Off flavors, is it just because it's a green beer?

[sparegeek]

Okay so i'm working on my very first brew and I just tasted the fermented beer after taking a Hydrometer reading and it had a off after taste.

Too me it seems a bit "medicinal" my wife couldn't describe it and just made a face!

I took the reading because I haven't seen any airlock activity, no bubble at all.

The beer has been in the primary now for just a week and was made from a True Brew American Wheat. I tried modifying it to be closer to a Belgian Wheat and the my LHBS had me put in some coriander and bitter orange peel into the boiling wort during the last 5 mins of the boil.

The O.G. Was 1.054 and the yeast took off right away. In fact the next morning the airlock was full of gunk and yeast and was pretty plugged up and not releasing the pressure very well so I removed it, cleaned it, re-sanitized it, and put it back on. The bubbling continued for about another 2-3 days then slowed and subsided. I took a reading last night and the gravity was 1.024 tonight it was 1.022 but the star san leaves foam in the thief so it's hard to know if those are accurate. The beer is also very cloudy.

So I'm trying to figure out if it's still fermenting or ready to be bottled and if that off flavor is going to mellow out during the bottling phase? The instructions say to bottle it after a week but should I leave it in the primary for another week? I don't have a secondary so It would have stay in the primary.

The book I've got says relax have a home brew but, I don't have any yet!

Thoughts?

 

[eastoak]

leave it until you get the same gravity readings 3 times in a row. make sure it's not too hot or too cold 62-66F or so. beer can taste weird throughout the process, you'll know the truth once it's been in the bottle for 3-4 weeks. the flavor will change with time.

 

[sparegeek]

Okay, thanks. That's what I was hoping. How long between readings should I wait? Should I do them every day or wait in between?

 

[eastoak]

Okay, thanks. That's what I was hoping. How long between readings should I wait? Should I do them every day or wait in between?

you could do them everyday. i do 1 every few days but i have a ton of beer in my pipeline so i don't feel hurried with any one particular batch.

 

[RM-MN]

Your beer is cloudy because the yeast are still active. It will have a weird taste because the yeast are still active. I'd tell you to have a home brew but since you don't have any yet you have a slight problem. Leave the beer where it is until the cloudiness starts to clear up and then take a hydrometer sample. I'd bet the taste will be better. Give it another 3 to 7 days and take another hydrometer sample and if it matches you can bottle.

 

[MuchoGusto]

Do you pull a rock hard G-R-E-E-N tomato off the vine and expect it to taste like heaven? Beer is no different. Folks don't eat half-baked "raw" bread. Beer is no different. I could go on and on and on.

 

[sparegeek]

Thanks all, very good points about it not being done. Now I know better. The one book I read said not to put back what you take out for an hydrometer reading and to either throw it out or drink it. I went the drink it route. Now I know not to do that any more.

Just makes one worry.

Thanks again!

 

[Balue]

I went the drink it route. Now I know not to do that any more.

I drink all my samples and they usually taste good or great to me! But then again I don't pull my first sample till the two week mark minimum. Just don't pull and sample so early!

But on the other hand as most of us have done when we were new brewers. We would pull too early then think something was wrong. Mark this up as learning experience and see how the beer changes the next sample you take in a week. Then how it tastes after its conditioned. I have probably tasted beers every day in the fermentation process over the years.

 

[FattySparks]

I saw somebody post the 1-2-3 rule, I have used it, and it hasn't failed yet.

1, leave it in the primary for at least 1 week.
2, rack into secondary and leave it for 2 weeks.
3, bottle and condition for three weeks (this one you can do in as little as 1 week, but the longer it conditions the better it tastes).

It adds a little bit of time to your normal brewing, but it's usually worth it. Be sure to test with hydrometer before bottling for a couple of days, but after 3 weeks most simple beers will be done fermenting.

Also, if you don't rack into a secondary, I would imagine you could combine 1 & 2, and just leave it in the primary for 3 weeks.

 

[unionrdr]

I don't rack to secondary unless I'm racking onto something like fruit,oak,etc. I leave it in primary till a stable FG is reached,however long that takes. Then 3-7 days after that to clean up & settle out more. Then bottle.

 

[flabyboy]

I agree with all the give it more time comments, but am wondering what you used for water. Chlorinated tap water could be your culprit

 

[unionrdr]

It could very well come from chlorine or chloromine. But it can also come from sanitizers like sodium percarbonate,which at the proper dilution,smells a heck of a lot like bleach water to me. I used it to sanitize on my 1st brew. That cooper's SP bottle is gathering dust in my fermenter/storage stand. Just like bleach water,that sodium percarbonate takes a few hot water rinses to get that bleach smell out of the FV,etc. So that could be the source as well.

