Bitter finish to beer

[winterk80]

Brewed a Belgian Saison from Brewer's Best 2 weeks ago and it had a bitter after taste when I sampled it yesterday. My hydrometer is telling me it's done but after poking around in the forum I read the bitterness might be due to it needing more time in the fermenter or that the trub was causing it. I may have jumped the gun, but I moved it to secondary fermentation yesterday.

Did I make a mistake by moving it to the secondary? How long should I leave it in there, should I pitch more yeast?


Beer I'm brewing:
http://www.brewersbestkits.com/pdf/1039 2013 Belgian Saison.pdf

 

[dmashl]

I do secondary all the time. 2 weeks primary then 1 week secondary for clearing. That way I don't suck up too much trub from the bottom of my fermenter. Now most people on here will say secondary is unnecessary, which it may be, but my setup is 2 buckets and a carboy. racking to the carboy frees up my bucket.I also have a separate bottling bucket.

 

[m1batt1]

I think you're just fine and haven't messed anything up. Did you need to move it to secondary? No. But you didn't really hurt anything really as long as you sanitized everything and didn't splash the beer a lot.

If hydrometer says yours done then there's no need to pitch more yeast. It would be a waste of time. I would give it a week in the secondary.

Now about this bitterness. Did it taste like hop bitterness that was just too strong for the brew? Or something unlike hops?



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[s1080]

+1 with what m1batt1 said. Furthermore, if it is hop bitterness a little bit of age will help tone that down a bit.

 

[winterk80]

I think you're just fine and haven't messed anything up. Did you need to move it to secondary? No. But you didn't really hurt anything really as long as you sanitized everything and didn't splash the beer a lot.

If hydrometer says yours done then there's no need to pitch more yeast. It would be a waste of time. I would give it a week in the secondary.

Now about this bitterness. Did it taste like hop bitterness that was just too strong for the brew? Or something unlike hops?



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

The bitterness is not hops, the beer is actually a tiny sweet, it's at the end you taste it. Definitely an off flavor, not hoppy. I also threw some water canned cherries in the secondary (draining the water) when I moved it for a subtle cherry flavor. I see a little trub at the bottom of the carboy but it's been 3 days and none of the bubbling I normally see has happened. Am I in trouble, should I buy some more yeast to pitch?

 

[winterk80]

Anyone?

 

[deBrouwer]

I doubt pitching more yeast would clear up bitterness. If it were too sweet, pitching more yeast might help that.

I think you should just leave it. The bitterness is likely to disappear over time. Young beer has strange flavors sometimes, flavors that go away as it matures.

 

[winterk80]

Do I need to pitch more yeast since I added the cherries in secondary?

 

[freisste]

Absolutely no need to add yeast. Regardless of anything you may have done to this brew (short of re-boiling or filtering), you DO NOT need to add yeast.

That said, I don't think it would hurt anything...it's just a waste that will make you wait longer to sample the beer.

 

[winterk80]

Thank you!

 

[dadshomebrew]

you may be tasting yeast that has not yest flocculated into a compact yeast cake. Yeast tend to taste quite bitter.

 

[ericbw]

Uh, what's in the "spice packet?" Some spices can be bitter if they are strong and maybe after fermentation, that's concentrated. Let it settle more?

 

[winterk80]

Tried it again today, MUCH improved, bitterness is 98% gone. Seems it just needed additional time to mellow. Thanks all!

 

[m1batt1]

Good to hear! Green beer can sometimes be a little odd. But you've gotta taste it regardless

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app