First, is bottling time an appropriate time to take a taste?
I had California Lager using California Lager Yeast. I didn't find out until 4 weeks of fermentation and 6 weeks that California Lager Yeast is designed to work at ale temps. Oh, well. I was told, however, that it didn't matter; I didn't screw things up by treating it like a real lager.
I bottled it on Monday and I had about a 1/3 of a bottle at the very end. I tasted it right then and there and it was slightly off; something not lager tasting about it. It's palatable - once carbonated could knock back a bottle or two with the current taste - but there is something slightly caramel-tasting in there (maybe even burnt-caramel-tasting). The best way I can describe it is this: the beer tasted like the DME/water priming solution smelled. The same taste/hit to the nose I got simply from smelling the DME/water priming solution was the same I got from tasting the beer (or vice-versa).
Any thoughts? Is this one of those "it'll get better with carbonation and time in the bottle" sorts of things or can someone tell by my description of the taste if something more serious went wrong?
Cheers,
JWiC
I had California Lager using California Lager Yeast. I didn't find out until 4 weeks of fermentation and 6 weeks that California Lager Yeast is designed to work at ale temps. Oh, well. I was told, however, that it didn't matter; I didn't screw things up by treating it like a real lager.
I bottled it on Monday and I had about a 1/3 of a bottle at the very end. I tasted it right then and there and it was slightly off; something not lager tasting about it. It's palatable - once carbonated could knock back a bottle or two with the current taste - but there is something slightly caramel-tasting in there (maybe even burnt-caramel-tasting). The best way I can describe it is this: the beer tasted like the DME/water priming solution smelled. The same taste/hit to the nose I got simply from smelling the DME/water priming solution was the same I got from tasting the beer (or vice-versa).
Any thoughts? Is this one of those "it'll get better with carbonation and time in the bottle" sorts of things or can someone tell by my description of the taste if something more serious went wrong?
Cheers,
JWiC