Masking an off-flavor

[bradleypariah]

TL;DR: I made a bad batch. What would you use to cover up a bad flavor? I AM NOT ASKING IF YOU WOULD DUMP IT OR NOT.

Full story:
I heard about a cheap yeast repackager, took a chance, and now regret it. On top of that, I now know I accidentally un-calibrated my thermometer on one of three batches made with the cheap yeast. The other two batches were passable, but the third has been sitting in the carboy for over two months, and I still can't bring myself to keg it.

The beer just tastes like cheap, $h!tty bread yeast. It's not infected, but to make cheap yeast worse, I accidentally pitched it into wort that was 40° F, when I thought it was 60°. (I now own a digital thermometer, thanks to that incident)

The beer is borderline awful, and I've already brewed two other batches (and nearly kicked one) with yummy yeast, since waiting on this nasty one to mellow out.

At one month, the beer tasted like a bag of bitter, wet, yeasty dough.
At two months, it tastes like that dough was mixed with a Budweiser. It's better, but not good whatsoever.

I decided to drop three ounces of Target hops into the carboy yesterday, and I also threw in some oak chips that I had sitting in some gin for a while. I fully intend to drink this abomination, despite the fact that I have other delicious beers in kegs (and others fermenting away), simply because I do not want to be wasteful. I'll wait six months if I have to.

I thought about mashing a tiny bit of two-row with some black patent, and pouring the chilled, dark mixture in, in hopes to kick off a new fermentation, maybe even add new yeast (perhaps champagne to really clean it up?) but I don't know if I'm going overboard. Have any of you ever "fixed" an "oops" batch well enough that you thought it was drinkable? What did you do to cover the off flavor?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jayjay1976]

TL;DR: I made a bad batch. What would you use to cover up a bad flavor?

Full story:
I heard about a cheap yeast repackager, took a chance, and now regret it. On top of that, I now know I accidentally un-calibrated my thermometer on one of three batches made with the cheap yeast. The other two batches were passable, but the third has been sitting in the carboy for over two months, and I still can't bring myself to keg it.

The beer just tastes like cheap, $h!tty bread yeast. It's not infected, but to make cheap yeast worse, I accidentally pitched it into wort that was 40° F, when I thought it was 60°. (I now own a digital thermometer, thanks to that incident)

The beer is borderline awful, and I've already brewed two other batches (and nearly kicked one) with yummy yeast, since waiting on this nasty one to mellow out.

At one month, the beer tasted like a bag of bitter, wet, yeasty dough.
At two months, it tastes like that dough was mixed with a Budweiser. It's better, but not good whatsoever.

I decided to drop three ounces of Target hops into the carboy yesterday, and I also threw in some oak chips that I had sitting in some gin for a while. I fully intend to drink this abomination, despite the fact that I have other delicious beers in kegs (and others fermenting away), simply because I do not want to be wasteful. I'll wait six months if I have to.

I thought about mashing a tiny bit of two-row with some black patent, and pouring the chilled, dark mixture in, in hopes to kick off a new fermentation, maybe even add new yeast (perhaps champagne to really clean it up?) but I don't know if I'm going overboard. Have any of you ever "fixed" an "oops" batch well enough that you thought it was drinkable? What did you do to cover the off flavor?

Thanks in advance.

The most effective way to cover up off flavors is to simply drink a different beer.

EDIT: I must admit I've forced myself to suffer through some scorched batches, but off flavors like bad yeast that you find unpalatable likely can't be masked.

 

[Yooper]

I've tried to save a batch, and the beer was really undrinkable. It sat in the kegerator for a long time, and finally I just dumped it (all 10 gallons). Life is too short to drink bad beer, even as a penance for using a contaminated yeast starter like I did.

Off flavors don't go away, and aging it forever won't make it better.

 

[day_trippr]

I agree, there's no win in adding self punishment to the saga of a bad batch.
Bad juju. Dump it and move on...

Cheers!

 

[bradleypariah]

You guys are killing me! LOL

Do none of you agree with this thread??
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer.73254/

I appreciate your responses, I really do, but just the same, I'm really hoping for suggestions on masking off flavors, not whether or not you think I should dump it. Of course, I imagine if someone adamantly believes I should pour this batch down the toilet, they might see this as an invitation to tell me I may as well add urine and cinnamon to it (that'll change the flavor!), but I'm being serious.

Almost every beer you've ever bought off the shelf from New Belgium was an undesirable beer that was blended with something stronger. It's how they come up with new flavors. I saw a video about their tasting/blending process, and I have a friend who works there.

