Hello all,
I've been brewing awhile, but I'm new to the forum, so any help you can give me would be great.
I have tried brewing two ESBs, both using Wyeast 1968. The first was a partial mash recipe, and it turned out kinda gross. At the time I blamed it on the LME.
Fast forward many delicious ales. Now I now better. Several weeks ago, I brewed an all-grain ESB, deciding to try again, and I pitched some 1968. I live in an apartment, so I kept the fermenter cool using the tshirt/water bath method to ward off some of the diacetyl that may have killed my first ESB. The yeast was still very active, attenuation was on the high side according to my calculations, but after resting in a secondary for a couple of weeks, the flat beer tasted nice so I primed (dextrose) and bottled it. Now, about six weeks after bottling, it has that same funny taste, which I assume is diacetyl. I think it's kind of a sweet, funky flavor, not necessarilly "buttery," but maybe--I'm not an expert on this flavor, as none of my other beers have had it (save the other esb).
I did not keep the bottles extra cool, so I may have gone wrong there. My apartment stays around 75-78 F during the day in the summer. Is there anything I can do to save the flavor of this beer? Do you guys think that taste is diacetyl? Should I just skip making anything else with 1968 until I have a basement/large cooling system?
Thanks for any advice!
DF
I've been brewing awhile, but I'm new to the forum, so any help you can give me would be great.
I have tried brewing two ESBs, both using Wyeast 1968. The first was a partial mash recipe, and it turned out kinda gross. At the time I blamed it on the LME.
Fast forward many delicious ales. Now I now better. Several weeks ago, I brewed an all-grain ESB, deciding to try again, and I pitched some 1968. I live in an apartment, so I kept the fermenter cool using the tshirt/water bath method to ward off some of the diacetyl that may have killed my first ESB. The yeast was still very active, attenuation was on the high side according to my calculations, but after resting in a secondary for a couple of weeks, the flat beer tasted nice so I primed (dextrose) and bottled it. Now, about six weeks after bottling, it has that same funny taste, which I assume is diacetyl. I think it's kind of a sweet, funky flavor, not necessarilly "buttery," but maybe--I'm not an expert on this flavor, as none of my other beers have had it (save the other esb).
I did not keep the bottles extra cool, so I may have gone wrong there. My apartment stays around 75-78 F during the day in the summer. Is there anything I can do to save the flavor of this beer? Do you guys think that taste is diacetyl? Should I just skip making anything else with 1968 until I have a basement/large cooling system?
Thanks for any advice!
DF