How often did you guys get off-flavors when starting out?

[saeroner]

Or just did not taste like you thought it would? I aim for local brewery quality and i'm far from that.

I have tasted 10 batches. 3 extract 4 mini-mash and now 3 all grain. Only one came out good (and it's not even all that good).

I have learned a lot in the past 6 months especially the last month with mashing.

I have 5 new batches fermenting now yet to taste. Hopefully it's just the learning curve.

I think fluctuating temps and unhealthy pitching of dry yeast and maybe not making starters has been my problem.

I'm anal about star-san.

Is it just a common thing to start of making crappy beer in the beginning?

 

[unionrdr]

My first couple batches had higher than should be initial ferment temps. But they aged out ok in primary & bottles. Getting a good process down in the begining is far more important then how fast you progress with a brewing style. Get the right basics down first,then move up the brewing style ladder.

 

[andy6026]

I'm 16-17 batches in and still have trouble, but as you say, I'm learning more with each batch. I've only done 1 batch that has been truly outstanding. Others have been 'good', a number have been 'drinkable' and a few have been terrible. I've tried to narrow down why they aren't all coming out to be fantastic. I'm been making yeast starters (sans stir plate), bought an expensive thermapen so I can nail my mashes accurately, as well as gotten into altering the water pH and using campden to treat the water. And yet with almost every batch something somewhere goes wrong. My last batch, the hops weren't as fresh as they should have been and the beer came out unbalanced. The batch before that, the recipe itself had waaaay too much unfermentable malt.

So here's a few things I would have pointed out to myself many batches ago to hopefully get to the promised land faster:

1) fermentation temps, of course.
2) sanitation, of course.
3) Look for recipes from some of the heavies on here, reproduce them in a thread and ask others to critique them in order to avoid problems... or even ask whoever posted it if there are any perculiarities to the recipe that might not be obvious (for example, in 1 recipe I saw Yooper post, she said that having fermentation temps in the bottom range of what the yeast called for was unfavorable for that recipe).
4) Make sure your ingredients are fresh, especially hops. That doesn't mean you have to be paranoid when ordering online, but don't go leaving a bag of hops in your coast pocket in the hall closet for a few days and then be surprised that they have nowhere near the pungent smell of fresh hops... like somebody I know).
5) Be sure to give the beer the proper time both in fermenting and in bottle conditioning. Time seems to heal quite a few wounds in this hobby, and little to my surprise a few of the batches that were 'drinkable' became 'good' just as I neared the last few bottles of the batch.

I hope this helps

 

[UberHasselhoff]

My first 7 or 8 batches were terrible; almost quit brewing several times in a fit of Hulk like rage.

The key is just to hang in there. Troubleshoot as normal and whatever you do avoid the the urge to change multiple variables at once!

Cleaning and sanitation, maintaining proper fermentation temperatures, mrmalty yeast calculator (proper pitching amount), using campden tablets, determining when to add extract (hint: not all at the beginning of the boil), and NOT making changes on the fly to recipes were all things I had to figure out before I got beer that I wasn't embarrassed to give to people.

Good luck, yo.

 

[bbohanon]

I'm 16-17 batches in and still have trouble, but as you say, I'm learning more with each batch. I've only done 1 batch that has been truly outstanding. Others have been 'good', a number have been 'drinkable' and a few have been terrible. I've tried to narrow down why they aren't all coming out to be fantastic. I'm been making yeast starters (sans stir plate), bought an expensive thermapen so I can nail my mashes accurately, as well as gotten into altering the water pH and using campden to treat the water. And yet with almost every batch something somewhere goes wrong. My last batch, the hops weren't as fresh as they should have been and the beer came out unbalanced. The batch before that, the recipe itself had waaaay too much unfermentable malt.

