British Ordinary Bitter (ESB)

[delcosansgluten]

Happy Sunday everyone. For my latest round I wanted to try a new style and decided that this ESB recipe would be the one to try. This beer marked a number of firsts - actively manage the ph, use of Ceremix & Ondea Pro as well as using a Tilt Hydrometer (credit to Silly Yak for the suggestion).

I'll be able to try these in 3 weeks and will let you know how they turn out.

 

[delcosansgluten]

The Tilt Hydrometer is nothing short of incredible. I have already hit the FG in less than 3 days!! Unfortunately, for about 6-8 hours, the fermentation temps reached 74 degrees and per the instructions, the ideal range is 68-72. How much off flavors should i expect given the less than ideal fermentation conditions?

 

[delcosansgluten]

Once you hit FG, is there any reason not to bottle?

 

[marc1]

Once you hit FG, is there any reason not to bottle?

You can let it sit longer for trub to settle out and the yeast to settle out more.

This will leave less sediment in your bottles.

 

[Kickass]

Once you hit FG, is there any reason not to bottle?

The yeast my be done converting sugar to booze but they’re probably not done with the rest of the house keeping. There are other byproducts of fermentation that are said to be cleaned up by the yeast after the production of alcohol.

 

[glutarded-chris]

When I started, I got Palmer's "How To Brew" book and it was a huge help. He puts his first addition on line for free. He has a sections for primary and secondary fermentation. Secondary is of interest here:
http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/fermentation/secondary-or-conditioning-phase

 

[MikeCo]

Unfortunately, for about 6-8 hours, the fermentation temps reached 74 degrees and per the instructions, the ideal range is 68-72. How much off flavors should i expect given the less than ideal fermentation conditions?

You're not far out of the so-called ideal range; I don't think you'll have to worry about off-flavors. Higher temperatures usually mean more pronounced yeast esters, but the extent depends on the specific yeast. Getting to 74 for a while might result in a slightly different beer than if it was held at 68 during the entire fermentation, but it won't likely be a bad beer.

 

[delcosansgluten]

You're not far out of the so-called ideal range; I don't think you'll have to worry about off-flavors. Higher temperatures usually mean more pronounced yeast esters, but the extent depends on the specific yeast. Getting to 74 for a while might result in a slightly different beer than if it was held at 68 during the entire fermentation, but it won't likely be a bad beer.

much appreciated!!

 

[delcosansgluten]

Bottled these today. Honestly shocked at how different the color is now compared to the color it was on brew day. Nevertheless, excited to try these in two weeks.

 

[delcosansgluten]

Very disheartened at the moment. Last night I decided to crack one of these open to see how the conditioning is going, knowing that next Saturday is when they will be 100% ready.

Unfortunately, the beer has a musty smell to it and from what ive read it seems like mold somehow got in touch with the beer. I am honestly at a loss as to how this would happen so its just a sign for me to re-evaluate the entire process to see where contamination risks exist. This has never happened to me before so I am at a loss...

 

[monkeymath]

It's far too early to tell after only a week in the bottle. I've never heard of mold in (non-sour) beer, so even without knowing anything about your process, I'd consider that unlikely.

 

[rjmaillie]

All is not lost. Hows it taste?

I brewed a winter warmer that's in the keg now that has a really earthy aroma to it that isn't all together pleasant. Beer tasted good and keeps getting better. My though was some combination of malt and hops were the issue. Fuggles can be weird sometimes. And this is just my opinion, but the ceremix/ondea rising step mash process ending at 175° tends to pull more graininess from the malt.

I'd say sit tight and taste it again next week.

 

[delcosansgluten]

It's far too early to tell after only a week in the bottle. I've never heard of mold in (non-sour) beer, so even without knowing anything about your process, I'd consider that unlikely.

Thanks for saying this. So is there a chance that by next Saturday these off scents will go away?

 

[delcosansgluten]

All is not lost. Hows it taste?

I brewed a winter warmer that's in the keg now that has a really earthy aroma to it that isn't all together pleasant. Beer tasted good and keeps getting better. My though was some combination of malt and hops were the issue. Fuggles can be weird sometimes. And this is just my opinion, but the ceremix/ondea rising step mash process ending at 175° tends to pull more graininess from the malt.

