Same batch, completely different flavor between bottles

[brewer8700]

So, I am legitimately frustrated with my most recent batch of beer. It is my second batch, my third is currently in secondary right now. It is a NB nut brown extract recipe. I follows all the instructions according to what was sent me. I read on their reviews that coffee is a good additive to this beer, and so I looked into it and brewed 2/3 of a pot off coffee, cooled it, and added it to my secondary bucket, siphoning my beer into it. It fermented in primary for 10 days, and secondary for 13. It has now been over 3.5 weeks since bottling.

My frustration lies in that some bottles are absolutely amazing, while others taste completely different. The good ones, about 2 out of every 5 taste nutty, and have a pretty strong but well balanced coffee finish. The not-so-good ones have a not awful, but not real pleasant bight to them and have a slightly metallic, chemical-like smell and taste...its not a lot, but enough to really bother me when I crack one open hoping for a nutty coffee flavored ale. They don't taste nutty at all, and not much coffee either. Do any of you guys have any clue what could cause this? I know its probly to late for this batch, but I want to do whatever I can to save my 1554 clone I have brewing if its something I did wrong.

 

[chickypad]

So sounds like something is going on at the bottling step. What is your process for cleaning and sanitizing your bottles?

 

[billpaustin]

You kept it well mixed? Liquids like to create layers based on temperature, and if you didn't mix them up a lot, you may be drinking from different layers.

 

[brewer8700]

I cleaned all my bottles prior to bottling day and stored them in my closet. On bottling day I mixed up some star san sanitizer and soaked my bottles in them, then rinsed and air dried them before bottling.

The only mixing I did was when I siphoned into secondary, and again when I siphoned into bottling bucket. You think I should have done more than that?

 

[aeviaanah]

Possibly air drying led to an infection? Don't let starsan air dry

 

[brewer8700]

So would it be best for me to soak in starsan, rinse and bottle wet?

 

[bleme]

Yes. You always want to see wet Star San.

 

[lebucheron]

Don't rinse the starsan, the foam is good for your beer, and protects it all the way until its full and capped off.

 

[carguy13]

i use a spray bottle that i stole from my wife to spray out the inside of my bottles. works awesome.

 

[TroyMorgan]

I cleaned all my bottles prior to bottling day and stored them in my closet. On bottling day I mixed up some star san sanitizer and soaked my bottles in them, then rinsed and air dried them before bottling.

The only mixing I did was when I siphoned into secondary, and again when I siphoned into bottling bucket. You think I should have done more than that?

How did you "mix" during each step? If you just siphoned into the next bucket it may not have evenly mixed. You should carefully/slowly stir the wort so everything evens out. You want to make sure not to stir too vigorously though. Oxygen is good before you pitch, but really bad after your fermentation is complete.

 

[brewer8700]

Yeah, thats all i did, just the mixing from siphoning it. That makes sense that could be part of my issue.

 

[Revvy]

I just posted this for the zillionth time about carbonation, but just replace the words "Carbonation" with "Conditioning" and you'll understand...it's the same.

Whenever someone says they have inconsistant carbonation it's really that you don't have a carbonation problem, you just have a patience one.

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And just because a beer is carbed doesn't mean it still doesn't taste like a$$ and need more time for the off flavors to condition out. You have green beer.

Temp and gravity are the two factors that contribute to the time it takes to carb beer. But if a beer's not ready yet, or seems low carbed, and you added the right amount of sugar to it, then it's not stalled, it's just not time yet.

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

You may have just caught the beers as they were individually starting to pop, and happened to have grabbed the first ones that actually did carb, and assumed the rest already did, when they hadn't yet.

Inconsistant carbonation, usually simply means that they are not ready yet. If you had opened them a week later, or even two, you never would have noticed. Each one is it's own little microcosm, and although generally the should come up at the same time, it's not an automatic switch, and they all pop on.

Like Chesire asked.

Our of curiosity, are the bottles stacked up with some on the floor and some on top? The floor can be cold and those bottles will carb slower.

