Hiding "OFF" taste from warm fermentation

[GUZ808]

I have brewed up a 5 gallon batch of extract Amber. Surprisingly here in Alaska it has gotten hot and even though I let this ferment in my garage it was still above 75F. I used Nottingham dry yeast.
One week into fermentation and it tastes OFF with some alcohol in the end.
My question is can I do anything to get rid of the taste? Could I add something to it? Will dry hopping help hide the taste?

 

[Stauffbier]

In my experience there's nothing that will hide the taste very well. Especially with Notty. Sorry. Wish I had better news...

 

[reuliss]

I have brewed up a 5 gallon batch of extract Amber. Surprisingly here in Alaska it has gotten hot and even though I let this ferment in my garage it was still above 75F. I used Nottingham dry yeast.
One week into fermentation and it tastes OFF with some alcohol in the end.
My question is can I do anything to get rid of the taste? Could I add something to it? Will dry hopping help hide the taste?

Nope. If you've got fusels, you might as well dump it now and try again. Not you're fault, though. Just a temp issue.

 

[BigFloyd]

Before you do anything rash, box it up, set it aside for a couple of months, fridge one for a week and try it. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Notty doesn't like above 68*F during active fermentation. Some, most or maybe even all of the most noticeable off flavors may condition out with time. If you got hot enough for fusels, they will remain.

 

[GUZ808]

Sorry this may be dumb question but how do I know I have a fusel taste or just an other off taste?

 

[jtratcliff]

Before you do anything rash, box it up, set it aside for a couple of months, fridge one for a week and try it. You might be pleasantly surprised.

This!


Only dump as a last resort.

 

[zoomzilla]

I had the same problem last week so I tried opening the growler I bottled in and tossed a hand full of pellet hops in and tightened the cap. Ten hours later I opened it back up and poured the beer into a glass through a tea strainer. Still not very good beer but at least drinkable. Just open slowly or it may explode.

 

[reuliss]

Sorry this may be dumb question but how do I know I have a fusel taste or just an other off taste?

Not a dumb question. You'll taste fusels as a hot alcoholic finish to the beer. It's really unpleasant. Picture cheap vodka. I also don't subscribed to saving or aging bad batches. If you messed it up, toss it and get it right. No point in drinking, at best, mediocre beer. Also, beer is not want to be aged. Do g that really only forces the issue, IMHO. At this point, only additional brewing reps will help you turn out a consistent product.

 

[reuliss]

Not a dumb question. You'll taste fusels as a hot alcoholic finish to the beer. It's really unpleasant. Picture cheap vodka. I also don't subscribed to saving or aging bad batches. If you messed it up, toss it and get it right. No point in drinking, at best, mediocre beer. Also, beer is not want to be aged. Do g that really only forces the issue, IMHO. At this point, only additional brewing reps will help you turn out a consistent product.

I should add that many english strains throw off fusels if fermented too warm.

 

[BigFloyd]

I also don't subscribed to saving or aging bad batches. If you messed it up, toss it and get it right. No point in drinking, at best, mediocre beer. Also, beer is not want to be aged. Do g that really only forces the issue, IMHO. At this point, only additional brewing reps will help you turn out a consistent product.

I have to disagree. Unless he's tying up a keg, what does he have to lose by boxing up some bottles and leaving them alone for a while?

One of my brew buddies made a cream ale that initially tasted like it had been strained through the scrapings out of a barnyard. It was foul. He set that keg aside and only checked on it every three months. It took a year, but that nasty flavor went away and it was delicious.

 

[Stauffbier]

I've never had a beer that was fermented too warm taste good with age. They might get a little better, but usually once the beer warmed in the glass all of the off flavors started to become obvious again. I've tried aging some as long as a year. I'm not saying you shouldn't give it a try. I'm just saying don't be shocked if it never gets better. At this point I'm not willing to choke down beer that only tastes mediocre at best.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so I suggest bottling it, giving it a little time, then make up your mind whether it's worth drinking to you or not...

 

[TwoRiders]

age it for a few months and if it still isn't drinkable cook with it.

 

[reuliss]

I have to disagree. Unless he's tying up a keg, what does he have to lose by boxing up some bottles and leaving them alone for a while?

One of my brew buddies made a cream ale that initially tasted like it had been strained through the scrapings out of a barnyard. It was foul. He set that keg aside and only checked on it every three months. It took a year, but that nasty flavor went away and it was delicious.

To each his own. Great beer should be the standard. When done properly, it should not take long. I'd bet that year old cream ale was pretty oxidized.

 

[GUZ808]

When I took a sample and tasted it the flavor seemed off. No big hot alcohol taste in the end but there was a little. Then I let the sample sit in the fridge and chill. The sample didnt taste so bad. I know chilled beer hides flavor. Thats why the mass breweries like Coors say drink super cold.
I think maybe throwing in some dry hops and letting it sit for a bit might help

 

[eastoak]

I have to disagree. Unless he's tying up a keg, what does he have to lose by boxing up some bottles and leaving them alone for a while?

One of my brew buddies made a cream ale that initially tasted like it had been strained through the scrapings out of a barnyard. It was foul. He set that keg aside and only checked on it every three months. It took a year, but that nasty flavor went away and it was delicious.

holy genessee! i would have soured that one for sure, no way i'll wait a year to drink a cream ale

 

[BigFloyd]

When I took a sample and tasted it the flavor seemed off. No big hot alcohol taste in the end but there was a little. Then I let the sample sit in the fridge and chill. The sample didnt taste so bad. I know chilled beer hides flavor. Thats why the mass breweries like Coors say drink super cold.
I think maybe throwing in some dry hops and letting it sit for a bit might help

Wait a minute. I just re-read the original post. You're judging the character of this beer based on one week of fermentation and want to mess with it based on that????? :smack:

Let it finish fermenting a few weeks. Give the yeast a chance to clean it up. Let it carb/condition a few weeks. Stick a bottle in the fridge a few days and then see what you taste.

 

[GUZ808]

Wait a minute. I just re-read the original post. You're judging the character of this beer based on one week of fermentation and want to mess with it based on that????? :smack:

Let it finish fermenting a few weeks. Give the yeast a chance to clean it up. Let it carb/condition a few weeks. Stick a bottle in the fridge a few days and then see what you taste.

Actually BigFloyd I have to agree with you
The beer is only one week old. I just tried another sample and it didn't seem that horrible as it tasted a couple of days ago. I don't know why, but I think dry hopping may help hide some of it. I could be wrong cause I never had this high of a fermentation up here in Alaska(Kinda rare).
Does anyone have any experience with dry hopping to "hide" an off flavor?

 

[eastoak]

Does anyone have any experience with dry hopping to "hide" an off flavor?

almost everybody has experience with dry hopping to hide an off flavor or somehow save a beer, sometimes it works. if i were you i would just wait and see what happens with some time. i've had beer taste great right out of the fermentor then taste not so great when it was carbed up, and the other way around too.

 

[BigFloyd]

almost everybody has experience with dry hopping to hide an off flavor or somehow save a beer, sometimes it works. if i were you i would just wait and see what happens with some time. i've had beer taste great right out of the fermentor then taste not so great when it was carbed up, and the other way around too.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^.

I wouldn't dry hop it unless you are looking for the sort of hop spice/flavor it will provide. Be careful about your hop selection if you go this route.

To each his own. Great beer should be the standard. When done properly, it should not take long. I'd bet that year old cream ale was pretty oxidized.

It wasn't oxidized at all. The keg had been purged right away and the ale was covered in CO2 the whole time. It was quite excellent.