Anything to be watched for in tasting wort?

[Vedexent]

OK - I know better, but I just had to sneak a taste out of the fermenter after 8 days.

I know - it's got a long long way to go yet, I should just RDWHAH etc. - save that it's my first batch of homebrew ever. (s'ok - Village Brewery Blacksmith can fill the void), and I wanted to see if something had gone terribly wrong.

So - flat, warm, bit of mouthfeel, definitely got some ABV, not terribly sweet (I was concerned I may have mashed too warm and made a ton of unfermentable sugars) - not anything to write home about, and if I found it in cold, carobonated, and in a bottle I'd expect to see a "generic beer" label on it, but as I said to my wife, it passed the 'BLAAH! test', in that I didn't want to exlaim "BLAAH!" and spit it out. I'll count that as a win so far.

So, while I don't expect the taste to really tell me anything about the final flavor (save that nothing seems to have gone off the rails ... yet), I got wondering if there's anything I really should be looking for?

Is there anything to look for, or hope not to find, in stealing tastes from the wort while it's progressing?

Thanks

 

[A2HB]

It's going to taste harsh earlier and taste better later. I would not be tasting it too much, but that's just me

 

[premington]

Hey there... I have my first brew in the oven, so to speak, and am on day nine of fermentation. I haven't wanted to take a taste yet. Don't want to pollute my expectations, since it'll taste quite green right now. But I'm a pretty patient dude, so waiting it out isn't that big a deal. I'll probably wait until a few weeks after bottling. That'll be about 2-1/2 months after the yeast were pitched.

As for you, if you can draw off a sample without introducing oxygen (does your primary have a racking spigot?), I'd think you're not doing any harm in tasting throughout the process. It's your beer! I'd think it might actually be a good thing, as you'll learn what the different stages of fermentation and aging taste like.

 

[Yooper]

Remember that once you pitch the yeast, it's not wort- it's beer! So you tasted an 8 day old beer.

I do that sometimes, because active fermentation is finished and at that point I"m dryhopping before bottling or kegging.

It should taste like warm flat not-quite-ready beer. It shouldn't be like a beer left out overnight after a party (not that I would know how that tastes, ahem), but instead pretty good but maybe a little yeasty if it's not yet clear. It should taste quite a bit like the final beer will, if you can imagine the carbonation, being cold, and a bit more body (from the carbonation).

 

[Anyhowe]

Good beer is pleasing to the palette at every point in brewing. If you liked it now you will love it later.

 

[BeginnerBebeBrewer]

I always have a taste after the first week. If your brewing an IPA you often will get a really nice nose and an idea of the bitterness of the beer which was induced by the boil.

Room temperature, non-carbonated beer is always going to taste awful....it still might be better than the commercial stuff though!!!!

 

[mongoose33]

I haven't found my early beer to typically be bad....actually, it usually has promise and is tantalizing. I can pick up the flavors I'm expecting (malty, hoppy, whatever), and though it's not finished, I can tell if it's going to be decent or not.

Remember you're tasting flat, uncarbonated, green beer. You have to listen to what it's telling you instead of imposing your expectations on it. That sounds mean, but it's not meant that way--let the beer tell you what it is--and I'll bet you can taste what you're expecting.

One more thing: when I started, I really, deep down inside, didn't believe in conditioning of beer. Well, I'm a believer now. My new beer is usually "green" in that it has sharper flavors than I want....but if I wait a couple weeks or so, it'll smooth out. So will yours.

 

[Vedexent]

Remember that once you pitch the yeast, it's not wort- it's beer! So you tasted an 8 day old beer.

Which I made! (sorry - first batch ever, it's all new, exciting, and fun).

It should taste like warm flat not-quite-ready beer. It shouldn't be like a beer left out overnight after a party (not that I would know how that tastes, ahem), but instead pretty good but maybe a little yeasty if it's not yet clear. It should taste quite a bit like the final beer will, if you can imagine the carbonation, being cold, and a bit more body (from the carbonation).

I haven't found my early beer to typically be bad....actually, it usually has promise and is tantalizing. I can pick up the flavors I'm expecting (malty, hoppy, whatever), and though it's not finished, I can tell if it's going to be decent or not.

Remember you're tasting flat, uncarbonated, green beer. You have to listen to what it's telling you instead of imposing your expectations on it. That sounds mean, but it's not meant that way--let the beer tell you what it is--and I'll bet you can taste what you're expecting.

One more thing: when I started, I really, deep down inside, didn't believe in conditioning of beer. Well, I'm a believer now. My new beer is usually "green" in that it has sharper flavors than I want....but if I wait a couple weeks or so, it'll smooth out. So will yours.