A tiny difference in temps between bottles in storage can affect the yeasties, speed them up or slow them down. Like if you store them in a closet against a warm wall, the beers closest to the heat source may be a tad warmer than those further way, so thy may carb/condition at slightly different rates. I usually store a batch in 2 seperate locations in my loft 1 case in my bedroom which is a little warmer, and the other in the closet in the lving room, which being in a larger space is a tad cooler, at least according to the thermostat next to that closet. It can be 5-10 degrees warmer in my bedroom. So I usually start with that case at three weeks. Giving the other half a little more time.

Bottom line, it's not that the sugar's not mixed, it's just that they all haven't come up to full carb yet....Three weeks is not the magic number for finality, it's the minimum time it takes....

Pull them out of the fridge, give them a little shake to kick the yeast up, and make sure they're above 70 for a couple more weeks.

The ones that taste better than the others, just happen to be a little ahead of the conditioning game than the others, the rest haven't caught up yet.

 

[Yooper]

I cleaned all my bottles prior to bottling day and stored them in my closet. On bottling day I mixed up some star san sanitizer and soaked my bottles in them, then rinsed and air dried them before bottling.

The only mixing I did was when I siphoned into secondary, and again when I siphoned into bottling bucket. You think I should have done more than that?

You don't stir/mix beer once it's fermented as oxidation ruins beer fairly quickly.

I siphon into the bottling bucket, where the priming sugar is on the bottom, and then the beer swirls gently as it fills from the bottom and mixes with the priming sugar.

Beer doesn't "separate" into layers- it stays all mixed up. Think about it- you don't buy a commercial beer and shake it to mix before opening. The alcohol and beer don't separate- it's a homogenous mixture.

 

[brewer8700]

so you don't think thats the issue Yooper, would you say its a timing thing, or sanitation issue when bottling, or something completely different? I am trying to get as many opinions from people who know what they're talking about as possible.

 

[Revvy]

Its' doubtful it's a sanitation thing, it's only been 3.5 weeks. Most bottling infections are late onset, they don't happen overnight. And more than likely if it was an infection, you'd have gushers.

I'm not saying it isn't an infections, but by your description;

ones have a not awful, but not real pleasant bight to them and have a slightly metallic, chemical-like smell and taste.

You could also simply be experiencing carbonic bite, or as we also call it Co2 twang. A bitter, sligthly metallic taste/aroma that people experience when co2 hasn't fully been absorbed in the beer. People notice it both in bottles and kegs.

I would give it a couple weeks more to see if stuff mellows or starts gushing, before going either way.

 

[brewer8700]

Cool, I will try and let them sit for another couple weeks to see how that effects them.

 

[Kahless]

You could take four bottles and do a side by side comparison after storing two in the fridge for two weeks (forcing Co2 into solution), and two not. Although the two left out the fridge will continue conditioning, it might point towards the Co2 twang Revvy mentioned above if they happen to taste metallic and the others not. (Just as long as you let them warm/cool to the same temperature before drinking - I find a very nice stout to be bitter/metallic at too low a temperature and to lose nutty/chocolatey aromas).

Speaking of letting them sit though, I made an imperial stout that took 6 months to get to its prime, and I really wish I had more than 4 bottles left now

 

[LovesIPA]

So would it be best for me to soak in starsan, rinse and bottle wet?

Absolutely not and I'm surprised no one has said anything. Star-san is a no-rinse sanitizer. Soak the bottles in Star-san and empty the bottle. Then fill it wet. Do not rinse! You're defeating the purpose of sanitizing.

The only thing about Star-san that makes it a sanitizer is its low pH level. Nothing can survive in it. So if you mix a tiny amount of star-san with 12oz of beer, all you're really doing is lowering the pH of the beer a tiny amount.

 

[Yooper]

so you don't think thats the issue Yooper, would you say its a timing thing, or sanitation issue when bottling, or something completely different? I am trying to get as many opinions from people who know what they're talking about as possible.

If it's different from bottle to bottle, then I'm guessing it's a bottle cleaning or sanitation issue. It's not like beer would age super fast in one bottle and not in another.

Often, a chemical smell points to chlorine in the water or in the cleaners used.