The beer I made was a light lager, so naturally it shines its off-flavors like a lighthouse. I honestly believe adding new wort, or blending it with an equally-too-strong stout might balance things out. Just looking for suggestions.

I'm not a masochist, but neither am I a quitter. Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions from someone who has experience doing this, or any zany ideas from people who find this to be an interesting topic. I want to advance the homebrewing knowledge base, for whatever that's worth. I have some of the best beer I've ever tasted in my whole life kegged right now. This isn't about desperation. It's about learning.

 

[secondbase]

Every time I've decided to package a mediocre beer I've ended up regretting it. I would dump it. Brew a quick turnaround beer to replace it!

 

[bradleypariah]

I'm really hoping for suggestions on masking off flavors, not whether or not you think I should dump it.

I would dump it. Brew a quick turnaround beer to replace it!

I have some of the best beer I've ever tasted in my whole life kegged right now. This isn't about desperation. It's about learning.

 

[Manufacturedevolution]

Sour it. Serve with a healthy dose of fruity syrup Berliner Weisse style..

 

[Yooper]

You guys are killing me! LOL

Do none of you agree with this thread??
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer.73254/

Nope, I don't agree. Aging bad beer only gets an older bad beer in my opinion. Some off flavors mellow or age out, but that is very few and only if it's something that can benefit from aging, like some over the top esters, or too much roast. Sorry.

But if you want to save it, I agree that doing something radical, like souring, might work. Adding fresh wort to it only means ruining more wort in my opinion.

 

[cloudybrewer]

Keg the beast, and pour one ounce of it into your glass before filling with something else. It'll be gone in a couple years!

 

[bradleypariah]

Now we're talking. Perhaps some Brettanomyces, Pediococcus, and fruit? Mango, maybe? I say mango, because of the Target dry hop and gin-soaked oak I already put in there. Not sure what fruits might mingle nicely with that. Some sites say you actually should pitch more wort into the beer in this situation, that way the new bugs have something to get started with. Have you ever tried souring, @Manufacturedevolution ?

 

[bradleypariah]

Keg the beast, and pour one ounce of it into your glass before filling with something else. It'll be gone in a couple years!

LOL! Whether or not you're kidding, I actually did it with the previous two batches that I made with this yeast strain (they were pitched at the proper temp, though). I mixed it closer to half/half. Something different each time. Sometimes more of my home brew, sometimes something from the store. It was pretty good. I'd drink a glass of one of those blends right now if it were in front of me. This batch.... it needs time and a miracle.

 

[seatazzz]

Bottle it and give it to people you don't like and want to go away.

Not really. There's no shame in dumping a sub-par batch, especially if you have something yummy on tap to replace it. Look at it this way...the beer you dump will go back into the great circle of life (read: sewage treatment plant) and become something that will help more beer ingredients grow, that you will eventually buy, and turn into something yummy. Beer is eternal.

the above response written with help from a REALLY strong American Strong on this restful Friday night.

 

[BrewKnob]

TL;DR: I made a bad batch. What would you use to cover up a bad flavor? I AM NOT ASKING IF YOU WOULD DUMP IT OR NOT.

Full story:
I heard about a cheap yeast repackager, took a chance, and now regret it. On top of that, I now know I accidentally un-calibrated my thermometer on one of three batches made with the cheap yeast. The other two batches were passable, but the third has been sitting in the carboy for over two months, and I still can't bring myself to keg it.

The beer just tastes like cheap, $h!tty bread yeast. It's not infected, but to make cheap yeast worse, I accidentally pitched it into wort that was 40° F, when I thought it was 60°. (I now own a digital thermometer, thanks to that incident)

The beer is borderline awful, and I've already brewed two other batches (and nearly kicked one) with yummy yeast, since waiting on this nasty one to mellow out.

At one month, the beer tasted like a bag of bitter, wet, yeasty dough.
At two months, it tastes like that dough was mixed with a Budweiser. It's better, but not good whatsoever.

I decided to drop three ounces of Target hops into the carboy yesterday, and I also threw in some oak chips that I had sitting in some gin for a while. I fully intend to drink this abomination, despite the fact that I have other delicious beers in kegs (and others fermenting away), simply because I do not want to be wasteful. I'll wait six months if I have to.

