Bulk vs bottle aging

[NYY]

I have a oatmeal stout that has been in fermenting 2 1/2 weeks. Plan was to bottle it after three weeks. I took a gravity sample and it has a slight fusel alcohol taste/smell.

I did not notice my ferm temp get over 70 degrees. Yeast was pitched at 72 which was higher than I liked. Other than that this batch was pretty uneventful.

Question - this is only my 4th batch. I have not noticed this smell/taste at this stage before. I have been reading that aging could help? Would you recommend bulk or bottle aging? Or is the slight smell/taste normal at this point in the process?

 

[Cyclman]

If you have the extra carboy, I would age it in bulk. Fusels may or may not age out. I wouldn't want to go to the trouble of bottling to find out it's still fire beer in four months.

Invest in a keg bucket and some frozen 2l bottles for future fermentations, the highest return on equipment you can possible have.

 

[RM-MN]

I'd leave the beer where it is for another week or more and then sample it again. It may not be quite finished yet and that can give you some strange flavors.

I agree that you need some form of temperature control for making your beer better. That was the single most effective method to improve my beer that I have done.

 

[NYY]

Thanks for the help. Any concerns with me leaving it in primary for another week (total of 4 weeks).......I could rack to secondary if needed, but if it would not impact the end product I would prefer not moving it around.

 

[RM-MN]

I wouldn't worry about you leaving in the primary for another month. If it isn't infected now it isn't likely to be infected then either. Yeast autolysis is something to think about but it rarely happens at the homebrew scale and should take much more time than that.

 

[flatlanderHQ]

I would leave it where it is. If it is a powerfully strong fusel "burn" it will improve a bit. with time. I'm talking months. Even then, the beer may be poor in flavour. I had this happen on an early batch, high gravity beer that got too warm. Six months later, It became mellowed but not enjoyable to drink. My only dumped batch so far.

 

[NYY]

It's not overly strong but it s certainly present. Smell it more than you taste it. The other question I have us the FG is .009 higher than the recipe called for. I did however modify the recipe and added 1/2 lb of crystal to the steep. Not sure if this would be the cause for the increased FG? Other the the alcohol, it has a fantastic taste....

 

[flatlanderHQ]

It's not overly strong but it s certainly present. Smell it more than you taste it. The other question I have us the FG is .009 higher than the recipe called for. I did however modify the recipe and added 1/2 lb of crystal to the steep. Not sure if this would be the cause for the increased FG? Other the the alcohol, it has a fantastic taste....

The crystal definitely added gravity points. Just give it time.

 

[NYY]

I ended up leaving the stout in the fermenter another 10 days. 4 weeks total and the fusel alcohol smell/taste was gone.


Thanks for the advise