apple juice aroma

[tockeyhockey]

i'm deep into my second case of a batch that started out very nicely but is now presenting some off flavors. the most prevelent of these flavors, beyond a little yeastiness, is a distinct smell of apple juice.

the recipe was a brewer's best extract kit, "continental pilsner", saaz hops, 3.3 lbs light LME, 2 lbs DME, nottingham yeast.

the beer is about two months old at this point -- four weeks fermenting and aging, and four weeks in bottles.

so where do these apple juice smells come from? why are they apearing now?

 

[gruntingfrog]

www.MrGoodBeer.com is a great resource for troubleshooting.

Here's the specific page for apple aromas and flavors.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

"Cidery" flavors are usually attributed to corn sugar. Did you use corn sugar in your recipe (perhaps trying to increase ABV)? If you used corn sugar to prime, how much did you use?

 

[Brewsmith]

It could be from the LME. I remember that when I did brews with LME, they often had sweeter flavor and almost apple aroma. Try using all DME next time.

Fermentation temperature may also be the issue. The higher the temp, the more fruity and estery smells come out. If it got about 75 of higher, that may be the issue.

 

[tockeyhockey]

i used half a cup of corn sugar for priming. the fermentation happened at a high temperature. this brew was done during a hot time of our summer and before i had the right equipment and knowledge for proper wort cooling.

the aroma is not completely unpleasant, but it's just not what i'm looking for.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

A 1/2 cup of corn sugar for priming should be fine and probably isn't the culprit. Your high fermentation temp (as Brewsmith says) is a more likely cause.