I thought about mashing a tiny bit of two-row with some black patent, and pouring the chilled, dark mixture in, in hopes to kick off a new fermentation, maybe even add new yeast (perhaps champagne to really clean it up?) but I don't know if I'm going overboard. Have any of you ever "fixed" an "oops" batch well enough that you thought it was drinkable? What did you do to cover the off flavor?

Thanks in advance.

Time. It sounds like yeast is your issue...my opinion is that if its yeast 3 months in the keg might mellow it out.

 

[bradleypariah]

Time. It sounds like yeast is your issue...my opinion is that if its yeast 3 months in the keg might mellow it out.

I've hoped as much. The first time I tasted it was six weeks ago, and it has gotten MUCH better since then, even though I still don't love it.

I neglected to mention, after having my perilous first sip, I put about 4oz into a SodaStream, and I carbed the daylights out of that bottle. Pure foam. When the dust settled, I drank it right from the bottle (so no nose/aroma), and the off-flavor was literally gone. Completely. I mentioned it in a thread about combating diacetyl, asking people how that could possibly be, but no one ever responded.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/fight-diacetyl-w-out-raising-temp.646673/#post-8258235

 

[bradleypariah]

Bottle it and give it to people you don't like and want to go away.

HA! My wife said the same thing (kinda). She said to give it to my brother-in-law. I like him and I don't want him to go away, but he's one o' them weird ones that like Budweiser and craft beer. He'll drink anything. He likes it all. I brought him a growler of one of the previous two batches that had this weird yeast, and he was upset I didn't bring more. He drank it almost as fast as you could pour it on the floor. I couldn't bring myself to tell him I didn't like it, and I was only sharing to try to get rid of it faster.

 

[Manufacturedevolution]

I have soured a lot of beers but always pre-boil. I know people sour in secondary or in bottles so I don't think it would be an issue. I usually sour with lacto but I'm not sure how it likes alcohol and ph after fermentation.. some brett or some particular lacto strain may do better. I would read up on that. The milk the funk place may have some insight or perhaps some more funk knowledgeable person here. Did you mention gravity?

 

[seatazzz]

Taste is relative. To those of us who brew our own beer (and are usually our own worst critics) we may think something we've brewed isn't worthy of even sharing, but there are people out there who have palates that think it's the best thing that have ever passed over the back of their tongues. There are a LOT of great commercial beers out there, but for some, homebrewed beer satisfies something in their palate that they just can't get from the commercially available offerings. Enjoy it, cherish it, and keep on brewing.

 

[cloudybrewer]

I like him and I don't want him to go away, but he's one o' them weird ones that like Budweiser and craft beer. He'll drink anything. He likes it all. I brought him a growler of one of the previous two batches that had this weird yeast, and he was upset I didn't bring more. He drank it almost as fast as you could pour it on the floor.

Beer..... If it's wet, it works!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

TL;DR: I made a bad batch. What would you use to cover up a bad flavor? ...

The beer just tastes like cheap, $h!tty bread yeast. It's not infected, but to make cheap yeast worse, I accidentally pitched it into wort that was 40° F, when I thought it was 60°...

At one month, the beer tasted like a bag of bitter, wet, yeasty dough.
At two months, it tastes like that dough was mixed with a Budweiser. It's better, but not good whatsoever.

I decided to drop three ounces of Target hops into the carboy yesterday, and I also threw in some oak chips that I had sitting in some gin for a while. ...

The beer I made was a light lager, so naturally it shines its off-flavors like a lighthouse.

So, the basic problem is that you've got light lager made with a yeast similar to bread yeast.

So that implies the total flavour has little malt or hop contribution, and then a whole load of phenolics from a POF+ yeast, and a load of yeastiness from a yeast that doesn't want to floc. On the bright side, it won't take too much alcohol to kill the yeast off - it might even be dead already, and there's unfermented fermentables still left in there. Is there any sign of sweetness?

So you could help the yeast drop by adding a yeast that floccs well and try to co-flocc it. Or just go with it and head towards a style that's meant to have yeast featuring in it.

There's not a lot you can do about the phenolics except take it to Belgium - start thinking how you'll convert it to a wit or a tripel or something. Or go further down that line and turn it into a lambic or kriek or something.

To be honest, I'm not sure that the gin-y oak or the Target will have helped much - the Target certainly won't help any bacteria you may want to add.

 

[bradleypariah]

Did you mention gravity?

I didn't, but it's pretty low right now. I think 1.007 or so. I tasted it again today, and the hops are shining through, and the off-flavor is starting to get buried, but since it was a light beer, it's missing some body.