Another "Is my beer ruined?" post...

[derekbooth]

Brewed my 2nd batch of beer (an IPA) last Saturday (January 8th). Added oak chips (sanitized by steaming) per the recipe's instructions.

OG 1.061
FG 1.020

After reading on these forums as well as many other places that leaving the beer in primary for 2 - 3 weeks and dry hopping in there as well may be a better idea than transferring to secondary, I dropped an ounce of hops in 2 days ago. Because I am using a plastic bucket and not a clear carboy, and becuase i'm curious and very impatient, I lifted the lid from the bucket this morning to take in a whiff of my IPA. What I got was a pungent smell that I thought was going to burn my sense of smell right off. It really did burn a bit.

My fingers are crossed that this is just the alcohol I'm smelling and a natural phase of the "clean-up" process that most never encounter because they're more knowledgeable and patient than I. But the beer is far too precious for me to rely on finger-crossing.

Thoughts? I can provide a picture if necessary (I didn't see mold...)

 

[Revvy]

And another "there's nothing wrong with your beer, answer."

You just inhaled a big wiff of CO2.....Nothing else.

We have at least one of these threads a week.

 

[derekbooth]

Whew!!! Thats good news!

 

[Grimster]

Haha yep as a newb I've already seen quite a few myself.

When I was a kid I had this habit of immediately smelling anything I opened up, from ointment to fruit juice, if I took the lid off, I took a whiff. It was the middle of the summer, we had one of those cheap 3x12 Wal Mart pools and I was to put some chlorine tablets into the duck thing that chlorinated the pool. You see where this is going? Yep, popped the top, took a big whiff, and began to DIE seriously I thought I was dying for sure.

My mom frantically calls our family doctor, an old as the hills family doctor you know the type. He's like "he probably didn't get enough to hurt him" and then goes on to regale her with a few stories of how they killed some POW's by using chlorine gas and other nice things making her feel SO much better yeah.

I think, a few hours later when the coughing had stopped finally, that she was torn between hugging me and making me something special for dinner, or just beating the **** out of me. I got schnitzel and pan fried taters for dinner so it was worth it I guess!

 

[Quietandsimple]

Several fellow coworkers and myself use c02 powered airsoft pistols to (more) safely replicate indoor house clearing drills. Co2 is quite pungent. I can't quite describe the smell but it does remind me of a structure fire.

 

[derekbooth]

Good news: It doesn't taste as bad as it smelled in the fermenter bucket

Bad news: I'd send it back if I bought a pint at a restaurant

I kegged this beer after 7 days in primary on oak chips, then another 7 days dry hopped in primary with an ounce of cascade (hops, of course. though, now that i think about it...the detergent may have given better results!)... didn't remove the oak chips. after a few days of leaving it in the keg and tasting a bit here in there, i didn't see any improvement, so i transferred all of the beer to bottles, packed them up in a box and stuck them in a cabinet i rarely open. This IPA ended up tasting less like an IPA and more like a mouthful of cascade with a sweet after taste that is neither good nor recognizable.

Argh!!!

 

[nealf]

Your beer is less than 3 weeks old. Give it some time and I am sure it will settle down a little bit.

 

[derekbooth]

Your beer is less than 3 weeks old. Give it some time and I am sure it will settle down a little bit.

I am. The recipe I had followed had me believing it would be drinkable 14 days after the boil. My hopes were up. Figure I will come back to this one mid-March or so.

 

[C2H5OH]

It sounds like you tried a somewhat advanced recipe. Start off slow, and get yourself an easy extract kit to build confidence. Get used to the process and build up from there. Fear not, we're all here to help.

 

[jiggs_casey]

What I got was a pungent smell that I thought was going to burn my sense of smell right off. It really did burn a bit.

That is awesome! Get a little light headed?

 

[derekbooth]

Thanks everyone. This support system is much better than AA

 

[derekbooth]

That is awesome! Get a little light headed?

No, didn't get light headed... just caught off guard. Kinda like getting punched INSIDE the nose.