ben.mathews1
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Hello,
I have been brewing for 3 years (~36 batches of 5 gallons), and I ran into something that I never have before... I was told by my brew shop it was oxidation or contamination, but I am not ready to accept that just yet. I thought this room would be best place to start, but feel free to direct me to a better spot or previous posts that would solve this!
I brewed Northern Brewer's (MN) American Wheat (all-grain) recipe and it was a piece of cake (it's a simple 8lb grain bill / recipe), and I had done it before without issues. (Specifics = 4 lbs. Rahr White Wheat malt; 4 lbs Rahr 2-row Pale; 1oz Willa for 60min, and 1oz Cascade at 15). I remember it tasting relatively "simple" and clean. Tasted like a wheat, but kind of bland when I made it the first time.
THIS TIME...
I had an OG of 1.051, and maintained a temp of 65 throughout the one week (except for a spike to 67-68 during initial ferm). At the end of one week (7 days) I had zero activity on the bubbler and 24hrs of no gravity change (according to my Tilt) so I figured it was done. Ended up with an FG of 1.014. *Recipe said it only takes 1 week primary, and that was what I did last time (well it was more like 8 days).
I took a pull before I transferred. It had the right color (pale, hazy like a wheat) and even tasted like wheat. So I transferred it to my keg, purged oxygen, and then right into the keggerator. The directions say "1 week secondary," but I figured it could just sit my keggerator for a week while it charges up with CO2.
I had my first two glasses and something's not right. It looks like an IPA now (sort of that amber/copper-y color). It also tastes like an IPA (more hoppy than I'd expect/remember for this wheat beer), and with a super slight hint of DiaC. I know that beers (for me) sometimes take a week/8-10 pulls before they "settle in" flavor-wise, but this seems odd.
Now I didn't do a DiaC rest because this is a one week recipe, and it's a wheat beer. But to have a change in color and flavor like that in one week in a keggerator seems weird...
So:
-Did I rush it? (should have done 8 or 9 days?)
-Did putting it straight into the keggerator (i.e. taking it from 65 to 32 degrees in 24hrs) change the flavor and color somehow?
*P.S. I want to emphasize that it tastes like "beer" - just not like I remember this wheat beer tasting. So it's not like an infection or oxidation, I (now) know what that tastes like after some mistakes in my past (and recently). The beers I've made that had a (yeast) infection or oxidation were downright undrinkable. Which is why I don't think it is an infection or oxidation.
Any sage advice would be greatly appreciated!!
I have been brewing for 3 years (~36 batches of 5 gallons), and I ran into something that I never have before... I was told by my brew shop it was oxidation or contamination, but I am not ready to accept that just yet. I thought this room would be best place to start, but feel free to direct me to a better spot or previous posts that would solve this!
I brewed Northern Brewer's (MN) American Wheat (all-grain) recipe and it was a piece of cake (it's a simple 8lb grain bill / recipe), and I had done it before without issues. (Specifics = 4 lbs. Rahr White Wheat malt; 4 lbs Rahr 2-row Pale; 1oz Willa for 60min, and 1oz Cascade at 15). I remember it tasting relatively "simple" and clean. Tasted like a wheat, but kind of bland when I made it the first time.
THIS TIME...
I had an OG of 1.051, and maintained a temp of 65 throughout the one week (except for a spike to 67-68 during initial ferm). At the end of one week (7 days) I had zero activity on the bubbler and 24hrs of no gravity change (according to my Tilt) so I figured it was done. Ended up with an FG of 1.014. *Recipe said it only takes 1 week primary, and that was what I did last time (well it was more like 8 days).
I took a pull before I transferred. It had the right color (pale, hazy like a wheat) and even tasted like wheat. So I transferred it to my keg, purged oxygen, and then right into the keggerator. The directions say "1 week secondary," but I figured it could just sit my keggerator for a week while it charges up with CO2.
I had my first two glasses and something's not right. It looks like an IPA now (sort of that amber/copper-y color). It also tastes like an IPA (more hoppy than I'd expect/remember for this wheat beer), and with a super slight hint of DiaC. I know that beers (for me) sometimes take a week/8-10 pulls before they "settle in" flavor-wise, but this seems odd.
Now I didn't do a DiaC rest because this is a one week recipe, and it's a wheat beer. But to have a change in color and flavor like that in one week in a keggerator seems weird...
So:
-Did I rush it? (should have done 8 or 9 days?)
-Did putting it straight into the keggerator (i.e. taking it from 65 to 32 degrees in 24hrs) change the flavor and color somehow?
*P.S. I want to emphasize that it tastes like "beer" - just not like I remember this wheat beer tasting. So it's not like an infection or oxidation, I (now) know what that tastes like after some mistakes in my past (and recently). The beers I've made that had a (yeast) infection or oxidation were downright undrinkable. Which is why I don't think it is an infection or oxidation.
Any sage advice would be greatly appreciated!!
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