So I just opened up an amber ale that has been in the bottle for about 2 weeks. It has a distinct ciderish flavor, that I think is acetaldehyde. Is this something that will go away by just leaving the bottles alone for a couple more weeks?
Acetaldehyde go away in bottle?
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Chrisbrewbeers
Well-Known Member
No beer I can remember that I bottled and tasted like apple juice ever got better. I overpitched a batch massively not too long ago and got that smell. Research indicated that acetyldehyde boils off around 75 degrees so it sat in fermenter above that for a week. It went away and was fine. It was strong too the apple smell. Bottles can't boil off.
I agree, the only way to get rid of it is offgassing at warm temps. If already bottled then this is not possible.
dwhite60
Well-Known Member
Just give it time. Time and patience will fix a LOT of faults. Just don't dump it yet.
All the Best,
D. White
All the Best,
D. White
pablosbrewing
Well-Known Member
https://beerandbrewing.com/VJmwUisAALkq3055/article/off-flavor-of-the-week-acetaldehyde
Yeast re-absorbs acetlyaldehyde after fermentation is complete so racking too soon is one cause since you are removing the yeast that will do this. I blame kit instructions that recommend racking to secondary for no good reason.
Swirling the yeast and keeping the bottles at room temp for a bit longer should speed along the recovery.
Yeast re-absorbs acetlyaldehyde after fermentation is complete so racking too soon is one cause since you are removing the yeast that will do this. I blame kit instructions that recommend racking to secondary for no good reason.
Swirling the yeast and keeping the bottles at room temp for a bit longer should speed along the recovery.
maltoftheearth
Well-Known Member
Oddly enough, I had an IPA this year with strong acetaldehyde and it disappeared after two days of lagering at near freezing temps. Made no sense to me but I had a control group of bottles that were not nearly frozen that kept their acetaldehyde off flavor ... until I lagered them in the same way.
what temp did you drink them at? maybe your cold taste buds just couldn't distinguish?
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I rushed to bottle a saison to submit for a contest. After bottle conditioning I detected the bitter apple and it didn't do so well in the competition. After another month I entered a couple of them in a different contest and the beer had improved so dramatically it won first in its category with a 41... give it time!
F
Forzo
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My first homebrewed beer ever was a simple Coopers kit. The finished beer had lots and lots of acetaldehyde so it tasted more like cider than beer. I put the bottles in a cupboard and forgot about them. I found them two years later and tried one. It was great! Still a very slight tone of green apples but the majority had disappeared. Time can do wonders 
petrolSpice
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My first homebrewed beer ever was a simple Coopers kit. The finished beer had lots and lots of acetaldehyde so it tasted more like cider than beer. I put the bottles in a cupboard and forgot about them. I found them two years later and tried one. It was great! Still a very slight tone of green apples but the majority had disappeared. Time can do wonders
Every beer I've put away for 2+ years ended up tasting more like apple cider than it did to begin with.
Could have been the judges...
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Brewbuzzard, you are absolutely right. I've only submitted beer in a competition those two times. Speaking to more experienced brewers in my club, judging seems to be perceived as hit or miss. What I think I left out of my little story is that initially the beer had a very perceptible off flavor that I and my friends found interfered with enjoying the beer. A month later it was delicious and now I wish I still had some of it ...
pablosbrewing
Well-Known Member
Years ago I brewed an Alt and it had an off flavor so I poured it out. I brewed another batch and it had the same off flavor. My wife said don't pour this one out, so later I kegged it and stuck it in the fridge and forgot about it. About three months later I tried a glass and it was great. I shouldn't have poured out the first batch. Time can correct a lot. Live and learn.
TheDogsRump
MOMO BREWING
This is Fahrenheit, right?
Yes.
