First brew gone wrong?

[civkik]

I just finished brewing a kolsch yesterday for my first batch. After steeping my grain and boiling the wort, I didn't remove the batch from heat before stirring in my wort extract. It lead to some sticking to bottom and a little burnt. I've heard this will lead to a burnt taste in my beer. I continued with the recipe as if nothing had occurred and I avoided siphoning any crud into my fermentation bucket. Did I ruin my batch?

 

[ILoveBeer2]

It probably will have a burned taste. Since its your first batch, continue on. You will learn a lot in the process and you will be more confident with your next batrh. Look as this as a learning experience.

 

[axacrusis]

I think you should be just fine. You may have a slight caramelized flavor but likely it should affect the overall beer. I like to taste my wort as often as I can to see how everything is working before and during the boil. I say don't worry your beer will be great! Cheers!

 

[YeastHerder]

If it tastes burnt now, that might mellow a bit but its not clear from your post whether there was actually a burnt taste or if you're just concerned that there might be a burnt taste.

 

[civkik]

Am I hearing this correctly you taste the wort before you start fermenting? I haven't tasted it, I just read if you didn't stir it in it would taste burnt. I'm hoping it will be fine. Just wanted to see if anybody else had experienced that before.

 

[brewbobaggins]

I've done that before. The burnt taste will mellow with time but will most likely be there to some extent. You could just tell people it's a Rauchbier (smoked beer). Especially as a Kölsch, it may not be too different from a traditional Rauchbier. Good luck!

 

[civkik]

Thanks for the tip! I still have hopes it will be tasty.

 

[axacrusis]

Yes I think you should be fine. Just to clarify if you taste your wort after the boil while cooling make sure you sanitize anything that will touch the wort. Good luck you should b fermenting happily right now!

 

[civkik]

She has been steadily fermenting since the first night. How soon after co2 has stopped should I test the brew to transfer into the carboy?

 

[civkik]

I guess what I'm asking is when would my beer be in its primary for two stage (secondary) fermentation?

 

[axacrusis]

Are you fermenting in a bucket? If so I would leave it alone for at least 2 weeks or even better 3 weeks. Transferring to secondary carboy is not needed for the style you are brewing.

Actually, these days many home brewers just ferment in primary uses you are adding additional dry hops or fruit if which you would want to rack on top.

I like to leave my brews in the primary for 3 weeks which allows the yeast to clean up everything and when you bottle or keg it will be ready to drink even sooner. If you are eager to start drinking you can check your gravity and if it remains the same over 3 days the fermentation is compete and you can start to bottle/keg your brews.

 

[civkik]

I was going to move to my secondary, so I could start brewing another batch

 

[BlackRock]

Definitely move it to a secondary then to make room for another brew. I've done batches both ways. I feel like my house IPA comes out cleaner and more crisp when I use a secondary vessel to condition the beer. Use your hydrometer to measure the FG to know when fermentation is done. Once it's stopped dropping and holds constant a couple days in a row you know fermentation is done. Then move it to your secondary for conditioning.

It's a personal preference as you'll find based on the beer style and the brewer. Some guys are packaging their beer in under two weeks from pitching and use secondary. Some guys leave their brew sit a month in a primary then bottle. I've done everything from leaving my brew sit in primary for a month to two weeks. I've also racked my beer to a secondary and let it sit for anything from a week to a month or more.

 

[civkik]

Thanks for the input black rock. I was told the beer will be clearer and crisper with the use of a secondary.

 

[williamsdm1111]

I did that with my first batch a month ago. I carried on with the brew and it ended up tasting good. No noticeable burn favors. Good luck

 

[civkik]

I did that with my first batch a month ago. I carried on with the brew and it ended up tasting good. No noticeable burn favors. Good luck

Thanks! I'm still hopeful it will be tasty.

 

[yewtah-brewha]

I guess what I'm asking is when would my beer be in its primary for two stage (secondary) fermentation?

I wait minimum 1 week. I also use the airlock as a guide. 1-3 minutes between airlock activity. this will ensure that when you transfer it the co2 will remove the oxygen in a quick time.

 

[civkik]

Just transferred the kölsch to my secondary fermenter. Tasted pretty good, ill bottle in about two weeks and wait another week to crack one open.

 

[civkik]

Just transferred the kölsch to my secondary fermenter. Tasted pretty good, ill bottle in about two weeks and wait another week to crack one open.

It was sitting at the appropriate FG of 1.01

 

[civkik]

Bottled my kölsch today and it had a vinegar scent.. Tastes good but a little flavorless from the beginning. Aftertaste was pleasant. Should I be concerned...or just give it time and don't be worried?

 

[civkik]

Any thoughts here friends?

 

[rklinck]

Any thoughts here friends?

You bottled a Kolsch after a total of 10 days? That's very fast. Your description of the taste makes sense. Most kolsches I have had are light on the flavor upfront.

FYI -- a true Kolsch should be lagered (cold conditioned) for a minimum of two weeks.

 

[civkik]

I had done primary fermentation for a week and then transferred to a secondary for another week and a half. Is the smell of vinegar normal? It was fermenting at about 65 degrees.

 

[RM-MN]

I had done primary fermentation for a week and then transferred to a secondary for another week and a half. Is the smell of vinegar normal? It was fermenting at about 65 degrees.

There is a smell of green apples or cider and there is vinegar. The first two are OK, just means the yeast haven't finished with the process of making alcohol from sugar as one of the intermediate products is acetaldehyde that smells like....well, green apples or cider.

If it truly smells like vinegar it means your sanitation wasn't good enough and you introduced acetobacter which turns alcohol to acetic acid. If this is the case, the beer will taste like vinegar and there is no hope for it to get better. Use it for salad dressing or something and clean the heck out of everything that touched your beer after the boil.

 

[YeastHerder]

Am I hearing this correctly you taste the wort before you start fermenting? I haven't tasted it, I just read if you didn't stir it in it would taste burnt. I'm hoping it will be fine. Just wanted to see if anybody else had experienced that before.

Yeah, whenever I take a sample for the hydrometer (OG, and so on), I taste it to see how things are coming along. At OG, everything is really sweet of course, but you can pick up other characteristics too.

 

[civkik]

Well I had never had a kölsch before in my life, but today I picked up a steam works kölsch. (Colorado pride ) taste was the same, so hopefully the smell was a fluke.