I'd say sit tight and taste it again next week.

Thank you!! The taste itself was not bad, just the unpleasant smell kind of killed the enjoyment. I drank an entire bottle to test if i would get sick or not and nothing adverse happened to me.

 

[glutarded-chris]

I'd give it a month. Let it have a chance to hit its stride before you risk disappointment again
I agree that if it tasted good, it will end up good.

I think others have remarked at some issues with large amounts of crystal malt. Maybe that is where the aroma is coming from and further conditioning will eliminate it.
Would others agree that you don't want to store the bottles too cold so that the residual yeast will have an easier chance to work on the "green" beer?

 

[monkeymath]

Thanks for saying this. So is there a chance that by next Saturday these off scents will go away?

I think it should be fine. Without major mishaps, mold won't grow in or on your beer. I always taste my bottles early and I find that after a week they often still have a bit of priming sugar etc. The refermentation just isn't done yet, and you might very well get some off-flavours during that phase.

Obviously, I don't know anything about this brew of yours. I'm just saying that a taste after a week in the bottle isn't all that much of an indication either way.

I recall one of my first brews. I didn't have enough empty bottles, so I picked up a crate of empty bottles at a friend's. He hadn't rinsed them after drinking and they had been sitting on his balcony for a while. It was disgusting.

I cleaned them using a long hot soak with dishwasher detergent and poured in boiling water afterwards. I decided to never do that again, since it's so labour intensive (but eh, I was a grad student at the time, so whatever).
Drinking the beer, there actually was a single bottle that I felt tasted off. Not disgusting, but off.

So if there really *was* something in that bottle you had, it may also have been just inside that one bottle.

 

[monkeymath]

Would others agree that you don't want to store the bottles too cold so that the residual yeast will have an easier chance to work on the "green" beer?

Yes, definitely. Only move to cold storage once you feel the beer is complete and you want to lock it in.

 

[Beermeister32]

175F is pretty hot, possibly you have phenols that formed - also watch your mash pH and keep it in the low 5.2 range. Make sure to age out the bottles. I’d go a month longer at room temperature then get them in the refrigerator for a couple months to lager.

 

[Kickass]

I find it hard to believe there’s mold growing in your bottled beer with no previous signs of contamination. Furthermore, mold is rather uncommon as far as contamination goes.

So is there a chance that by next Saturday these off scents will go away?

Do you have a deadline that this must be served by? If not, it’s best not to place arbitrarily timelines on single celled organisms. They’re not the best at comprehending our complex rationale.

All joking aside, give it a little more time, you might be very pleased.

 

[schmurf]

Maybe mold can form in a bottle if the cap doesn't close tightly?

 

[delcosansgluten]

I cracked another one of these yesterday, the day when it was officially ready, i.e. bottled conditioned. Happy to say the moldy smell is gone now but now there is a metallic smell to the beer... I was able to drink an entire bottle without getting sick or anything, I just hope this off scent goes away because they general flavor of the beer is really good.

 

[skleice]

How long did you ferment before packaging?

 

[delcosansgluten]

How long did you ferment before packaging?

1 week in the Fermonster, yesterday was 2 weeks since bottling.

 

[skleice]

Yeah, I'd say let it go at least 10-14 days to allow the yeast to clean up. I find the rice malts in particular need a little time.

 

[delcosansgluten]

I had one of these and there is a mix of beers with moldy scent and some with metallic scent. After spending considerable time thinking of the bottling day, the only conclusion I can come to is a dish mat had to be the reason for the off flavors. I washed the bottles in the sink, placed them on a dish mat prior to going into the Starsan bath... This is the only thing I can think of that messed this batch up. On a positive note, the color of this beer is amazing, easy grain bill so ill be making it again at some point.

 

[tracer bullet]

Bummer Hopefully there were / are at least a few good ones in the mix. If they're all similar then it was probably an upstream issue. Or a small chance the ingredients or water treatment didn't work out.

Love seeing the progress reports though, thanks for that!