Thanks for the feedback

I did really try and "listen" to what I was tasting, not trying to impose what I expected.

To be honest, this (exceedingly young) beer really didn't taste "sharp" or what I thought "green" might be. If anything it was over towards "bland" territory, but given that is a small batch of a lightly hopped SMaSH of Munich malt lightly hopped with a touch of Cascade ( @ 60 & 45), and a London Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1028) , I didn't really expect Symphonic complexity.

It was really kind of a "technical dry run" to see if I could get the all-grain BIAB process down without egregious errors, and produce a drinkable, alcoholic, beer - even if it wasn't terribly interesting.

I could taste a bit of the malt, and a bit of citrus overtones (with the bitterness almost being a "Grapefruit white" bitter, if that makes sense) - although that might have been suggested by the amazing citrus smell that kept coming through the airlock the first 2-3 days.

So far, I think the taste is exceeding expectations - maybe not by much, but if I can get through this one and have something palatable, I can start to crank up the "interest level".

If - someday - I can aspire to make a Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen clone in my den, I'd be a very happy camper.

But baby steps

 

[Vedexent]

It just occurred to me that I could still inject a little more complexity by dry hopping.

Since this is a Munich Malt & Cascade SMaSH (target IBU 30 - 1 hour boil - hops @ 60 & 15), any suggestions for a dry hop variety?

Or maybe I should not try to do everything all in my first batch; accept this simple SMaSH for what it is - and try dry hopping some other time?

 

[ChelisHubby]

Leave it alone as a baseline! Cheers!

 

[mongoose33]

It just occurred to me that I could still inject a little more complexity by dry hopping.

Since this is a Munich Malt & Cascade SMaSH (target IBU 30 - 1 hour boil - hops @ 60 & 15), any suggestions for a dry hop variety?

Or maybe I should not try to do everything all in my first batch; accept this simple SMaSH for what it is - and try dry hopping some other time?

Just leave it alone. I'd advise you to RDWHAHB except you don't have any, so just relax.

Patience is, IMO, THE hardest thing for new brewers. It's why you want to get a pipeline going so you don't feel compelled to hurry things up.

Meanwhile, you can think about what you're going to do for a second brew.

***************

What you should do is take very good notes about what you did and when you did it. Every time. Some people record that information in software like Beersmith; I have it, but I've come to be more reliant on a simple notebook in which I record pertinent information on my batches.

You can find forms for this, or just do what makes sense in a notebook. I've attached a couple examples below. Just record what you do, when you do it, what your ingredients were, and so on. That way if you stumble across something you really like, you can have a chance to repeat it.

 

[neverfadeaway86]

When I brew I always taste the wort before I pitch the yeast, I taste at bottling time and then will carb 10 days try one 14 days try one, most beers are good to go in that 10-14 day carb range for me, I also usually set a few back to age and see what where the optimal flavor age is like 1 month bottled 2 months bottled etc...

 

[Vedexent]

OK - I'll let it be

Patience is, IMO, THE hardest thing for new brewers.

No kidding!

Meanwhile, you can think about what you're going to do for a second brew.

***************

What you should do is take very good notes about what you did and when you did it. Every time.

I've already got a second recipe queued up for this weekend, and I did take careful notes this time around: ingredient measurements, temperatures, times, etc. - complete with a "things to do differently next time" list at the end.

Thanks for the feedback, all!

 

[cloudybrewer]

Remember you're tasting flat, uncarbonated, green beer. You have to listen to what it's telling you instead of imposing your expectations on it. That sounds mean, but it's not meant that way--let the beer tell you what it is--and I'll bet you can taste what you're expecting.

Be the Beer Whisperer!

 

[VagueSkunk]

Yep, dont mess with it.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I don't think tasting it is necessarily a bad idea this early. You now know something you didn't before about your beer. Namely that it already tastes pretty much like beer after only 8 days. Personally if I was inclined to mess with the beer I would be "taking a gravity reading" and the sample would just end up in my mouth afterwards. At least then you've got some data to use as a result of your impatience.

My first "real" batch (cream ale kit from my LHBS) is on day 6 right now in the fermenter. I think I'm a bit less inclined to disturb it because I've got a Mr. Beer brew bottle conditioning on the shelf above it. I don't exactly have high hopes for the mr beer kit, which is why I don't count it, but it gives me something else to sample periodically besides what's in the carboy.

 

[bolus14]

Couple things I've found over my 4 yrs of brewing... not a long time but I almost always take a sample around day 10-14 just to see where the gravity is at.

Belgians - at less than a few weeks almost all strains will have something "funky" their giving off. The yeast will clean this up and it will mellow or go almost away completely in the bottle or keg. There will always be that "Belgiany" spice/funk but it will mellow or change into something very different than early hydro samples.

