I'm a beginner all grain brewer, brewing on a RIMS system and I've been getting off flavors with every brew. I have been keeping my equipment clean with PBw and star san but still am finishing with a fruity almost sour taste on a cream ale and now a rubbing alcohol taste on a 2 row SMaSH brew. Been discouraging but what's worse is I can't figure out why this keeps happening. My ferment temps are good as well.
Esters and fusels
- Thread starter rybru4u
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Are you controlling fermentation temperature? Sounds like you're fermenting too warm.
Edit: Sorry! How are you measuring and controlling your fermentation temperature?
Edit: Sorry! How are you measuring and controlling your fermentation temperature?
I also ferment in my basement with similar temps, but be aware that your beer is going to get several degrees warmer than the ambient temperature during fermentation. This may or may not be an issue depending on style, yeast, etc.
You have off-flavors with both batches, but they're different off-flavors?
Is the cream ale totally done? For how long has it been packaged? Is it clear in the glass?
Recipes with data such as gravities and yeast strains would help the forum troubleshoot.
Last edited:
I started fermenting in my basement with no temp control and always had off flavors. Once I bought a mini fridge on Craigslist and an Inkbird temperature controller I really noticed improvement.
I would say get your temp under control first, then if the off flavors continue start looking at mash PH and water chemistry.
Also, make sure you're not getting off flavors from chlorine in your water. I use 1/2 a campden tablet to treat 7-8 gallons of water.
I would say get your temp under control first, then if the off flavors continue start looking at mash PH and water chemistry.
Also, make sure you're not getting off flavors from chlorine in your water. I use 1/2 a campden tablet to treat 7-8 gallons of water.
If you don't want to make the jump into a fermentation chamber or other dedicated temp control, I would at least look into a solution where you can keep the beer temperature steady for the first 3-4 days of active fermentation. I recently had a Dubbel hit 78F while fermenting in a 68F area. Tub of water in a "swamp cooler" setup or swapping in frozen bottles is one inexpensive solution.
Your description of "fruity / sour" could be a mix of things, but "rubbing alcohol" is a good sign of of fermenting too hot. The quality and consistency of my ales improved when I moved from trying to control temps with ambient and started holding fermentation temps in the 64F to 66F range.
Fermentation is exothermic, it creates heat. If the room is 68, the beer can reach 73+ depending on volume and gravity.
If you had a Tilt hydrometer you'd probably see your temps getting up to 74-75 degrees inside the fermenter even though the ambient temp in your basement is 68
An easy fix is to get a large tub, fill it with water and place your fermenter in the tub. This will keep the temps more consistent.
Next area to focus on is the period between cooling the wort and transferring it to your fermenter. Can you explain your process in detail? The more info you give the better the answers will be!
Next area to focus on is the period between cooling the wort and transferring it to your fermenter. Can you explain your process in detail? The more info you give the better the answers will be!
Neither does mine. But I've had beers get up to 76 after pitching in the 60s. But that was with a yeast that can handle 78-79 in a style where you want a lot of esters.
I've got some beers...ales...fermenting around the upper 78s right now. Will this be an issue or will time take care of any esters and fusels?
The first 3 days were a blow off tube and then under pressure...climbing as high as 35-40 psi at times. Now at around 10-15 psi. I use low pressure PRVs as spunding valves. the blue, purple and red ones.
The first 3 days were a blow off tube and then under pressure...climbing as high as 35-40 psi at times. Now at around 10-15 psi. I use low pressure PRVs as spunding valves. the blue, purple and red ones.
Last edited:
From all I've read here, fusels do not attenuate with time, while esters may...
I did a split batch Tripel a couple years ago. The batch temp controlled in the high 60's was very nice. The batch that was at 72F ambient and got to near 80F during fermentation had strong fusel alcohol character. Two+ years later and the beer still has the same character. I had hoped it would age out, but that did not happen. I think I still have one bottle left, but the last few I have opened I have dumped after drinking a few ounces.
Yeast?
Mangrove Jack's M31 - Belgian Tripel
