Acetaldehyde when bottling

[andhou27]

So I recently bottled a dark cherry stout by NB and everything was going as planned: OG: 1.053, FG: 1.022 after 3 weeks in the primary at 62-64 F. I started siphoning into my bucket and I started smelling strong acetaldehyde (first time I have). I tried some of the wort and it isn't overpowering, however the flocculated yeast at the bottom of my primary smelled overwhelming. I bottled as planned. Is this more common with darker beers? Also I tried reading up on it and it's probably me just worrying about a green beer. How long does it usually take to convert to ethanol in bottles?

 

[sweetcell]

everything was going as planned: OG: 1.053, FG: 1.022 after 3 weeks in the primary at 62-64 F.

it looks like your fermentation didn't complete. 1.053-->1.022 = only 58% attenuation, and you typically want 70+% (you also have a 4% abv beer). did you use the liquid or the dry yeast? how did you treat the yeast & fermentation? rehydration (if dry), aeration, nutrients, temp stability, etc.

the green apples you're tasting are a by-product of an incomplete fermentation. acetaldehyde is a by-product that yeast typically clean up at the end of a proper ferementation. looks like your yeast might have crapped out early and left behind the acetaldehyde.

will it age out in the bottle? maybe, but it might not. if the yeast couldn't get the job done in primary, who knows if they'll have the strength to get going again in the bottle and clean up their mess. i would store the bottles as warm as i could for a few weeks, in hopes that the priming sugar and the warmth gets things going again. if the bottles are primed after a few weeks and the acetaldehyde is still there, chances are it won't age out. hopefully the priming sugar will kick the yeast back into action

acetaldehyde doesn't affect dark beers any more than light ones, as far as i know.

 

[andhou27]

I know the 1.022 seems high but apparently that's what other people are getting from this stout kit. The yeast may have crapped out but idk. So it's a 50/50 on the acetaldehyde being cleaned up in the bottle?

 

[andhou27]

Also I forgot to mention I'm using a refractometer with Brix for the final gravity so it may be a little off.

 

[RonPopeil]

try again with a hydrometer. can't give you any useful information with a bad measurement.

 

[sweetcell]

So it's a 50/50 on the acetaldehyde being cleaned up in the bottle?

i have no idea what the chances are, other than more than zero but less than 1

do let us know if you can still taste it in a month's time!

Also I forgot to mention I'm using a refractometer with Brix for the final gravity so it may be a little off.

pardon the silly question, but you're correcting for the presence of alcohol right?

 

[IL1kebeer]

pardon the silly question, but you're correcting for the presence of alcohol right?

Another silly question for him is if his Brix reading also takes his WCF (wort correction factor) into account.

 

[andhou27]

I used the refractometer calculator on northern brewer's website so hopefully that is accounted for?

 

[Calichusetts]

I had this numerous times in my first year of brewing. To the point where I almost expected to get the green apple each time. It has cleaned up everytime during conditioning

 

[andhou27]

I had this numerous times in my first year of brewing. To the point where I almost expected to get the green apple each time. It has cleaned up everytime during conditioning

So I opened one up to try it and I was really surprised how carbonated it is after a couple days. The taste is really starting to mellow and the yeast are definitely active in there. So I think this is a case of just being a young beer. That yeast cake was really strong though. Thanks for restoring my confidence haha

 

[andhou27]

I also used Windsor Ale yeast which, according to Danstar, will leave a relatively high gravity and has "moderate" attenuation. So it seems as though I need to start going with Wyeast in the future.