 

[sparegeek]

It seems like timing and my over eagerness to try it might be the culprit here. I'm going to give another few days and then I'll take another hydrometer reading and see where it is at that point.

I don't think it's my water or the sanitizer, I used bottled distilled water for everything even the sanitizer solution. Probably over kill but I didn't want water to be a factor.

I'm using Star San as the sanitizer because I wanted a fast acting one step so that I don't have to rinse anything and possibly recontaminate.

I did use some c-brute to clean everything really well but really rinsed it all well in hot water and the sanitized it after the hot water rinse.

A couple of the books I've read said don't leave it on the dead yeast to long as it can alter the flavor with the breakdown of the dead yeast. How long is too long? Is three weeks really okay?

Also I'm not seeing any bubbles in the air lock could it still be fermenting but just not giving off as much of the co2?

 

[HoppyGilmore]

It seems like timing and my over eagerness to try it might be the culprit here. I'm going to give another few days and then I'll take another hydrometer reading and see where it is at that point.

I don't think it's my water or the sanitizer, I used bottled distilled water for everything even the sanitizer solution. Probably over kill but I didn't want water to be a factor.

I'm using Star San as the sanitizer because I wanted a fast acting one step so that I don't have to rinse anything and possibly recontaminate.

I did use some c-brute to clean everything really well but really rinsed it all well in hot water and the sanitized it after the hot water rinse.

A couple of the books I've read said don't leave it on the dead yeast to long as it can alter the flavor with the breakdown of the dead yeast. How long is too long? Is three weeks really okay?

Also I'm not seeing any bubbles in the air lock could it still be fermenting but just not giving off as much of the co2?

I'm only repeating what I've read here recently, but it seems widely accepted among the premium supporters here that even a few months is ok and that, while autolysis may happen, it's basically a non-issue.

 

[crazyseany]

I'm a novice but I've left all my brews in the primary for four weeks....

Although you can't relax and have a homebrew...get you a six back and get some empty bottles ready...

 

[metaltradie]

My medicine taste left after about 3 weeks it's taking ages but the flavours are starting to taste good if that's any help

 

[JLem]

I'm only repeating what I've read here recently, but it seems widely accepted among the premium supporters here that even a few months is ok and that, while autolysis may happen, it's basically a non-issue.

Leaving the beer on the yeast in primary is generally not a concern at normal homebrew timeframes. 3 weeks is certainly fine. So is 6 weeks. Longer than that and I would rack to a secondary, if I wasn't bottling/kegging it. Generally I would only rack if I am planning on adding oak or fruit or if I am bulk aging it for a while. If not, I just go 14-21 days in primary and then bottle.

Autolysis is really only an issue if you have unhealthy yeast. These days, we start off with much healthier yeast than in the "olden days"' of homebrewing, which is when a lot of these instructions to move the beer off the yeast quickly come from. With healthy yeast and a healthy fermentation, autolysis is generally not a problem. Indeed, it is generally better to keep the beer on the yeast to complete fermentation and clean up many byproducts - your beer will actually taste better if you leave it on the yeast for a while.

As for the original medicinal flavor. Sounds like a possible chlorine issue. Even small amounts will interact with phenols in the beer to produce chlorophemols, which can be mediciney. Could also be a product of warm fermentation - what temp did you ferment at? Either way, the beer is still young, so give it some time.

 

[sparegeek]

Well Holy Smokes......

So I took all the advice I got here and just let it sit longer. I finally took another hydrometer reading today and saw that further fermenting had taken place. The beer has lightened in color and that weird medicine taste has mellowed to almost nothing. It's almost imperceptible and could be just in my head. In fact it tasted pretty decent. I'm going to leave it again for another couple of days as the hydrometer reading did change. It went from 1.022 to 1.020.

@JLem I hope it's not chlorine! I used distilled bottled water for everything, even the star-San solution since I have pretty hard water. My fermenting temps have been a fairly stable 64-67 degrees Fahrenheit I think, based on the stick on. I know those aren't super accurate but it's held steady and I haven't seen any big swings. We keep the house at about 68 and I've got the bucket in a corner in of the house away from any heater vents.


I'm thinking that it just needs time at this point, I'm really amazed at the change in the beer just in a few days! I can't wait to try a bottle of it that's aged. I know oxymoron there, can't wait for an aged bottle.

I'm really getting stoked about it though.