bottle conditioning there = good, here = bad

[bafroom]

if i missed this info in my forum searches, i am sorry about that.
on to my issue...
so my brother and i brewed up 5 gal of a dark ale kit. it fermentened and conditioned at my house for 2 weeks, then we bottled it, everything done the same. one case stayed at my house, and my brother rode one case home on his bike (in case the jostling around on the bike seems important) only about 1/2 of a mile away. here's the thing, his case tastes fine (great even!), my case not so much. it definitely has that sweet, tangy, possibly "i sat at too warm a temp" flavor. all of the flavors (malt and hops and this odd flavor) are far more pronounced in my case, where as his beer seems almost muted next to mine. neither of us did anything special, though we did have a bit of a warm streak around here a few weeks back during the initial conditioning.
while neither of us thought to measure the temperature the bottles conditioned at, his sat in a fairly open closet that holds his washer and dryer, and mine sat in a cabinet under my counter in the kitchen (no vent under there that i know of). i guess i'm wondering what it could be. my best guess is that my cabinet is warmer. even with that warm week i can't believe it got way above 80, maybe 85 but i doubt it. could temperature be my problem? maybe something else? help?

 

[david_42]

80-85F is a bit high for a young beer. Sounds like it carbonated at that temperature, which isn't good. On the other hand, things should balance out in 3-4 weeks. Try to keep it cooler.

 

[bafroom]

i actually think it was more like 75-80, but was willing to consider the worst case scenario. with that said, i'm definitely trying to keep it cooler next time. no more trying to live without a/c!

the other thing is, we live so close, i'd guess that his house was nearly the same temperature as mine. sometimes i think beer has a mind of it's own.

 

[wendelgee2]

Wouldn't putting it in a room with a w/d make it much hotter?

It could be that his case has matured much more quickly because of that. It could also be that his stales more quickly too...

 

[doctorRobert]

yeah maybe the heat from the dryer/washer made his carb up faster... So right now his batch might be better, but given time, your batch could turn out to be the best.

Or that's not it at all and the beer doesn't like you and soured itself.

 

[kombatkoala]

One thing I noticed (and how I got my own room for brewing) was by pointing out how much my wife used the kitchen.

How much do you cook, and how close were the bottles to the oven? Were they getting warmed more than expected during that week or so?

 

[bafroom]

Or that's not it at all and the beer doesn't like you and soured itself.

this was my guess as well.

One thing I noticed (and how I got my own room for brewing) was by pointing out how much my wife used the kitchen.

How much do you cook, and how close were the bottles to the oven? Were they getting warmed more than expected during that week or so?

i cook a lot (not my wife, so how much she uses the kitchen won't help...figures), but this cabinet is in an island unconnected to the stove.

the search continues...

 

[coy]

i cook a lot (not my wife, so how much she uses the kitchen won't help...figures), but this cabinet is in an island unconnected to the stove.

the search continues...

Our kitchen gets at least 5-15* hotter while cooking. depending on what we are cooking and how long we are cooking it at.. I lput my bottles in a coat closet away from the W/D and kitchen. cause I was affraid that one or the other might have an affect on them. I also didn't put them in the garage cause of climbing temps. I figured the coat (extra) closet isn't opened that much so the temp should be somewhat stable. just something to think about I guess, since I have really no relevant help.

 

[JBmadtown]

I have only brewed 1 batch, but here is my take on it. I avoided the temp argument because others have commented on that.

1. Depending on your method, siphoning beer into a bottling bucket and then bottling the beer stirs the beer pretty good. It is likely you have everything evenly distributed (at least that is the goal with the priming sugar). Therefore, I think the bike ride had little effect.

2. In my short experience, I have been amazed at the variability of conditioning even when all of my beer was in the same place. So, that just might be how it is.

3. technique: my guess is that you bottled and capped in batches. There is a chance (although small) that you had a small error in one batch.

4. Serving temp: when you tried your beer vs your brother's beer was it served at about the same temp. I have had a good amount of variability in taste from serving temp as well.

Good luck on finding the answer and have a homebrew!

 

[bafroom]

well thanks everybody for the thoughts and advice. since i'd like to narrow down the problem, i'm only going to try to change one thing at a time. i'm going with moving my conditioning out of the kitchen and into a closet that keeps a more steady, and cooler, temp.
i'll try to remember to post back in a few weeks whether it worked or not and hopefully tie this thread up.