All around nasty

[digdan]

I keep myself on my toes by brewing unique types of beer every brewday( once a week ). But I have ran into something that is making me quit mad:

1. My beer will sometimes contain a large yeast flavor making the beer indigestible. Since I debut a beer a week, this gets quite humiliating.

2. The time and money I put into beer I should have a defined guide how to make perfect beer every time. Someone should make said guide (Do it Dude)

3. Better definitions should be put in place to describe such flavors. Saying it tastes like "cardboard" is too broad and indistinguishable.

4. Does beer filters actually harm the beer? I swear to god that Icehouse is just highly alcoholic ****(No he didn't!) beer filtered through a very fine filter. Won't filtering help my beer?

 

[Kaiser]

1. My beer will sometimes contain a large yeast flavor making the beer indigestible. Since I debut a beer a week, this gets quite humiliating.

How old is the beer?
Most of my beers have a yeasty flavor to them when they are young. For some of them it took more than a month of lagering to go away.

4. Does beer filters actually harm the beer? I swear to god that Icehouse is just highly alcoholic ****(No he didn't!) beer filtered through a very fine filter. Won't filtering help my beer?

Yes filtering can hurt the beer. Especially very fine (sharp) filters can remove larger protein and dextrine molecules that make up the mouthfeel of the beer.

Kai

 

[magno]

I try to brew unique beers that cannot be found in stores as well. Some come out and some .... well dont. I consider this part of the learning process and not something to get discouraged over.

As far as the yeasty flavor: how long do you let the bottles mature before opening? And does the flavor disapate with time? I have noticed that some yeast strains take longer to condition out than others.

I dont know if a definitive guide on how to make perfect beer every time is possible. Beer making is a highly subjective art/science. There are some general guidelines to follow (ie. sanitation, sanitation, sanitation) but the process as a whole is pretty loose.

I do not think that filters will really harm your beer but you will need to force carbonate the beer.

A few questions: What kind of yeast do you use? Do you use a secondary fermenter? What temperatures are you fermenting at?

It is unfortunate that you have found your beer indigestible, but dont give up.

- magno


EDIT: I defer to the Kaiser on filtering.

 

[budbo]

Looking at your link you are drinking them too young, you show your Brown ale as being 3 weeks old and ready for consumption.... At three weeks old, mine are just going into the bottles, and at the half way point.... 1-2-3 rule can apply.. I Always put aside 2 bottle to drink after 1 week and then at 2.. the difference between a single week in the bottle and 3 can be very significant in taste and clarity.

Are you slow pouring them to make sure you are leaving the sediment behind?

Are you racking them to a secondary?

Seems to me you aren't giving them enough time... I almost threw away a batch that after 2 weeks in the bottle (5 weeks after brewing) was a "failure".. A few people here said to just stash it and revisit it in a month......A month later, it was a pretty good tasting brew that would have been criminal to have poured.

The best advice I ever got from the old timers here is; if it doesn't smell like burnt rubber, taste like wet cardboard, or have nasty fuzzy **** growing in it.. Time can make a bad beer drinkable, an OK beer good, and a good beer great, and enough home brew can make even Chelsea Clinton look Hot!.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I am a STAUNCH believer in letting my beer age a bit...or at least I'm better at it than most... ...so it can mellow and age.

Most of us drink our beer before it's time. For instance, spiced beers shouldn't be drunk (tested) for at least 1 month, beers with ginger about 3 months, etc.

 

[Cheesefood]

I try to brew unique beers that cannot be found in stores as well. Some come out and some .... well dont. I consider this part of the learning process and not something to get discouraged over.

You know, Skittlebrau might sound like a good idea to Homer Simpson, but there's a reason that it's not publically marketed. You have to figure that the major brewers out there have sampled nearly every combination of fruits, vegetables and grains to see what the mass public wants.

Don't confuse beer with iced tea.

 

[david_42]

Having attended an off-flavor training session, I can say cardboard is a very distinct flavor caused by a single chemical. The same applies to the other forty things we tried. Hard to narrow things down past one name - one chemical. Granted, a bad brew will generally have more than one thing wrong and if you are trying to learn the off-flavors using bad beers, it can be frustrating. Add to that, just about everyone has flavors & smells they can't detect.

Brewing with absolute consistancy is called being a pro. It isn't as much fun as being a hobbiest.

 

[fishmonkeystew]

An off-flavor training session? Did they purposefully brew a bunch of off flavor beers for tasting?

 

[Shambolic]

I notice on your website you have a beer brewed about a month and a half ago (Evil Berry - Robust Porter), that is "gone", and you've labelled with "brilliant", and "age did wonders for this beer".

If it's gone after a month and a half, it never got the chance to age!! Next time you brew a promising-tasting beer, put a decent amount aside to age for 3+ months minimum; it can make a huge difference!!

 

[KA6GZJ]

"enough home brew can make even Chelsea Clinton look Hot!."


That would take more beer than I could ever drink!

 

[Monster Mash]

Brewing with absolute consistancy is called being a pro. It isn't as much fun as being a hobbiest.

But it should be something you strive for if you enjoy the hobby. After 11 years of brewing I have got it down to where I can duplicate beers pretty well but as everyone else has said, it takes patients .....

 

[Beer Snob]

On a side not.... how are you sober enough to type....

Good going though! That is one hell of a lot of brews in such a short amount of time.

Again, way to go! With all that brewing, you'll get the process down to a science in no time Keep brewing, keep commiing back here, keep writing what your doing, keep reading!