2nd Brew Problem

[pascott6]

I brewed a Honey Blonde Ale on 1/21/11 with a OG of 1.054.

.75 Honey Malt
.5 Briess 2 Row
4 lbs Dry Malt Ext. Pilsen Light
1 lb Honey

steep Grains in 1.5 qt of water @ 155 degrees for 30 min. rince & make the wort. Finished it like a normal boil. Instead of chilling in ice water i chilled it in the snow out side. This process took about 45 min to cool to 80 deg. Added tto water & added yeast. Let sit for 3 weeks.
FG on 2/1/11 was 1.012 checked on 2/12/11 was 1.012 so i bottled & let set for 2 more weeks. Cooled down & tasted it was not very good. It had very little head & did not retain a head at all. It also had a very strong bite almost like Champagne. I let it sit 2 more weeks & tried last night & it still had no head retention & didn't taste that great.

Anyone have an idea what may have gone wrong or is it supposed to be that way.

 

[pascott6]

I did use Hops i just don't remember what it was.

 

[wonderbread23]

Could be many different things. Is the 'bite' alcoholic? Is it tannic (like sucking on a tea bag)? Is it medicinal / plastic like? All of these things described as 'bites' can come from different things. What is your water like? What did you clean / sanitize with? What were your fermentation temps?

 

[DoubleFisted]

Did you sanitize everything? How much room did you leave in your bottles for carbonization? what did you use to carbonate it? I am thinking 80 degrees is a little high to pitch yeast with an ale I usually like to get 60 to 70 but still might be alright. At what temp did you store the bottles for carbonization?

 

[pascott6]

Could be many different things. Is the 'bite' alcoholic? Is it tannic (like sucking on a tea bag)? Is it medicinal / plastic like? All of these things described as 'bites' can come from different things. What is your water like? What did you clean / sanitize with? What were your fermentation temps?

I filter my water in a brita pitcher. I use clorox to clean & rinse extemely well. I'm very anal about cleaning everything. I pitched the yeast at 68-70 & it stayed a consistant 68 during fermentation.
The bite is almost like it is still green not bitter not plastic like at all.

 

[pascott6]

Did you sanitize everything? How much room did you leave in your bottles for carbonization? what did you use to carbonate it? I am thinking 80 degrees is a little high to pitch yeast with an ale I usually like to get 60 to 70 but still might be alright. At what temp did you store the bottles for carbonization?

I'm very anal about sanatizing & filled bottles half way up the neck when i caped.
I pitched the yeast at 68-70.
The bottles stay at 68 all the time.

 

[DoubleFisted]

What did you do to carbonize it? priming sugar? what is the process that you took to carbonate it?

 

[MashTun-Kutcher]

Not sure on the "bite", but snow is an insulator. So it usually takes a really long time to cool down. (Thats why people live in igloos). Cheers!

 

[pascott6]

What did you do to carbonize it? priming sugar? what is the process that you took to carbonate it?

Boil 1 cup of water add 5 oz priming sugar. cool & stir into bottling bucket.

 

[Golddiggie]

Could be over carbonated and you're really tasting the bite from that. With that much sugar, if the brew was at 68F for the entire time (fermentation temperature too) then you got around 2.7 CO2 volumes. That's within the range of the style, but just (style range is 2.4-2.8).

I would give it another 2-4 weeks, chill one down for 5-7 days, then try it...

BTW, are you pouring into a room temp glass, or frozen one? If frozen, try a room temp glass.

 

[brewit2it]

When did you add the honey? I've only used it once (and that will be the last time), added it at flameout and it is my least favorite batch I've made. Has a bite like you describe, dry and slightly cidery and yet over-filling due to being over-carbed. It's still drinkable but not as good as the pure malt brews I've made before and after the honey ale.

 

[Golddiggie]

I would have held off on adding the honey until it had been fermenting for 1-2 weeks. Especially since you used honey malt. Better to hold off on adding it until it's fermented and you know what you have than toss everything into the boil, or before pitching the yeast and not like what you have...

As for a single pound of honey being the cause... I find that extremely hard to believe. I've added anywhere from 12oz to 5.5# of honey and have NOT had any 'cider' flavors to the brews. I typically advise to add honey during the cool-down, if not waiting until 1-2 weeks from when fermentation is active. I would also say to not add more than 1# at a time unless you KNOW what you're going to get from the addition.

Over carbonating can produce a carbonic acid 'bite'... You can have a really great brew before bottling, add too much priming solution/sugar and ruin it. Drinking a brew in a frozen glass can also pull out flavors that you won't get when it's served in a room temp glass. A shift of only 10F, of the brew, can completely change how it tastes.

 

[pascott6]

When did you add the honey? I've only used it once (and that will be the last time), added it at flameout and it is my least favorite batch I've made. Has a bite like you describe, dry and slightly cidery and yet over-filling due to being over-carbed. It's still drinkable but not as good as the pure malt brews I've made before and after the honey ale.

I added the honey at the beginning of the boil. Your right it has that cidery bite. I got the priming sugar from the LHBS it is pre packaged.