So here's a few things I would have pointed out to myself many batches ago to hopefully get to the promised land faster:

1) fermentation temps, of course.
2) sanitation, of course.
3) Look for recipes from some of the heavies on here, reproduce them in a thread and ask others to critique them in order to avoid problems... or even ask whoever posted it if there are any perculiarities to the recipe that might not be obvious (for example, in 1 recipe I saw Yooper post, she said that having fermentation temps in the bottom range of what the yeast called for was unfavorable for that recipe).
4) Make sure your ingredients are fresh, especially hops. That doesn't mean you have to be paranoid when ordering online, but don't go leaving a bag of hops in your coast pocket in the hall closet for a few days and then be surprised that they have nowhere near the pungent smell of fresh hops... like somebody I know).
5) Be sure to give the beer the proper time both in fermenting and in bottle conditioning. Time seems to heal quite a few wounds in this hobby, and little to my surprise a few of the batches that were 'drinkable' became 'good' just as I neared the last few bottles of the batch.

I hope this helps

I 100% agree with 1, 2, 4 and 5 on this thread.
As long as you keep it clean, simple, fermented in the optimal yeast temp range(usually I target the lower end of the yeast temp range for cleaner beers) and make sure you give the beer enough time to come into its true form in the bottle/keg, you will be surprised at how much better your beers will be.

I would would also HIGHLY recommend keeping a solid beer brewing log. Keeping detailed notes throughout the beers life cycle and your process when it was made helps to narrow what you might have done wrong in those "less than stellar batches" as well as what you did RIGHT on those home run batches. I have filled up over 3 spiral bound notebooks that I reference all the time when I get requests from co-workers who want a small batch of "that awesome winter beer" I made and gave to them last year for their upcoming party. I tag all my caps with unique naming to know what batch was what in my notebooks. My friends just keep the caps of the ones they love and hand them to me when they want more of that batch(along with some ingredient/labor money).

Last note, some folks just like different types of beers. I have had some folks hate a beer I made and if I give one or 2 of that same beer to a different person, they love it. Style of beer matters to you as well as who you are serving it to.

Most of all, enjoy the journey. This is a hobby(for most of us) and should not feel like failure or a job. Otherwise, why do it at all?
:rockin:

 

[sablesurfer]

Yeast happiness! I started out with very little control over temps as my ambient in house is all over the place. Everything else you can deal with, even older ingredients won't necessarily give you "off-flavors"...you just wont get a great beer with old stuff.

But your yeast HAS to stay happy. Find a way, any way, to control your ferm temps. I have been using water bath and small room temp control with an aquarium heater for a while now with good results. If you need cooling you can drape a towel over carboy with the lower edge in the water, this will wick and cool. Water bath is most rudimentary and about the first thing that helped me keep some consistency in flavor. (Also track your daily ferment temps, you will be surprised how they can change if you are not trying to control.)

I am now building out a fermentation chamber to better control my cooling as that is hardest part in my house. Heating water bath in winter was cinch. This will be the next step in making exactly the same beer every time.

Sanitation, recipe, mash, etc are all important.....but it is YEAST that makes beer and makes all those other flavors. It will make LOTS AND LOTS of off flavors if it gets temp shocks or over heats.

 

[BreezyBrew]

First two beers had lots of acetaldehyde. The first one from the start, and the other, after I kegged. Not sure what the root cause of the problem was. It sucked, because I started with fermentation control, making a starter, probably a little more advanced then the average start out. I kept brewing, my beers got better, and my apprehension faded.

 

[morticaixavier]

I'll echo what others have said. my beer got better when I started using proven recipes and stopped throwing everything in the LHBS at a beer. then it got better again when I started paying attention to fermentation temps even if only a water bath or swamp cooler setup. then it got better again when I started really paying attention to the health of my yeast.

 

[Hang Glider]

another +1 for Fermentation temps - biggest change to improve my beer quality. Low end of your yeast range, unless you have professional equipment like glycol systems and jacketed fermenters (then any temp within range).

 

[Conman13]

Where do you get your recipes and ingredients? I've had great success with recipes from Northern Brewer. In the beginning I was using my LHBS shops recipes and my beers were crap.

Maybe try giving your beers some more time in fermentation also. Try some different yeasts. Go for styles that are more tolerant of off flavors (darker beers and stronger ales).

 

[Jayhem]

It's been said but it really is all about the yeast. Yeast make the beer and if the yeast aren't happy they will make nasty tasting funk, not beer!

Here are the things that turned my mediocre brews into world class craft beer!

