questionable taste?

[ba70665]

Well, i bottled my first batch about a week ago, an American Amber Ale, and i just tried the first one. I noticed when racking/bottling that it had a really, well, "yeasty" smell to it. Thats really the only way i can describe it. Never brewed before so i figured perhaps it was normal, and doubted the beer would taste that way. It has a beautiful color and perfect head, but after trying it i'd definitely say there is an off flavor.

Problem is, i have a cold and can't taste well. But i would say its the same taste as that 'yeasty' smell. Dont have the most articulate palate, so thats about the only adjective i can come up with.

The only mistake i think i made was not cooling the wort enough before adding the yeast, and therefore causing a warmer, faster fermentation. Would this be the reason? Is there an off flavor typical of doing this that i would call 'yeasty'? Or am i just a newbie being paranoid and will the conditioning process fix this?
Anyways, any advice is great!!! Thanks a lot.

 

[ba70665]

by the way, what are some good sites for ordering my next batch? thanks

 

[EvilTOJ]

Yeasty taste can come from it still being a green beer. Give it a few weeks in bottles and it will taste a lot better. Even if you drink that last oz of beer at the bottom of the bottle I've also had a cold and had that yeasty taste as well. We not only taste with our tongue, we also taste with our nose, if you didn't know that before. So having sinuses full of mucus can definitely change taste perception.

Sometimes the best places to buy kits are at your LHBS, where they can tutor you on what to buy next. Some places to get kits are northernbrewer.com or austinhomebrew.com . Don't take my word for it though, I didn't ever buy kits, I always made my own recipes and went shopping.

 

[weetodd]

I agree. You should wait a little longer before you judge. I know it's hard, but crack one in about two weeks and hopefully things will start to meld a little better.

 

[zoebisch01]

Yeah wait. A week in the bottle is not long at all (depending as well on how old it was before you put it into the bottle). But at any rate with that style of beer you'll pick up on yeasty flavors much more easily say than something more heavy flavored and complex like a Stout (etc). My APA I leave for at least 3, almost 4 weeks in the bottle after a 10 day ferment before I dare drink it.

 

[Bobby_M]

It's probably just green. I noticed my first few batches ended up yeasty (which most people associate with mediocre homebrew unless it's a hefe) and I think it had to do with my impatience. I'm sure I bottled well before it had cleared in the fermenter. Let the bottles sit at room temp at least 3-4 weeks, then chill one for at least 3 days to let the chill haze form and floc out as much yeast as possible. The first few bottles I tasted were always fast chilled in an icewater bath so I was always tasting yeast.