Could the temperature have screwed up these beers?
* If so, assuming I found a cooler location to move these bottled beers too, and swirled them around, could I potentially bring these beers back?

Thanks Homebrew!

 

[Pratzie]

Describe "Terrible". Depending on the type of flavors ur tasting it could help us pinpoint.

Also, what yeast strains did u use and what temps did u ferment them at?

 

[BlindFaith]

Also, what temps were these conditioning at in the bottle? You said there were big time fluctuations. To what extent?

 

[kombat]

Temperature is really only critical for the first 72 hours. So the pitching temperature, and then the (wort, not ambient) temperature for the next 3 days are what really sets the flavour profile of the beer.

After that first week, the temperature is virtually irrelevant.

What temperature did you pitch at? What was the room ambient temperature range? What are the off flavours you're experiencing?

 

[scottbrews]

Thanks for the responses guys!

Tonight when I'm home I'll do another taste test and give you specifics.

kombat, thanks -- did not know that temperature is irrelevant after 72 hours! Good to know.

In January after I initially pitched the yeast, the temperature was around 70 degrees. It may have been a little bit cooler, but not significantly.

Pratzie, I don't know the particular yeast but I'll look when I get home tonight (they were both from kits that came with dry yeast).

BlindFaith, in the bottle I think the temperatures have been everywhere from low 70's to high 80's.

Thanks all!

 

[sweetcell]

unless you cooked those bottles - like over 90*F for several days - temps shouldn't affect your bottled beer to the point of making them undrinkable. going from 60 to 72 and back to 60 isn't ideal but it shouldn't create strong off-flavors.

speaking of which, can you please describe those off-flavors?

it is entirely possible that you contaminated both batches. maybe the valve on your kettle, or the spigot on your bottling bucket, or your wine thief, etc., is contaminated - both beers would have touched those, so both could be infected. hell, the air in your kitchen or basement might be loaded with nasties and you got an infection while checking gravity, adding dry hops or just racking to your keg/bottling bucket. at one point i produced 3 or 4 batches in a row with an off-flavor, likely caused by a wild yeast. i up'ed my sanitation and it hasn't been a problem since.

 

[sweetcell]

kombat, thanks -- did not know that temperature is irrelevant after 72 hours! Good to know.

well, not irrelevant... just less important. you don't want to let your beer get to 90*F unless you're making a saison. so if the recipe says ferment at 68, keep it there for the first 3 days then you can let it rise to 72... don't let it hit 80 tho.

BlindFaith, in the bottle I think the temperatures have been everywhere from low 70's to high 80's.

if they stayed in the high 80's for a week or more, that really would have accelerated aging. it would also accelerate bacterial development. the former will dull tastes, while the second can truly ruin a beer. if your beers are undrinkable, i'd be looking at infection.

 

[scottbrews]

Sorry for the long response time!

I did taste both of the batches. The flavor, I would describe as... rancid? Basically undrinkable. The first one just tasted like ****, the second one made me gag. I tried to get past the awful taste to figure out what was going on but I really just couldn't get past the awful taste.

So... I guess I chalk this up to contamination then, huh? I appreciate all your help guys. Hopefully my next batches won't fail so miserably!