1. Temp controlled fermentation
2. Yeast pitching rate calculators! www.mrmalty.com You need a LOT more yeast for good beer than you think!
3. Big starters on a stir plate!
4. pitching a the right temp! Don't pitch at 80 and then cool the wort down to 65! Pitch at the temp you plan to ferment at!
5. Aerating the wort before pitching! Shaking works but a aeration stone is better!


Once I got a handle on how to make the yeast happy I've not turned out a bad beer since and most of my beers taste as good or better than what's on tap at the local micro brew pub.

 

[aqualung23]

I'm still working on it, and only 1 of my first 6 batches have been really good. 2 Were decent. 2 were drinkable. 1 (my first AG batch) is fermenting as we speak. I have terrible temperature control with coal heat (my current batch has gone between 58 and 71-Yikes!), but ASAP I'm going to get a chest freezer to convert to a ferm chamber.

 

[Anders9962]

Is it just me or, if it was easy to brew the perfect beer, then it wouldn't be as much fun.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Paradigm]

My first beer was OK. A wayyyyy too smokey porter. My next two batches were off flavor due to too-high fermentation temps. Since then it's all been pretty OK. Still trying to figure out how to get rid of that yeasty "homebrew" flavor.

 

[BoomerHarley]

I don't know why but your sentence "I am anal about star-san" is just downright disturbing.

 

[Clonefan94]

Or just did not taste like you thought it would? I aim for local brewery quality and i'm far from that.

I have tasted 10 batches. 3 extract 4 mini-mash and now 3 all grain. Only one came out good (and it's not even all that good).

I have learned a lot in the past 6 months especially the last month with mashing.

I have 5 new batches fermenting now yet to taste. Hopefully it's just the learning curve.

I think fluctuating temps and unhealthy pitching of dry yeast and maybe not making starters has been my problem.

I'm anal about star-san.

Is it just a common thing to start of making crappy beer in the beginning?

Fermentation is where you should start, imo. I personally think it's the easiest variable to control and find out where the rest of your beer stands. Pitch the right amount and keep your temps in the mid to lower end of the yeasts spectrum and you should at least, at that point, know weather or not fermentation is your issue. More than likely, from your process you describe, that will eliminate a lot of your off flavors. Then from there, focus on one thing at a time. Water, Mash, etc.

My first two beers were crap. I drank them, but wouldn't have served them to anyone else. I did a ton of research before I started, but never grasped the concept that ambient room temp is not fermentation temp. And since I started in the summer, my first two beers were probably fermenting close to 80 degrees. Lot of whacky flavors in there.

 

[Roadie]

I severely under pitched my first beer, a Kolsch. No one liked how it came out. Used starters after that to great success.


Almost Famous Brewing Company

 

[Darwin18]

It sounds like you have the sanitation down. Focus on the temperature control. It's absolutely vital especially as we move into spring and summer. Honestly, I was very close to rage quitting my first year in brewing. I had no idea why my beer tasted like crap. Then I really focused on temperature control throughout fermentation and suddenly my beer wasn't just good, it was great. It was award winning. Focus on the temperature control and yeast starters for liquid yeast, and you'll be happy with the end result.

 

[morticaixavier]

My first beer was OK. A wayyyyy too smokey porter. My next two batches were off flavor due to too-high fermentation temps. Since then it's all been pretty OK. Still trying to figure out how to get rid of that yeasty "homebrew" flavor.

time is your best friend here. the yeast will drop out if given time.

 

[alane1]

Patients, lots of it. A beer may not taste as good when the flavors haven't mellowed, the yeast hasn't settled, and the beer hasn't carbed. Time is a good thing. Cheers.

 

[Anders9962]

I made the same mistake, confusing ambient and ferm temperature. I drank 5 gallons of headache

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Home Brew mobile app

 

[sablesurfer]

Still trying to figure out how to get rid of that yeasty "homebrew" flavor.
========================
time is your best friend here. the yeast will drop out if given time.

Yep, I was going to say, 1)you are drinking it too young, 2) you are not cold crashing it enough...and cold crashing is really not that hard.

So...let it all settle out naturally will take a full 4 weeks or more and even a week or two if you bottle condition. Then put your kegs/bottles in fridge for while before drinking to drop even more yeast.

If bottles just been sitting for a while until you get to them, those will be fine too.