Wheats - At around the two week mark they taste grainy/wheaty (go figure) and have a pretty slick mouthfeel, to me that mellows and it will taste something along the lines of sweeter once it finishes, is carbed, and cold and the mouthfeel will still be smooth/creamy, but thinner than the 2 week sample.

Pale/IPA's (NE IPA's not included) - Hard to generalize but I have come to the conclusion to not form any opinion until it's ready to bottle/keg. I've had bitterness change a lot, sometimes harsher sometimes more mellow, muted hop flavors at 10-14 days have become very prominent after bottling/kegging, and sometimes they stay more muted than I would expect.

NE IPA - The style promotes being packed around day 10-14 days so you get what you have at that point. Hazy, full mouthfeel, and fruity/juicy that will fade quicker than any other style. Seems that the yeast stay in suspension longer but once it starts to settle the flavor goes right with it.

Porters/Stouts - Early on I tend to pick up more bitterness than what comes through in the final product. If carbing to style I can somewhat make a good conclusion of how thin or full these will be after they are carbed and cold.

Imperial Stouts - Don't even think of tasting early!! It will taste very sweet and likely boozy, might be like the finished beer will be but given that these beers usually have at least a 70 gravity point drop to make expect some change in taste. Not surprising if there's still pretty active fermentation at this point as well.

Amber/Red - Early samples are generally in the ballpark of finished beer. The caramel/toffee notes might change, sometimes a little stronger and sometimes a little more mellow, but usually the sample will be close. Hop profile doesn't tend to change much, I haven't made a highly hopped version so those may be different, might act like an IPA...

Fruit - Too hard to generalize, depends on the base beer and the fruit being added, some fruits flavor changes a lot after the sugars ferment, some don't, some just depend on what the residual sugar is like. You're likely getting ready to add the fruit at day 7-14 as well, just one of those styles that you have to be agile and adjust as it's being made.

There are other styles but these are what I have experience with and my impressions

 

[StewMakesBrew]

So, first, I agree with everyone above - don't screw around with it trying to adjust flavors on the fly. But definitely taste taste taste!

Here's all the times I taste during the brew process:

1) Doing all grain, I usually grab a small handful of the grain and munch on it. Besides being tasty, I can start building in my head what this might ultimately taste like. You can taste sweetness, graininess, toastiness, etc.

2) I always taste during mashing - numerous times - I start with tasting right after mash in, then each time I stir (about every 15 minutes) - you can taste the conversion happening - and what's interesting is that i used to do the iodine test when mashing - and I noticed, I can taste when the sweetness levels off and the conversion is complete! So ... hey, got that going for me.

3) I taste when sparging and running off - this is in addition to watching gravity levels during the sparge - I stop running off when the gravity gets down near 1.010 and my volume needs are met - but I always squirt my test dropper for my refractometer in my mouth after putting some in the meter.

4) At the end of the boil - and this is where it tastes the worst - your aroma hops are harsh as hell and it tastes 'green' - I don't know any better description. But you start getting an idea of where it's now headed.

5) If I pull gravity samples during ferment - again just to check where it is headed. You can taste the yeast magic happening and the flavors changing.

6) At packaging - whether bottling or whatever, I always pull a small glass to check for color, clarity and yes, flavor. Should taste like what I want it to taste like at this point, albiet warm and flat.

7) As it ages - whether keg, bottle or otherwise, I get progressive tastes as it ages.

8) And of course, when it's chilled, carbonated and ready to enjoy. AHHHHH.

 

[bleme]

It just occurred to me that I could still inject a little more complexity by dry hopping.

Since this is a Munich Malt & Cascade SMaSH (target IBU 30 - 1 hour boil - hops @ 60 & 15), any suggestions for a dry hop variety?

Or maybe I should not try to do everything all in my first batch; accept this simple SMaSH for what it is - and try dry hopping some other time?

My first beer, I bottles 3 gallons then added some vanilla bourbon and bottles the rest. It gave me a baseline AND an experiment. Dry hopping a portion would be an awesome experiment! You would need a mesh bag, a 1 gallon container and a half ounce of hops and something like marbles or a stainless nut to weight the bag down. Just put the hops and weight in the bag, put the bag in the gallon container, and that is your first "bottle". A week later you can bottle that and taste them side-by-side 3 weeks later.

 

[bleme]

FWIW, that bourbon experiment was terribly harsh and not nearly as good as the original until about 3 months in. But I learned something!

I would also suggest starting your next batch ASAP. It will help you save bottles so you can see how your beer changes over time.