Just thought I'd share something for the newbies. I know we already have a "don't throw out your beer!" thread. This is a "maybe you can fix it!" thread.
I'm no expert. I've been brewing for about eight years. I still make mistakes. In August, I brewed a fresh-hop red IPA. Pre-fermentation, it tasted like a solid recipe. Oktoberfest came and went in September, family stayed with us and went. Life happened, and although I kept thinking, "I need to keg that red IPA, or get it into secondary," I left it. It sat for five weeks in primary.
The beer is finally kegged and carbed (been in the keg now for a month), and I just think the otherwise great beer has a glaring flaw. The beer smells and tastes of yeast. Malty, toasty, hoppy yeast. It's drinkable, but not pleasant at all, and after eight years, I've become quite a snob.
For the last two nights, I made a sort of mixed drink out of the beer. I took this beer from "dang it!" to "holy cow this is AWESOME!" If you make a bad-tasting beer, maybe it's oxidized, cardboard-like, band aid, or yeasty like mine, maybe try something like this.
What you'll need:
1) Your favorite 80+ proof spirit. In my case, gin.
2) A SodaStream or the like.
3) Hops.
4) A love of hoppy beers.
5) Medium charred oak chips.
6) Coffee filter.
Here's the method:
Step 1. - Fill a mason jar at least half way with the oak chips, then fill with your spirit, and seal the jar. After three days or so, the gin should turn orange and taste like the oak chips.
Step 2. - Put a gallon of water on the stove. Raise it to 185°F. Add a half ounce (maybe even an ounce) of your favorite hop to the hot water. Remove the pot from the heat, and put a lid on it. Let it sit for 20 minutes. You now have hop tea. Chill the hop tea with your favorite method. Get it soda-out-of-the-fridge cold.
Step 3. - Filter the cold hop tea through a coffee filter. Pour some of the result into a soda stream bottle, and carbonate it. Keep in mind, you don't want to carb this as much as plain water. Hop soda has a bit of head retention, so only "burp" the Sodastream once, and be careful when releasing the pressure and removing from the tower. Put the rest of your gallon of tea in the fridge for next time.
Step 4. - Get your favorite beer glass and add anywhere up to a shot of your aged spirit. Fill your glass maybe a third of the way, or up to half, with hop soda. Top off with your off-flavored beer.
Step 5. - Profit.
Normally, watering down a beer alone can help with off-flavors, but mouthfeel suffers from the lowered CO2, hops, mineral content, and alcohol.
This method hits every note. You're watering down the beer to reduce the off-flavor, but adding carbonation and more alcohol to give it body. Instead of only toning down your off-flavor, you're masking it with more hops and the oak-aged spirit. You effectively wind up with a beer that tastes like a fresh hop double IPA, aged in your favorite barrel.
I chose not to "fix" the whole keg, because maybe I might want to experiment as I go, so I'll likely just keep "mixing drinks" for the remainder of the keg. I can tell you, sober as I am this morning, that I have tried this method for the last two nights, and it is a solid, fun solution that removes the remorse that comes with having a disappointing batch, and feeling stuck with it, or worse yet, considering dumping. I took this beer from being almost undrinkable, to something I actually love. Had to share. I hope it helps someone.
I'm no expert. I've been brewing for about eight years. I still make mistakes. In August, I brewed a fresh-hop red IPA. Pre-fermentation, it tasted like a solid recipe. Oktoberfest came and went in September, family stayed with us and went. Life happened, and although I kept thinking, "I need to keg that red IPA, or get it into secondary," I left it. It sat for five weeks in primary.
The beer is finally kegged and carbed (been in the keg now for a month), and I just think the otherwise great beer has a glaring flaw. The beer smells and tastes of yeast. Malty, toasty, hoppy yeast. It's drinkable, but not pleasant at all, and after eight years, I've become quite a snob.
For the last two nights, I made a sort of mixed drink out of the beer. I took this beer from "dang it!" to "holy cow this is AWESOME!" If you make a bad-tasting beer, maybe it's oxidized, cardboard-like, band aid, or yeasty like mine, maybe try something like this.
What you'll need:
1) Your favorite 80+ proof spirit. In my case, gin.
2) A SodaStream or the like.
3) Hops.
4) A love of hoppy beers.
5) Medium charred oak chips.
6) Coffee filter.
Here's the method:
Step 1. - Fill a mason jar at least half way with the oak chips, then fill with your spirit, and seal the jar. After three days or so, the gin should turn orange and taste like the oak chips.
Step 2. - Put a gallon of water on the stove. Raise it to 185°F. Add a half ounce (maybe even an ounce) of your favorite hop to the hot water. Remove the pot from the heat, and put a lid on it. Let it sit for 20 minutes. You now have hop tea. Chill the hop tea with your favorite method. Get it soda-out-of-the-fridge cold.
Step 3. - Filter the cold hop tea through a coffee filter. Pour some of the result into a soda stream bottle, and carbonate it. Keep in mind, you don't want to carb this as much as plain water. Hop soda has a bit of head retention, so only "burp" the Sodastream once, and be careful when releasing the pressure and removing from the tower. Put the rest of your gallon of tea in the fridge for next time.
Step 4. - Get your favorite beer glass and add anywhere up to a shot of your aged spirit. Fill your glass maybe a third of the way, or up to half, with hop soda. Top off with your off-flavored beer.
Step 5. - Profit.
Normally, watering down a beer alone can help with off-flavors, but mouthfeel suffers from the lowered CO2, hops, mineral content, and alcohol.
This method hits every note. You're watering down the beer to reduce the off-flavor, but adding carbonation and more alcohol to give it body. Instead of only toning down your off-flavor, you're masking it with more hops and the oak-aged spirit. You effectively wind up with a beer that tastes like a fresh hop double IPA, aged in your favorite barrel.
I chose not to "fix" the whole keg, because maybe I might want to experiment as I go, so I'll likely just keep "mixing drinks" for the remainder of the keg. I can tell you, sober as I am this morning, that I have tried this method for the last two nights, and it is a solid, fun solution that removes the remorse that comes with having a disappointing batch, and feeling stuck with it, or worse yet, considering dumping. I took this beer from being almost undrinkable, to something I actually love. Had to share. I hope it helps someone.
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